StillSmart

No need to take more fores. I'd take 300ml of heads, then collect in small 100ml amounts (small jars or glasses). Dip your finger in each after collecting and taste. You will see where the heads taste goes away. Collect the heads all together, dilute and run once you have 4L. Do not mix back in with the wash (waste of time and energy, as it is already partially distilled).

Chuck

Appreciated Chuck, thankyou.

At the end of the day, I don't really care about my losses at the moment. Its all a learning curve and am looking forward to sipping some real good homemade liquid gold in the future.

I have drunk some dodgy homemade wines in the past but this is a different level. Unless its made to the best of my ability, there is no point doing it.

Unless its made to the best of my ability, there is no point doing it.

Yeah. Quite agree.

I will confess to having a bias towards quantity early in my journey. Headaches (in the very early days) and an increasing awareness of what I could make have driven me on a quality goal. I am getting better every year. Well, give or take some Great Gin Disasters.

chill wrote:You really, really can NOT do this by measurements alone until you have a lot of experience and are running exactly the same wash time after time. And even then there will be subtle variations.

Case in point: I went to check the cuts on a run of my standard sugar wash that I distilled yesterday. For each 4L, I took 50ml of fores, 500ml of heads, and then collected in small 100ml jars. I was surprised that the fourth 100ml jar in still had a prominent heads taste and I could detect heads in the hearts. Obviously, something has done very wrong with this ferment. It has been hot lately and may have gotten infected. It never fully cleared. So all went back into a container and I will try again to see if anything can be salvaged.

Fermenting is gardening, not science.

Chuck

I think that I am agreeing with you there Chill,in both posts.
I started for low cost,easy alcohol.
These days I want the finest stuff that I can make,and if it means pouring low quality alcohol to waste,I am happy to do it.
Responsibly,as an organic weedkiller is one good use for it.
Sometimes distilling errors can be rectified,if not,lose it.
Hey,it's as cheap as chips.
Ferments going wrong can be much more problematic.

Robert.

Fermenting is gardening, not science.

I really like that - makes a lot of sense in a few words. there is an awful lot we still do not know about what yeast does and the way it does it.

Robert, I agree with you - I keep and use all my scrap alcohol. It is very good for keeping your bottles fresh, as well as screen wash and a surface cleaner. I had never thought of your use as a weedkiller are you spraying it on?

I had not considered spraying until your post.
Pouring,watering can style,seems to be as effective as spilling petrol when re-fueling the mower.
Might pour some into a bottle and try spraying.
May work as an insecticide,if not a herbicide that way.

Robert.

It's on the to do list now!