A Basic Hello and mistakes already made

[Powerfull]

Hello All,

I am new to all of this and must say i have already learned an amazing amount in the week i have been reading on the site. My first mistake was not researching a better still, although i bought a typicall pot still, i did want a reflux still( which i thought i was getting). With all of this said i think it will give me time to play around with the pot still and get some good practice before i make any upgrades to a "real reflux still". It will also give me better practice at stripping runs, getting to know the difference between the foreshots, heads, hearts and tails...

Im going to try to start with a typical Birdwatchers sugar recipe, this seems to be a good starting point , am i right in saying this? ( can i still get a neutral spirit if i do enough stripping runs before i do a spirit run with a pot still?) I still have plenty of reading to do, i must have read the definitions, cuts page and birdwatcher recipe 57 page thread about three times now, and continue to go back and forth to try to better understand what i dont ..

I must say trying this all seems very intimidating to me but im not one to give up and i will be sticking to this.

Any advice for a new guy other than all of the "new guy" threads i have read is always appreciated...

Thanks in advance... Back to reading..

[gumbl]

Hello Powerfull!

I found that it was easier to understand a lot of the things in those massive threads after trying the stuff out myself. Then when I read it again, I could relate better to most of what the guys were saying.

[Prairiepiss]

Welcome aboard.

I assuming you are looking to make a neutral or vodka? Please tell us what you want to make?

[Powerfull]

I want to start off making nuetral , but with just a simple pot still, a flavored vodka would be fine . Im just trying to ease my way into this..i dont want to run before i can walk

I have all my equiptment ready to go, a few different yeasts( not turbo) ingrediants( for birdwatchers), hydrometers, thermometers, buckets, airlocks, etc. Trying to be as prepared as i can, but im still reading some things such as should i keep a loose lid on my bucket or airlock it after 3 days( seems to be different opinions and styles)? also the temps in my house or in my garage that would be best suitable to let the mash sit. I also have plenty of aquarium heaters if i needed to put my bucket inside a bucket of water to accomedate temp, but i think i will have a sweet spot with temperature in my garage perhaps..

I just recieved my still so i have to put it through the cleaning runs as reccomended, in the meantime i would like to start a mash.

Thanks for the replies,

[Braz]

Powerfull,

You can get a perfectly nice vodka (neutral) out of a pot still but it will take three or more distillations to get there. Each time you dilute it to under 40% (I like 30% myself) and re-run it it will shed some flavor and become more neutral. Instead of Birdwatcher's, I'd go with Rad's All Bran. Run in a pot still it will carry over some of the wheat flavor from the All Bran which can be a nice subtle flavor addition to a vodka.

[Prairiepiss]

A pot still isn't the best tool for a neutral. It can make a decent vodka. Would need to run it 3 or 4 times. A pot still makes a flavored drink like rum, whiskey, or brandy much better. For a true neutral a reflux still would be the best choice.

Some do use the Birdwatchers recipe with a lot still. But it was really designed to be ran in a reflux still. So keep that in mind.

I personaly would recommend Rad's all bran in a pot still. Ran 3 times it would make a really nice vodka.

Posting while braz was.

[Powerfull]

Thanks guys,

I didnt see that recipe but now im on the 11th page This is the recipe i will try to run first instead of the birdwachers per your reccomendations..Makes more sense and sounds like a fun try...back to reading!!

Thanks again,

[Odin]

My personal opinion: BW is great as a neutral. For mixing, fruit infusions, etc. If you are after a vodka, mouthfeel and some residual mouth feel make for a far more interesting product. All Bran is the way to go. I myself am currently doing some experiments with a wheat style UJSSM. First generation is all grain for a wheat whiskey. Then I use the grain & yeast bed to start making sugar heads on it for a vodka. Pot distill, then fractionate. I am sure it will be nice!

Odin.

[Powerfull]

So ive been taking some notes...Il still nowere ready to run yet but im trying to get a grip on things ..

Ill be trying the all bran original recipe, not the updated one with the boiled yeast component or 20-20-20 fert. i will however substitute some epsom salts
Maybe anyone can correct anything that doesnt look like a first timers "guidline"

I have EC-118 yeast that i will use 4g/ gallon to yield 18% ABV
* Simmer equal amounts of water and sugar for 30 minutes to invert sugar.
* Simmer the cereal with double the amount of water for 30 minutes.
* Top off fermenter and allow to cool to 95F
* Pitch yeast. ( i will do this at below 26 degrees c ??)
* Aerate for one hour.
* Cap and insert air lock.

keep my mash below 25C at all times
Ferm. will stop at 0.990-0.980
Let clear for 2-3 days
syphon out into pot then run

Turn on heat , slowly heat to 60 c
Throw away first 100ml
heads should start around 65-70c
hearts should start around 77-85c
anything after 85c consider tails but keep
collect nothing past 92c

Am i on the right track? im just trying to get a "first run" guidline to kind of follow? How am i doing?

Thanks again,

[Odin]

You may throw in yeast at 30 degrees as well. Surrounding temps may be 25 degrees. But as far as I am concerned 26 to 28 degrees will be fine too. Especially without the fertilizer your ferments will be slower. My experience: 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Higher temps will speed things up a bit, thus limiting your risk of infection. For a second generation, you may add some 10 to 20% of bacset from the strip run of your first generation. It adds cooked yeast nutrients and lowers ph.

Your distillation scheme: let it go. Try to do a strip run, collecting (pot still style) 1/3rd of boiler contents. So collect 7 liters from a 21 liter All Bran beer. Run it pretty fast. You will end up with 35%. Bit more or less. Dilute to 30% and run again. Indications on a 4 liter (1 gallon) spirit run (scalable): first 50 mls are fores (throw away), then 250 mls of heads, then 1 liter of hearts, then 250 mls of early tails.

Going for a vodka potstill style (and not using any activated carbon to filter with): save the 0.5 liter (per 4 liters) of heads & tails. Continue with the 1 liter hearts. In a whiskey All Bran style, you might add those feints (heads & tails) back into the next strip run. In a vodka, I wouldn't.

Okay, you now have 1 times (or more) 1 liter. Probably at around 65 to 70%. Dilute to 30% and re-run. Maybe a very small heads cut is needed ...

If you DO want to filter with activated, you might want to add the first half or tails to your hearts. The taste will be filtered out by the carbon ...

Hope this helps.

But ... taste & smell is what you need to train to get your cuts right. My indications are just that: indications to help you distinguish transition points.

Odin.

[rad14701]

Keep you potential yield at or below 14%, regardless of yeast strain... You'll have more hearts and less heads and tails...

[Powerfull]

Thanks for the advice rad,

Will do!

[Powerfull]

Hey guys,

I did a few strip runs with good sucess and was very happy. I recently ran the all bran recipe, everything came out suprisingly great from the mash to my output, however i had to cut the run short but some questions..

Out of a 2 or 3 gallon run how many mls/quarts do you yeild? i noticed if i run it at a temperature of around 77-80C i have a very very slow process going on once i hit 82C it picks up a bit but still very very slow, when i run at around 87-90 i have a very nice consistant drip. I collect in 250 ml jars to comprae taste and flaover and im starting to notice differences.. MY question is can i run the still at that temperature(87-90c) and get good results? it seems like the only reasonable temperature to do my run within 4-6 hours, anything lower would take days at the drip rate.. Also everything i was collecting at the higher temp was a very nice clear, non slick liquid, had a very nice smell and a very wheaty carryover taste....

Thanks,

[rad14701]

If you are running a pot still you should ignore the thermometer and apply enough heat to attain the take off rate you desire... It's just that simple... Then make cuts accordingly...