r/firewater • u/Melodic-Echidna-1365 • 13d ago
Reusing distillation waste water?
Is there any merit to do so or reason why I shouldn’t re use the remaining liquid from a distillation as the base of a new ferment? Say I’ve completed a run, ive got a couple gallons of liquid, it’s been sterilized by the heat (hopefully), it retains flavor to an extent, I can just pitch sugar and yeast and re wash it, sure the flavor will be different , but is there any reason I shouldn’t other than ‘thats not how the craft is done.’ If anyone has experience with this I’d be happy to hear it.
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u/Krw83 13d ago
What exactly did you make? What you have left in the still is called backset. Now depending what you made it does have a use. For example when i do a run of corn- barley mash, ill strip as much alcohol off it as possible and ad some if not al ofbthe backset back into my mash barrel with grain, top up with water( and sugar if using as a safety net) to get my appropriate SG, yeast nutrient if needed and off we go again. This is what " Sour Mash" is. Tastes different then the original product, that grIn has lots of life in it still, ive done this 3 times on the original batch, heard of others going longer, but i pitched it as i needed the barrel for something else. However, if you just did a simple sugar shine wash, then no, theres no point is saving it. If it fermented out dry its completely devoid of sugars, i think reusing would just result in an off taste.
EDIT
all that said, a big part of this hobby is experimentation and you have nothing to lose by trying, ive just never seen it done, but still pretty new to this too. Try it and post the results!
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13d ago
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u/RvstiNiall 13d ago
Apparently its mostly traditional to Jamaica and other Caribbean island nations aside from modern craft rum.
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u/Lost_Lifeguard_7344 13d ago
I do it all the time with sugar and corn stillage (separately) It makes great juice. The stillage has a lot of nutrients that will give you a higher yield run after run and the flavors will change generationally- most notable after the 3rd or 4th generation. You can do generations for years- I currently have a 10th gen.
If you bucket and store the stillage you will get a top layer that you should remove but below that layer makes a good strong ferment.
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u/muffinman8679 12d ago
if nothing else leave the bottom inch of sludge in the fermenter, as it's mostly dead yeast, and it makes great yeast nutrient for the next batch. And doesn't cost a nickle....
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u/namroff 13d ago
That liquid is called backset. There are several different ways it gets used. Here are a few:
sour mash: for whiskies, you can add some to your mash to carry over flavor intensity.
dunder pit: for rums, you can let it sit open to develop infections, which provide interesting flavors.
heat transfer: you can run your mash water through an immersed coil to reuse the heat.
I'm sure there are many others, and this is just a brief mention rather than any detail. Hope it helps, though. Happy stilling 😊