How much heads

[Wantabe]

Forgive me but I don't know where to post a question other than here. I've done a lot of reading
some is starting to make sense. What I'm wanting to know if things are running right how much heads one can expect from 10 gal. of UJSM and a 10 gal sugar wash. Can a fifth of schnapps
be added to a sugar mash prior to fermenting for flavor.

[olddog]

Ther is no fixed amount of heads, it depends on each individual wash, a decision should be made by taste and smell. I ferment UJSSM in 25lt lots, I discard 250ml forshots, and take approximately 800ml heads.
Your 1/5 would be better added to the wash at distillation time, not fermentation time.

[Wantabe]

I've read that one gets 1/3 heads , 1/3 hearts and 1/3 tails is this your experience also that you add back 25% to 50% backset to the next batch if I understood what I read.
The schnapps I was in reference to is real sweet and I assumed the sweetness need to be fermented.
Please check to see if this is close to being correct and commit on my schnapps being added at fermentation.

Thanks

[blanikdog]

Wantabe, I'd forget all that mathematical stuff about percentages and carefully read the posts on cuts. Olddog may be old, but he's right!!!

blanik

[olddog]

I might be old, but I havn't caught up with you yet Blanik

[Tater]

I've read that one gets 1/3 heads , 1/3 hearts and 1/3 tails is this your experience also that you add back 25% to 50% backset to the next batch. so 50% of 25L ( 6.6 gal ) 12.5L ( 3.3 gal ) minus
2,400mL ( 2.5 qt. ) equals 100mL minus 250mL forshots the math is close if I'm correct and if I
understood what I read.
The schnapps I was in reference to was real sweet and I assumed the sweetness need to be fermented.
Please check to see if my math is close and commit on my schnapps being added fermentation.

Thanks

Old dogs right taste smell way to go .Different washes /mashes can be affected by lots of things to change amounts of cuts.Sweet taste in schnapps could be from heads also .Id add to wash before stilling it.

[Usge]

Yes...it can vary just depending on the wash/run...and your own personal taste as to how you like your cuts taste wise. "In general"/ on average/ on UJSM, I collect about 1/3 (or less) of the total volume collected for hearts. That doesn't necessarily mean that therefore the remaining heads/tails are evenly divided in 3rds each (again...why you have to carefully taste). And more importantly, it depends on your own taste. You might find a certain portion of faded heads or tails acceptable to taste...that someone else may not.

But, "on my rig" and the way I run it, and running a typical UJSM or sugar/thin mash of some kind, If I use 20 pint jars (full), my heads will usually be somewhere around first 6 to 7 jars, give or take. Where they start strong, and fade to the point that I can tolerate them. That's an average, can vary as noted. In some cases, I've just dumped the whole thing back in and run it again without keeping any of it because there didn't seem to be anything worth keeping. Where you do your cut for hearts is a sliding scale which will determine how much heads/tails might be left over after. Because its entirely subjective, there really isn't some kind of math formula for this......like keep middle third, or keep everything from 80% down to 75% — even though those figures may accurately describe a particular set of controlled circumstances or environment (like a distillery making bourbon) or an avg from many runs of the same thing on the same equipment.

[rad14701]

Wantabe, just wanted to follow up on the idea of adding schnapps into your ferment...

While the schnapps might add a small amount of fermentable sugar to the wash, there is a downside that is of greater concern... The alcohol in the schnapps, even diluted, will increase the %ABV of the wash which cold potentially hinder fermentation of the base wash...

Now, adding the schnapps as part of the boiler charge could also have consequences... That sugar could contribute to unwanted foaming which will cause problems... It would also impart very little flavor and very little additional distilled spirits...

Your best bet is to just drink the schnapps as is...

[blanikdog]

I might be old, but I havn't caught up with you yet Blanik

That's true OD, but you will eventually catch me.

oldblanik

[Wantabe]

I finally read that a still concentrates the alcohol and most of the flavor stays in the water.
This cleared up a lot.
One more question when a spirit run is done how much water is added to the striped run, is it based on the ABV or enough that the boiler won't run dry. I will be using a keg still.

[olddog]

The answer to that is Both: your strips should be watered down to no more than 40ABV, and make sure you have sufficient liquid in your boiler to prevent boiling dry.

[Mark Ducati]

I finally read that a still concentrates the alcohol and most of the flavor stays in the water.

Ahhhh... so that's why folks blend tails and heads into the hearts, for the flavor...