Funky smells in my first Panela Rum Wash

brantoken

OK guys, I think this first attempt may be a problem. I am getting the Baby $#it smell. I did have some trouble getting it start, we had a cold snap. Got a heater in and it is working off very well now. Is this normal or am I doomed. I have had some rye batches that really stunk and turn out great. Does the Panela do the same thing?

Lloyd

@brantoken the winter months suck.
I also can't ferment now because I'm too lazy to construct a proper temperature controlled fermenter cabinet to get me through the cold months.

Maybe next year, such a shame I say the same thing every year.

Smaug

I rarely get weather cold enough to affect my working off speed. But I have had issues with too many nutes. Seems to clear up.

punkin

Baby shit can't be good, but it may well be worth seeing what it does.

Vomit never gets better only worse, so if you sniff that ditch it while you still can.

@Lloyd, a single electric blanket round a fermenter and a doona or quilt over that will work beautifully on your new fermenter.

brantoken

@Lloyd, I use an aquarium heater, just drop it in no muss no fuss and cheap too. A small one should get you by down there in FLA with no problem. What got me was it turned cold really quick.

@punkin, that is what I was thinking, see what it does, the smell isn't terribly too strong as of yet, hoping it get it to finish out and run before it get really bad. First time with rum , with all the dunder pit descriptions, I was wondering if it was normal. I keep expecting something funky to jump out of the fermenter and attack me or try and drag me in.....

Started a batch of Super Sugar liquor, which just sounded good to me , I mashed up 15 lbs of corn , 3 lbs of wheat flour, 3 lbs of rye flour and through in 12 lbs of Panela for 25 gallons. Took off fast , Not a problem with it, smells great and looks just fine . I have been using brown sugar in the UJSM for a while with some really tasty results. Can hardly wait to taste this stuff.

I guess the slow start caused by temp drop nailed me on the rum keepin my finger crossed.

nvnovrts

I love Panela, never had any issues with it. Always a clean, fast ferment. The off aromas you are describing could be any number of spoilage yeast or how you ran the ferment.

Smaug

The only other issue I have had is when I did not use a heat source to liquefy.

I placed the panela blocks in my volume of water for the day, then returned that evening to stir and pitch. The long period of exposure made the wash smell more like fruit that was on the verge of being over ripened or maybe even spoiled. It did ferment out a bit slow and was ever so slightly puky.

When it finished I transferred a time or two from bucket to bucket and the smell had dissipated.

Fluxed

Panela is RICH!

In my (limited) experience, it's best to treat it like a grain mash and get it dissolved in hot water. Then get it in your fermenter while it's as hot as possible while still doing it safely.

Let it cool to temp in the fermenter, and pitch your yeast.

This will help sterilize the Panela and the fermenter. Otherwise, it's so rich that it's easy to get contamination. Even an afternoon in a pot will start growing things faster than most other sugar solutions.

I hope that helps! The richness of the Panela is a blessing, but it can also be a curse.

brantoken

thanks for the advise, I repitched with the hunter killer yeast and the smell is going away........seems it never got started on my first pitch due to the change of weather.....