Airstill, Best Practice and Results

[Spirits4BB]

I always run my collected Heads in my airstill and I reduce the ABV to 30% for the purpose. Big Heads cut but the Hearts is worth it

Sounds like a good idea...
When you say "Big Heads" how much would you say would be the Head cut on this? would it be more than 250ml?
Also, how much would you recommend pulling off for the Foreshots?

Another also..lol. Are the Head's no good from using all Head's on this run or do I save them for another of the same

Nearly there.... Again more questions..Sorry!!

[Almanac]

Asking questions is how we all learned in the first place. In an earlier part of my life I was an instructor on technical equipment for new entrants in my profession and the ones I found constantly making a mess of things were the ones who never asked questions

With a Heads run I've found the size of the Heads cut depends on the strength of the liquid in the still and what type of low wines it came from, i.e. Low Tech wash like Lentils, Turbo or Grain. You really can't make any cuts by measure, it has to be smell and taste.

Remember, when tasting for cuts, dilute your tasting sample with an equal amount of warm water on a spoon; (I use an eye dropper for this - very effective) if the sample smells OK then put it in your mouth and let it roll around your tongue then spit it all out and rinse, gargle and spit twice.

A Heads run is done with the accumulated Heads from a number of Spirit Runs. On each Spirit Run you discard Foreshots so there won't or shouldn't be any Foreshots in a Heads run and not much in the way of Tails either

I chuck the Heads from a Heads run down the drain. There's nothing to say you can't use them again I just don't bother.

[chill]

I usually chuck the first 250ml of a heads run as concentrated heads and keep the rest for later heads runs.

[Spirits4BB]

Thx lads.
These Foreshots?? Lets say I got it wrong and some went in, how bad would it be? Bad headache or really i'll or death?
Not that I would, I just like to know the worst case scenario on things.

S4BB

[Mash]

Badest head

[Spirits4BB]

Thx for the help and trust me one day I will be helping others after all the info you've passed on to me....
If anything from this it's taught me tolerance when newbies are asking stupid basic questions on a subject I know which is beer brewing!
It's so easy to think "fuckin' idiot, that's basic knowledge" but to a newbie it isn't...

All I can say is that you guys have been great...

[Spirits4BB]

What would be the benefits be of running the hearts through an AirStill again that's thinned down to 30% with tap water?
Would you get a better purer spirit or just a waste of electric?

[chill]

If you make cuts again -- by taste not volumes! -- you will get a cleaner spirit.

[Spirits4BB]

If you make cuts again -- by taste not volumes! -- you will get a cleaner spirit.

So even tho I've removed the foreshots and heads on the first spirit run I would get some more on a second spirit run and tails?

[chill]

With a pot still, you have not removed them, just removed some of them.

[Almanac]

Chill is technically correct The amount of nasties, that we refer to as Fores, in a 4Lt charge of Low Wines is estimated to be around 5-10ml. During a spirit run the first distillate will account for the majority of the Fores but because of smearing, a natural occurrence in a Pot Still, a small percentage will remain, possibly as much as 10% or no more than 1ml. This amount, dissolved in the final spirit and then further diluted, when the spirit is reduced to bottle strength, is miniscule.

For comparison most commercial contain much more and if you stuff your nose into the top a bottle after cracking the seal you'll see what I mean.

As a routine I always discarded 50ml from each 4Lt spirit run in my Airstill and today I discard 500ml from my 50Lt boiler for the same purpose...to be sure to be sure

[chill]

I was referring more to heads and tails. Aidan is correct that the amount of fores is negligible by the third distillation. Heads and tails will be small, but present. And if you have been sloppy in your cuts they might be more than small.

[Spirits4BB]

I did everything to the last word on the "How To" so I'm really excited about how it's turned out...
When I thin down to 40% with bottled water any brand of bottled water that's best to use for thinning down before I carbon filter then flavour..

[chill]

You think too much. I use tap water run through a Britta filter. Anything that is not too hard (e.g. some tap water) should be fine.

Chuck

[Almanac]

And seeing as you're going to filter it after dilution the water gets cleaned too so I wouldn't bother with bottled water either.