The importance of patience

[Honest_Liberty]

Greetings everyone!

I am still new to this wonderful artform. I've run 6 strip runs of the T&T Sweetfeed, one Booner's casual (semi-failure) on my end that turned into a UJ, and two Odin's Rye Bread sugar head (one with store bought and one with my own Maillard Reaction process attempt. At first I attempted to keep the hearts of the initial runs in my Stainless Steel Brewhaus 16gallon pot still with copper scrubbers in the column, but found the depth of flavor lacking. So during this past 8 months, i've saved nearly all the collection (minus foreshots and anything after 15% collection, which is where I decide to stop) in separate gallon jugs, and now I have 11 gallons of low wines at 40%. This is why I'm discussing patience with newbies, such as myself, who may have thought (mistakenly) just like myself, that you can just produce high grade spirits within a few tries. How silly to think such a thing! Anywho, I'm not known for patience, but already having a few gallons sitting for a few months, even the low wines are gloriously wonderful in the nose, with a surprisingly drinkable flavor. This is all mainly SF, so the molasses is really coming through like a wonderful wild carribean rum. If it weren't for the likely horrendous hangover, I would say it is good enough to age for those with a less discerning palate. I'm going to run my first dedicated spirit run tomorrow with 11 gallons low wines and a gallon of the Booner's backset, so I'm obviously a newbie. However, as far as I'm concerned, I don't care if a toddler tells me to be patient, he's probably correct.

So what is my point? While clearly this isn't award winning or even worthy of most opinion to be drank as it is, a small time aging has produced a wonderful bouquet of flavor and aroma that I never expected. (and definitely wasn't there at the beginning). I am positive that once I take very cautious blending steps after my spirit run, this will be incredible in a year. Beginning this was fraught with frustration of wash failures and neglecting ph(DON'T CUT CORNERS!), misunderstanding of the necessity of copper in the vapor path, trying to be too cheap, and most importantly, impatience. If you got into this thinking you can make good booze cheap (especially if using corn, a grain mill, enzymes), I think it is possible, but you better be prepared to make mistakes and you better not think about shortcuts because it isn't worth it. Your time is valuable, and with this you are exchanging free time for good, modestly priced home made glory. It's all about the economics, but be prepared to dedicate a lot of time.

Lastly, please trust the wisdom of the old bulls on this website. There is a reason they don't run down the hill to tag one heffer, when they can walk down the hill and tag the whole valley of em'!

[fizzix]

Patience is not one of my virtues, so it's ironic that an impatient slob as myself can tolerate this gig.
Waiting for a recipe boil. Waiting for a ferment to dry. Waiting for the still to heat up. Waiting for the agonizingly slow drips to fill a jar. Then waiting as it ages.

You nailed it Honest_Liberty. If one cannot, or is unwilling to wait, then the rewards shall never come.
Peering into the crystal ball I see a time when liquor will be abundant and the waiting will be less of an issue.
The barrels keep getting filled, so that day is coming.

Time not only heals all wounds, it makes a damn fine liquor too.

[Copperhead road]

Patients is a virtue, Time is your only friend!

[jonnys_spirit]

And that’s why I want a big ass boiler and a big ass mash/ferment/thump tun. So I can make my 10 gallons of low wines in one run and strip it straight into the 13g boiler. Basically taking 4-6 weeks worth of stillin and compressing it down to 1-2 weeks.

I just need to focus on learning to heat up what I’ve got.

I am but a young grasshopper - patience is what I seek. Knowledge and skill shall come later by accident.

Cheers!
-j

[Truckinbutch]

It's refreshing to see threads like this .

[Honest_Liberty]

well after my mini-meltdown on that run I didn't put copper scrubbers in the column, I had to step back and revisit my attitude. Being raised not far from Philly, my temper is always flaring like a pack of hemroids.

Also... No more getting sloshy while shinin', less I'm just doing a strip and only cutting the fore's

[Beerbrewer]

Nice post and very true. I have only just got into the mindset of saving up more low wines to run at one time, currently make up two 20ltr batches do a stripping run and then add together. I got so caught up in the act of distilling that I forgot about how to effectively use my time. As I am making booze for my wedding I also have the rule of only drinking my feints when I have enough to run.

One of the main problems for me is because I started out brewing beer I usually drank my best stuff within three months, six at a push. I intend to make up some Cornflakes Whiskey and try not to touch it for a year.

