Newbie here. Some basic methanol questions:

[Pastis]

I have always wanted to get into distilling spirits. I bought a 4l turbo air still as a start to get my feet wet. Someday I will build a real one!

I have a few questions related to methanol in home hooch making.

I have run two batches of cheap wine through the still to just see what the whole process is like.

I have a question about the safety of distilling alcohol from a cheaper wine. I realize that grapes have pectin, and this can lead to some methanol production in the initial fermentation. I realize that whatever methanol that is in the wine will be in my spirits, and I cannot create new methanol by distilling. The alcohol I consume in the distilled product would have the same amount of methanol as if I were to consume the same amount of alcohol by drinking the wine. So I am fairly sure that the levels of methanol are safe in this home distilled spirit. Regardless of this fact, I'd still like to reduce the amount of methanol to enhance flavor and lessen headache likelihood!

I have read that many people pour off the first 150 ML of their distillation to get rid of the methanol. I am only distilling one gallon of wine or wash at a time, therefor I think 150 ML may be excessive. How much should I pour off?

Also, being that methanol is created from pectin, I have another safety question about my desire to make apple spirits. I have clear, filtered store grade apple juice. This is all natural, not from concentrate juice with no preservatives. It is Tree Top brand all natural. It is crystal clear. It will ferment, I have a cousin who makes wine from this stuff all the time.

I am fermenting a 3 gallon batch. I simply sterilized my fermenter, put in the 3 gallons and added the necessary amount of champagne yeast. I figure this taking about 7 days to ferment. Using this fermentation method, should I be worried about methanol? If so, what should I do? How much do I need to pour off?