My first double run day

Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper 8)

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tommysb
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My first double run day

Post by tommysb »

I haven't been able to distill much the past year. Moved house, changed jobs, etc etc etc.

Anyway, during that downtime, at least I was able to think, scheme and plan what I wanted to build or do next. The overall goal I am working towards is to fill a couple of 25l oak barrels with some decent enough white whiskey, and let it sit.

Part of my thinking led me to the topic of efficiencies of production. More precisely, the efficient use of time in production.

I'm finally getting back into it, and managed to get a few mash/strip cycles going over the past few weeks, and refine the trade offs that work for me. Today I managed to do two stripping runs, and use the backset for (half of) the next ferment. Tomorrow I'll heat water and mash the corn for the other half (too late now, and I'm tired), and then add it to the mash from today (it's going to cool overnight and I'll pitch yeast tomorrow).

I have an 100l setup where I CAN strip on the grain, if I want to. But I have to run slower. I also think the potential alcohol density that I can fit into the still (max. overall alcohol? I don't know a good way to describe it) is lower. E.g. if I put 100l of fermented corn slurry into the still, or 100l of liquid squeezed from that slurry, I get more alcohol out of the liquid. The trade off? The time spent separating that liquid from the corn.

I think I've dialled in my workflow now, here's how it went this time (basically making Booner's Casual All Corn).
Mash+Ferment:
I aimed for 200l liquid, to give me two runs of the still. I tried to do something like 80kg Corn, cracked, and add liquid to my fermenter until I can't fit any more. I messed up this as I tried to mash everything in a single pot, but couldn't heat enough water fast enough to bring it up to decent gelatinisation temperature. Plus, had some issues with the mill, so didn't crack the corn down any smaller than how it came when I bought it.

80kg corn, 200L hot water, all into a big fermenter. Added high temp alpha enzymes, waited for temp to drop to 55-60, added gluco enzymes, left overnight, came back the next day and pitched a load of bakers yeast in at about 27-30c. Didn't manage to get a decent/reliable gravity reading for various reasons but I don't think it was more than 1.040 (for various other reasons) Let it ferment and let the mass of liquid and the yeast activity maintain temperature without applying any heating/cooling. Temp dropped off as fermentation slowed.

After 5 days or so, gravity on a sample of liquid taken from the top was down at near enough 1.000. So, what to do?? Separate the grain and liquid :)

I used a 50l wine press (some photos attached from a previous experiment - the cloth is completely not necessary) and could just bail out the clear-ish liquid from the surface of the fermenter (around 90 l) and leave a grainy slurry which would be loaded into the press.
IMG_20220113_152642.jpg
IMG_20220113_152527.jpg
It took about 3 loadings of the press to press all the liquid out. Honestly, most of the liquid comes out straight away, just running out between the grains. This step is a bit of a PITA and would be much nicer with a bigger press and just one run. Maybe i'll have to scale up some day.

So, I was left with in the end one 100l tank full of clear liquid, and another 80l of less clear liquid, this is mostly what came out of the press. The clear 'beer"/wash sat in these tanks for the last 5-7 days (i forget), as life got in the way of progressing, and only today I got to distill it.

It all went very well, except for low yield, due to low beer strength.

The starting temp of the beer was 12c, and first run took roughly 2 hours to heat up to producing alcohol (9kw ish) then stripped down to 10% coming out over about 2 hours.

The cooling water was run through a homebrew beer chiller coil, submerged in the next 80 litres for the next run.

I was probably running the coolant too fast, as I was getting an exit temp from the condensor of around 30/35C. This transferred into the next batch via the coil and at least my next charge of the still started 20C higher than the initial one.

I drained the still and used the backset to mash nearly half of my next ferment - about 30kg of corn. Added high temp alpha enzymes, backset and corn together, then added gluco as the temp dropped.

The second run went much faster - everything in the still was already warm, the still charge was 20l less, and the wash starting temperature was 20C higher. I used part of the backset of the second run to mash another 10kg of corn, which is currently sitting waiting to come down to about 60 to add the gluco-amylase.


I recall someone suggesting use of a pre-heater...Possibly Still_Stirrin'...whoever it was, thank you (Edit Just looked it up, it was @Butch27). Such an elegant solution to recapture energy put into heating.

Anyway, all in all a good day. Next run will be even better. A better grind on the grain and better gelatinization of the grain should give a much better starting gravity on the wash.

Cheers everyone!
greggn
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Re: My first double run day

Post by greggn »

tommysb wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 1:30 pm
Honestly, most of the liquid comes out straight away, just running out between the grains.

You've already, correctly, determined your next step. Milling the grain finer, *will* require pressing because then it won't 'just run out', and that'll improve your gravity numbers.

Still, congratulations ... you're back in the game.
________________

I drank fifty pounds of feed-store corn
'till my clothes were ratty and torn
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