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I am trying to make the best product I can. I have stripped 38 gallons of wash and have 8 gallons of strip sitting at 50 abv.
I have read about people cutting the stripped product back to 30% and adding baking soda to the strip before running it... The theory being the baking soda holds or absorbs some of the off flavors or tails and holds it in the boiler... in the residual water that is left behind... THIS IS FOR THE SPIRIT RUN ONLY...
Have any of you pro distillers read about or tried this with your vodka or neutrals?
Look forward to your thoughts on this...
Happy Stillin,
FS
Comments
I always did it back when i used to play with neutral. I'm trying to remember the name of the salt i used, i think it was Potassium Carbonate and you need only one teaspoon per litre instead of one tablespoon. It acts faster too.
Edit; It's Calcium Carbonate.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate (or old school, sodium bicarbonate). I've never added any chemicals to my spirit runs on my VM. I just dilute the boiler charge to 35% or so and run it.
Others here say you get even cleaner cuts/separation if you dilute to 20% for your spirit run.
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
For clean runs I add 3 heaped tablespoons of baking Soda to a 50L charge @ 30% and it makes a difference to how clean it comes out.
From memory, calcium carbonate can be added and it works instantly, if you use calcium bicarbonate, it needs to be added a few days before the spirit run to have time to work.
Adding calcium carbonate will facilitate breaking the ethyl acetate (major component of heads) into ethyl alcohol (hearts) and sodium acetate (a salt that won't pass over into the distillate).
It's somerhing I've read up on in the past but never tried.
I just finished my weetbix vodka and its amazing, I was pretty hard with the cuts. I'm feeling very protective of it and instantly felt like making a big batch of neutral to keep my wife away from it.
I've not tried the wetabix but I'm making my first batch with bran flakes after reading a few posts that it gives more of a vodka taste to sugar wash neutral, so far I've fermented two 25lt batches but only stripped one, I'll be using 4 batches in total, 100litres of wash for 10litres of the good stuff :-)
Is there any possibility that by adding any of these neutralizer that they may scorch on an internal element?
thanks Anavarin, it was Calcium Carbonate that i always used. Been back and edited the post now. Seems to me when i trialled it without that the quantity of heads were larger and skankier.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
When I make vodka, I use a standard UJSM strip that I send through a VM set up. Make careful cuts of the heads and then send the product through a carbon filter. It stacks up nicely vs any commercial vodka.
Damn! That sounds like a great idea! :)
What if you did a second spirit run instead of carbon filtering?
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
Every time I make a new batch of vodka, any leftover good spirit from my last batch goes into a corni keg, when it's full I'm going to run it again as a full spirt run, making new cuts, hopefully there will be a noticeable improvement.
I use an Essencia Filter, and I can't imagine not using it, even if a made the cleanest neutral ever, I like the subtle flavour and smoothness you get from the carbon.
Can anyone tell me where you buy calcium carbonate Ta
Just go to the shop and buy some Sodium Bicarbonate (ie bicarb).
Just go here
And here
Cheers,
Mech.
ARM & HAMMER™ Super Washing Soda is 100% sodium carbonate
Here is a link to some reading regarding the use of bicarb/sodium carbonate on the original HD page.
here is a part of the information you will find there...
hope this helps a bit... posts regarding this are still coming in on 3 forums
I will share it as information comes in
Enjoy
FS
I've done that if I'm not satisfied after the filtering. My filter consists of my old 36" x 2" pipe that I used to use as a packed column. It's now full of carbon with a triple layer of coffee filter at the bottom to hold it all in. I attach a 2x4 reducer and one or more 4" sections at the top to add storage volume.
@brisvalley a quick google shows it widely available especially in vets & animal feed places eg
CALCIUM CARBONATE 1KG @ Equine Solutions AU
Value Plus Calcium Carbonate 2kg @ MyShopping AU
here's an idea - buy some molasses while you're there!
Calcium carbonate is what seashells and egg shells are made out of. It is also known as limestone and chalk.
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
In Aus... both woolies and coles stock Lectric - Washing Soda Powder 1kg ~$4.30 Pure Sodium Carbonate
Yup cheers no deal on the molasses
I just bought 5 lbs for a little more than $10 here in the states. Shipped right to my door.
5 LBS CALCIUM CARBONATE 100% RAW LIMESTONE POWDER FREE SHIPPING IN USA BEST BUY @ eBay
Hell, down there in Florida you can pick it up off of the beach for free.
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
@FloridaCracker : But for the vodka ... sodium carbonate... arm and hammer soda wash is 100% sodium carbonate do not get the perfumed kind... Walmart keeps the plain stuff on the shelf.
OK so now I am confused (not hard to do). So is it calcium carbonate or baking soda that is added to the spirit run?
I think it's Sodium Carbonate, I mentioned calcium carbonate earlier in this thread but I'm starting to think I got mixed up, I'm sure someone can clarify
I believe I did mention it earlier ;)
Sodium Bicarbonate.
i use calcium carbonate to raise my PH...... its pickling lime...
have fun...
FS
I believe I used potash for manipulating my pH, but like I said it was a few years back now.
The carbonate is better than the bicarbonate as it works instantly and you need much less.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Roger that, I don't think I ever did try the sodium carbonate. But your comment may explain the following.
I know I used the Potassium Carbonate perhaps I substituted the sodium for the potassium. Foggy memory.
Me too don't worry, i still have the jar there but the texta labelling has rubbed out.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand