First run in a Still Spirits Air Still

[Echo4golf]

Well, I did everything wrong and got that out of my system. Despite that, I got about 1.2L of smooth spirit. It was a bit low in ABV, but we'll get there.

Bearing in mind that this was my first run and I think I "pushed" things along a bit, here's what I did:
[*]Simple 10L table sugar wash with a 72 hour turbo.
[*]Used the Still Spirits clearing agents but I think it wasn't quite done working. (I *told* you I was in a hurry! This got it out of my system, I think.)
[*]It didn't clear correctly but what the heck...
[*]Pulled the anticipated 8L off of the lees. It was not as clear as I think it should have been and seemed to smell a bit sour or acrid. Not bad, mind you, but not sweet either.
[*]Preheared 4L to about 150 on the stove while I wiped the still out.
[*]Added the distiller's conditioner, ceramic boil enhancers and some copper saddles.
[*]Added the wash and let 'er rip. Stripped to 40%
[*]Opened the still immediately (I have a set of old welding gloves that I use around the kitchen when I'm roasting coffee, smoking things or working on a hot grill.) and pitched the spent wash.
[*]Repeated for the second batch except I preheated it to 165ish and stripped to 20%
[*]The distillate was clear but smelled of chemicals. I smelled sulphides and I don't know what else. I didn't write down the ABV but it was where the instructions said it should be.
[*]Diluted the distillate (low wines?) to about 40% (i.e. added them back to the still and topped it up to the full mark) and ran it again.
[*]Pulled and pitched 50ml
[*]Pulled 250ml for the heads.
[*]Pulled the next 500ml and couldn't really smell the difference.
[*]Pulled 800ml for hearts. There was little difference between the cuts to my nose.
[*]Cut the still off at 20%.
[*]Wound up with about 1200ml and 250 ml of heads that I saved. ABV was low though, about 55%. I corrected for the temperature, but that seems quite low to me.

It smells like alchohol and is drinkable, even without filtering. The rest is going into a batch of Black Sambuca.

Lessons learned:
[*]I need a glass container for my hydrometer.
[*]Patience! I think I got the "hurry up" out of my system.
[*]Check the math and log the OG, FG, and ABV readings. It ain't rocket science!

Next up: another batch of sugar wash, and a 5gal batch of corn flake wash.

Best,
e4g

[Anavrin]

Hi Echo4golf

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you've been having fun, but like you said you've probably rushed into it, theres a few points you should be mindful of with the AirStill, firstly it's quite a basic bit of kit, you can't really do much with it apart from fill it up and turn it on, so the only control you have over producing something drinkable starts with making the cleanest wash possible.

I wouldn't recommend a turbo yeast for this, you need something that ferments cleaner, like the lentil wash for example, turbo yeasts produce more heads and the Airstill being a small scale pot still doesn't compress / seperate heads very efficiently.

So once you've got a cleaner wash, you need to ensure its fully cleared as much as possible before running, which means it must be fully fermented before adding any finings or they won't work, a good clean wash will normally clear by its self if left somewhere cold for a few days.

For striping runs I would collect until the output ABV is 30%

Also when collecting on a spirit run with a new wash that you haven't tried before, you really don't know how much heads, hearts and tails you will get, it varies a lot with different wash's but as the airstill is quite small you can easily collect 100ml at a time in jars, let them air for a day before trying to make cuts and find your hearts, I find with a sugar wash, the first 30% is heads, the next 50% is hearts and the last 20% is tails, but you will need to figure this out by sampling you jars at drinking strength (40%) to find the cleanest product, you can do this by smell for the first few jars and the last few but there will be some heads jars that won't smell bad but will taste bad once watered down to 40%.

Making the right cut between heads and hearts is an art that can only be learned through experimentation and experiance, the best advice I can give at this point is don't be greedy, if you suspect heads, cut it out, it will spoil your spirit if you allow too much heads in.

Anyway hope this helps, I'm sure others will chirp up, happy stillin

[Echo4golf]

Thanks very much for the response. Agreed, I have a lot to learn. I think I'm going to try one more sugar wash and then, while that's working, a cornflake one with either a whiskey yeast or simple baking yeast. As I've got the buck fever out of my system now, I'll be able to concentrate better!

Best,
e4g

[chill]

I think most of us went through the fast/greedy stage. I know that I did. Have fun learning and just accept that your results will improve dramatically as you learn and start making sense of what you have read. Is a process we all go through, you might as well enjoy the journey.

Welcome!

[Icefever]

WOW.....E4D..that sure is one hell of an introduction

Firstly, a very warm to the forum..hope your going to be around for a long time.

In my time on here I can't remember a thread like yours...I was out of breath by the end of it dude.. Anavrin & Chuck are 100% with their posts.

Back it on down..your in overdrive....I'll take it for granted that you've read this Topic here???

In your 2nd post you say your thinking of trying .."a cornflake one with either a whiskey yeast or simple baking yeast"


IMHO mate...forget the cornflake wash with whiskey yeast for a month or two. Try the lentil wash with Allinson driedy yeast or fresh yeast...it's forgiving and most times comes out clean.

Finally...at the end of your first post you quote....

Lessons learned:
[*]I need a glass container for my hydrometer.
[*]Patience! I think I got the "hurry up" out of my system.
[*]Check the math and log the OG, FG, and ABV readings. It ain't rocket science!

You've hit the nail on the head youself mate....let us guys know how you get on...looking forward to your next run already Stay safe.

[Mash]

Welcome aboard.
You know it works now. Get some more washes on. Find out what you like. Airstill is very much crap in crap out. Kale gives a very very neutral spirit and wheat wash gas a scotch type finish.


Have a think, write down everything... That way you learn but also if you want it again you know how you did it. I say this because spirits change over time and many runs later is hard to remember.

Ps. One word "coinage". Really makes a difference.

[Echo4golf]

Thanks all for the replies! Corn flakes wash on hold as suggested. Two more sugar / turbo batches to expend some open consumables. As soon as I dig out and clean up my other fermenters, I'll try a batch of the lentil wash.

Thanks again!