How To Stop Your Still From "Puking" (boiling over)

Boil overs or pukes can happen fairly frequently in distilling if you do not take action to stop them.
So how do you stop your still from puking? What can you do to stop a boilover? Thats what we are talking about today.
Still Spirits Distilling Conditioner:
www.homebrewin...
Stainless sight glass:
amzn.to/3fD6yiJ
Tee Union With Sight Glass:
www.aliexpress...
----------------------------------------------------------------
First Mint Still It Coins:
chasethecraft....
Try Adventures In Home Brewing For Your Next Supplies Purchase (Free Shipping In The Lower 48 over $50):
www.homebrewin...
Chase The Craft Calculators:
chasethecraft....
----------------------------------------------------------------
Chase The Craft Shop (including new coins):
www.chasethecraft.com/shop
----------------------------------------------------------------
Still Its Patreon Page:
/ stillit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Listen To The Chase The Craft Podcast On The Website:
chasethecraft....
Apple Podcast:
podcasts.apple...
Spotify:
open.spotify.c...
Stitcher:
www.stitcher.c...
-----------------------------------------------------
Sign Up To The Still It Mailing List Here:
www.chasethecra...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Still It Tee Shirts:
teespring.com/...
Some Cool Distilling Stuff On Amazon:
www.amazon.com...
Subscribe To The Channel Here:
www.youtube.com...
----------------------------------------------------------------
#Podcast #homebrew #distilling
Just in case you didn’t realize I often include affiliate links in my videos and descriptions.
This will not change the price for you at all, But the seller will buy my a cup of coffee if you purchase from one of the links. Choice eh?

[@chrisbrandenburg3505]

Love how gentle you are with us stupid people...

[@jakerijkuris4693]

Good vid, I literally just posted this question on the distillers forum about 2 weeks ago. Although I preferred my title "Strippers who puke"

[@DS-iy5sd]

I read that post!

[@jakerijkuris4693]

He does good vids hey, and it's a good forum!

[@n8vmc469]

A knob of butter to break the surface tension. Genius!!

[@belo2999]

Great video Jesse, few extra bits: Turbo yeast and high ABV washes can require quite a lot of degassing. Superheating can cause pukes in very clear washes so adding some ceramic saddles or other inert media helps prevent this by physically breaking the surface and allowing bubble forming. Using sunflower oil can give a sunflower taste to your tails, not the worst flavour but quite a surprise, for only 5ml added.

[@mcconnellbrian]

Legend, knob of butter worked a treat, was getting bloody frustrated trying to adjust the temp to stop the puking

[@chopdoc11]

Wow, great video. Doing my first ever stripping run on a all grain 70/30 rye/2row and it started as a puke on the first run, same on the second batch, 3rd batch did same but also puked mid run. Now I am on the 4th batch and with some butter, hasnt puked yet. Sweet! Thanks for the great tips!

[@PoppaLongroach]

the idea that foam can contribute to puking honestly hadnt dawned on me lol and have noticed its worse with a grain bill and worse yet when i ferment on grain (which i do 99% of the time), i learned alot today Jesse thank you

[@RobertIsaac]

I've had some early success with fermenting rum or whiskey with my chosen yeast until it is done, then pitching something like EC-1118 to hit full attenuation. Getting rid of the sugar seems to help the problem immensely and the tiny bit of extra yield is a bonus. Gotta pull out your trub before repitching if you want to rinse and reuse the initial yeast. I have only done this a few times so it's just an anecdote for now.

[@TheNumbers400]

Elements sit near the bottom, therefor the hottest liquid sits there, once it boils it lifts the wash and blows up through. I run a recirculating pump that pulls hot liquid from the bottom and sprays it on top. It helps to pull CO2 out of a new wash and also increases surface area a whole lot for the spirits to escape from.

[@titahibayflier3160]

You could use Dimethylpolysiloxane (E900) which is a food approved antifoaming agent. Used in cooking oil and many other foods.

[@sgtshultz13]

Use some glucoamylase in your fermentation to help ferment out. Cold crash and clear your mash after fermentation. I use gelatin to clear.

[@wldtrky38]

I had a puke 1 time, so far. Too full and not de-gassed enough. A few drops of conditioner stopped it. Thanks Man 👍🥃👍

[@angrypastabrewing]

George did suggested to use butter to prevent puking. I did it with George Washington Rye Whiskey and it worked

[@alltheoutdoors]

thank you I get this once in a blue moon and would just turn the temp down, I like the sight glass at the bottom as well, going to buy a new one of those.

