StillSmart

Hi All
following alot of great advice and alot of info i decided to try a double distil. this is how its going.

unfortunately my wash (made with the turbo yeast pack from still spirits) only came out at 10%. i have been informed that this may be due to the fermentation ending early?? next tyime im planning on making the wash with the lentil recipe.

out of my 25ltr wash i got around 23lrts out due to the messy carbon at the bottom of the bucket and could not syphon any more out.

then from the 4ltr strip runs thru the still ive been getting around 1200ml at 50% then it the abv started to drop, so i stuck at just taking that instead of going anymore, i think this was the right choice??

i am still waiting for the last strip run to complete but so far i have approx 9ltrs at 30% ready for the spirit run(with the last strip run still to add).

and up to now thats as far as i have got. does this all sound ok? or could i have made any improvements?

Tom.

Don't get too greedy with wash ABV. Above 12-14% you will run into problems. Make more wash, not stronger wash.

1200ml at 50% sounds correct for your wash and still.

It sounds like you are on the right track and doing everything correctly!

Chuck

On a 10% wash your collection sounds reasonable.
I use turbos sometimes,but not the ones requiring carbon in the wash.
I usually,with a steady hand only lose a litre total on the initial rack to settle,and second rack into the boiler.
I wish you well with the spirit runs,and good product.
Robert.

Looks like Chuck got here before me!

As long as your wash has not stalled, 10% is more than acceptable. I generally shoot for 11-12%, but certainly no higher. At this early stage of the process, a high ABV percentage for the wash might seem desirable but the end result will probably not be as good as a lower wash ABV.

Patience in all phases of the process will pay off. From the wash through distilling. Even at that point, what you have made will likely improve if allowed to sit around for a few months.

When distilling, do not attempt to get all you can out of the still. Collecting thst extra 30 minutes worth can stuff up the whole run. And for no gain.

just done first spirit run.

from the 4 ltr wash in the still i discarded the first 50ml, then kept 250ml heads, and got 1200ml hearts the tails run is still running, i think im doing right by running the tails run collecting in 100ml jars until it drops to 30%??

i have diluted my hearts which was around 65-70% and from the 1200ml i have 1800ml of 40% spirit.

does this sound right?

I am not sure which instructions you are following. 1200ml hearts from a 30%, 4L still charge seems high to me. I usually to do this
- toss first 50 ml
- collect next 250 ml as definitely heads
- collect next 400 - 500ml in 100 ml jars (actually 1/2 of a 200 ml jar x two spirit runs) as possibly heads (usually 300 gets set aside at heads)
- collect until still output drops to 70 ABV as hearts
- collect until still output drops below 55 ABV in 100 ml jars as possibly tails (usually only 200ml at most is kept as hearts)

Let air and taste the small jars to determine if they go in with the hearts or are kept as heads or tails.

I suspect you have 1200ml of hearts, heads, and maybe tails combined.

Chuck

chilly Chuck: So do you use a parrot with your air still, or how are you determining your ABV% on the fly, particularly in your hearts catch?

How much hearts do you generally collect on such a hypothetical 4L, 30% ABV run?

Do you stop at 55% ABV just to avoid the really reeky stink tails?

I think there may be an Alcometer problem here.

10%ABV in a 4lt Airstill batch is equal to 400ml of 100%ABV (pure Ethanol) in that batch.

So, a 1200ml batch stated to be 50% ABV would be equal to 600ml of 100% ABV (pure Ethanol) which is 50% more than actually exists in a 10% wash

As I said....Alcometer problem, either with the meter itself or with it's use! I suspect it may be with the way it's being used.

The Alcometer must be used to measure the strength of the distillate as it is running from the still rather than measuring the strength of everything that has been collected.

If you don't have a Parrot the only way to correctly monitor the strength of the distillate is to occasionally collect 100ml from the still, in a trial jar, and take a reading with the Alcometer.

With a 10% wash you'll do well to get 1000ml from the stripping run by the time the ABV of the distillate coming from the still has dropped to 20%. What's collected from the Stripping Runs is called Low Wines.

Even though the ABV at the spout of the still has dropped to 20% the entire 1000ml of Low Wines collected will have an ABV of around 45-50% which you can then dilute to 30% for the Spirit Runs

On the Spirit Runs an Alcometer is of little use, except when it comes to dilution after the Spirit has been aired. I suggest you toss it all back in the still and run it again following the guide published here. The figures should work for you then

Hope this helps

AM

"The Alcometer must be used to measure the strength of the distillate as it is running from the still rather than measuring the strength of everything that has been collected".

i think this may be were i made a boo boo

but i must admit it tastes 100% better than the tish i was drinking from my first single run before xmas.

@ aidanmac your saying to put it all back in the still. is this stuff still drinkable? cos as i said its a far better smoother taste than the last lot.

if it is drinkable i may just have to drink it and put it down to experience as im planning on starting a lentil wash today and start afresh with that one.

and lastly WHATS A PARROT?? apart from being a bird. or am i missing something obvious.

You may find this photo helpful if you don't have a parrot, like me.. ....
so I came up with this...stand your trial jar with your hydro in a large bowl under the outlet. As the distil starts to drip it'll fill the jar, you get a better reading...when the jar is full tip into glass jar and carry on until you get to the tails.

I'm not to sure, I think mine full is around 150ml...which is handy to know.

Alcometers come in various sizes so the 'right, trial jar for you will depend on the size of your particular Alcometer but, as a general guide, you should buy a trial jar that is big enough so that when the Alcometer is in it, with no liquid, the 100% line is 1" below the lip of the jar

AM

Veddy intelesting, monsieur Fevere. Of the whole thing I especially like the copper spigot you've added to the rig. I need to do that. Is any soldering involved?

What I've been doing is collecting in small batches of 100-150ml, and testing each as they get filled (if I'm looking for a certain number). It's a little clunky. I may try something along the lines of what you're showing. Thanks!

tomemmett: search "distiller's parrot." It's a catching device that gives you a running specific gravity/%ABV There are several people's examples of homemade ones onsite and instructions on their construction.

You can buy them online, but they're a bit spendy - and if you read around you'll find the advocacy of their use, and opinions of their utility, are varied.

My alcometer cost almost £20 some years ago and does not seem to be consistent.

I collect 3L of hearts per T500 run and each litre measures 92%. My maths says a litre will dilute to 2.3L of 40%abv. I add 1.3L of water and then get a reading of 45%abv.

Temps are the same for both measurements. Maybe it's something to do with the tap water I use for the dilution? I took the easy way out and now dilute each litre of hearts to 2.5L.

Tom, my rule of thumb is 1Kg of white sugar = 1L of 40%abv product. As long as it's close to that, no worries.

I don't have a parrot, too lazy to make one. :-) I do what Aidan said, "If you don't have a Parrot the only way to correctly monitor the strength of the distillate is to occasionally collect 100ml from the still, in a trial jar, and take a reading with the Alcometer."

I'd expect to collect around 500ml of hearts from a single run, to be added to from the head and tails sample jars after an airing and a tasting. I do a lot of different washes (sugar, fruits, rums, whiskeys) so I rely on ABV readings more than amount collected to determine where to start collecting in small jars again.

Chuck