Newbie's First Wash

[wvshinestill]

Just ran our first sugar wash and 45 abv wash through the still. We are ready to do the real thing but, we cant figure out if we are supposed to strain the mash or just dump it all in the still. It seems like the cornmeal will burn on the bottom if we just leave it in there. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

[Dnderhead]

leave it set a while , after yeast have stopped, every thing will settle to bottom, then siphon off the clear, could will speed this up.also degassing will help,
that is just stirring/agatating to remove co2.

[Fester]

yep, what dnderhead said. if the wash has stopped fermenting, just give it a good stir with a very clean spoon and let it rest for a few days to settle out.

as this is your first post, a few basics should be walked through.
Have you cleaned out your still by running a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water through it? i mean actually distilling the vinegar? if not, you should. you will quickly find the problems and can fix them before you distill your wash. Also, you should be able to produce clean pure distilled water with your still. Of course it is cheaper to buy it than to make it, but it is a great test of you and your still.

after you have done all that, you will have a lot more confidence when distilling your wash.

everyone here has been where you are now. we are all pulling for you.

Fester

[ScottishBoy]

You want to let it settle out a bit. If you have a cold place ( cool actually) and you are sure its finished, then place it there for a day and it should settle down. I find that with my corn I never get an absolutely clear wash. Mine is usually about the look of ricewater in terms of clarity. But it come out just fine.

As long as all the solids are out of the mix, you should be okay, just remember to heat slow. Dont forget some boiling chips in your boiler. It will help the boil and minimize the chances of the pukes.

Good luck ( and post some pics!)

[wvshinestill]

First Run Complete! I had some issues with the propane and shut it down sooner than I would have liked. I could get the thermometer to peg on 173 but, the wind blowing would fluctuate it from 165 to 180 for no more than 10-15 seconds. Should this be a worry? I separated the first pint of heads out and put a fresh container under the rest of it. It yielded about 1/3 of a gallon.

As far as the heads go, I think I read that I am supposed to save them and put them back into the next batch of mash. If that is correct, do I do it for the entire mashing process or just add it to the clear part of the mash that I siphon off and put in the pot.

My testing equipment will arrive today to test the final product. I nipped it the other night and it wasnt bad.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated and pass on down the line. Thanks.

BTW - I am using a reflux still.

[Dnderhead]

you add heads and tales to the next run (the boiler ,next time you distill) not to the wash/mash as that can kill the yeast.
also if you put a shield around your fire /boiler it will help with the wind. ( a piece of sheet mettle like roofing will work)

[itsroger]

I believe I would try to get that catch jug farther away from the fire, that alcohol will burn like gasoline, only with invisible flames!

[wvshinestill]

I have a electic side burner on the way. I was standing there with the jug and I really dont want a yard fire or my truck to blow up. Thanks for all the input about the heads!

I did not separate the foreshots from the heads! Will the acetone and methanol evaporate out again or should I discard the whole batch and save the heads from the next distilling?

[Dnderhead]

id just take a a bit extra when you do run them, but do not make it a habit as they can accumulate.

[rad14701]

No plastics... Get rid of the milk jug and use copper, stainless steel, or glass...

[olddog]

I could get the thermometer to peg on 173 but, the wind blowing would fluctuate it from 165 to 180 for no more than 10-15 seconds. Should this be a worry?

You have a potstill, which does not need a thermometer as the temp will change as the run progresses.


OD

[wvshinestill]

does a pot still have a reflux column packed with copper scrubbers? the guy that built the still added the thermometer in during the build. am i missing something?

[olddog]

Thats still a potstill with a few scrubbers added with a leibig condenser.


OD

[kiwistiller]

generally when we talk about reflux stills here we are talking about forced reflux. your still there will get a tiny amount of passive reflux, but it isn't really the same as the forced reflux designs. best treat it as a pot still.

[wvshinestill]

back to the research/learnin' then. No wonder my first batch was 94 proof, we had the process wrong.

[LWTCS]

back to the research/learnin' then. No wonder my first batch was 94 proof, we had the process wrong.

Well dang,,,,,,,,not if your potstilling.

hope ya ain't collecting in that bucket.

[WalkingWolf]

LWTCS -- 47% alcohol would be 'bout right for a potstill.

