StillSmart

hi,
just a quick question. once i have collected tails do i need to put the back thru a stripping run before i add them to the next wash?

thanks
Tom

I think I know the answer to this one... and I think it's...no.

Because when you think about it..you get the "tails" from a spirit run, so they go back into the next wash....hope I'm correct..

Icefever wrote:I think I know the answer to this one... and I think it's...no.

Because when you think about it..you get the "tails" from a spirit run, so they go back into the next wash....hope I'm correct..

cheers ice fever,

just im doing the spirit run now and wanted to make sure before i added it as dont want to ruin all the effort and time ive put in so far.

Just to be clear...Tails should only be added to a wash that has finished fermenting and is just about to be stripped (i.e. Added to a stripping run....same thing!)

Never add Tails, or any other distilled element to a fermenting wash. The high alcohol will immediately kill the yeast cells

AM

aidanmac wrote:Just to be clear...Tails should only be added to a wash that has finished fermenting and is just about to be stripped (i.e. Added to a stripping run....same thing!)

Never add Tails, or any other distilled element to a fermenting wash. the alcohol will immediately kill the yeast cells

AM

so can i add the tails to an already stripped wash thats ready to go in the still? si if i have say 800ml of tails can i just add 3.2ltrs of already stripped wash to the still and start another spirit run?

No, you add the Tails to Wash and then Strip the lot. So, if you have 800ml of Tails you add this to 3.2lt of Wash then do a stripping run.

AM

thanks aidanmac.

lucky as i was just about to add the tails straight back in the still with my already stripped wash cheers for the advice.

Wooho...I got that one correct I think I've turned the first corner in my new hobby...

The other option is to forget about the tails and pour them down the sink. Getting the maximum drinkable alcohol out of a wash reaches a point where the extra alcohol isn't worth the time you spend getting the extra.

Your time so your decision where that point is. Now I have a T500 I don't bother redistilling the heads or the tails. Full efficiency would save me <£2 per wash at the cost of having containers of heads and tails cluttering up the place.

It should be remembered that Reflux and Pot stills are completely different. I wouldn't bother looking for tails from a Reflux, but from a Pot Still - definitely

You should never try to get a wash to ferment to too high an ABV. However, once you've made and nurtured your wash with love and care you should do what you can, not to get the maximum from it but, as Ivana Trump said, to Get It All It's all perfectly recyclable

AM

Triple checking what I think I've learned, Please shout out corrections and/or exceptions and elaborations.

wash = mash = beer. Stripping runs collect everything down to 20%. ABV% going in doesn't matter. Tails from previous runs can be added. Tails should only be recycled as part of a stripping run, being added to the pot last. The product of the stripping run is called "low wines."

foreshots = the pizen! = undrinkable trash. For my air still it will be the first 50 ml produced during a spirit run. Dump it or put it in a jar clearly marked as poisonous cleaning fluid.

heads - High ABV%, but undrinkable without repercussions. Can be saved for later re-processing via stripping or spirit runs to get the usable alcohol extracted.

hearts - The good stuff. Not sure I've tasted any yet, but I'm expecting it to be good tasting with no bitterness and little "bite." My last (3rd) spirit run I got a cut that seemed very lovely during the cutting process, but when tasted at full power (78% ABV) dissolves beautifully into my palate when sipped, but gnaws on my tongue like a drunken prom date and leaves a very bitter aftertaste. Hearts can be diluted to 30% ABV and redistilled to further clean up the taste. I think - and please correct me here if I'm wrong - you can add heads to hearts, dilute to 30% ABV, and do another spirit run.

tails - once the hearts stop tasting good, collect the rest, down to 20%. The far back end of them smell vomity and doggy. Klingons drink that part before they hit the passageways "wookin' po' nub," as they say.

Is that all right?

You're doing OK CY

Couple of things that might help. If you're using an Airstill I'd recommend running heads on their own and diluted to 20% before the run? You could also try treating the Heads with some Bicarb for a couple of weeks before running them. This will help in the separation of the 'good' spirits.

At the end of the spirit run, once you've detected the start of the tails, you should keep your nose and taste buds away from the distillate. There's nothing to be gained by getting too near that stuff. I've also found that a few weeks sitting helps with the separation on the stripping run.

We all get there in the end

AM

" but when tasted at full power (78% ABV) dissolves beautifully into my palate when sipped, but gnaws on my tongue like a drunken prom date and leaves a very bitter aftertaste."

Cherry, do promise to stay around,I do like the way you elicitate.

I think I am agreeing with AM here,if you are saving heads,run them together and alone;well that's a misnomer,if ever I've written one.
Save some great bbq lighting liquid,and maybe some great tasting product from such a run.
The tails from such a run I use as weedkiller,with varying effect.
Robert.

This is another tip for me to keep & try AM, but what amount of bicarb? say per 100ml??

BJ

aidanmac:Thanks again for the usual cogent criticism; thorough, thoughtful and mercifully mild. I can hardly wait until I build up enough "stock" to keep me tinkering as much as I'd like. As you say, I'll get there.

Icefever: Ha! Even if that is the case, I've been picking posts over like a carrion crow on a still-steaming gut pile - and will continue to do so. You feel free to hoick whatever you want, dude.

Easydrinker: You most kind - and greatly discerning. I'll hang around as long as the good Lord wills it, eh?

YHM, btw