StillSmart

Help ! I`m losing the will to still. I had such high hopes for this run. Here's what I did, what I got and what I think I should do differently. What do you see?

I`m using a T500 boiler adapted to take a still spirits pot head ( maybe 3/4 down to half inch) and a power controller.

I stripped a couple of nice dry 25 litre yellow plum washes. Then added about 1.5 litres each of plum heads and plum tails from previous runs (not the strong first Heads or the bitter last tails).Made it up 22 litres @30% for my spirit run.

I ran it nice and slow.Started at around 300-350 watts. About a drip a second while I collected 150ml fores.A fast drip through the heads till I collected about a litre then stepped it up to a thin steady thread to run through the hearts. Shut it down once I get a regular whiff of tails.Finished up round 1000 watts and the thermometer ( top of the arm) never got above 83 degrees.

I collected in 24 x 200ml jars and left them overnight. Lined them all up and took about 20 minutes deciding where to make my cuts. Wasn't trying to be greedy, just called them where I kept on smelling them.I called 1200 mls heads, 1200 mls tails. Diluted 2.5 litres of hearts back to 35% with distilled water.

I was expecting something special. Instead it`s a little cloudy. It has a bite and it tastes and smells of tails.

Is it just as simple as "you got tails" and I just need to narrow my hearts cut?
Say 1400mls heads and tails and just a 2 litre heart?
Do feints concentrate noticeably if you re-distill them?
Does not getting above 83 degrees at the end of a long run mean anything? (I always finish up in the low 80's when I do a slow run)
Slow and steady wins the race?

And as for the fix, back in the pot it all goes?
Leave out the heads and tails and just re-still the hearts?
Thanks for your help.

Mate,I saw this about 15 hours ago and couldn't think of a decent response.
I'm sorry to see that no-one else could.
Here is the best that I can offer;
The cloudiness is an odd one,assuming clear distillate,it can only be down to the water you are letting down with.
The tails taste can only be tails.
I would,rinse the condenser well, pour it all back in, adjust to 30% and re-run,probably forgetting a heads cut,But if you think it has "bite" that may be heads.Inclussion of the tails will necessitate a stricter tails cut off too.
Not sure what temps. you are referring to. The 80's is about right for a switch off point,the ethanol has gone at 79°C in the boiler
The ethanol can be redistilled many times,the plum flavours you were seeking will not do so,but you may get one more shot at it.

It has just occured to me that your set-up may not involve any copper?
If not,acquire some short pieces of pipe,clean in vinegar or citric acid and add to the boiler,that can make quite a difference.

Hoping that helps,or at least maintains your will to still.
Robert.

@ Mr Foursquare: Water is not likely to be an issue here. More likely you collected too much in the way of tails. An overabundance of fusil oils will turn your final product milky when you bring it down to 40%.

Stop collecting a little earlier. That final bit has ruined many a good run. It is a common problem. People want to maximize their return. The amount of alcohol collected in that final half hour or so is generally not worth the power to het it and certainly not worth the time.

Watch your head temp. It will start rising when its time to quit.

I did run into similar problems when running fruit based washes and in the end abandoned such washes in favour of grain and/or sugars and macerate fruits in spirit when required.

Many problems but no one straight answer to solve these issues.

AM

Thank you kindly my imaginary friends.

ED the water round here is very good and the potheads made of copper. So probably it is just tails. Thanks for the tip about shutting things off round 82 degrees.. I thought all the good stuff appeared during the late eighties. No wait that was music.

RJ The Cachacha King of ol Beijing ! Tails it is then. I just consulted the great book of Nod (the folder where I've been printing out the entire internet.) and it says you are correct. Last time I looked several people were saying keep going till 88 degrees or more but my sad tale, ED's comments and now yours all point to an early shut down. Just out of interest do you collect and recycle tails for your big batch Cachacha?

AM It's a matter of honour ! I won't give in. Don't go all Yoda on me. Many problems you are having....but no one straight answer is there ...
And probably you are right. Make a nice neutral, load it up with good fruit. Enjoy. No more freezers full of 5 kg bags of last seasons harvest. No more buying boxes of over ripe cut price fruit from the market. No more scratting it up or cleaning it down or straining it out or or or... what'll i do with all that extra time? Drink a little more I suppose

Mr Four Square wrote:... what'll i do with all that extra time? Drink a little more I suppose

Friends of Yoda, KC & The Sunshine Band, your answer have!
"Do a little dance, Make a little love, Get down tonight!"

Go there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHEsE9yN2CY and do it



AM

Well that was a better than average way to start my day. You started it AM ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_sY2rjxq6M

Trammps with 2 M's

In the groove now!
Back in the days, I once walked out of an establishment,with a young lady on my arm,as this played;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT1iDKkZNYU
While not realising that the chap running after us down the street was her very soon to be ex-boyfriend!
This may not solve your stilling problems,but well done on the first thread here that maybe hasn't gone viral,but it has gone disco!
Robert.

Well ED it is the same in that I think my problem was also caused by being a bit greedy.
Imagine that ! Samuel L Jackson wearing a bunnet !

@ Mr. Four Square: In response to yours of Oct 8. There is a bit of yes, no and I am changing anyway.

One of the reasons "I believe" my rum is so smooth is that I only use the heart of the heart. The longer the run, the more heart there is. But by being generous with my cuts I do have a significant amount of tails. These are collected separately and accumulated until I have sufficient for a run. This is what I make my vodka and gin out of as I take it up to 95%.

I finish up with an odorless and tasteless neutral that I do not have to run through carbon. It is all not as simple as that though. The still gets reconfigured, scrubbers go in and column is 3 times the length for rum. It takes about 2.5 times as long to do a run.

The cachaca is run pretty much the same as rum. Hope that explains it for you. And I wouldn't live in Beijing to save myself.

If the Hainan I found on Google ... white sandy beaches , blue waters and palm trees is where you are then I'm not suprised.

Thanks for your suggestions. Here's what I got.

It was the tails that done it.
More conservative cuts for the hearts next time.
The good stuff's running out when the head temps rise (early 80's)
Clean the copper.
Disco looks better with hindsight.


Back in the pot it all goes.

Just a quicky:IMHO

1.yes
2.Yes
3.Yes
4.Yes
5.Yes,but don't admit that to any young people!

6.That is what I would do.

HTH
Robert.

@ Mr. Four Square:

That is indeed the island where I live. Been here for 12 years now. Fairly easy place to live. Can't get bacon though.

Be careful what you throw back in the pot. There comes a time when your better off chucking the tails rather than contaminate a good wash. If you do the math, which you should, the return, in quality and quantity, might just not balance out.

It is easy to make good booze. Even easier to make bad.

RumJohn wrote:That is indeed the island where I live. Been here for 12 years now. Fairljoked any place to live. Can't get bacon though.

Sounds like another product for your buisiness, Google "Make your own Bacon" its very easy.