Sauvignon Blanc Run - with ?'s

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MountedGoat
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Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 10:21 am
Location: Mountains out west

Sauvignon Blanc Run - with ?'s

Post by MountedGoat »

So yesterday I did a 16 gal Sauv. Blanc run on a friends 100L alembic with a reflux pancake (all I can call it between the pot and lyne arm, though apparently is called a copper refining lentil :roll: ). It turned out very rich flavored, 75% distillate that had the beautiful smell of Sauv. Blanc. The run took about 8 hours with a very constant heat and I yielded 12 pints + 1L, with 300ml foreshots. Sorry about the Imperial/Metric as I use what I have :)

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Here are some of the questions that I have:

1. The thermometer is at the top of the pot about in line with the handles, just below the reflux pancake and I don't have a thermometer (yet) after it. Does the thermo reading in the pot matter or not? I tried for like two hours to keep it about 80 and felt I was shooting myself in the foot. Once it reached 92 I was much happier with the flow (a constant trickle).

2. The pot and the lid are just a slip over and then cover the area with a water jacket to keep the "vacuum" and make it so there are no leaks. About halfway through I was pouring some more water in to the "moat" and (I think) the change in temperature made the entire thing suck about half of the water into the pot and made this loud noise. Scared the bejesus out of me :oops: . Do I need to replenish the water as it goes down or just fill the moat and let it do its thing? (the water level wouldn't evaporate enough over the course of the day, I think I might just be crazy.)

3. I got a very consistent 75% run then entire time until the last two pints. Then it went 73%, 67% and then I ran into one liter until full. Does it typically fall off that fast?

4. Can I insulate the lyne arm on its way to the condenser or just leave it exposed to the air? Will it help?

I have many more due to you can't really ask anyone questions while I am doing it and I am really learning by trial and error and from the lovely help of this site :P

Thanks for any comments, suggestions and whatnot.
water + sugar + yeast = wine

water + flour + yeast = bread

wine + bread = two things I can make at home

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