For a sugar wash, somewhere south of 1.000. My Birdwatcher's washes usually finish at 0.992 (from OG of 1.080) ... they're pretty consistent.

But in general it's going to depend on a lot of factors (OG, grain bill, adjuncts, additives, yeast, etc. etc.). If you're actually mashing (rather than just adding some grains for flavor) you can end up with some stuff that won't ferment (much like the stuff you add just for flavor doesn't actually ferment). You can take a look at a few beer recipes -- many of them are expected to finish above 1.000.

--JB

" From what I've read, it's both.

The yeast we select has a particular flavor profile. A quick skim through the wine yeast offerings shows us as much. Some produce more esters for those fruity notes, others are listed as neutral and a few talk about fusel production. So when it ferments sugar, that particular strain generates it's own unique combination of ethanol and congeners given similar conditions. After getting only a few runs under our belts, we quickly understand what that means. I found my first whiff of strong tails at the end of my very first stripping run to be a very unpleasant experience ... to me it's an absolutely disgusting smell.

The stuff that doesn't ferment (non-fermenting sugars and other stuff), well that contributes some flavors to the wash too. So to my understanding, anything that comes across other than the pure ethanol and pure H2O (congeners, carryovers due to water chemistry, etc.) must affect the flavor of the distillate to some degree ... provided it reaches that magical detection threshold I see mentioned in a bunch of papers. Serious rum drinkers seem to be born with this understanding.:)

My biggest issue is getting enough experience to figure out how to get the reins on some of this stuff so I can begin to get some control over the flavors I want. Unfortunately, I'm an awfully long way from that point. On the flip side, there's an awful lot of things to tinker with along way ... so boredom is a long way off as well.:)

--JB"

"My biggest issue is getting enough experience to figure out how to get the reins on some of this stuff so I can begin to get some control over the flavors I want. Unfortunately, I'm an awfully long way from that point. On the flip side, there's an awful lot of things to tinker with along way ... so boredom is a long way off as well."

John because we need to getting a handle on making our products i have decided to limit my distilling to vodka. Moonshine (corn & rye) and irish whiskey. I will forget about rum and other products for the sake of getting better at producing just a few diferent types.

Do I take SG measurements before or after pitching yeast? Also, is the Sg accurate when all tge dead yeast and sugar is settled on the bottom ir do I have to stir it up?

"

Hi Heeler, your right the grains are sprouted then cracked, not ground. When cooking they are brought up to temp between 150 and 155 then held there for about an hour or so. Sparging is done with boiling water poured over the grain that has been removed from the pot. Thats why you use a grain bag, or if you have a mash tun you drain the liquid from the tun into the boil pot and the grain is retained by the seperator, then sparge."