First Spirit Run Questions

[madmattie]

Just finished a spirit run for the Gerber recipe. This is my first "real" spirit run. My only previous experience is with fiddling around with Franzia washes, which didn't produce very good results.

The whole process seems to take a looooong time. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Below is my whole run. Comments on what I could do differently are much appreciated. I think I could have saved about a 1/2 hour by calling it quits after collecting what I calculated to be 68% of the total alcohol. But, I've read on here that things shouldn't really slow down until after collecting about 75%. Also, I topped out at collecting 78% which seems odd.

At any rate, my boiler charge was less than 1.5 gallons @ ~50% and it took over 3 hours. That seems wrong. That would mean a 4 gallon charge @ ~50% would take about 6 hours! Is that right?

Also, my setup time is about 30 minutes and my tear down time is about 1 hour. How does that compare to other folks'?

And, finally, it was surprising to me that the temp held at 168F for so long, and then later (container 7) dropped back down to 168F. Does this mean that there were a whole bunch of foreshots/heads in the wash?

Charge:
4613.471 ml @ ~ 49.5% (99 proof)
Total ABV: 2283.668145 ml

Run:
~9:30 - Start setup
10:07 - start heating on 10 (heat setting for stove-top element).
10:22 - temp starts rising. lower heat to 3. (T0)
10:24 - temp between 169-171.
10:26 - raise heat to 4.
10:30 - temp between 168-170.
10:32 - temp at 168. start collecting container 1.
10:35 - temp at 169. stop collecting container 1.
10:37 - temp between 171-172.
10:38 - start collecting container 2.
10:41 - stop collecting container 2. temp at 172.
10:43 - temp between 171-172.
10:51 - start collecting container 3. temp at 171.
10:53 - stop collecting container 3. temp at 172.
11:03 - start collecting container 4. temp between 171-172.
11:18 - stop collecting container 4. temp at 172.
11:21 - start collecting container 5. temp at 171.
11:38 - stop collecting container 5. temp at 174.
11:53 - start collecting container 6. temp between 172-173.
12:08 - stop collecting container 6. temp at 175. heat off. heat to 4.
12:23 - start collecting container 7. temp at 168.
12:57 - stop collecting container 7. temp between 170-173.
01:07 - start collecting container 8. temp at 170.
01:14 - stop collecting container 8. temp at 177. heat off. heat to 4.
01:30 - start collecting container 9. temp at 175. open valve. close valve.
01:32 - temp at 175.
01:37 - stop collecting container 9. temp at 187.
01:39 - start collecting container 10. open valve. temp at 193.
01:48 - stop collecting container 10. heat off. temp at 208.
02:26 - teardown done.

Collections:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Measurements       |          Collection        |            Alcohol Collected
------------------------------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------
     Volume    ABV            |   time     rate     T - T0 |      Container       |      Cumulative
     (ml)    (proof)   temp   |  (mins)  (ml/min)   (h:mm) |     ml    % of total |      ml        % 
------------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------|-------------------
 1:   100   |  188   | 168.0  |     3  |   33     |  0:13  |   94    |     4.12   |    94    |  4.12
 2:   100   |  184   | 171.5  |     3  |   33     |  0:19  |   92    |     4.03   |   186    |  8.15
 3:   100   |  190   | 171.5  |     2  |   50     |  0:31  |   95    |     4.16   |   281    | 12.31
 4:   200   |  188   | 171.5  |    15  |   13.33  |  0:58  |  188    |     8.23   |   469    | 20.54
 5:   400   |  187   | 171.5  |    17  |   23.53  |  1:16  |  374    |    16.38   |   843    | 36.92
 6:   375   |  186   | 172.0  |    15  |   25     |  1:46  |  348.7  |    15.27   |  1191.7  | 52.19
 7:   400   |  189   | 172.5  |    34  |   11.76  |  2:35  |  378    |    16.55   |  1569.7  | 68.74
 8:   100   |  186   | 174.0  |     7  |   14.29  |  2:52  |   93    |     4.07   |  1662.7  | 72.81
 9: < 100   |  183   | 180.0  |     7  | > 14.29  |  3:15  |   91.5  |     4.01   |  1754.2  | 76.82
10:   200   |   30   |   --   |     9  |   22.22  |  3:26  |   30    |     1.31   |  1784.2  | 78.13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The temp in the above table is a guess. The temp varied throughout all the collections; it was more steady with collections 1-6.
*The T-T0 is the elapsed time from when the vapor reached temp (~168). This number includes waiting for the column to equalize. This number does not include setup time or tear down time.

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

What kind of still are you using?

[madmattie]

Great question!