WVShineStill -- Consider this your "stripping" run. Save up 3 or 4 stripping runs then put'em all together, dilute down to 40% and rerun. This will be your spirit run. Run this one slower than the stripping run to allow a better transition to make cuts. As LWTCS pointed out -- I hope your not really collecting your output in that plastic bucket.

[LWTCS]

47% alcohol would be 'bout right for a potstill.

That would have been on the high side for my first lil stove top rig.

47% is very respectable..............for a lil potstill.

[Dnderhead]

at what percent was the wash? that makes a big diferance with a pot. 45% should almost be good to drink as is. depending on wash.
there is a cupple of us that run off fruit at 50% or so.then if doing neutreal you can water it down and rerun, at 45% it whould be good
to go,no watering down ,no clouding .only thing the cuts are sharper with a reflux still so they are easer to make.but not nessasary if you alow for them.

[wvshinestill]

no plastic buckets gang! we converted to glass. thanks for all the input. we will run some more stripping runs and then a final. i just learned today that i need to put the hydrometer in the mash as well. we didn't have one before we started the first run. when i get through some more stripping runs and get a good spirit run, i'll update. thanks again for all of your help!

ps - whats with putting marbles in the boiler?

[rad14701]

ps - whats with putting marbles in the boiler?

Actually marbles aren't the best choice for "boiling chips" because they don't provide as many nucleation points as other materials like a stainless steel or copper scrubber or two, or a handful of copper scraps...

[LWTCS]

whats with putting marbles in the boiler?

Helps distribute heat within the boiler better.

Also, the sound created can help one gage where they are within the run.
As alcohol gets depleted the wash temp will increase and likely put them marbles to dancin,,,,,,,,more vigorously as the run progresses.

[rubber duck]

And I thought I was the only crazy one that could tell where I was in a run by the sound of my marbles. Wow I'm sane or LWTCS is crazy to, I can live with that.

[blanikdog]

Best way to tell, RD. Unless one loses their marbles of course. I actually have to use bits of copper cos I've lost mine, but the principle is the same.

blanik

[ScottishBoy]

If you go to any hobby store, they usually have these melted glass chips ( they kind used for decorations) that they sell very cheap and they make great boiling chips. Pluse they are a bit flat so they dont move around so much and they dont come out when you dump your boiler. They wont crack and they stand very little chance of being used for something else. Bout 10 of em in the pot and your good to go. Very little burping.

[wvshinestill]

It's been a long time since we have updated but, we have six jars of stinky shine. We are still baffled at the temperature standards. With a pot still, do we just basically light a fire under it and let it run? We still feel like there is still a piece of the puzzle missing that we cannot find in any of the literature that we have.

We stepped up to a nice fermentor and ceramic column filler from brewhaus this last time. Here's our process.

Mash:

12 lbs. Sugar
I large bag for corn meal
3 packs of bakers yeast
25 liters of water

Process:

siphon the mash off
bring mash up to temp on our stove
transfer mash to hotplate - this is so we can hook up the hoses to the condenser
bring steam temp up to 173 at the top of the column
throwing out the first 50ml of the distillate
runs for 3-5 hours

because we have a pot still, the forum has advised us that we don't need to use a thermometer. what steps are we missing or should we replace with a new one? we really feel that this is missing key to our success for a great outcome. thanks in advance.

[moonshiner dave]

Sounds like your having troubles with making the cuts. Do you use a proofing parrot with an alchometer in it to measure your output?

[WalkingWolf]

because we have a pot still, the forum has advised us that we don't need to use a thermometer. what steps are we missing or should we replace with a new one? we really feel that this is missing key to our success for a great outcome. thanks in advance.

Sorry I missed this one wvshinestill -- moonshiner dave hit the nail on the head -- you're not making cuts. Read up on cuts and you'll find yourself making much better liquor. Also, a parrot and hydrometer will assist a great deal in making cuts. If you have a batch ready to run put it all together as you've described. Throw the 1st 100mls. Collect another 900 mls and save for the feints. Collect the next 2 liters to keep for drinking. Then collect the rest for feints to add back for the next run. With that said, that will give you some decent alcohol to drink while you set about learning what cuts are all about. There is more useable liquor in that run but you will need to learn where to make your separations.