My first wash, first still, first everything.

[DaveZ]

Hi guys,

First attempt at home distilling here, been reading heaps of stuff on this forum and have learnt heaps so far. Considering I knew nothing about distillation a fortnight ago I don't think I'm doing too bad so far.

I've gone down a path that not many would recommend here, using the Still Spirits T500 still. I wanted something "plug & play", so to speak, to learn the ropes with. I might look at trying to build my own once I'm comfortable with the process.

I put down my first wash yesterday, 2 X 25L washes based on Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe, it seems as good a place as any to start and better than walking out of the home brew shop with an arm full of packets. I mixed them both up to 1.090SG and they were both around the 30C mark in temp.



This morning the temps are around 32C and the SG on the first bucket has dropped to around 1.068 already I didn't quite expect things to be happening that quickly. The second bucket is down to about 1.078, but it's a few hours younger than the first one.





I ran some vinegar through the still last night, then thought I'd do a trial run with alcohol this morning. I put 15 litres or so of water in the still, then threw in about 600mls of 80 proof bourbon that I didn't particularly like. I figured there should be about 240mls of alcohol in that. I recovered 230ml of product, but have no way of testing the strength at the moment, I need a tall thin glass vessel to use my alcometer in. I had the temps a little high early on while I was working out the adjustments, so the purity might be a little off, but for the purpose of a trial run it doesn't really matter.

I have a question on the still operation, which I might post in the T500 thread as well. The manual says to just try to keep outlet temps between 55C and 60C for high quality, and 60C and 65C for faster production with a little loss of quality. It seems to me that instead of shooting for a temp target I'd be better off just maintaining as cool a temp as possible while still getting a slow drip from the output line?? Wouldn't this result in the highest quality output, given that you're maintaining as much reflux as possible while still getting some output? I know the actual output temp will vary through the run, which is why I figure I'd be better off worrying about the output volume rather than number on the thermometer, although the temp reading will be a handy guide I think. Am I on the right track or totally off base?

Thanks for all your help guys.

Cheers,
Dave.

[bellybuster]

I'm diggin those buckets, what brand is on them.

If you were me Id get a sample jar instead of just floating your Hyd. in the wash. Use a sanitised wine theif or even a turkey baster and have the container open the minimum time to take your sample.
Best thing you can do for your wash is to set it, ensure it is in fact fermenting and then forget it for at least 5 days. Yeast are very bashful and like to be left alone.

BTW, your wash looks yummy

[Prairiepiss]

No reason to keep checking the SG. Let it do its thing. And when its done bubbling then check it. The more you mess with it. The more of a chance of infection.

Running the T-500 you should stick with the manufactures suggestions.

[DaveZ]

Thanks guys.

The buckets have the brand "iMake" on the side, but they're really just a 30L bucket with a sealed lid and graduated markings on the side. I coloured the 20L and 25L markings in with a permanent marker as they are the ones I wanted to see easily. The lid has a hole in it that takes a rubber grommet and the bubbler.

Yep, I understand the whole infection thing and not disturbing the wash, but it's my first one, I'm a little excited, probably to the detriment of the finished product, I'll try to be good and not peek

[DaveZ]

Tonight the wash looks like it's reached its end point, there's no more bubbling and the wash has cleared somewhat. My initial SG was 1.090, finish is 0.94. According to the calc on the parent site that equates to 19.3% ABV, a fair bit higher than I was expecting. I'll have to run it and see what the end product turns out like. I guess dialling back the sugar for the next run would be a good idea? I think I'll follow what I've read elsewhere and start at 1.060SG and compare the results. Looking to run this tomorrow night or Thursday morning. Looking forward to my first run, though expecting the learning curve to be steep. Thanks for all your help so far guys.

Dave.

[DaveZ]

I've just finished running both these washes. I tried to do each wash in a single run through my reflux still, but wasn't 100% happy with my results, so I combined the product and watered down for a final run. I discarded 100+mls on each run to make sure there were no foreshots left. I could still detect a different scent in maybe the first 5-600mls of the spirit run, so this has been kept aside as heads for the next distilling run. I couldn't really detect any "tails" but I put the last few hundred mls in the feints collection anyway. After cutting the spirit down to 40%, I ended up with about 12.5 Litres of drink. I think it's not too bad for my first run, but not perfect either, when compared to a bought vodka there's a bit more of an aftertaste in mine. I suspect that could be from either not allowing the wash to settle for long enough after fermentation, not racking correctly resulting in some sediment in the boiler (I have a proper racking siphon on order but it hasn't arrived yet), or starting with too high an initial SG (1.090) resulting in yeast stress. All things to experiment with as I learn what the hell I'm doing.

In saying all that, the end product is quite drinkable, I was rather "happy" by the end of the night last night and no sign of a headache this morning so it can't be all that bad right?

My biggest problem is that I have a work mate who's been distilling his own drink for many years, he tells me I'm mad for doing it the way I am because his way is the best way, the only way, and his drink is the best. He tells me I MUST use Turbo yeast and MUST carbon filter, he won't let it go I'm hoping I can get this recipe, or one of the other sugar washes, good enough to shut him up but I'm not there yet.

I'm going to get a couple more fermenters and try the birdwatchers recipe again in 2, but leave to settle for longer this time, and wineos plain ol sugar wash in the other 2, and compare the results. All in all I'm quite happy with my first run, I half expected I'd end up with something only suitable for running my lawn mower on.

Cheers,
Dave.