[@MegaDavyk]

To stop puking. 1.better control of temperature, 2.Do not fill the pot so high, 3.Throw a knob of butter in the pot to kill foaming, 4.Add a slobber box or thumper into your line.

[@MysticDonBlair]

Don’t forget crossing your fingers 🤞

[@blairmulholland]

Took the advice and put virgin olive oil in my wash. Stopped surging just fine, but ruined the final product. I don't know if i can carbon filter it and rerun it, but my batch tastes like olive vodka now. Yicch! I guess use a neutral, pure oil? Lesson learned, I'm just starting out with distilling.

[@deant6627]

I use Distillers conditioner along with ceramic saddles down the bottom of the boiler.

[@vtbn53]

Same here and have never had a puke, but I always find myself running out of it, which is a nuisance, I only use it as a bit of insurance when stripping the wash.

[@pieterbekker1313]

Been busy with my first all grain mash in my new still... I thought my still was broken until now hahaha. Thanks Jesse!

[@heathabshire3233]

Also make sure to degas your mash or wash getting out the co2 helps with puking and also help mash clear out faster also it improves the taste

[@okay2436]

I used (pure distilling) brand conditioner, the taste came through, it was horrible and tasted like cardboard. And that is PERMANENT.

[@AntoniNorman]

Thanks. Know this video is getting on a bit but adding a small amount of cooking oil fixed the issue I was having with the air still.

[@kb2vca]

I wonder if the problem with grain is less about not fully fermenting the mash than it is about a need to really boil the wort to create a protein break so that the proteins in the grain drop out of solution. The wort you collect after this "break" is then very low in protein. An inadequately boiled mash will result in a wort that is high in protein which will then form a net-like structure (think gluten in wheat) that tends to trap gas as the mash heats up in the still and that trapped gas can then push liquid up the column and so cause a boil over or a puke.. So , even if you are not boiling the wort because you are not adding hops you still need to boil it enough to create a protein break.

[@staffordjohnson3982]

I have heard abd it seems to work for me that after 20mins, the foaming us not an issue. As you mention it is likely the proteins breaking down, so if you just run slow for the first 20mins, you can crank it up after that.

[@raymondvanschaik117]

Thanks for the tips this was a problem for me to day for 4 striping runs.

[@fourdeadinohio8303]

i found out condenser temp will make a puke. i tried to use tap water to cool it and i guess with my set up it wasn't cold enough. i went back to the way i usually do it with ice water in my sink with a pump also ice in my condenser...no more puke.

[@LatinDanceVideos]

That’s a good tip on understanding the problem

[@DS-iy5sd]

I'm not sure that's right - a puke happens before it reaches the condenser.

[@davidrogers6262]

Jessie, I was hoping you would chime in on this subject soon. I have yet to use butter or conditioner but it did happen to me a couple of years ago. I think the culprit was over packing the column and a bit too much heat near the end of my run. Lost a good quart that had to be re- run in another batch so no harm no foul. No weird taste after running a second time. I just find heating slower is better. Hey, it's a slow process anyways. Lol 😆 Cheers!

[@CihangirD]

Do your first freze distilation. this way you half the valume that you need to boil, increase aromas and reduce puking. using this for long time. Note: if you live in cold climate you can do it outside, if your climate not getting cold enoug you need access to frezer.

[@MysticDonBlair]

That is a fantastic idea

[@gaspardtoulouse4172]

Thank mate Healthy knob of butter succeded where the conditioner failed... Amazing

[@gaspardtoulouse4172]

Was on all grain mash . Malted barley two row

[@davidpinnington213]

Useful - I’m about to start my distilling journey proper after upgrading from a airstill to a 2” modular pot/reflux running off a grainfather - found a lot of information here - cheeers from UK

[@Edgunsuk]

Hi also in the UK just started also 2 runs in , we should form a dynamic duo ! lol bought a t500 last week

[@davidpinnington213]

Edgunsuk - is that Leshiy Edgun?? Small world if so!! - I was going down the t500 route but started looking into what it can/can’t do and ended up going with a full copper rig from distilling.co.uk - bit more $$ than a t500 but I’ve got a 500mm pot (rum) or up to 1500mm gin column - cleaning run in next couple of days

[@mattjohnson9226]

As always good info!! Butter 🧈... who would of thought! Thanks for your time.

