And if you rack before secondary is done, and if fermentation is above or below 20°C you will have more, or less complex compounds in the wash. Above 20° it takes a few days but you get the extra flavours beer swillers prefer, below 20° it takes weeks but the beer is cleaner and that's how lager is done. You want to brew a weak beer, less than 8%. Too much sugar with turbo Yeast and your beer is full of whatnot.
I would make my first run fast with no "cuts" This is the stripping run. Look, touch, smell, taste, measure constantly. This is the best way to learn. All the lightest alcohol and volatiles come first. This will be high ABV, above 80% All the heavy alcohols come over last. this cut is above 55% ABV down to zero, its the cut from heads to tails. Some great whiskies like Glenmorangie make this hearts to tails cut at 65% ABV
From 55% to about 40% is strong TAILS. from 40% to 25% is weak TAILS. Below that, it's you choice, taste v energy use. I usually strip to 20% or 15% although sometimes I keep all the tails in the wash and use that, the waste, now called backset, I use it to improve my next mash, and to use as below to dilute my strip to 25% for the second run. It boosts flavour.
These are your "low wines".use your senses. Touch. Let the drops onto your hand. Rub palms together. How does it feel, dry, wet, smooth as oil? Bring to your nose. Sharp and woody, sweet, fragrant, wet cardboard, pungent? From start to end you will feel and smell these and more. You are learning about all the range of constituents, there are at least half a dozen different alcohols in there. If it smells and feels good, then taste it.
Now water down your low wines to about 25% ABV. This helps clean up the spirits. When you do your second run, go slow, very slow at first. Ethanol is by far the largest product. But a few degrees cooler, before ethanol boils, you get methanol. It smells woody, feels dry on the skin. So let it drip on your palm, rub hands, smell hands. DO NOT TASTE. These are your foreshots (a few teaspoons) leading to Heads (a few tablespoons). If you go slow there's a quite sharp transition between cuts. Soon the feel gets less dry, oily, smells sweeter. Ethanol is coming now. When there is no smell or feel of heads, you should now taste a few drops diluted on a spoon. Start collecting your HEARTS now. But keep smelling, touching, looking, tasting. Every 100ml will progress thru a range of tastes. If it's a sugar wash, fruitbor molasses, the range is fascinating, moving from vodka, floral, vanilla, liquorice, toffee. Gradually after a few litres the heavier alcohols arrive as ethanol diminishes. You will detect Hearts are ending and TAILS are approaching. For grain washes this is where your best flavours are hidden.
There are not much tails nor heads by volume when compared to the hearts. But EVERY time you detect a change, start a new collector cup or bottle.
First the strong Tails. Sugars like molasses, or fruit brandies, these tails are not good. Dump or better, keep and re-run these. Their best tails are hidden till later. After strong are these weak tails.
Keep your bottles unstoppered for a few days. Then taste and start to blend all your favourites for ageing.
I always recycle the cuts or bottles I don't blend, the ones that don't make the cut go back into my next stripping run.Statistics: Posted by Casper — Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:04 pm
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