[Honest_Liberty]

right on! congrats! I dig your style and I'm glad to hear it! I'm hoping to have 3 gallons of good sippin product for my wedding late september. That gives me just over 4 months of aging, and judging from what I've produced so far just from the low wines...I think this is going to be just right for some mojitos.

I'm also bulk aging 5.5 gallons of my newest concord experiment; it is going to be a wonderfully light and subtle wine, although I'm sure it could use more than 6 months of aging. Add to that I've got (8) 5 gallon pin lock corny kegs, so I plan on brewing a 10 gallon batch of an irish red and a nut brown ale, of which I'll have the nut brown on nitro! I'm going to bust my hump to make sure these people drink darn good! (I'm unsure whether I'll actually do the beer but I'm hoping)

[zapata]

I ran some UJ low wines YEARS after stripping, with even older frozen backset and older still feints. Can't say it was patience made me do it though!

But good on ya honest, you got the right mindset. It takes as long as it takes. Just wait till you've got aged stock in the cabinet so you ain't really waiting anymore. Nothing finer than drinking a mature spirit while playing with a baby one, outs the hobby in perspective.

[Shine0n]

After years I still struggle at times for the patience to let something age or mature properly. I'm better than I was 5 years ago but not as good as I will be in the future.

This has cleared my mind on a few things, in Sept there's a meeting of folks and I planned on rushing a few runs to bring something nice but after reading this I will bring what I have already properly aged and nothing more.

Thanks for the read, I needed this.
Shine0n

[ga flatwoods]

See my tag line below my name!
Georgia Flatwoods

[Honest_Liberty]

Right on folks! Just hitting the hearts in my first spirit run and I'm going to let them sit for a month before making blends. My palate isn't trained enough yet, but wow! Collecting at 85% to start on a pot still! Holy crap!

Do I need to set aside fores if I did it in all my strip runs?

[Honest_Liberty]

Folks, a mere five days has passed since my first spirit run. I'm impressed and so are all my coworkers.
Now, this run had mostly SF recipe with one Odin's rye bread sugar head, and one UJ. The Odin's was oaked but I want impressed with my results, so it seems to have carried over just slightly.

Overall the coworkers say it's super smooth, and almost like a tequila, a bit of smoke. Does that seem to jive with what I processed? I think it's going to be wonderful here in a year

[Honest_Liberty]

I'm wondering if the toasted and charred stick on the Odin's provided the smoke?

[Shine0n]

Congratulations on a good run, I'm not sure but I would think some of the oak flavors would carry over.

I know you're very excited to have made a drinkable run but I would err on the side of caution when letting folks know you make likker. Not saying they are or will say something but all it takes is one of them and then the fire will spread like crazy.

[Honest_Liberty]

That is sound advice, however the cat is out of the bag. I should know better but I'm in lending and these people look at me like a gypsy wild child freak of nature (which is accurate).
I think there is a slight reverence and awe for my lack of F's given on any given day.

[jonnys_spirit]

Good luck. I hope it doesn’t bite you.

Don’t sell don’t tell.
*** Don’t be a dumbass - Loose lips sink ships.

Of course we’re all going to share because we love what we have created. Be very careful.

Don’t forget that this is currently illegal activity and that’s how the effin man is going to approach it.

Cheers,
-j

[MichiganCornhusker]

Bigger fermenter means bigger mash day but will do two things for ya:
You will get enough strip for spirit runs quicker,
And you will get more product faster.

The key to easy aging is to make more than you drink because that’s way easier than the other way around!

One thing to keep in mind is that the improvements from aging are not linear.
Many report a dip in quality, a rough spot in flavor that happens in the 3-4 month range.
If that happens to you just let it go longer, a year is a long long time but a good first milestone.

Giving out hooch for a wedding seems like a bad plan but best of luck to you. I’ve heard tell that pride’ll get you caught.

[Honest_Liberty]

Ok, well I suppose I never really thought about the potential reality of some random person snitching. However, I'm going to learn the easy way for once and this will need to be something I keep to discussing here. I'll just share my beer and wine with folks, and if I ever do share I'll not mention it's shine.
I appreciate the feedback and you guys are definitely right about this. I just got too excited

[Beerbrewer]

Not really a problem for the wedding since I will be only taking flavoured vodka infused with fruit etc. If anyone asks I'll just say it was store bought, No whiskey or rum. Although in this country the police aren't really interested unless you are selling it.