My first distilling run!

[Bru_Dog]

I ran my first run today. I'm well pleased.

I had a batch of 17ltrs of elderflower champagne that hadn't fizzed and although the taste was nice for a start there was a bitterness at the back which made it undrinkable.

Here's the full recipe and results of my 7.5 hours standing there nursing the still.

I don't know why the foreshots were such low abv and I stopped at 50% even though I couldn't detect tails - there's only so much bloody time in the day!


Started 9th June 2025

42 medium / large flower heads
12 large lemons
5 large limes
6kg castor sugar
4 tsp 18% yeast - Youngs Brew Home Brewing Super Wine Yeast Compound For High Alcohol

5 tbl spoons white wine vinegar
20 ltr water

Lemons and limes zested, juiced and carcass added to mix.

Starting gravity 1.095. Possible alcohol if dried to 1.010 - 11%

Gravity on 14th june 1.056 = 5%

Gravity on 25th June 0.996
Racked into clean bucket off the Lees.

Gravity on 30th June 0.986 - 14-14.5% alcohol

5th July. Racked through muslin into a clean bucket off the lees.

Drank 3 litres from bucket - seems much stronger than 14.5. More like 17+.

Gravity on 11th July 0.986 - bottled in pet bottles with 10g castor sugar per liter direct in bottle.

10th Sept
No fizz and after a full on taste of elderflower, changing into zesty lemon and lime there's a bitter aftertaste that makes it undrinkable.

15th Sept
Added 15.5 litres to still 1 litre to thumper

150ml foreshots 75%
200ml heads 82%
Jar 1 362ml 82%
Jar 2 357ml 80%
Jar 3 341ml 77%
Jar 4 374ml 75%
Jar 5 382ml 70%
Jar 6 375ml 60%
Jar 7 284ml 50%

Total 2.475ml @ 70% ABV

Gallon @ 45% ABV

Letting a bottle chill for a couple of hours and then I'll try it with some tonic water or cranberry juice.

[WelshGin]

Well done, sometimes we do produce some pleasant surprises after initial failures. I hope it now tastes good.

[WelshGin]

Well done, sometimes we do produce some pleasant surprises after initial failures. I hope it now tastes good.

[TDick]

Congratulations!!
For What It's Worth, I was "chatting" with ChatGPT (or Microsoft Copilot??) AI the other day about putting together a run.
It always offers more and more information than what you're asking for.
It gave me among other things, stripping and spirit run charts.
I'm sitting here watching (American) football games - Alabama is off this week.
I took the opportunity to plug some of your information into the Spirit Run chart.
I had played with that chart a bit and the ABV is based on identical jars of 100 ml.
I'm sure there's a way to calculate based on varied volume, but ---- I'm not going to do it.
I'm not sure what's AI's are available where you are, but they all LOVE to create checklists etc.

Stripping Run Log.pdf

Spirit Run_ Cut Log.pdf

[WelshGin]

I like the 'anality' of those. I am surprised within the spirit run chart it does not list the total volume of alcohol. If you were doing repeated spirit runs I would want to know the total alcohol output so that you could compare the yield of ongoing washes. Which is exactly what I have done over the 129 washes I have made.

When I started off I was achieving 2600ml of useable alcohol from a 25litre sugar wash, now using same ingredients 3400ml.
Which is quite an increase, so although material prices have gone up the increased yield allows me to produce nuetral spirit at near the same price as when I started 8-9 years ago.

The notes and comments sections are good/necessary as sometimes you do mentally/in passing recognise something but as not usually recorded you don't realise the implication and ramifications. If you do apply what you recognise as good you achieve better results.

I know 'anality' not a word, however being slightly on the 'spectrum ' it suites me. I will make a note and add to my personal vocabulary. Which reminds me I must use the the word nomenclature to a greater extent.......

[TDick]

I like the 'anality' of those. I am surprised within the spirit run chart it does not list the total volume of alcohol. If you were doing repeated spirit runs I would want to know the total alcohol output so that you could compare the yield of ongoing washes. Which is exactly what I have done over the 129 washes I have made.

I know 'anality' not a word, however being slightly on the 'spectrum ' it suites me. I will make a note and add to my personal vocabulary. Which reminds me I must use the the word nomenclature to a greater extent.......

I'm not sure of the differnces in search engines there to here....
"AI Overview
"Anality" refers to the quality or state of being anal, especially in a psychological context, describing either the anal stage of psychosexual development in Freudian theory or the associated personality traits like extreme orderliness, meticulousness, parsimony, and stubbornness. While it originates from the psychoanalytic concept of the anal stage, the term is also used to describe a personality that is excessively focused on details and organization in adulthood."

I'm a Geezer so I'm sure I'm only touching the surface of Artificial Intelligence. I use it mostly when I'm curious....and lazy.
Also in the past I know enough about Excel worksheets - and Google Sheets - to be dangerous.

" If you were doing repeated spirit runs I would want to know the total alcohol output so that you could compare the yield of ongoing washes."
Obviously there's plenty of 'down time" when your still is running.
It would be fairly simple to create a Workbook. Separate sheets for stripping runs, with a Summary Sheet to compare.
Either a sheet for each batch, or combine on one sheet depending on your preferences ie
Fruit
Rum
Sugar
Grains

Yeast comparisons.
or if you are COMPLETELY anal, put them all on one sheet with the ability to then analyze by type. "IF, AND" "IF OR"....

You could also set up "Summary Sheets" to compare spirit runs, comparing ABV & taste for every Jar 1, Jar 2, etc.

Does that make sense?

All that said, for you that are more experienced than I, what would be the most important information fields to track:
Fermentation Sheets
Stripping Runs
Spirit Runs
Aging

[WelshGin]

Oh. I am impressed. I reinvented a word, I agree with you, all of the above.

Having digested the remainder of your email are you anal too? Sorry I mean aspergic?

The first 3, forget aging, who lives forever? Use aeration.