What temperature do I run my still at? Different stills run at different temperatures, and if in doubt you should check with the manufacturer/supplier of your particular brand of still. However majority of stills are designed to run similarly. The temperature that ethyl alcohol boils off at is 78C-82C and therefore if your still has a temperature gauge in the top of the condenser (usually in a rubber bung situated at the top) it should run between 78C-82C (with 78C being ideal).
If your still has a water outlet thermometer to gauge the temperature, it usually sits between 50C-65C (dependant on the brand of still). For an Essencia Express Condenser (or Essencia water outlet thermometer used with any still) the temperature is 50C-55C. With a Turbo 500 Condenser, the water outlet temperature should sit between 55C-65C (with 60C being the ideal).
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What temperature should I run my moonshine still at?
Temperature Safety When Distilling – Distilling alcohol uses high temperatures – generally around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. High temperatures mean opportunities for accidents, so make sure that everyone who is in your distilling environment is aware of how hot your equipment will get. Controlling and monitoring the temperature will help you keep your distillery safe.
What temperature is too hot for mash?
Temp Too High – If your mash is at too high of a temperature (168-170 °F), you’ll run the risk of permanently killing or stalling the conversion process. However, luckily enzymes don’t get destroyed immediately at these temperatures. If you were to try to destroy (denature) the enzymes as with a “mash out”, it would take about 10 minutes to complete.
- Another risk of mashing or sparging at or above 170 °F is the extraction of tannins from the grain husks.
- I’ve had this happen to me occasionally, so it’s definitely possible.
- As tannins are extracted, they make your beer astringent, which will typically not fade at all as the beer matures.
- Astringency is an off-flavor that tastes like a mix of bitterness and dryness.
Imagine if you sucked on a teabag – that’s what it tastes like. Because of this, I never mash or sparge with any temperature any higher than 165 °F. Add cold water or ice cubes directly to your mash container to lower temperature. It will take more cold water than ice cubes to get your temperature down, so remember this when it comes time to ensuring you hit your final volume correctly.
How long can a mash sit before distilling?
It depends on what type of wash you have but as a general rule of thumb, it is best to distil within 2-3 days after fermentation is complete. The wash will keep for up to a month so long as the fermenter is airtight. The period can be extended if the wash is racked off into a clean airtight container.
What is too hot for fermentation?
Dare I say it, but it looks like here in the UK we’re summer weather has reappeared. And fingers crossed, there are some warm days ahead of us. But was does summer weather mean for your ferments? And what might you need to do differently when fermenting in the summer? Like us, the microbes love being warm.
- Warm, but not hot—to visualise this, think sitting in the shade in your back garden in with a nice breeze blowing, rather than baking on a black sand beach in Greece in the middle of August.
- Optimal temperatures for fermenting range between 18-22°C/65-72°F, so if a ferment is too cold, it will still ferment, but just take longer.
It if gets too warm it will speed up the rate at which the bacteria work, meaning your ferment will ferment quicker, which sounds good but isn’t necessarily the case. Or if say left in direct sunlight in a suntrap of a kitchen it could get too hot (above 42°C/107°F), the beneficial bacteria will die.
When a ferment ferments too quickly, it can mean that the different beneficial bacteria may not have enough time to do their jobs in terms of lowering the pH of the brine, creating the associated by-products and at the very basic, persevering the food. Generally, the bacterial fermentation process takes place in two stages, but more on that another time, and each stage needs to provide the bacteria with adequate time.
Another downside of fermenting too quickly in warm weather is Kahm yeast. Kahm yeast crops up in a ferment when all the starches and sugars are used up by the bacteria fermenting at a faster pace. And this can also happen when the external temperature is warm and the pace of fermentation is sped up by the heat.
Try to find a fermentation spot with the ideal temperature range. You can check the temperature with a thermometer, leaving it over a couple of days to get a consistent reading.
Always keep your ferments out of direct sunlight and avoid storing in places that retain lots of heat in warm weather.
Promptly refrigerate a ferment when it’s had it its fermentation time. Try not to leave anything at room temperature once it’s ready, particularly if the room is warm.
Find a cool spot to do your fermenting. Fermenting in your greenhouse at the height of summer isn’t a good idea.
Remember to vary your fermentation spot may vary by seasons, and also note that different ferments can also work better in different environments and different temperatures. I get a much less explosive kimchi in my ferment cupboard, but my water kefir prefers a corner spot on my kitchen worktop. But working this out is very much about trailing and taking note.
If you do get Kahm yeast, scrape it off, transfer the ferment to a clean jar (I wipe around the inside the jar with a bit a kitchen roll soaked in ACV to clear off the residue before transferring) and pop it in the fridge, this will stop the yeast from growing.
Free feel to share another other warm weather fermentation tips you use or are thinking of trying out! And if you want to troubleshoot any of your ferments or start a new one and need a bit of support, you can now book a Fermentation Power Hour. These sessions help you to boost your fermenting confidence and ask all the questions you need.
Does 80 proof moonshine freeze?
What Temperature Does Alcohol Freeze? – The freezing point of pure alcohol, or ethanol, is -173 °F. However, you won’t be stocking pure ethanol in your bar or home bar, so it gets a bit complicated. In general, the lower the proof or wine alcohol content, the higher the freezing point.
Beer. Beer can have an ABV anywhere between 3% and 12%, but on average you can expect beer to freeze at about 28 °F. Even if you find yourself asking ” does beer expire ?” it really should not be stored in a freezer for any extended length of time. Beer in a freezer can not only freeze and ruin the quality of the beer, it may even explode causing a bigger headache. You really should invest in different keg sizes for your bar or do forecasting to limit your excess inventory and avoid the issue in the first place. Wine. Wine tends to have a slightly higher ABV than beer, so the freezing point is lower. But, if you’re asking ” does wine freeze ” the answer is most certainly yes. Wine freezes at an average of 23 °F. In action, this means a standard 750mL bottle of wine will freeze solid after about 5 hours in a freezer. However, there are different wine bottle sizes, so your experience may vary.40-proof liquor. Low-proof liquors like Irish cream are only slightly more cold-resistant than wine. These spirits will freeze around 22 °F and are the most likely alcohol to suffer issues in a freezer. If left for too long, these liquors can develop a slushy-like texture and the chemical makeup will forever be altered. This means the liquor will still taste off when thawed.64-proof liquor. Mid-range liquors like Bacardi Razz or Fireball fall in this category and will freeze around -10 °F. If you happen to have a handle of liquor in this range lying around, you can toss it in the freezer with little worry. However, you’ll still want to keep an eye on the expiration date as even the cold cannot stave off oxidation forever.80-proof liquor. The most common proof for hard liquor, 80-proof bottles will not freeze unless they are subjected to temperatures of -17 °F or below. This is why so many people think alcohol can’t freeze because their conventional freezer doesn’t get this cold.
Will 100 proof moonshine freeze?
Thank you for taking time to write a review for Ole Smoky. We really appreciate you letting us be a part of your visit to Gatlinburg. Just to clarify, all moonshine can be frozen no matter how high the proof is. It all depends on the temperature.100 Proof moonshine will freeze at -25.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Our 128 Proof Blue Flame can be frozen, but it would require being stored at -43.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
- A 40 proof alcohol/water mixture would freeze at 17 degrees, however, since we use actual fruit juice and not flavoring mixed with water, the temperature will vary from flavor to flavor.
- So yes, Moonshine can be frozen, however, most home freezers do not get cold enough to actually freeze it.
Actually, some of our flavors will get a nice slush to them in the freezer without freezing solid which makes for a really great afternoon adult slushie! Hope that helps! Remember to Shine Responsibly!
