Distilling Instructions (Super Reflux Condenser) 9 Adams Road Palmerston NT 0830 Tel: (08) 8932 7700 Website: www.ozbrew.com Shop 17 Homemaker Village Millner NT Fax: (08) 8932 7622 Email: [email protected] Before reading these instructions, make sure you have read the information sheet called “Distilling Overview” which is also available in the downloads section of the Oz Brew website. The “Distilling Overview” sheet will provide useful information about the legality of stills and their usages, as well as outlining some good overall basics that will help provide essential information about this process. There are many types of stills, boilers, condensers & carbon filters available on the market. Different products and brands, may use different instructions. These instructions cover one of the most practical methods of distilling using a 25L boiler, a (super) reflux condenser and a Still Spirits Z- carbon filter, which we believe is one of the most effective value for money packages available. Read through all of your instructions including the Helpful Hints in each section before proceeding through the steps in each process. This will ensure you are aware of any tips that may make the process 25 Litre Boiling Pot Z Carbon Filter Super Reflux Condenser easier for you. (3 in 1 Fermenter) Typically produces a high yield of approximately 4-5L @ 80% - 90% V. Stage 1 - Sterilisation 1. Everything used in the fermentation process must be cleaned and sterilised before and after use. This includes the 3 in 1 fermenter, airlock and stirrer. 2. For optimum cleaning, we recommend Combo Cleaner Washing / Steriliser. Wash through all of your equipment with this solution and rinse thoroughly with cold tap water. Stage 2 - Fermenting the Alcoholic Wash 1. Half fill your 3 in 1 fermenter with cold tap water and mix in 8 kgs of Dextrose. NOTE: Dextrose is used instead of sugar for several key reasons: ♦ Dextrose makes a cleaner spirit and ferments faster than other sugars. ♦ Dextrose dissolves easily in cold water ♦ & most importantly, dextrose produces less bi-products resulting in clenaer tastes and greater alcohol yield from each batch. Although dextrose is slightly more expensive to buy than normal household sugar and will cost you approximately $11 more per batch, you can get up to 4 litres more of 40% spirit per batch due to the overall quality. This makes it worthwhile! 2. Add warm tap water to your fermenter to bring the overall volume up to the 25 litre mark (about 4cm from the top of the container - where the top “pressed ring” is around the fermenter). Stir thoroughly as you pour. A good starting temperature for your brew is approximately 35 to 40 deg C. Page 1 Page 2 3. For brewing in the tropics, add one sachet of Still Spirits Temperature Tolerant Turbo Yeast to your Wash (mix of dextrose and water) and stir in. ♦ If the Wash is too hot the yeast may be killed or weakened, therefore may not be able to ferment out all of the Dextrose. If the wash is too cold, it may take a lot longer to start fermenting. That’s why a perfect starting temperature is between 35 and 40 deg. C. ♦ Each pack of Still Spirits Temperature Tolerant Turbo Yeast contains a mix of yeast and nutrients, to make 25 litres of Wash. This yeast along with your dextrose will produce an alcohol which is extremely low in bi-products creating a cleaner tasting spirit when distilled correctly. 4. Fit the Airlock to the fermenter by twisting and pushing it through the rubber bung. Insert it in the top of the lid to create a tight seal. Push the airlock far enough through the bung so a complete seal is obtained. Drip some water into the top of the airlock until it is level with the two lines shown on the side of the airlock. Within 24 - 48 hours Carbon Dioxide should start bubbling through the Airlock, if the brew is working correctly and if the fermenter is sealed properly. Helpful Hints: 1 The element at the base of your boiler is secured by a collar on the outside where the power cord plugs into. Make sure this is tightly nipped up to avoid any leaking. 2 Check the temperature of your wash using your long glass thermometer once you have vigorously mixed in your dextrose. Sometimes you may need to add warm water to achieve a starting temperature of between 35 to 40 deg. C. 3 The more vigoursly you stir your wash before adding your yeast, the more oxygen you will create which means your yeast will start working sooner. So don’t be afraid to give it a vigorous mix. 4 Don’t overfill your airlock as you may find it will spurt out like a volcano during the first few days. 5 If you find that you haven’t seen any bubbling within the first 2 days, open the lid and have a quick look inside. The wash should be bubbling or sparkling on the surface and will probably have foam on top. In this case, just re-adjust your lid as you put it on and ensure your airlock bung is fitted nice and tight. If you don’t see much activity, stir vigorously with a sterilised plastic spoon (not wooden) to speed up the fermentation. Stir gently at first to avoid a froth build up. 6 Regardless of what your packet of yeast says, most Turbo yeasts will take 7 to 10 days to achieve a complete fermentation and give you a Hydrometer reading of .980 to .990. (Hydrometer readings are explained in the next section when you actually have to use one). Stage 3 - The Fermentation Process Your wash should take approximately 7 to 10 days to ferment if fermented between 26o - 32o C. At a higher temperature, extra bi-products may be produced and your yeast might die off early. This would result in a high Hydrometer reading and you may need to add another yeast to re-activate the brew. At a lower temperature, the wash will take longer to ferment & may even stop working altogether. For the first few days, heat is generated by the fermentation process, so it’s crucial to make sure that your temperature does not exceed 32o C where your fermenter is stored, as the activity of the wash will generate approximately 7-8o C more than your room temperature. Fermentation is complete when the yeast has used up all of the dextrose. To check to see if your wash is ready, sterilise your Hydrometer and drop it into the wash. The reading is where the line of the liquid cuts across the scale on the hydrometer giving what is called the Specific Gravity (S.G.) of your brew. The final specific gravity when your wash is ready to distill should be about 0.980 to 0.990 near the top tip of your hydrometer before the red area. Helpful Hints: It has been found that if you ferment your wash in a separate fermenter first, rather than using your 3 in 1 fermenter, you can discard the sediment on the bottom as you pour the finished wash into your boiler. This will give you a greater yield and a better product overall. Ask your local store about Turbo Clear. This product clears your wash within a couple of days & gives you a crystal clear base to work from resulting in a very high quality distilite / spirit output. Page 3 Points to watch out for: Even if you do not have an airtight seal, your wash may still be fermenting, so don’t worry. Unlike beer brews, it is uncommon to see spirit washes go off. Leave it for a couple of days, then check your hydrometer to see if the reading is lower than when you first mixed everything up. This means you need to have taken a hydrometer reading when you first mixed in all of your ingredients. b) In some circumstances the yeast can stop working before all the dextrose is used. This will be indicated by a final Specific Gravity (S.G.) higher than .990. Any reading above 1.010 on a Wine & Beer Hydrometer suggests that something has gone wrong. In most cases a good stir to get the yeast back into circulation should get the Wash fermenting again but in serious cases you may need to add another yeast pack. The most common cause of stuck fermentation is low temperature. In this case simply move the fermenter to a warmer place and stir the yeast up. An inexpensive stick-on digital thermometer, available from your homebrew shop, will help monitor the temperature, but only use one of these if you are fermenting your wash in a different container to your actual boiling pot ie: a second fermenter. Stage 4 - Distillation Assembling the Reflux Still: 1. Fit the Condenser to the domed lid by securely tightening the nut on the underside of the lid (metal to metal) to the reflux condensor. This is fitted to the hole in the lid where the bung and airlock were. 2. Situate the Still on a firm heat resistant base close to a cold water tap, drain and power socket. 3. Pour the whole packet of ceramic saddles into the top of the condenser by pulling out the small black bung where your long glass thermometer fits. Fit the thermometer so that the bulb appears on the inside of the black bung by 10mm. Then fit the bung & thermometer back into the top of the Condenser. 4.