Strip run temperature

[Cornbread]

On a strip run, can I just "crank her up" from the start as long as I am below 210 F or 211 F? Or should I slowly raise temperature like when regular distilling a finished product?

[blind drunk]

I strip as fast as I can. I go all out right until the top of the column is too hot to touch, cut back on the heat so I could get control back, do a safety check and assess for puking/foaming and then bring it back up until it starts to drip. Then I do my final temp. adjustments to about my maximum output which is about 3.5 liters per hour. Good luck, bd.

[Cornbread]

I strip as fast as I can. I go all out right until the top of the column is too hot to touch, cut back on the heat so I could get control back, do a safety check and assess for puking/foaming and then bring it back up until it starts to drip. Then I do my final temp. adjustments to about my maximum output which is about 3.5 liters per hour. Good luck, bd.

3 1/2 L per hour.......Crap.I've been runing for1/2 day and have 8 1/2 ounces (including heads). Dang "baby - still.

[rad14701]

With my 8 liter stock pot I spend more time setting up, bringing to temperature, and tearing down than I do collecting my strip runs... Where it pays off is when doing one clean spirit run through my reflux column with the pot still mode strips... That spirit run is much more stable as well, requiring far less adjustments...

[Cornbread]

OK.I probably am confused but why (with Pot Still) make a 1st run and get 120 proof (with pot still), then make 2nd run and get much higher proof, then water it down to 120 proof? I know I am missing something here.....the village idiot

[kiwistiller]

1 easier to make cuts on a second run with a low wines charge of 3 strips
2 smoother (for me)
3 time / effort economics... you have to do the last run slower, so if you have to do all your runs slow, it takes longer. if you blast through a few with minimal attention, and then do a spirit run, you'll probably save time. only one out of four runs requiring any thought.

[rad14701]

Successive passes through the pot still make the resulting spirits cleaner and higher in proof... If you understand reflux column theory then look at multiple passes through a pot still as akin to theoretical plate purity - to a point... As a rough example, running through a 2 theoretical plate pot still twice is similar to running through a 4 theoretical plate column once... By removing additional impurities each successive run is like using a column with an additional set of plates, increasing by the number of theoretical plates your pot still provides... Now, this is a very "loose" way of thinking about it but that's kinda how it can be interpreted...

[Cornbread]

DAMN..............I actually get it.............what is this world coming to....I actually GET IT......thanks y'all.

[big worm]

single runs tends to be harsh off my rig, the double run smooth's it down and lessens the "hot" feel in the mouth for me. i have never triple distilled except when i screwed up the cuts and added it back into the next double'n run. witch by the way makes a very good drink.

[Usge]

Probably most folks on a potstill double run (ie., strip/spirit run). But, it's all about taste. Some folks like flavor of single run. Some prefer it triple run. I think tater mentioned he single runs most times. There's a lot of ways to kill this bird though.

You can target your aging abv (usually around 120 proof) by proofing the still charge. It takes a little trial and error to work it out, but basically, if you are running a straight up potstill...lowering the proof of your starting still charge will lower the overall proof your aggregate run. That way, as you surmised, you water down less, keeping more of the natural flavor from the run..if that's your goal. Thats bearing in mind that there is nothing at all wrong with proofing your whitedog down from a higher proof. It's purely a taste thing. Having said that, you can use water to proof down your still charge, OR you can use wash/mash too...for added flavor. Reflux stills are a bit different. They tend to extract at high abv and hold it regardless of the starting proof of the wash/mash. In that case, it mainly just changes the yield...but could still be done for safety or other reasons.

You could also do mixed runs. Ie., do a strip run. Then combine the lowwines with more wash/mash. Strip it down again. Now you've got part of it distilled once, and part distilled twice. Take everything, and add more wash/mash to full. Run it a 3rd time slow., ie spirit run. Now you have a mix of single/double/triple. Should end up close to ageing/oaking proof (mine came out after cuts to around 138proof. Just takes a bit of water at that point to bring it on down. And the flavor is really good for oaking. Took a bit of work blending it, but it had a lot of flavor in it that should oak out well. You could also do a this with one additional run (ie, 3 strip, 1 spirit) using the same process that would lighten it up a bit more. Credit goes to Harry for that tip....who also has a good article on his site about proofing still charge.

[HookLine]

Also see 'Diluting the Still Charge' here (scroll down).