Heads....

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ismbardbrunel123
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Heads....

Post by ismbardbrunel123 »

Can i ask this to reassure myself, if i do my 40 litre washes, remove x amount of fore shots in a stripping run, I no longer need to remove fore shots when doing a spirit run ? Will be Whisky, hopefully......
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Expat
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Re: Heads....

Post by Expat »

So breaking down your question, yes, if you do a fores shot in your stripping runs, you don't need one in the spirit run. This is true.

You'll still need to do proper cuts for heads and tails.

If its a grain based spirit, it might be a whisky :)
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Demy
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Re: Heads....

Post by Demy »

Some have different ways of doing things, but I remove the heads first from the stripping and then carefully remove the heads in the spirit as well because there will always be some.
CopperFiend
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Re: Heads....

Post by CopperFiend »

Demy wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:47 pm Some have different ways of doing things, but I remove the heads first from the stripping and then carefully remove the heads in the spirit as well because there will always be some.
I do the same. Each time it goes through the still, I take a little off first and chuck it into my tub I use for cleaning stuff. Better to be safe and I don't have any commercial margins to meet so I dont mind losing some.
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NZChris
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Re: Heads....

Post by NZChris »

The first jar off a spirit run is never going to go into heart cut unless your tastebuds are totally trashed, so I don't take a foreshot unless I need it for something, (I don't).

If you are going to continually recycle your feints into later washes, (I don't), removing a foreshot makes sense.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Heads....

Post by Yummyrum »

I don’t bother with foreshot or head cut on a stripping run .IMO , stripping run is to remove the bulk of the water .
Spirit run is where the cuts should happen .... just my opinion though.... many like to cut fores on each run .Can’t hurt .
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jayka
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Re: Heads....

Post by jayka »

Yummyrum wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 2:07 am I don’t bother with foreshot or head cut on a stripping run .IMO , stripping run is to remove the bulk of the water .
Spirit run is where the cuts should happen .... just my opinion though.... many like to cut fores on each run .Can’t hurt .
Yeh I can second that. When I do stripping run I just collect everything into empty 1lt whiskey bottles. Then when I do spirit run I just ditch the first cut jar. No weeds growing around my shed.
Sooner or later the people who run the planet all end up choosing one drink....
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ShineonCrazyDiamond
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Re: Heads....

Post by ShineonCrazyDiamond »

Yummyrum wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 2:07 am I don’t bother with foreshot or head cut on a stripping run .IMO , stripping run is to remove the bulk of the water .
Spirit run is where the cuts should happen .... just my opinion though.... .
Agreed. I haven't taken a fores cut at all in years. Doesn't matter what is in that first jar, or what I'm making. The first jar never makes it in my jug, anyway. Or the second jar.

I think fores cuts are a little antiquated, especially considering recent studies about methanol distribution throughout the run.

The only person that should think about doing one, is the person that is not concerned with top quality cuts, and keeping everything from heads to tails. Then throwing the first jar out makes sense, cause what ever is in there is nasty, whether or not it's dangerous.
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Heads....

Post by jonnys_spirit »

When I take fores in my potstill I run it very low and slow as the riser heats up prior to any distillate out of the PC. I feel like I get some passive reflux during that initial period while the riser is not yet up to temp that helps concentrate the first 100’ish ml. The slow long cook also seems to help prevent pukes on strip runs. Once up to temp there is no appreciable reflux so i try to concentrate that first bit out of the spout. No reason not to fraction it by itself before moving to a slightly higher unbroken stream.

Pulling fores on strip runs and spirit run camp for me. Even though I do it in strips once I’ve got a boiler full of low wines (lots of alcohol) i find it hard to be sure that all the fores were captured and since it’ll be aging for some time whats another hour invested worth over the next 6-18 months?

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still_stirrin
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Re: Heads....

Post by still_stirrin »

I don’t like heads in my hearts either.

So, I pull a little foreshots from each strip, then when running the spirit run I collect into a dozen, or more jars. I’ll cut out the heads to early hearts just to keep the product jars clean. Then, after airing for 24 hours, I’ll blend the jars back to a vessel, adding a touch of the backend for flavor (the “Special K”, a 5 grain bourbon benefits from a little of the tails).

But I am very conservative with inclusion of late heads/early hearts. I don’t want “harshness” in my (top shelf) bourbon.
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SuburbanShiner
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Re: Heads....

Post by SuburbanShiner »

I pull fores from every strip and spirit run. I use the fores for BBQ lighter and I recycle all heads/tails from a spirit run back into strips. I can say that the fores smell the same (fingernail polish remover) whether it is a strip or a spirit run. I never got the impression that the spirit run had "less" fores because I took them out of the strips.
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Rrmuf
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Re: Heads....

Post by Rrmuf »

IMHO removing foreshots is the perfect opportunity to get rid of volatiles in any run: strip or spririt run. So, instead of "do I need to?" the question should be "do I want to?" or better still "Why wouldn't I?"

--- but I am just a newbie too!
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