[@chrisreid2113]

Yeh its rough with 100% peated because I fill reasonably high (70%) fill volume. 35L in a 50L keg or 100L in a 130L boiler When ordering boilers please specify 'working volume' levels Coconut oil

[@ammerudgrenda]

I used a small amount of cream. That worked too. Similar to butter, I reckon.

[@TheJdm2203]

Good video Jess!! Thanks again!!

[@jeffcameron3192]

George mentioned puking in one of his videos and in the old days of wood fired boilers and they used slobber boxes. Slobber lol

[@brucekrisko4364]

Hey Jessy, great video. My first Rum wash ran with very little foam, thanks to Crisco shortening. No off flavors. Give it a try.

[@vtbn53]

LOL This ain't America buddy, but we DO have coconut oil. (Aussies check out Copha)

[@AndyDingfelder]

I know it’s a late response it they do sell a “vegetable shortening” in New Zealand - not called crisco, it’s called Kremelta

[@mikeweldon2347]

One table spoon of canola oil in 10 Gal. One t spoon in a 5 Gal. batch. Problem solved . THANKS JESSE

[@XavierTerrellOnline]

Agreed. All points.

[@XavierTerrellOnline]

Extra ceramic saddles works for me also.

[@mattkanaby974]

On a side note Bananas like to boil over also

[@navymark101]

Great vid, thanks...

[@jasongannon7676]

Love the show,

[@chucknaturale307]

I put a 3 gallon vapor chamber on top of my setup when i built it no puking ever.

[@elusive323]

I had this problem a couple weeks ago doing a Fodder Beet run,kept switching on and off the still was the only way i could get it not to puke lol.

[@340wbymag]

Your still is no different from a pot on the stove. If your pot (or still) is boiling over your heat is to high and your pot is too full. The cure is to reduce volume, reduce heat, and/or change the viscosity of your mash by adding water. Some recipes just foam terribly when they boil. You just have to adjust or suffer.

[@edingtonvilleonsea]

If you have a puke with butter or oil in your pot, good luck cleaning that grease out of your column.

[@barrywaters6336]

HI Jesse. Thanks for these tips. Had my first puke yesterday with a very dry 0.988 sugar wash of all things. I believe that I overfilled by the smallest of amounts but I lost my run and will re run tomorrow. Using a T500 column for my neutral run before producing Gin in the alembic. When I use the Alembic for the Gin run I insert a st st gauze (Actually one of thise frying pan covers to stop oil splashing out) with a silicon seal and on this I place around 25% of the botanicals used in the maceration process to extract more flavour. I'm thinking that this would break up any bubbles or foam forming at the surface and prevent them entering the column when distilling using the colum,n. What do you think? Additional info: I use a capfull of foam cut and ceramics in the boiler. I dont use my voltage controller until I do the second distillation but will do in future having listened to your vlog. I dont clear my wash (and have necer scorched my bottom :) I didnt offgas the wash so will also do this tomorrow although any gas which was in there wont be by now. Keep up the gret work Jesse.

[@MKIV2JZGT]

What about adding a slobber box to your distillation system.

[@BigEdsGuns]

I also mentioned it in comments in Jesse's last video. For those who don't know what a Slobber Box is. homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/Slobber_box homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/Thumper When running a thumper it can also act as a slobber box. It catches the puke, and the puke will end, and the distillation process continues as normal. Only time you have issues is when the thumper is too small, then puke will fill up the thumper and continue to the condenser. (Thumper size should be 1/3 or 1/2 size of boiler) I run a thumper that's the same size as my boiler. (15.5 gallon keg) Cheers Lynx Mkiv!

