# Making & Distilling A Wash

### Making and Fermenting a Wash

Most ‘Turbo style Yeast’ has proper directions printed on the packet — follow these. If it does not, then the procedure below will work.

First, you need to clean and sterilise a 23L fermenter (5 gallon). Use a cleaner such as KegLand StellarClean Powdered Brewing Wash (KL05494) and then sterilise the fermenter with a steriliser such as StellarSan (KL05357). These can be purchased from your local KegLand Distributor.

Dissolve 8Kg of plain white sugar or dextrose into the bucket and stir until fully dissolved in 15 litres of room temperature to warm water. Make sure that the spoon you use to stir it with has been sanitised the same way as your fermenter. Add a pack of ‘Turbo Yeast’ and stir for about a minute. Lalvin EC-1118 Yeast (KL12782) would be a suitable ‘Turbo Yeast’ to use for fast fermentation.

It is suggested that 5g of yeast nutrient (KL14724) be added at the start of fermentation to ensure the yeast have enough micronutrients to have a healthy fermentation. Once you have added your yeast to the fermenter, attach the lid to your fermenter and put a suitable airlock in the lid (KL01595). Leave the fermenter for about a week at room temperature (around 25°C) and it should be ready. Check with a hydrometer to make sure that it is about 0.980. If the wash does not go below 0.990, then you will not get the full amount of alcohol out of it. Leave it for a few extra days. If it does not change, then please contact your KegLand distributor for advice. If you are fermenting in a cold climate, you may need to keep the wash warm by keeping it somewhere warmer or adding a heating belt and temperature controller (KL01953 and KL01946). Your home brew shop can give more advice on fermenting washes, as well as other recipes.

## Calculating how much product should be collected from distillation

The volume of product expected to be collected from the distillation is able to be calculated. It is important to measure the amount of ethanol in your wash so that you can get a rough idea of how much distillate you expect to recover from distillation.

To calculate this expected volume of distillate you will need a hydrometer (KL04312). You will need to take two gravity readings with the hydrometer: once *prior* to fermentation and once *after* fermentation has finished. Then input these two numbers into an Alcohol by Volume ABV calculator to give an ABV. The amount of ethanol in the wash can be calculated using this ABV. For example, if your ABV is 12% and you have a 20L wash, then use the following calculation to determine the volume of ethanol in the wash.

Volume Ethanol in wash = **20L x 0.12 = 2.4L**

You can then multiply this volume of ethanol by the purity of the distillate to determine how much ethanol you would expect to be collected from the distilling process. For example, if you are recovering 95% ethanol, measured using an alcometer (KL04305), then the expected final concentration of distillate can be calculated via the following:

Volume Ethanol Collected = **2.4L x 0.95 = 2.28L**

## Distilling the Wash

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Pour the wash into the boiler

Pour the wash into the boiler. Be careful not to get yeast from the bottom of the fermenter into the boiler, as this can produce off flavours. The more yeast you can separate from the liquid wash the better your results will be. Some customers use finings such as gelatine to assist this process.

**DO NOT OVER FILL THE BOILER**
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Add distilling conditioner

It’s recommended to use ‘Distilling Conditioner’ from a home brew shop. This will stop the wash from foaming and gurgling in the condenser, otherwise known as “puking”. This is sometimes necessary and greatly depends on the yeast strain that you have used and what raw ingredients you have made your wash with. If you have issues with the wash foaming up the still then you will notice the liquid you collect will start to look cloudy and not clear.

**IF YOU DON’T DO THIS, IT WILL NOT WORK!**
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Remove the brass nut

Remove the brass nut from the thread on the bottom of the reflux still.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Insert the reflux still through the distillation lid

Insert the thread of the reflux still through the 47mm hole in the distillation lid, ensuring that the silicone gasket is on the outside of the lid. Secure the reflux still to the distillation lid by tightening the brass nut onto the thread on the underside of the lid.

If using a distillation lid with a 2" TC flange, remove the brass nut completely and use a 2" TC clamp to secure the still to the lid.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Clamp the distillation lid to the boiler

Clamp the distillation lid to the top of the boiler.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Screw on the appropriate Flow Control Outlet

Screw on the appropriate Flow Control Outlet (0.6mm or 1mm) for your purpose. For the highest purity, we recommend the 0.6mm insert. Note that the smaller the insert, the slower the run.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Close the outlet ball valve

Make sure the outlet ball valve is **closed**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Heat the boiler and turn on the thermometer

Turn on the boiler and set its temperature to the highest setting (100°C or HH, or Boil Mode on a Gen 4 BrewZilla). All elements (100% power) can be used to bring the temperature up to boil. However when distilling a spirit run it is best to use the minimum amount of power to keep the liquid in the boiler gently boiling.

