Couple of questions from the newbie

[Still maturing]

Hi all,
I have been practicing on sugar washes. Distilled 4 lots of 1 gallon charges, ditched the first 100mls as always, split my cuts into 12 x 100mls and kept the middle 8 (best smelling and tasting, no wet socks) from all 4 charges. I put all these together and distilled a second time. I ditched the first 100 mls again, first question is do I need to after the first round cut? Then I kept the middle 600mls (most neutral) and diluted to 40%. Tastes very smooth. Second question, should a 4.5 litre charge take just shy of 2 hours, or can I risk quality by turning up the heat a bit??
Thanks in advance!

[Anavrin]

Hi Still Maturing

You don't need to make any cuts on your first stripping runs, just collect everything.

You make cuts after your second run, this is your spirit run.

[Still maturing]

Thanks Anavrin, ok, that's good to know. So even if I start with a 20% sugar wash and first run takes it to about 60% I still dilute and run again? I only ran twice to get purer, but I guess that answers my own question.
Do I still ditch 100mls forshots each run?

[Curmudgeon]

Most folk are going to suggest keeping your wash down at 14% or less ie don't use turbo yeasts.

1st run is stripping run. Collect everything down to 30% abv (or below if you prefer, some will say 20%). No need to throw away fores or anything from the stripping run.

Overall % abv of this will be 50%+ and should be diluted to perhaps 30% (some will say 40%).

2nd run is spirit run. Throw away your foreshots (or keep in a jar marked do not drink, for fuel etc). Then collect in numbered jars or jars in a row and leave to air overnight or 24 hours or longer if practical. Cover them with cloth/tissue or whatever to keep bugs etc out but basically let them breathe before figuring what you like and don't.

Heads will very obviously smell like nail varnish remover etc and will have a front of tongue burny taste. Tails are trickier imo but are mostly described as wet cardboard/wet dog smell and just taste manky.

You can discard foreshots from both runs but it's not necessary. There is minimal methanol in fruit washes (edit : I mean washes of a size pertinent to this forum) and less or nil in sugar washes. Concentrating fores in the stripping run(s) and then discarding from the spirit run is fine and all the guides here such as 50 or 100ml are very much keeping on the safe side.

The heads can be kept for fuel/cleaning/redistillation or dumped and the tails can be kept for redistillation or dumped.

[Easydrinker]

Curmudgeons post explains it all for me.
Well done that man!
If you still need clarification, ask.

Robert.

[Still maturing]

Thanks Curmudgeon, it's good to see it all laid out in chronological order. Most of what you said I have read in bits n pieces, but now makes perfect sense. I'm just waiting for a batch of rum wash to finish, then I will try what you have just explained. Thanks. And n more turbo wash!

Is 2 hours for a spirit run about right, or can I up the temp? Also near the end my still puffs and pants, is this telling me something?

Thanks

[Easydrinker]

Is 2 hours for a spirit run about right, or can I up the temp? Also near the end my still puffs and pants, is this telling me something?

Thanks

2 hours is Ok, with an Air still, upping the temps risks messing with the integrity of the final product,-is it an airstill that you are asking about?
Puffs and Pants? Assuming that you have Rattley Copper bits in your still, then expect more noise towards the end of the run, as the temp. increases.

Robert.

[Curmudgeon]

He said it better than me

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=63759#p7440433

"Methanol poisoning has little to do with purity of the methanol but everything to do with total amount ingested. But methanol is not produced in sufficient quantities with grain or sugar fermentation for even home distillers to worry about. There are other less noxious products of grain/sugar fermentation which cause non-fatal problems like headache (hangover?) which are why we separate heads and tails from hearts. Methanol is modestly more noted with fermentation of fruits especially if fermented on the skin - small amounts of methanol are ubiquitous in fruit juices, cider, and wine but are never sufficient to cause methanol poisoning. True methanol poisoning is virtually always due to deliberate adulteration of spirits out of stupidity or criminal intent."

[Still maturing]

Hi Easydrinker, no it's a 5 litre alembic copper still that im using

Thanks Curmudgeon, feel safer to drink now lol.

[Easydrinker]

OK, the best advice that I can offer is not to throw anything on the strip runs.
Throw maybe the first 50ml on the spirit run.
If making a neutral from a sugar wash, do not try and run any faster than 2 hours.
With a flavoured wash, maybe spirit run faster, for more flavour.
But, hey, I have never run a still like yours, and that would just be my starting point.
Whatever makes you happy....

Robert.

[Runningman]

Well said Robert ma man