Airstill, Best Practice and Results

[Duffer26]

Ok, new here so hi to everyone.

I'm a Virgin distiller with an Airstill. I ran off as per their instructions and, well....NO!

I filtered off 1L and I will drink it because I swore I will never buy alcohol again,
and (like any true scientist) I'm curious to see what this will do to me.

Luckily I found this thread before I filtered off the rest.

Having studied the brilliant guide I also read this entire thread 17 times.
Luckily all my stupid questions have already been asked and patiently answered.

So what I've done with my renaming engine cleaner is to dilute it down to 8L @ 28%,
giving me 2 spirit runs.

Thanks everyone here and i'll let you know how I get on.

[Easydrinker]

Best of luck with the engine cleaner/de-greaser!

Robert.

[gaza the instructor]

Well done you are in for a pleasant surprise.

[Duffer26]

I tried drinking it, I really did.

Only managed about 300ml, it's just too bad.

I chucked the rest in with the stripped wash.

Spirit run happening RIGHT NOW!

[gaza the instructor]

good man make your cuts carefully,
and let it breath b4 you do.
Good luck happy stillin

[Curmudgeon]

good man make your cuts carefully,
and let it breath b4 you do.
Good luck happy stillin

+1 to this. A finger dipped in the early jars will clearly smell of nail varnish remover type stuff and be burny if you insist on tasting it and the marginal jars will definitely be better after airing for a day or to.

I did throw out most of my first effort (turbo 48 yeast) as I finally admitted it wasn't worth trying to fix any more and I've recently dumped some wine and some wash that went awry while I was on holiday for reasons I'm unsure of, so you may find yourself doing that the odd time but it is the exception.

[Easydrinker]

It is better, IMHO, to throw, or redistill dodgy stuff.
You have travelled this far down the road.

Why drink rubbish at this stage?

May your efforts reward you.

Robert.

[Curmudgeon]

I hate agreeing with Robert as it makes him nervous but this time I do

I would re-distill it once more, let it breathe for a bit and then seal it and set it to one side. It may improve enough with age (unlikely) to be worth drinking but it's worth hanging on to for now so you can compare it to later batches.

I kept my first run for a while before dumping it and it was helpful, but having caught myself on getting lazy and forgetting previously learned stuff, I wish I still had it and some of my really good stuff to have a sip of each from time to time and refresh my memory of the difference.

[packapoo]

[quote="Duffer26"]I tried drinking it, I really did.

Only managed about 300ml, it's just too bad.


Isn't there an old saying that covers this?

Something along the lines of 'stop it or you'll go blind'.......

[Duffer26]

The second run has produced a remarkable difference in quality.

Sure, I think I can improve on this more but it's more than drinkable.

I have a pretty major chufty about this and I'd like to thank everyone here for some excellent advice, I'll be sticking around.

Re going blind; It was a simple sugar wash with triple distilled (what does this even mean)? yeast with carbon and finnings and all that.

Am I right in thinking this has negligible amounts of methanol and I wont go blind,
just a rough head perhaps and a burning tongue.

[Curmudgeon]

You 100% won't go blind as long as you keep one hand on your glass and the other on the bottle

There is almost no methanol (relatively speaking to safety) in a homebrewed fruit wash and even less in a sugar wash, virtually zero.

[Mash]

+1

[packapoo]

As they say in cricket.....straight through to the keeper.....

[Easydrinker]

It is good to see some of the regulars helping out here.
All sound advice.
I'll plan the next fishing trip, I won't be missed

Robert.

[gaza the instructor]

can I come. Will cook bacon for the sarnies.