pavizonis

I make the same spirit up here in MA, and have the same problems. I think the root of it is from the orange/lemon zest - if you get too much of the 'white' it increases the pectins. I've tried a variety of pump methods with little luck - my last attempt was with a vacuum pump, but the filters get gummed up very quickly. The only thing I've found to work reliably is the same thing you're working with, gravity and time. I've thought of building a low-speed centrifuge (basically a bicycle wheel with a motor with some number of ~gal containers either suspended from or mounted on the rim. I'm also looking at possible ways of reducing the potential for pectin, though I'm not sure what those are. Also reducing the process to three steps; (1) making the spice reduction and filtering separately, (2) heating the honey and filtering separately, (3) and finally blending. So far changing the process hasn't made much difference, I always end up with the goop in the bottom. An alternate approach would be to just continue running the way you are, but save the goop (analogous to the 'Queen's Share' in rum making) from contiguous runs which would sit for a much longer period and would likely be the basis for a 'premium' krup. I'd love to talk to you more about what you guys are up do in Durham... we're just getting started up here. Pepi Petas (Pepi) Avizonis, Ph.D. Dirty Water Distillery Plymouth, MA