Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
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Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
I haven't made hobo wine in years. This afternoon I'll be buying lots of sugar and looking for juices with no preservatives. What will be new (for me) will be making one big batch in a sanitized carboy instead of doing it in the three or four original juice bottles.
I intend to rack and clarify it and MAYBE run 2 gals through a new countertop air distiller twice just to see if the air distiller is any good. The one I have allows you to set a temp that when reached will turn off the unit. Anyone have one like that?
I intend to rack and clarify it and MAYBE run 2 gals through a new countertop air distiller twice just to see if the air distiller is any good. The one I have allows you to set a temp that when reached will turn off the unit. Anyone have one like that?
- Tummydoc
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
That's not going to work well for distillation unless you just set it near 100 centigrade or 212 Fahrenheit. You control power not temperature for distillation. Your boil temp will constantly increase throughout the run as you evaporate off alcohol and increase the proportion if water in the stillage.
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Power doesn't determine temperature. No matter how much power you put into the still the content of the wash will limit the temperature of the wash. Until the alcohol is gone the wash CAN'T reach 212°F and that is why the temp rises during the boil.
After tossing the foreshots, I'll have many small mason jars handy. Only a little will go into each jar. I know that I'll only get about 450ml of collectable stuff out of each gallon (on a first run). But what can be wrong with setting the still to turn itself off when the temp rises to 200°F? At that temp the distillation output is indiscriminate and it would be time to stop the run anyway. I can just take what's left and put it in the next wash. And, setting the temp will prevent the unit from running dry.
I kinda wonder why you replied. Did you add anything that I should know?
After tossing the foreshots, I'll have many small mason jars handy. Only a little will go into each jar. I know that I'll only get about 450ml of collectable stuff out of each gallon (on a first run). But what can be wrong with setting the still to turn itself off when the temp rises to 200°F? At that temp the distillation output is indiscriminate and it would be time to stop the run anyway. I can just take what's left and put it in the next wash. And, setting the temp will prevent the unit from running dry.
I kinda wonder why you replied. Did you add anything that I should know?
- Tummydoc
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
You posted this in the novice section so I assumed you were a novice, my bad. Most people that intend to set a temperature mistakenly think that the can set the temp near 178 and magically evaporate off just ethanol and then shut down. You didn't specify what temp you intended to set. As long as you understand that temp cannot be controlled you're good. Too many folks are misinformed thanks to George promoting PIDs on you tube. You'll find discussing temp control is a sensitive subject here. As long as you're just setting a boiler cutoff, carry on. But there won't be enough alcohol left in your boiler to be worth adding to your next run.
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
I am a novice. But I read a lot before doing new things.
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
I quite often let my stripping runs shut down on temperature. I run the first strip until the collection is the abv I want, record the temperature, then set the still to shut down at the same temperature for the rest of the strips. For fruit, I usually want around 27-30% Low Wines for the spirit run.
For spirit runs in small stills, more is better. Try to ferment enough to give yourself the maximum charge for the spirit run.
For spirit runs in small stills, more is better. Try to ferment enough to give yourself the maximum charge for the spirit run.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Because of the way in which you asked your question and talked about setting temp I can see exactly why Tummy answered in the way he did.
I have to wonder why you would try to distill some witches brew called hobbo wine when there are perfectly good Tried and True recipes on the forum.
I have to wonder why you would try to distill some witches brew called hobbo wine when there are perfectly good Tried and True recipes on the forum.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Chris, you're not automating that still are you !!
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Sounds like you haven't tried hobo wine.Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 1:58 pm ... I have to wonder why you would try to distill some witches brew called hobbo wine when there are perfectly good Tried and True recipes on the forum.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Gonna be hobo brandy now!
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
If you like port and sherry, you could bump the abv of some hobo wine to around 18% with some heart cut of the brandy. Add sugar if you like it sweet.
- jonnys_spirit
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
I’d strip it till closer to 210*F vapor and collect the output in one container (3 strip charges) then do the spirit run collecting fractions.
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
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- Trapped-in-Oz
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Those cheaper air stills with temperature control appear to be 750W………. I rather trust without ‘temperature control’ and 340W for steady, consistent, reliable........ and excellent results.
