StillSmart

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-15T19:16:05+00:00

Mashy wrote:
Worry not, Frank, until I saw your post, and then read it probably I thought it was EARTHLIVING too.

hi guy's.....

just for the record

eat the living

yep miss spent child hood watching zombie flicks and horrors from the 80's..what a time

evil dead
zombie flesh eaters
nightmares in a damaged brain all good stuff

anyway started my strip and should have it all complete by Sunday.
then next weekend the spirit run.

Statistics: Posted by eattheliving — Fri May 15, 2015 7:16 pm

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-14T07:25:48+00:00

v4mpy wrote:
Do you still throw any away on your spirit run?

Cheers

As a result of your Q I have corrected a typo in my earlier post, apologies for the confusion

So, Yes, I do also throw away a similar amount of the first distillate on every spirit run.

The low wines that make up my spirit runs are the product of 3 stripping runs. This means that from 120 litres of wash I routinely discard a total of 2 litres of distillate as unusable and unrecoverable Foreshots. As I said, Overkill? Probably but it works for me.

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Thu May 14, 2015 7:25 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-14T06:19:12+00:00

@RumJohn - It's a 6% for a reason, a beer batch that went wrong and I been given it to recover the alc.

Statistics: Posted by v4mpy — Thu May 14, 2015 6:19 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-14T06:13:11+00:00

@v4mpy: That calc will work. But with only 6%, I would be wondering what the hell I did wrong.

Statistics: Posted by RumJohn — Thu May 14, 2015 6:13 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-13T19:22:32+00:00

I have recently taken to running off the first 500ml of distillate from every 40lt stripping run direct to the drain

AidanMac - What % are your washes?
Am I right in thinking if your wash is 12% and you throw away 500ml then if I have a 6% wash do I throw 250ml away?
Do you still throw any away on your spirit run?

Cheers

Statistics: Posted by v4mpy — Wed May 13, 2015 7:22 pm

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-12T14:31:09+00:00

Worry not, Frank, until I saw your post, and then read it probably I thought it was EARTHLIVING too.

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Tue May 12, 2015 2:31 pm

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-12T09:55:05+00:00

FTR"@Earth....." was typed as, I suspect, "@Eatthe....." prior to the wonderous world of android auto-spell correction.
Rest easy, Easydrinker (and feel free to guess which 'type' I am too )

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Tue May 12, 2015 9:55 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T23:22:39+00:00

OK Frank,please don't take umbrage,but were you on the loopy juice before that post?
We don't have a member named Earth.Was the post directed at me?
I was referring above to flavoured washes,not attempts at "neutrals",where I also throw away "fores".
Equally,take it with as much salt as you wish,but I think that I had a hangover once, Chinese new year,1987,I think it was.
Some may consider it a blessing,for me it is a curse,but if you don't suffer ill effects from excessive alcohol consumption,then my only reasons for not going there are work or driving related.
My experience has shown two types of drunkenness,the aggressive pick a fight person,and the person that wants to embrace the world and sing songs.
Guess which type I am...

"See the little pixie,see his little hat....."

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Sun May 10, 2015 11:22 pm

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T11:48:20+00:00

+1 Aidanmac
@Earth....: the thing is, you will know (by experimentation and practice) where your personal 'sweetspot' is regarding a regular, reliable, reality-affecting spirit lies.....BUT, here's a great tip from this forum.....
(mate, I assume you would agree that it lies FAR beyond those day-after, head-thumping typical hangover reality scenes)
when you make-your-own....subject to judicious fractions/cuts....you will find yourself and those you choose to share your bounty with in a better place, everytime

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Sun May 10, 2015 11:48 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T08:55:27+00:00

Foreshots and Heads are the stuff of mighty headaches and rumbling, growling, internal body plumbing, make no mistake about it but, in the working of our craft it is completely at your discretion to Cut or Not to Cut.

For me, the discovery that, after years of practice and learning, I can make the types of spirits my family and friends enjoy, and make them discernibly better than commercially produced spirits and that those I produce have little or no 'morning after' effects, was a hugumungus discovery, to say the least. This is achieved by removing the Foreshots and Heads from every batch of spirit I produce.

I have recently taken to running off the first 500ml of distillate from every 40lt stripping run direct to the drain rather than let it into my low wines storage kegs and I do the same again on each spirit run. Overkill? Of course it is but I enjoy the peace of mind that there are none of those nasty elements, that make up what we call Fores, in my finished spirits and that allows me a wide smile whenever someone raises a glass with my spirits in it.

I know there are those who will immediately say that the classic Scotch Whiskies cannot be improved on or beaten by home distilling but I'd give them an argument Not because I think I can do better but because I couldn't care less, I never cared for the taste or mouthfeel of Scotch or Irish whiskies

AidanMac

p.s. If I were making my spirits for profit I too might use every drop from the condenser

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Sun May 10, 2015 8:55 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T08:33:06+00:00

"it's quite twee but there's probably some electronic gizmo doing that somewhere else !"

LOL

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Sun May 10, 2015 8:33 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T08:26:38+00:00

Yup totally agree with ED. visit a distillery

There you will observe that the moveable output from the spirit still in the spirit safe has only 2 positions Hearts collection and feints so both foreshots and heads plus the feints go into the same tank

Rather than a parrot he can take hydrometer readings inside the safe too it's quite twee but there's probably some electronic gizmo doing that somewhere else !

Statistics: Posted by Admiral Toad — Sun May 10, 2015 8:26 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-10T00:50:42+00:00

So you are going to strip run,and then spirit run.
From the strip you will keep everything.
From the spirit run you will make cuts.
Myself,on a flavoured whisky spirit run, I am currently recycling everything but the hearts to a feints receiver and re-running,cut with the next lot of spirit to be distilled.
Some here may advocate chucking the fores.
None of the Scottish distilleries do,and so don't I.

After a Gazillion distillations there is a chance that some higher alcohols may leach through to your hearts,but by then you ought to be able to taste it in your cuts.
Equally,the Angels should be keeping you in balance,if you air the cuts.

Take a Scottish distillery tour and and ask about "fores" and "heads".
And take your childhood comfort piece with you,because if you believe all that you read
on here you may need it.

HTH

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Sun May 10, 2015 12:50 am

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-09T12:16:37+00:00

thanks guy's for the info.

should have been a bit clearer I suppose.

I'm doing a malt whiskey and thought that I may have to discard the first 30 to 50 ml (per 25 ltr wash) as this maybe methanol (maybe) in other words very very bad for you if left in?

cheers

Statistics: Posted by eattheliving — Sat May 09, 2015 12:16 pm

Re: all grain single malt strip

2015-05-09T10:49:57+00:00

Yup collect right down to 10% or less

When you do the spirit run I generally cut the hearts at low 60% area then again run right down with the tails

Next spirit run you do, add the tails (and heads if you like) and this is how the flavour profile builds up as so much of the grain flavour is in the low percentage area

Basically it's what the big boys done and IMHO it's worked for me

Statistics: Posted by Admiral Toad — Sat May 09, 2015 10:49 am