PeteB

I assume there is a section in your rules to allow for flavoured whiskies. So are they breaking TTB rules by not disclosing hops?

If a hopped beer is distilled in the US then aged in new barrels etc. is it allowed to be called Whiskey? There is a bit of a discussion on this subject in Australia at the moment. Thanks for any comments

Anyone know about dealkalized glass that is apparently needed for spirits bottles. See this Wikipedia article https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealkalization The relevant spirit bottle section here The most common example of its use with containers is on bottles intended to hold alcoholic spirits. The reason for this is that some alcoholic spirits such as vodka and gin have an approximately neutral pH and a high alcohol content, but are not buffered in any way against changes in pH. If alkali is leached from the glass into the product, the pH will begin to rise (i.e. become more alkaline), can eventually reach a pH high enough that the solution begins to attack the glass itself quite effectively.[1][2] By this mechanism, initially neutral alcohol products can achieve a pH where the glass container itself begins to slowly dissolve, leaving thin, siliceous glass flakes or particles in the fluid. Dealkalization treatment hinders this process by removing alkali from the inside surface. Not only does this mean less extractable alkali in the glass surface directly contacting the product, but it also creates a barrier for the diffusion of alkali from the underlying bulk glass into the product.[3] Wikipedia articles are not necessarily written by experts in the particular subject. I don't know the pH of vodka but I think it is acidic, not neutral pH as written above. I think whisky has a pH of around 4. Maybe the author assumed "neutral spirit" means pH7 not neutral flavor. Does anyone have reliable information on this?

Air bubbles rising through the spirit tank will absorb small amounts of the more volatile compounds in your whisky and drag them out into the atmosphere. This is a bit like what happens when pouring a whisky then nosing it over quite a long period. For a young whisky especially, the initial nose can be quite spirity and offensive then it settles down as those more volatile compounds drift off. Bubbling air or nitrogen through the spirit will speed up the removal of those highly volatile compounds. (Part of the ageing process in barrels is getting rid of those offensive volatiles as part of the "angels share") Before I bottle most of my whiskies I tip the barrels into a vat and leave the lid off, sometimes for several days, until the harsh volatiles have drifted off. If it is taking too long then I will stir very vigorously, a similar effect to agitating with air bubbles. The alcohol concentration can drop by about 0.5% but the whisky tastes and noses much better. Is there any chemical reaction with the introduced oxygen? I don't know, but it tastes better.

Very likely a flock is forming after filtration. I see it a lot when cutting below about 45% even as high as 50% I have been lead to believe it is oils and proteins that were dissolved in the high strength alcohol, but at lower proof they come out of solution and eventually form crystal masses, ie cloudy. This eventually settles on the bottom of the container. Shake it up and crystals break up and vanish but usually re-form. 2 ways to overcome it. Chill filtration or time will allow crystals to grow large enough to filter out. Or allow about 6 weeks for crystals to settle to bottom of tank. Don't bottle very bottom of tank.

If the Brix is being read with a refractometer then a zero reading means there is no alcohol or sugar in the sample, only water. The hydrometer reading of zero is also confusing. An alcohol hydrometer in water at standard temperature will read zero if there is no alcohol or sugar present. Maybe you mean an SG hydrometer and you actually mean a reading of 1.000 More information required please.

I have a cheap desktop thermal TRANSFER printer. Being a TRANSFER it will print onto normal paper. For small runs of labels I get commercially made labels with blank spaces to add details of the specific product. Thermal transfer needs to print onto a very smooth paper otherwise the print is not very sharp.

I haven't checked the numbers but you say "Hence, a total of 870000 BTU is required to vaporize all 500 liters of this mixture." When distilling alcohol you do not vaporise the whole 500 liters. If you did you would end up with the same ABV that you started with. You only need to boil off about 1/5 of the volume. By then there is no alcohol left in the pot Maybe you have not explained properly but you appear to be starting with a 40% ABV in the pot. I would assume there are no solids in that so you could go direct fire and save all the work building a steam boiler. BUT 40% in the pot is pretty high and could be dangerous with direct fire even with bain marie jacket. Cut back to below 30 % to make a little safer. That might not be what you are trying to achieve so please explain in more detail I suggest you spend some time at a small distillery before you go any further.