Turn on the thermometer.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Place a collection vessel under the copper pipe

Place a clean cup or other collection vessel under the copper pipe at the side of the still. Preferably use glass, as it will not smell or taste like some plastics may after extended exposure.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Turn on the cooling water flow

When the thermometer reads about 50°C, turn on the cooling water flow (this will take approx. 10mins on a 5L boiler or 45mins on a 25L boiler). This is based on your boiler being 2000watts. If you have a lower powered boiler it might take a bit longer. If you are using a pump for recirculating water, it is OK to turn on the cooling water BEFORE the boiling starts and before you get to 50°C. The only reason we do not say turn the water on before 50°C is that we want you to save water.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Set the coolant water flow

The water flow at the still head is very easy to set up. The only real requirement is that you reach a **minimum water flow speed of about 8 liters per minute through the condenser**. There is no maximum water flow speed with this still design, so you can run the water as fast as you like as long as you are meeting the minimum flow required. If your flow of coolant to the still head is not great enough you will start to get vapour evaporating from the still head and you will lose your valuable spirit to atmosphere. This can be dangerous around open flames, so it’s always better to use a bit more flow rather than a bit less.

It should also be noted that your coolant water must stay below 35°C to get good results. If your cooling water gets too hot you will also start to lose vapour out of the top of the still head and this will also result in poor yield for the same reason.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Wait for the temperature to stabilise

After the liquid starts boiling, you will notice that the thermometer temperature will rapidly go up. Within a few minutes it should slowly come down again to a stable temperature between 77°C and 80°C. If it doesn’t drop below 80°C within 10 minutes, see the troubleshooting guide. NOTE: The exact temperature is not important - this is a guide only as to the stage of distillation.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Open the valve after 10 minutes

10 minutes after it starts boiling, put on some heatproof gloves and open up the valve completely.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Collect the foreshots

Open your ball valve and collect ditillate until it stops smelling like nail polish remover (acetone). This will be approximately 80ml on a small (\~5L) wash, and approximately 150ml on a standard (\~25L) wash. This is the foreshots and should be discarded.

<img src="/files/IKNFTBPIu6FkepsnORmp" alt="" data-size="line">**WARNING — NEVER DRINK THIS LIQUID AS IT COULD BE POISONOUS** (particularly if you have fermented fruit instead of sugar).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Swap to a clean collection jar

Swap the collection jar to a clean one. The alcohol collected at this stage is your main run and is good to drink, it should be at about 92% alcohol, or up to 95% pure if you are using the smaller 0.6mm outlet.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Record the thermometer reading

Make a note of the thermometer reading at this point. **NOTE**: The displayed temperature will be stable during the run. However, this temperature can vary from run to run - this is normal.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Stop collecting the main run when the temperature rises

When the temperature rises 1°C from the reading you recorded at step 14, it is time to stop collecting the main run or you will start to collect tails and lower percentage alcohol. You should have approximately 800ml from a 5L wash, or about 3.8L from a 25L wash. NOTE: The amount of pure distillate collected is dependent on the ABV and size of your wash, and whether you lost any distillate to 'puking' - often caused by insufficient coolant flow.\
\
This will take approximately 40 minutes on a 5L boiler, or 3-5 hours on a 25L boiler. If it seems to be taking a lot longer than this, then please see the troubleshooting instructions in the other manual. If using the smaller 0.6mm outlet (recommended to get higher purity) the the run will take approximately 50% longer
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Turn off the boiler

Turn off boiler.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Turn off the cooling water

Turn off the cooling water.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Dispose of the remaining liquid

Dispose of the liquid remaining in the boiler. It has nothing usable remaining in it.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Rinse the still

**RINSE THE INSIDE OF THE STILL THOROUGHLY AS SOON AS IT IS COOL ENOUGH TO DO SO**. See the other instruction manual on how to do this.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**WARNING**: Be careful when emptying the boiler as the liquid is very hot. Wear heatproof gloves when removing the lid as steam may escape. Let the boiler sit for a few minutes after the power has been switched off before removing the lid.

**NEVER ATTEMPT TO PICK UP OR MOVE THE BOILER IF THE LIQUID UNTIL THE LIQUID IS UNDER 45°c**
{% endhint %}

## Diluting the Alcohol

If you have collected the alcohol as per the instructions above, then you will have a quantity of alcohol at approximately 92%. This must be diluted to 40% or below before flavouring or drinking. For each litre of 92% alcohol, add 1.3L of clean water. You will then end up with 2.3L of 40% alcohol. For 50% alcohol, add 800ml of water to each litre of 92% alcohol. For 30% alcohol, add 2L of water to each litre of 92% alcohol. You should check the final strength with an alcometer (available at home brew stores) to measure the alcohol strength. There are also helpful dilution calculators that can be found on homebrewing forums or homedistilling websites.

## Flavouring

To flavour your pure spirit and turn it into a flavoured spirit like run or whiskey, you need to add an essence.

Essences are available from home brew stores in pretty much any flavour you can think of. They all have individual instructions painted on the bottle, but you often add the contents to a bottle of 40% alcohol, give it a shake and you have the spirit you are after.

KegLand sell a wide range of essences - [Impressence Spirit Flavourings](https://kegland.com.au/collections/impressence)

It is ready to drink straight away, but does improve over the next few weeks.

Liqueurs often need some additional sugar or milk added - this will be specified on the essence.


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