Question?

[farmer]

Question? when distilling the low wines do you need to pull off fore shots if you already pulled them on the first run?

[Thirsty Bob]

Hi Farmer:

I'm a novice too, but from what I have learned, it depends a lot on what you are going for. Sound to me like you are or will be using a pot still.

Many people use the first run as a stripping run, no collection at all. Many also run several batches of ferment through a stripping run and then combine all the results for one second distillation. Faster and uses less energy.

Now, what are you looking for? Neutral spirits or something with more flavour?

The higher the % ABV in the boiler, the "cleaner" the cuts will be, so cutting on a first run (low % ABV) would need to be bigger and you would lose some of the "good stuff".

Once you have pulled off the methanol, (foreshots), the rest is up to you, by taste and smell. The hearts will be closest to neutral spirit, the heads and tails contain most of the flavor (and the headache)

Hope this helps,

Bob

[trthskr4]

Question? when distilling the low wines do you need to pull off fore shots if you already pulled them on the first run?

There's more preference on this than any thing but I personally pull off 250ml or 8oz. off every run every time regardless of 1st, 2nd or 3rd distillation. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry and it's gonna be heads if not fores so why not toss them anyway.

[blanikdog]

Yairsss, I tend to do as trth does for the same reasons, but I seldom do stripping runs. I use a pot still and run it slowly. I've tried both ways and found that this suits me. You will find that most seem to do stripping runs and double distill - even triple - but I'm happy with my way. You should get many different different answers but the final decision is yours alone. Good luck and merry christmas.

And Merry Christmas to all.

blanik

[HookLine]

I only take them off on the final run. How many times do you need to remove something? Once they're gone, they're gone. IMHO taking off another 200 ml or so every time you run the same batch seems pointless and a bit of a waste.

[rad14701]

Question? when distilling the low wines do you need to pull off fore shots if you already pulled them on the first run?

There's more preference on this than any thing but I personally pull off 250ml or 8oz. off every run every time regardless of 1st, 2nd or 3rd distillation. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry and it's gonna be heads if not fores so why not toss them anyway.

It should be noted, however, that the amount pulled is dependent on the size of the charge in your boiler... A smaller boiler charge would require a proportionately smaller volume... Just some food for thought, farmer...

[big worm]

i usualy toss the first out each time. with a long worm condencer i figure the first smelly stuff just cleans it out anyway.

[BUCK-O]

There's more preference on this than any thing but I personally pull off 250ml or 8oz. off every run every time regardless of 1st, 2nd or 3rd distillation. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry and it's gonna be heads if not fores so why not toss them anyway.[/quote]



all this talk safty first this is what i do also might be wastfull but better to be wastfull then blind from methonal

[Dr_T]

From the parent site-
methanol is mostly a product of fruit fermentation.
Those running sugar or grain, really not much to worry about there.

Me, I'm cautious, but not wasteful.
That's all I'm sayin'.

[big worm]

i doubt that a small still is likly to produce enough methonal to kill you but i think enuff to give a very killer headach in the morning perhaps.it depends on what your fermenting on how much you produce..once the fours are gone the heads are still to skankie for my liking. just a trace of heads in heart collection and i redistill i just can't stand them..years of working with solvents i guess.

[Dr_T]

Oh, yeah- I'm not saying I drink the heads right out of the still.
Just that I don't throw them out.

And I run a kinda small still, I guess. 20 liters, max load.

[trthskr4]

There's really nothing in a still full of mash that isn't in beer or wine. we're just concentrating it down so you get more of it in a smaller volume. You can make a clean distilled drink (virtually headache free in moderation) far superior to commercial stuff if you are selective or more selective than commercial stills. Tossing some of the heads away or back for a later heads/tails run shouldn't be a concern, unless you're just starting out and every drop is near and dear to you. Later on you'll spill pints and it won't bother you...much...well if it's a really good batch that's another thing. How much of a foreshots cut depends on your personal preference (if you like hangovers) and charge size initially, for a 20L charge I think most cut 100ml, for a 5gallon charge I cut 250ml and follow that pattern for each 5 gallons in the still ie., 15 gallon charge I cut 750ml. Again that's just me, I like it clean and usually toss the next pint out for good measure and then start watching for hearts through the run. Farmer you'll find alot of hobby distilling is subjective and tailored to each distiller, find your sweet spot or comfort zone and roll with it. Change your process as knowledge and experience leads you, but first of all be safe, then go for quality.

[Hack]

I run a thumper with my rig so I get my final product on the first run. I usually toss around 200ml as foreshots on a 7.5 gallon charge and any fores I miss are still set aside as heads anyway.

Edited fro pro grammaticalness..ness... nneess..