[@MKIV2JZGT]

@@BigEdsGuns that is true I just thought let me mention it, I know it is old school and some have tried to eliminate them from the system completely by making pots with onion heads but I still think both of them should have their places in distilling even in modern times. Cheers BigEdGuns

[@BigEdsGuns]

@@MKIV2JZGT They do. Especially on a stripping run when you want to max out the boiler. (I do not run slobber) After the run, just add the slobber box contents back into the boiler for the next strip/spirit run. Slobber boxers were designed out of necessity. The pot would be fueled by wood, which could overheat the boiler and cause a puke, and if the thumper was too small, it would puke into the worm in the flake stand. So a slobber box was added to catch the puke before it made it into the thumper. (Think 500 gallon submarine still with a 50 gallon thumper it could go bad very quickly.) Pot lyne arm diameter also has a lot to do with heat. Diameter is speed, so the larger diameter the greater the heat can applied. A 1/2 inch lyne arm is big choke point for how fast the vapor can pass through it. I run 3 inch arm necked down to 2 inch then into a 1 inch spear inside the 2 inch into the thump. The 2 inch exits the thump and into a 3 inch shotgun condenser. Similar to Chauncey's here: (But I run 220v electric and have 20 triclamps on my "Roller Coaster") homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=79428 Most I have ever run is 14 gallons in the boiler, and 10 gallons in the thumper. I also run a manometer to monitor the pressure in the boiler. Cheers Lynx Mkiv!

[@uyegidgg]

Would mesh in the column break the bubbles?

[@Bamaboompa]

Hi Jesse! Off topic question. I'm looking at Teespring & some others for drop ship tees for a small group. My main question is about print quality. Do you still have my contact info through HD? Thanks!

[@shadow4280]

American fuck yeah! Lmao thanks brother!

[@jasontutino1187]

Just puked a Rye run. Is the puke worth saving?

[@PexiTheBuilder]

Its like cooking: add butter to make it better :D If unpressured can't be carbonated, how it could be oxynated?

[@rickascii]

Oxygenated water has a lot less oxygen in it than carbonated water has co2 so it doesn't need as much pressure.

[@Tyresio12]

Hi! What's your opinion on using stoneware to age distillates?

[@expattyNZ]

Would having an agitator in the boiler help?

[@MysticDonBlair]

I would guess so. Kinda like stirring a boiling pot will keep the bubbles down when cooking on the stove.

[@Edgunsuk]

Hi , is there any point in doing stripping runs with a t 500 and a sugar wash ? also on the subject of this video im using ceramic saddles and a chemical conditioner , seems to be doing the trick, i am assuming broken pottery will do the same as ceramic saddles you just need t give the liquid a nucleation site to form bubbles BEFORE it surges .

[@oxfordweddingpiper]

Glass Marbles work quite well too

[@mr.c3367]

I put an anti foaming agent in my fermenter. I never worry about a hard ferment bubbling out of my fermenter.

[@Cleanshave50]

So I ran my first stripping run last weekend with an all grain wash before watching this video, it puked, I turned it down a bit and it stopped puking. Once finished it was pretty cloudy. I let it settle for 2 days and racked it off the layer of creamy crap that settled in the bottom of the glassware. The result is a not quite perfectly clear high wine. Will I get off flavours from this and need to bin it? Or do I need to run this through another stripping run? Or don’t worry and go straight to a spirit run

[@bennjanse]

Hi Sir, novice asking, can you distill a 1025 sugar wash, will it taste like tihs, or maybe just sweet alcohol, kind regards, Ben za

[@kamalgill3256]

Fermentation comverts sugar into alcohol which gets distilled out. So more sugar = more alcohol.

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

Don’t over fill pot. Add a little butter or oil. Run it slow it’s not a race. And unless your making money at this take your time.

[@016_]

Is it still safe to drink distillate boiled over?

[@blairmulholland]

If you like your alcohol tasting like shit, sure.

[@carlosprite]

If people thing there is not co2 in solution at the end of fermentation, they should try and shake their final hydrometer sample 😂

[@jasonharris3103]

Santa beard bahahahaha

[@louiel8711]

Sounds like ya'll need a thump keg, stops the puke kinda.

[@Boydegravesvlogs]

Just add some sugar to it 😄

[@StillDrew982]

Use your acting Gary!

[@PoppaLongroach]

the bear hasnt been around in over 2 weeks woohoo lol. goin to mash in batch saturday. i malted dent corn and sorted only the malted kernels and have 6 pounds of that. im using it with 2 pounds of white corn meal, 1.5 pounds of ground cooked rye, and 8 oz malted barley mostly for flavor. then splitting it with my son and aging it in out 1 ltr barrels. it goin keep the belly warm in deer season in 3 months lol

[@mattkanaby974]

ha first

[@scoopingdutchman4325]

You talk alot. But......