I'm using an LM: Rad's combo reflux. Here's my build:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 32&t=43390

[madmattie]

Also, I was vaguely following LM Still Operation Instructions

[Hound Dog]

You should follow Huskers instructions exactly. It is a great guide on how to run a LM still. It looks like you built a rig that was meant to run quite slow. I would expect it to take a while.

When you get a chance to play with it, notice that the temp can be varied by changing the product takeoff rate and leaving the burner setting alone. Also the electric stove burner cycling on and off is not helping your cause a bit. You should look into a consistent heat source.

Keep at it.

[madmattie]

You should follow Huskers instructions exactly. It is a great guide on how to run a LM still. It looks like you built a rig that was meant to run quite slow. I would expect it to take a while.

When you get a chance to play with it, notice that the temp can be varied by changing the product takeoff rate and leaving the burner setting alone. Also the electric stove burner cycling on and off is not helping your cause a bit. You should look into a consistent heat source.

Keep at it.

Thanks, Hound Dog. I should have used the phrase "for the most part" instead of "vaguely". I pretty much did everything on Husker's instructions except I only waited 10 minutes before drawing off the fores. Next run I'll be a bit more precise.

Once I reached temp, the burner was fixed to a constant setting and I was able to vary vapor temp by controlling the valve.

Throughout the run I'd shut off the valve and let the temp fall back to between 171-172. I did notice the temp fluctuate a bit, and I'm aware of the burner cycling, but it seemed manageable.

I'm still not sure how I held 168 for so long and was able to come back to it later in the run. Does that indicate that there are still some heads that need to be drawn off?

[madmattie]

It's been over 24 hours now and tonight I taste tested my containers.

For each of the containers I taste tested, I mixed 1 tbsp of distilled water with 1 tbsp of alcohol, stirred, swished in my mouth a bit and then spat it out.

Here are my notes, in the order I tasted:

---------------------------------------------------------
   | Proof |  Smell   | Flavor |   Clarity   |  Harshness
---------------------------------------------------------
 5 |  93.5 |  Good    | None   |  Immediate  |  2
 6 |  93   |  Good    | None   |  Immediate  |  0 (least)
 7 |  94.5 |  Good    | None   |  Immediate  |  1
 4 |  94   | Scented  | Small  |  A little   |  4
 3 |  95   | Scented  | Small  |  A little   |  5 (most)
 8 |  93   |  Good    | Small  |  A little   |  3
---------------------------------------------------------

* Clarity is the time it took for the blend to be completely clear.

Container 1 had the foreshots which I smelt, and container 2 had some fores and heads, which smelled better than 1, but still no good. I poured both of these into a Fores container.

Containers 9 & 10 were rancid. I poured both of these into a Feints container.

That leaves:

Heads : 3, 4     ->  270.43 ml @ 188
Hearts: 5, 6, 7  -> 1130.64 ml @ 187
Tails : 8        ->   85.21 ml @ 186

Total: 1486.28 ml

I will blend some of 5, 6, 7, and 4 and oak. I'll use the rest of the hearts for some neutral experiments. The remaining Heads and Tails will be stored for future blending.


I'd say, success!

[madmattie]

I used it all up, like so:

Set 300 ml of 63% ABV from 200ml of 6 and 100ml of water on "oak".

Looked like this:

Oaking

20 minutes later it looked like this:

Next, I mixed the rest of containers 5 & 6 together which yielded 500ml @ 90% ABV. I started the soaking phase of limoncello following Making lemoncello.

Next, I mixed containers 4, 7, & 8 together which yielded 950 ml @ 58% ABV. I made Kahlua following Taters Kahlua This is the only thing I tasted, and it's damn good. The misses approves.

Here's a group photo of my new family members:

My 3 liquors

[madmattie]

Been a couple of weeks now. The limoncello has finished up. Here's a picture of her all dolled up:

Yielded a bit over a liter. The limoncello is fantastic and I should be enjoying for quite sometime. I'm thinking this stuff would make an excellent gift.

The gerbsky I set on a charred oak has colored nicely after 2 weeks. Here's a pic of it diluted to 86 proof:

The gerbsky is super woody/oaky and pretty harsh. I suppose I can't complain for a 2 week job. I'm going to leave the undiluted bit (~200ml) on for another 2 weeks and dilute and see if I can tell the difference between the 100ml diluted pictured above. I just started a batch of UJSSM. I'm much more interested in oaking/maturing UJSSM than gerbsky.

That said, the Gerber recipe is absolutely fantastic for a neutral, and I've already got another stripped batch waiting for a spirit run. A great base for liqueurs!