StillSmart

hi, been homebrewing for 10yrs maybe but new to all this stilling ive done made me a few successful runs with the t500 really and enjoyed the outcome, just been reading through a few posts and got me a thinking about yeast.... forgive me if this has already been answered but here goes either way

ive been using turbo yeasts still spirits triple and general and read that you could use alinsons bread yeast or bakers yeast with added nutrients or a 1/2 & 1/2 mix, I was just wondered weather this would produce more methanol? I know I know I know its a daft newby question but hey im a daft newby and its been bugging the life out of me lol


thanks for any replies

No, you can't get methanol from fermenting sugar. Fermenting cellulose (fruit, grain) will produce SOME methanol.


Chuck

Thanks for the reply, everyone said throw away the 1st 50mls - 100mls I throw 200 better to be safe if I use grain I only ever use 2kg flaked maize so 200 mls should cover any if any methanol then or ami chuckin away valuable likker lol

A better safe than sorry is a good mantra. That said, on a recent distillery tour (Glendronach) I saw their run times,

15mins heads
7.5 hours hearts
xxx hours tails (I don't remember)

So commercial whisky is full of what I would class as heads, but I'm also not waiting 3 years to drink my product, I would imagine "some" of those nasty bits would be lost to the angels.

With minimal cuts you'll be taking out most of the nasty parts. If it doesn't smell good, or taste good, then don't drink it, recycle it. your nose and tongue is way more powerful a guide than using a set measure.

I've heard there is more methanol in a glass of orange juice than there is in a bottle of whisky.

Seriously orange juice? Thats mad, well yeah better to be safe than sorry rightly or wrongly its 200mls for me and I enjoy the results of my t500 im told you dont get noticable tails from the t500 just throw away the heads and your golden

I think you are confusing foreshots and methanol. You absolutely should be discarding what comes out at the beginning regardless of what you think is in it. Acetone is part of it. Methanol forms an azeotrope with alcohol, you can't separate them by distilling.

The only cases of methanol poisoning from a drink (commercial or moonshine) that I know of resulted from someone adding methanol to give it more of a kick. Don't do that.

Chuck

I have never used a T500, but it will not be the equipment that that determines the mount of tails/fusil oils. It will come from the beer you have fermented. Same with heads and foreshots. A grain wash will have more than a simple sugar wash.

Thanks everyone youve been a big help and agaain my apologies for the newby question, everywhere ive read about the t500 is saying that you dont get noticable tails apparently everydrop apart from the heads is useable alcohol, ive only done 3runs with my t500 and ive had fantastic results from all 3 and I believe that to be tru e ery drop was as good as the one before

So you only discard 200ml and then start collecting hearts? I know nothing about the T500, but I am guessing that you are getting heads in with your hearts. 200ml is probably a lot for fore-shots, but not enough for all of the heads.

Can a more experienced T500 owner comment?

Chuck

Direct from the user guide says that once you throw away your heads/foreshots the book and instructin dvd says this is 50mls on here its anything from 50-100mls I chuck 200ml sod it im not to 100ml better to besafe, the instruction book and dvd and other users have said that there are no recognisable tails with the t500 every drop is of quality alcohol,

I think theres a video from a guy who works for "wineworks" that goes into details about this, eitherway ivenad great success from the t500, my understanding iss that once the alcohol has been distilled then the t500 will stop collecting alcohol and stop dripping


Hey im just a newby doing what im told all I can say is im more than happy with the t500 so far

"every drop is of quality alcohol" Mmmmm, no. It may shut down at the tails, but you are drinking heads. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethyl_acetate Learn to make cuts. You head, mouth, and stomach will thank you. What you are drinking won't kill you, but it is not ethanol. Do NOT trust the instructions that came with the machine. They are trying to sell ease of use and quantity of product, not quality of product. Your call really, but not for me, thanks.

Chuck

http://www.wineworks.co.uk/uploads/SS_T ... sion_7.pdf

Please read "step 8" of the user guide, the dvd that even came with it says the same and theres a interesting video that goes into great detail about the t500 how to operate and they all say every drop apart from the heads is usable, ive made 3 runs with the t500 and ive tasted the last few drops and the tasted as good as the 1st few,

As a novice myself I learn from other users of the same but ignoring other users of the t500 would make me a fool but hey im only doing what ive read up on and seen and leart along the way, I dont often join forums because you always get pushed and pulled into someone elses method of doing things too many chiefs not enough indians, I bow down to the masters read what they write learn from what I see, I had a quextion and its been answered now were moving onto googling links and pasting them

Wikipedia is a load of old dohsh1t I would trust a real person and a guide that came with it 9times out of 10 and twice on sunday over winki

Everybody has their own preferences and you should always follow your own common sense.

I run a 50l keg boiler and on the spirit run I routinely chuck 250ml as fores then I set aside 1000ml in three lots, (500ml, 250ml and 250ml), as possible heads. After airing, usually just the last 250ml gets into my Whisky.

After that I collect the distillate as Hearts in 750ml lots until I reach a point where I expect the Heart to end then I change to collecting in 250ml lots checking regularly for tails, some of which are required for my Whisky, but only a little

AM

jimbob wrote: every drop apart from the heads is usable

Every drop you collect after discarding the fore shots (not heads) is, as the manuals,DVD's say, usable.drinkable. You are correct there,

However....

Having been t500ing for a good few months now, I started like you by just mixing it all up together (after fore shots) and was very happy with the results. Like all hobby's you tend to experiment and I started to make cuts as described elsewhere around here.

Did it make a difference to the finished product, yes, I have to admit it did. Using jars of pure hearts only and recycling the heads and tails into the next run, made a better end product.

However....

I no longer bother, I'm back to collecting it all, (after fore shots) and just using that, the difference for me and the couple of samplers that I allow to indulge in my hobby are perfectly happy with the end product from a full run.

I have done a couple of the double distils as mentioned above or another thread, i.e 2 runs, watered to around 25-30% then distilled again. That was really smooth but again, for me, not worth the effort to do every time. I will probably do a double distil run for Christmas, ne'rday bottles but that will be the only time.

I would suggest that you maybe experiment with cuts, if you think it's worth it, do it, same goes for dbl/trip distilling. It's up to you

There is only the one rule written in stone. "Discard the fore shots" Everything else is flexible.

Guys, I'd be the first to defend everybody's right to distill in their own way and drink whatever you want, but I'd offer this opinion and advice to go with that.

It is established distilling fact that recycling the majority of the heads and the tails of the distillate is a best practice and will ensure a clean final product that will not cause bad headaches, jippy tummy or the screaming pyackies or other conditions which even more technical names

While these elements are not inherently dangerous, in and of themselves, and can be consumed, if you are prepared for the possible consequences which may not be immediately obvious or noticeable, it is generally advised by experienced distillers hereabouts and on other forums, that careful cuts should be made to your distillate to ensure a pleasant and safe drinking experience.

One of the "must have" attributes for good distillers is patience. With your own still you will produce much more spirit than you can ever consume so take a little time to make it as good as possible.

In any case it would be preferable if new distillers learn the "right" way before venturing into the Dark Side of drinking everything out of the condenser.

AM