Airstill Questions.

[Moonraker]

I've been studying this forum for a few days and pretty sure that an airstill will suit my needs but have a few questions I've not seen answers too.

1) if making gin using a sputnik type infusion method would you do the infusion on the spirit run or do a Third run to do the infusion?

2) i have some home made wine I'd like to destill, I'm thinking follow the same methodology of a stripping run then spirit run. I'm just curious really am i likely to end up with brandy flavours from this or is it going to be more neutral?

That's all the questions I have at the moment but I'm surprised from my reading that your all mainly using bread yeasts for fermenting but I shall start the same way.

Going to get a kale wash started in a day or two and if I havnt managed to get a used airstill by the time it's ready will hit the buy button on a new one. Anyone selling?

[gaza the instructor]

Hi moonraker, I can only tell you what I would do personally
1. I would use a Sputnick, they are easy to make and brill.
Make sure your cullander is a good fit, you want all the
vapours going thru it.
I use finished neutral then no cuts.
Loads of good recipes on here for you to try.
The bay is quite a good place for botanicals.

2 Not done wine ,but cider to make apple brandy.
fill AS lots of copper coins in the bottom,i also use a cap
of distilling conditioner or tsp cooking oil.
Strip to 25%, add back into empty still top up with wine and
repeat.Make sure you are under 40% b4 you run.
This should carry the flavour thru and each run will get
stronger.
Bread yeast is good and cheap, need to keep temp in mid 20s c
and 5kg sugar per 25ltr is a good limit.
Kale juice gives a brill neutral, Iuse all the time but there
are others.
I would buy new search the nett for price.
Happy hunting

PS
You will always use and keep your As. Have had mine 4 years
and use at least twice a month, mostly for Gin, brill

[Moonraker]

Thanks Gaza, love the idea of topping up with wine rather than diluting with water.

[gaza the instructor]

Yes as you go thru the runs it will get stronger
and add flavour.

[Moonraker]

I would buy new search the nett for price.
Happy hunting

Oh go on then you talked me into it. had to raid the old piggy bank twice this morning once for the still and then managed to find 39 p of non magnetic 1p and 2p coins which are being cleaned up.

The triple distilled yeast that comes with it, is that the one here people rubbish? Worth using or Chuck it out?

[Mash]

USe it. Tis free. Have a good and then you can compare. The thing to chuck away is the instructions.

I have run many litres of wine through my AS. I freeze it first, to cut down the number of runs. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4355&p=42098&hilit=Freeze+stripping#p42098

Didn't quite get the gist of your comment about topping it up with Wine instead of water tho' ??

[gaza the instructor]

Mash 4ltrs of wine @10% will give you 800ml or so
striped to 20%. clean still add the 800ml and top
up with wine. You are refining the flavour and
completing your strip. Then water to 30% and spirit
run. I have only done it with cider and end result
was good.
Moonraker sorry dont know how much wine you had.

[Moonraker]

3 stripping runs and a spirit run completed on some of the wine I had laying around, cuts and hearts now airing and will do a tasting to select what to keep and recycle.

On the stripping runs the I could detect the tails (cardboard type smell) shortly after collecting 800ml and stopped collection at this point. I had expected the same with the spirit run, but never got to smell this even though I let it run on and on into a tails jar at the end. I guess because I didn't collect this on the stripping runs?

Kale wash is now fermenting to have a go at some gins and got some mollasses on order to try some dark Navy Rum, then it will be a whisky from grain, loving this addition to my brewing, so many plans goodness knows what I shall do with it all, I'm not a big spirit drinker but at least some of it may get to age.

Brandy tasted good in my coffee this morning, straight from the still

[Mash]

Good man. Its making you grin.

PS spirit run is a different affair. Experience will prevail.

[gaza the instructor]

Well done mate you have to try your hand at
Rum and Gin.
Dont know if there is any left but Amazon
had Molasses sugar @£2 perkg.
My latest Rum is 3ltrs Blackstrap and 3kg
molasses sugar, vit tablets and Dead yeast,
topped off with 50g Allinsons for25ltrs.
Thats quite a dear one @ £9.75 a go.
Should make 3 or ltrs of good Rum.
So in all not bad @ £3 odd per ltr.
Only draw back will not drink till late summer
more like Autumn or Xmas, will be ageing with
toasted oak till then.
Gin yes make it, drink it, so make some more!!!!!

[Easydrinker]

3 stripping runs and a spirit run completed on some of the wine I had laying around, cuts and hearts now airing and will do a tasting to select what to keep and recycle.

On the stripping runs the I could detect the tails (cardboard type smell) shortly after collecting 800ml and stopped collection at this point. I had expected the same with the spirit run, but never got to smell this even though I let it run on and on into a tails jar at the end. I guess because I didn't collect this on the stripping runs?

Kale wash is now fermenting to have a go at some gins and got some mollasses on order to try some dark Navy Rum, then it will be a whisky from grain, loving this addition to my brewing, so many plans goodness knows what I shall do with it all, I'm not a big spirit drinker but at least some of it may get to age.

Brandy tasted good in my coffee this morning, straight from the still

Just a couple of points.
If you are distilling even barely drinkable wine there should be little tails.
The best wines make the very best spirits.

If you stop collecting before lower volatiles
(tails) appear on a strip run, they will not be present in a spirit run.

It is good to see you experimenting.

Robert.

[Moonraker]

I see it often mentioned on here about saving your heads and then doing a run with heads only but is there any reason I can't just add them along with the tails when I do a stripping run?

Don't think I will collect enough to do a heads only run for a while and don't want lots of bottles hanging round.

[Easydrinker]

Some folk do that.
I prefer to treat heads separately as I believe it is less time and effort.
8 litres of my heads may yield 1 litre of spirit to be diluted.The rest is fire lghting fluid, or whatever use you find.
I only rarely re distill tails these days.
Unless making malt whisky, when there is a reason, I deem it better to limit the number of times a still runs heads.
The method that you propose will see the portion of unwanted heads slowly grow in volume, along with the volume of tails.
A combined heads and tails run with the standard Airstill only needs 4 lires when watered down to sub 30%.
There are many ways to milk this chicken, I have settled upon mine, maybe after experimentation you will find a system that works for you.

Robert.

[Mash]

Don't think I will collect enough to do a heads only run for a while and don't want lots of bottles hanging round.

Use them as cleaner / lighter / antifreeze

[Moonraker]

And this week's most used kitchen appliance award goes to .
......... The airstill.

Been experimenting with gins, just small batches 1/2 litre of Neutral at 40% some water and then experimenting with ingredients, airstill is great for that.

Running low on wine to strip down, at least what I have left tastes good so will probably stay as wine and my kale wash still has a long way to go. Started off a rum today 3 jars molasses and some Madeira sugar, used the wine equivalent of Dunder to lower the ph a bit as it's my first rum.

Oh and my first spirit run of brandy tasted great and is taking on a nice colour from the oak it's aging in.

Dishwasher gets second place award what with all the bottles collection jars etc.