Lenny Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Anyone ever experience a red/orange precipitate forming after 2+ months in the bottle? If so, any ideas on what could be the culprit and how it can be avoided? I've had this happen randomly with a couple batches and it's driving me nuts. I'm considering sending it off to a lab if no one has an easy answer/fix. We use both a maceration and gin basket for botanical additions. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denver Distiller Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Without running down your production methods, if your Gin was clear upon bottling, the most likely culprit would be salts in your dilution water that can start out as white flakes, and oxidize to those off colors. You might find a bit of iron in your water as well. What are you doing for your dilution water? Any magnets in your filtration system? When you say "random batches", do you mean a few bottles out of a batch has this problem, or the entire batch? Again, just an educated guess. Dilution water is where I'd start looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Thanks, Todd. It was clear upon bottling, and it also does appear that only a few cases out of the larger batch are effected. Leads me to wonder if one of our various bottling tanks (sanke kegs) might have a contaminate of some sort. I'm proofing down with RO water for our gin and whiskey, but never had any of these issues with spirits other than the gin. I did just find the dissolved solids coming out of my RO filter to be up to 32 (time for a new membrane I guess). Either way... thanks for the lead on the issue potentially being rooted in dissolved salts. I'm definitely going to look into that further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rum Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 What kind of filters are you using? Do you rinse them well with RO water before putting the gin through? Calcium oxalate takes a few months to form. You might also see it when you proof down. Most plate filters are going to have calcium in them if not fully rinsed. It can also come from activated carbon that has not been rinsed properly. It is usually white and string-like, but I thought I'd mention it since it forms in about the same time frame you mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denver Distiller Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 If it's only a few bottles/cases, and the rest of a batch is clear, I'd look at residuals in your fill tanks and/or filler, as well as any hoses or pumps. That tells me that you might have a few dead spots that are hiding mineral residue. Over time, a small problem can become a big problem. You said this only happens with your Gin? Look at the tanks/hoses/pumps that only handle the gin….but be aware that the minerals often (but not always) don't come out of solution if they have something to bond with…things like wood sugars. Check your fill tanks with a strong light source when they are dry by running your finger along the stainless surface. Look for white, chalky residue on your fingers. Do the sankey kegs you are using still have their spears? If so, that's a dead spot that's difficult to inspect. Make sure your tanks are cleaned with warm citric acid, and rinsed thoroughly with IO water. If it's only hitting a few cases, one possibility is that you are cleaning your tanks, lifting the minerals into the cleaning solution..but then not rinsing a tank/hose/whatever completely, leaving a clump of salts behind that makes it into some, but not all of your bottles in a single batch. Hope this helps. Remember it's hard to get the whole picture here as I'm staring at a computer screen and not a distillery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwellSpirits Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Hey, I am having a similar problem. My gin (which I proofed down with carbon filtered water) has a slight precipitate forming on the inside of the bottle. A microscopically thin layer of white film. Almost not visible to the naked eye unless you closely inspect the bottle. Has anyone else had an issue like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Thanks again for the info. I'm going to go through everything that comes into contact with our gin and make sure it's thoroughly rinsed of any non-ro'ed water and/or deposits. I guess I've fallen into a bit of complacence in regards to contamination issues since most distilling processes are so much more immune to the issues than that of beer production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwellSpirits Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Fixed the issue. Yup, the water here was too hard. Used a better filtered water and the issue is gone. Huzzah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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