That pretty well kills my theory then. I didn't see any mention of altitude and that is why I mentioned sea level for the common boiling point curves

I have a possible explanation. If your pot temperature is 182f that indicates your ABV in your pot is close to 50%abv but you said 9.5% (see graphs of boiling point vs. ABV at sea level) If the temperature sensor in the pot is above the liquid I have observed that it reads lower than if it is submerged. As your run progressed you have a higher % of solids and there may have been a buildup of foam that eventually reaches the temperature sensor and suddenly your temperature reading goes up because the foam temperature will be close to the liquid temperature. Regarding a possible leak in your condenser the symptoms you gave make that very likely. If your condenser water is exiting the pipework to a drain well below the condenser then there will be a slight vacuum in the condenser. A hole in the coil/jacket will "suck" some of your alcohol vapor or condensate into the cooling water and you wouldn't notice anything except low yield. As you applied back pressure on the condenser water it would push cooling water into the alcohol side and your ABV drops as observed. Easy to check with cooling water on and still switched off.

Do you intend to do 2 runs? this stripping run then a spirit run? If this is the first run, you called it low wines run, then I suggest you don't do any cuts. Do them on the spirit run only. With only 2 plates treat it like an alembic pot still.

*?

If you can get enough used hydraulic oil that would be the cleanest and easiest energy. Fitting an oil burner to your wood boiler should be very easy, possibly not maximum efficiency but fuel is free, or almost. A lot of equipment required for a round bale boiler

I am running my still direct fired with waste veg oil burner and heat water and steam with waste oil. My Son is also using waste veg oil burner for steam in his brewery. http://www.econoheat.com/waste-oil-equipment/hot-water-boilers/ US company in Washington We only have their burner guns, not their boilers. My hot water/steam boiler was originally a wood fired boiler, just took the ash drawer out and put burner gun there. My Son gets his oil from a fish shop that runs it through their filter before dumping back to original drums. All ready to use. I need to filter mine to about 120 microns. I believe used motor oil may require less maintenance of burner gun but it is not as pleasant to handle. A bit more maintenance than gas, and possibly filtering, but FREE fuel Econoheat also have wast oil powered chillers http://www.econoheat.com/waste-oil-equipment/air-conditioners/

Fermented mash eats aluminum, I know from experience

Tom, I am in no doubt you are correct, I am just trying to point out an easy to see mistake in the TTB wording that is open to interpretation by both distillers and TTB agents. "entered at" and "stored at" have different meanings and can have very different end results It is little wonder that different TTB agents will give different answers (did one say run the spirit through an oak trough then it is whisky?) If the answer suits you then get it in writing.

I think you are correct, but that is not what the wording says in BAM pdf, it says "stored at"

I was doing an experimental batch with very high % of acidic stillage so I would have used way more NaOH than normal. Once distilled I didn't detect that alkaline odor.

I would be interested to know peoples thoughts about the following tps://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam/chapter4.pdf RYE WHISKY³ Whisky produced at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent rye and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) Last week I bottled a barrel that I filled several years ago with spirit at 61.3% On testing, and re-testing, the whisky is now at 68.5%. The Angels Share has removed more water than alcohol which is usual at my distillery in Tasmania, no issues with Australian regulations. But if I was in USA under TTB it has been stored for some time at more than 62.5% What implications would that have to you guys?

That is the page I was looking at. I assume BAM is the equivalent of "Fake News"

OK, but why does the TTB page that I quoted differ from the one you have just quoted??

https://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam/chapter4.pdf RYE WHISKY³ Whisky produced at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent rye and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers WHEAT WHISKY³ Whisky produced at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent wheat and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers Maybe I am not reading fully but there was no mention of just the word "whiskey" WHISKY DISTILLED FROM RYE MALT MASH¹ Whisky produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent malted rye and stored in used oak containers. I presume you have to write on label ".. from...malt mash"

I have tried it but it produces a strong alkaline smell in the ferment. How concentrated is the NaOH when you add it? If I use it again I might try diluting quite a bit.

I am an Aussie so I don't need to follow TTB regulations, but I always thought you had to age whiskey and bourbon in NEW oak containers. Also to offer an answer to the stick or stave suggestion, they are not containers, a container means you put the liquid into a space that is surrounded by oak, not liquid surrounding the oak. A hollow wooden cube is a container, I assume it doesn't need to be a barrel or cask.

Is it a really nasty burn or a light scorch? I know peated whiskies are not so popular in US but a light scorch can be a pleasant alternative to using peat. Also only 5% malt, that may be a bit light on to get full conversion,