new t500 owner looking for 1st run peer review.

[Brewhunter]

Your cuts need to be smaller around 150ml
You need to use some sort of conditioner
And you'll need to dilute your spirit to 30%
and rerun (spirit run) if you want something drinkable.

[Curmudgeon]

You don't need to make cuts on both runs. The first is a stripping run and separates some/most of the funk from nutrients and especially from turbo yeasts and your output would be drinkable but not great. Collect it all in one container, water it down to 30% and do your spirit run, making cuts as you and brewhunter have described. and the quality will be much much better.

Even though you are using T500, it's still worth reading the guide in the distilling section to see how many people benefited from starting to double distill.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=765

[Curmudgeon]

No, just make cuts on your 2nd (spirit) run. On 1st (stripping run) you want all the alcohol you can get and just to lose impurities and dodgy flavours, so run it full tilt without worrying about the 15 mins reflux etc.

You can throw a tiny amount out from start of first as well as second runs if you are concerned about methanol etc and can make cuts on both runs, but it really isn't at all necessary.

Don't be afraid to take a sample from the middle of the first run and water to 40% for drinking and comparison to the product of doing a double run. It won't be at all dangerous and in honesty, some people can't tell the difference.

[Curmudgeon]

abv doesn't matter for a stripping run. Say your wash is 25 litres and is 10% abv. That means you have 2.5 litres of 100% alcohol (theoretically, as you can't ever get past 97%, I believe).

You can strip a theoretical 5 litres at 50% or 4 litres at 62.5% or whatever it is at 90% or whatever but you aren't creating alcohol and you are still going to dilute down to 30% and re-run through the still again, so it doesn't matter which apart from time and electricity/other fuel. (note that you will get maybe 80% efficiency and will initially want every drop of alcohol possible, but will gradually choose quality over quantity when you realise that cheap spirits (as good as shop bought) are £1-2 a bottle and way better than any shop bought are £3-4 max to make.

quick edit on review of thread : many "quality" shop brands will claim double/triple distilled and/or filtered and that is why we do the same, to improve quality. However, always remember that we don't need maximum product volume, so can afford to lose/recycle more heads and tails and get the finest produce and no hangovers ever.

[Curmudgeon]

I promise your first batch will match supermarket quality (maybe with a little mixer disguise) and you'll gradually move from science to art. I am easily pleased with vodkas and rums, but the gin guys are the experts and they can and do beat the £30 and £40+ shop stuff. Whiskeys take time but you can do those too and Easydrinker will guide you.

Edit : Biggest potential problem is you'll miss the "bite" from commercial booze as they leave some heads in which is where the headache comes from. Literally heads gives headache and tails gives well, runs.

[Brewhunter]

Temperatures I will aim for are 67 or below for stripping and 55 or below for spirit, that works for me but we are all different

[Brewhunter]

Also I wouldn't worry about refluxing just yet just get the water on when it starts to drip and control the temp with the water.

[Curmudgeon]

needmorstuff, good luck telling your wife that the corporates make better food than her.

[Easydrinker]

I think everone else said everything.
Strip it fairly fast.
Dilute to sub 30%.
On the spirit run allow some heads compression.High water flow/cooling.
Wind it back a little.
Collect in as many small samples as you can manage.
Leave a couple of days and make your cuts.
If impatient, dilute the ones from the middle and enjoy!

Robert.

[Chubbs]

Good luck with your first brewday needmorestuff.

I'm in the same situation as you mate, new to the game and new to owning a T500. That's how I ended up on this forum in the first place. Promises of supermarket quality with only one run through according to the instructions. After a few failed attempts I decided to learn how to do it properly.

Still reading up at the moment but will hopefully be using my T500 in the next week or so for the first time. Just about to stick the first of my two fermenters in the freezer !!.

Let us know how you get on.

[Curmudgeon]

Only one change required

taste the cuts @ 40%, flavour heads and tails as bourbon/dark rum etc

This should read Keep heads and tails until you have enough to re-distill in what is called a feints run when more hearts can be extracted.

[Curmudgeon]

In fairness, I run a pot still which is a different beast so there may not be any benefit in running heads again so you may choose to keep them for cleaning purposes or throw them out, but I believe there is still good alcohol in your tails

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 63&t=13261 refers to a pot still, but has good info and http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 63&t=13264 is for a still not unlike the T500

[Brewhunter]

You can expect as much tails as heads if you get your cuts right.
Also your tails will be much easier to identify by taste rather than smell.

[Curmudgeon]

I haven't stopped answering. I just answered a lot and think you'd benefit from others stepping in with more relevant knowledge.

Basically, you know all you need to know and now have to experiment and do the experience stuff so you can advise others.

With regards to homedistiller.org site, a lot of them wave their dick in public but are really good guys if you privately message them and say you are a newbie.

[Easydrinker]

so a 3rd distillation of heads and tails (feints run) produces more hearts? say I keep 1 litre per run @ 90% giving me 3 litres at 90% diluted down to 9 litres at 30% - what would the typical heart yield be off of that?

I think I did see a diagram on the forum that went over this but it looked a little complicated for a first timer.

Guestimating that you may get a litre from such a run.

Curmudgeon,seems to be taking my job here,being such a helpful chap.

I have no issues with homedistiller.org these days, as I do not have enough time to drop by.

That may be good, it may be bad
Life is short, don't waste it.

Robert