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
OP here - I'm doing a 2nd distillation of 0.6 gals in the air still now. Licking the drips off my finger - it is warm, tasteless, and very smooth. No burn or aftertaste at all.
It produces in surges. I hear it bubbling and the drip starts, then becomes a stream, then fades to dripping and stops for about 3 minutes before starting again. Must be the thermostat (and the placement of it).
For the first distillation I set it for 88 degrees but after 2 hours it didn't drip at all, although I could hear and feel some bubbling. So I bumped it up to 92C and it started producing in the start and stop manner I described above.
It produces in surges. I hear it bubbling and the drip starts, then becomes a stream, then fades to dripping and stops for about 3 minutes before starting again. Must be the thermostat (and the placement of it).
For the first distillation I set it for 88 degrees but after 2 hours it didn't drip at all, although I could hear and feel some bubbling. So I bumped it up to 92C and it started producing in the start and stop manner I described above.
- BlueSasquatch
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
How is distilled wine? I got a wine kit a few years back, finally got around to using it but now I've got 6 gallons of pretty rough wine, even oaked, its quite lacking. Been thinking about tossing it in the still.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Distilled wine is brandy. Distilling lousy wine is probably going to be lousy brandy. Multiple distillations might be a way to recover the alcohol from lousy wine.BlueSasquatch wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 8:50 am How is distilled wine? I got a wine kit a few years back, finally got around to using it but now I've got 6 gallons of pretty rough wine, even oaked, its quite lacking. Been thinking about tossing it in the still.
I'm a beginner.
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
dont know the air still but sound if you have found that temprature control is not the way to distill. try to control your boil rate and vapour speed by controlling the energy input.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Not really sure how an airstill works but that’s exactly what my PID controller did mostly in the lower temp ranges but really from about 160F-185F. Once I made the switch to a POT regulated still I got a much more consistent run. I’ve got 6 gallons of Concord grape juice waiting to be put into the carboy. You hit it on the head earlier Dreamer, hobo wine is sub par wine which will make an ok brandy. I take the early cuts for taste and really don’t get into tails at all. I age it on some medium toast for a few months and it actually gets pretty damn good. Have fun with your experiment
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
The 340W without thermostat (and bonus knobs in the head) has perfect balance….. ease and steady.
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Distilling lousy wine is probably going to be lousy brandy.
I distil any undrinkable wine I get.
Too old.
Leftovers in a bottle.
Poor wines from a friendly winery.
Seems to turn out okay brandy.
Geoff
I distil any undrinkable wine I get.
Too old.
Leftovers in a bottle.
Poor wines from a friendly winery.
Seems to turn out okay brandy.
Geoff
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Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Double distill and do a good job of choosing the final blend/cut and I'd be surprised if you couldn't make something worth calling brandy unless you can smell SO2 when you're pouring it into the still.Trapped-in-Oz wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:39 pm indeed…. a box of loathsome Stanley Chardonnay can stink-out the kitchen yet become eminently drinkable....... but I don't call it brandy
Re: Making hobo wine, and maybe distilling it
Agree with Chris here.
Sometimes different batches of of unfit wine can be a real time suck with respect to outcome.
Profile and yeild can really vary.
This is the caveat that prevents distilleries in the middle of wine country from running a recovery operation on unfit wine.
If the distillery has any real traction/demand and relies on uniformly, consistent protocols to optimally produce and maintain consistent flavor profiles, and production schedules, running the unfit wines can become more of a resource suck than just making a proper dedicated fermentation.
Far easier to control the outcome when starting fresh.
But absolutely can salvage ( some) unfit wines.
Sometimes different batches of of unfit wine can be a real time suck with respect to outcome.
Profile and yeild can really vary.
This is the caveat that prevents distilleries in the middle of wine country from running a recovery operation on unfit wine.
If the distillery has any real traction/demand and relies on uniformly, consistent protocols to optimally produce and maintain consistent flavor profiles, and production schedules, running the unfit wines can become more of a resource suck than just making a proper dedicated fermentation.
Far easier to control the outcome when starting fresh.
But absolutely can salvage ( some) unfit wines.
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