StillSmart

hi guys an girls my air still came today and am eager to use it but my wash's aint ready yet,i have a plum wine in my garage that i made a few months ago that never cleared so i want to put that through it so my question is do i double distill it? and shall i stick to a stripping run of 1 1/2 and then a spirit run,it may be tricky getting the 4ltr at 30% for the spirit run,am i on the right tracks,
paul

Yes, you should still double-distill and you are on the right track. You will end up with plum brandy, unless you carbon filter it.

Chuck

The Airstill is a great starter and will give you endless pleasure, not to mention an endless amount of spirits if you follow best practice. You could take some shortcuts but you'll miss some essential parts of the learning curve.

How much of that wine do you actually have? You really should try to get it clear before putting it in an Airstill as the last thing you want with that still is a puke. How bout putting it through a wine filter

Remember, the man, or woman, who never made a mistake never made anything.

Enjoy the journey, we're all with you

AM

thanks guys to late now aidanmac its in its only about 9% so will have to see how it goes fingers crossed,another question can i put 2ltrs in or does it have to be 4ltr at a time?
paul

its going well got 200ml in first hr, i heated everything up like iv read and it seems to have speeded it up
paul

You can put pretty much any amount in the still. If you put in 2L, you will just get half the result of putting in 4L etc. I often run 1L batches to make gin (1L of neutral plus botanicals).

Hi Paul

Just keep collecting and measuring each 100ml with your alcometer, when you measure 30% or less, it's probably time to stop, then just keep the lot and add it to the rest of your strip for a spirit run once you've stripped your main wash.

ok thanks,ill be doing the spirit run tomorrow,all going well at the mo and it didnt puke lol

well im all done and dusted took 2hrs and collected 1 Ltr at 30% this is where im a bit confused now on my spirit run so i only have a ltr so will my foreshots be 20ml throw 60ml heads 150ml hearts and tails in 50ml samples?
paul

It's a tough one to call with only one litre of strip, you used a fruit based wine so you can expect more methanol than from a sugar wash, I would still throw 50ml as fores, then collect in small amounts maybe 50ml jars, before airing for at least 24hours.

It's a tough call, your trying to make your first ever cuts with such a small amout of spirit, it won't be easy.

But the beauty of this hobby is, if you make a hash of it and it tastes like shit, just throw it all back in the airstill, run it again and have another go

thanks anavrin i cant do tonight im out but ill fire it up tomorrow night