Has it ben finished with the fermenting--If so treat it like wine-- Sorbate and sulfite--

I'm just curios to know how you know when fermentation has stopped? Hydrometer or ??? I usually just go by days but since posting a question have been testing the hydrometer reading.

The tripple scale hydrometer reading below 1 is the standard and most reliable method. I also have a refractometer but thats one of my toys. .996 on the hydrometer is my goal.

I had fermented for 2.5 weeks ,, I was distilling for almost 2 days ,, it was a 10 gallon wash distilling at a constant 178 degrees for 33hrs ,, the first 7-8hrs was just getting it too the 178 i took my time

i discarded the first 600ml , after that i collected 1.5 gallons 165proof so far ,, smells good tastes good ,, I just figured why be in a hurry this was my 2nd attempt the first attempt I didnt take as long and after 2 quarts something went wrong It started too look odd it had a tint too it and didnt really taste good , the 1st 2 quarts were fine tho , figured maybe i heated too fast so this time i took my good old sweet time lol , I was using a digital thermometer the probe was located at the top of my column on a 15 gallon keg not really sure how accurate temp reading was I went mainly by sound and then smell and taste , it started dripping about 155-160 smelled like nail polish remover , I let too keep going slowly when it hit about 178 ( it fluxed between 178 and 180) the taste changed and so did the smell so changed jars , kept it at a constant temp i kept tasting hear and there everything seemed good
I just figured slow and steady would produce more abv and a better produce

I'm not sure really I might of been real close too the end when I had to stop but I'd still like to experiment with it just for the learning experience if anything else ,, and I know noone is being a smartarse I'm a newbie at this and any advise or recommendations I love at this point, this forum and everyone on it so far as been extremely helpful yes I might be wasting time and not get anymore but I still learned something heheh

"When I'm doing my stripping and reflux runs I measure each jar (by ounces) of output and record the ABV of that jar using my alcoholmeter. By totaling each jar by alcohol content you can get a good idea of where you are by comparing the total ABV extracted to what the beginning ABV. IOW, if the hydrometer reading says you have 14.0 ABV multiply that by the total ounces of wash to be distilled, eg 5 gallons = 528 * .14 = 74.00 ounces should be returned by the distillation. I'll usually shut down when the reading is below 10 ABV. The really experienced among us probably have better ways but this works for me.

Regards to all."

yeah thats what I was doing , once i got a pint I tested and seen what my abv was for that pint and except for one pint that was 160 all was at 165 so far

15.5 gallon stainless steel keg , 18" stainless steel column from brewhaus,, Turkey Burner ,, just know learned that I should of used copper scrubbers lol ,, added the scrubbers too each jar too clean out the sulfury taste and smell I noticed a few days later ,, the wash was 18lbs table sugar and 1 packet turbo in each of the 2 6gallon carboys let too sit for 3 weeks before running ,, and I experimented with what I saved and it was junk but was a good learning experience lol

"yes vastly improved it , Ive had 1 scrubber in each quart jar for 1.5 days and the smell and taste are a lot better going to give it another day or 2 see what happened ,, yea for now on I'm using scrubbers in the column ,, my question is where in the column near the condenser tube or closer too the keg itself , figure 2 loose in there should do the trick,,


yeah I wasnt sure if it work I seen another thread John Barleycorn suggested it

http://www.brewhausforum...hlight=funky+smell"