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Okay, so if, in theory, a person made a herb-wine for cooking which then molded and said person then distilled the wine ,due to it being moldy and therefore undrinkable,, does anybody know why a gallon ,of wine,would produce less than half a shot of liquer? Would it be the mold?
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You didn't say what kind of 'herbal wine you made, nor did you indicate the P.A. of the starting wine. Did you use an hydrometer to find the P.A.,potential % alcohol,. What was your starting S.G.? It sounds as if you probably didn't get a very thorough ferment in the first place. If this was the case and you had a very low acohol content to work with ,i.e. if you onle made a couple ounces of alcohol in the gallon, then you can only get that same amount out of it. Of course I'm no expert, so someone else may tell you that the mold did indeen affect the abv. I dunno, It's just that I've never heard of that happening before. I know of dozens of cases where improperly fermented stock left people disappointed because there was so little alcohol in their 'brew'.
If you can, give us a little more info to work with.
Spiritmaker
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I have to agree with Spirtmaker. I have made wine for about 14 years and if you had a stuck fermentation and the sugars were not completly fermented out then you will have low alcohol making the wine spoil. When working with herbs you must be very carful when introducing them to the wine. You did not indicate where you got the herbs from and I would say you introduced spoilage when you introduced the herbs. I always use an infusion of the herbs when adding them and always use sodium or potassium metabisulfite to kill any spores that may cause spoilage. You should always check the specific gravity and potential alcohol that may be obtained after the wine is completly fermented. Always check the gravity when you think the fermentation is completed, and one and the most important things to remember is sanitation, sanitation, sanitation.
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Good advice, here's a little more info. Had a P.A. around 12 percent, was a tomato wine with thyme, sage, and oregano ,makes a good simmered sausage,, used campden tablets, and bleached everything during any rackings. Also, drew out some wine ,avoiding the mold at the surface, and by taste it was dry, indicating low sugar. Doesn't make much sense. Although I did not check the gravity.
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Hmmmn! 12% should have given you a lot better than you got! Hmmmn! I dunno, ya got me at th moment, but I'll sleep on it see what turns up in my nightmares!
Spiritmaker
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The mold should not have kept you from getting a good yeild from the wine. When using the campden tablets did you disolve them in some liquid before adding them to the wine. The reason for this question is that the campden will lay on the bottom of the fermenter and not get distributed throughout the must. And another thing I will do is if I have a lot of head space in the fermenter I will layer CO2 on top of the must after racking this helps eliminating any oxygen on top of the must that could lead to spoilage/mold. Just trying to help.
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Never thought of the CO2, good trick. Crushed the tablets but didn't dissolve in liquid. I think this is a paradox. Thanks for the advice.
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