Thanks for all the advice... First one's a success!
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:13 pm
My first run in the pot still was 12 gallons of sweet feed mash. I didn't have any hydrometers to do the wash, so I just followed the recipe as posted here. It fermented out in 5 days, so I racked it off and put it in the fridge to clear overnight.
I started nice and slow Saturday Morning. Almost forgot, (I Added a thump keg also). I took off about a 1/2 pint of foreshots, then caught the next part of the run in a quart jar. After this was full, I used 1/2 pint jars for the remainder of the run, which took about 5 hours. I could tell when I started getting into the tails, because the product started getting cloudy. Not includung the bad stuff, I distilled 1.5 gallons of nice looking, smelling stuff. By the way my hydrometer arrived Saturday, so I did some testing.
Started off at 180, then dropped down in proof every other pint or so, 170, 160, 150... Towards the end it really started dropping off fast, and I quit at around 60. It was a great learning experience.
Now, the questions!
1. I never could discern any real different smells throughout the run. The only part that really smelled different was the first 1/2 pint, which I discarded. Should I be able to tell when the hearts come through? What smell should I try to notice? All the way until I shut the burner off, everything smelled wonderful. I've read about wet cardboard smell for tails, but I didn't get any of that.
2. I saved 3 gallons of the wash after distilling, and am planning to add this back into my next batch. Can I keep it at room temperature, or should I refrigerate it until I can use it?
3. On average, how long should I let this sit on charred oak chips? I charred some myself (white oak plank) and put 4-5 pieces per quart jar about 2" x 2" x 1/4" in size each, after I cut the proof to around 90.
Once again, thanks for all the information. This place rocks!
I started nice and slow Saturday Morning. Almost forgot, (I Added a thump keg also). I took off about a 1/2 pint of foreshots, then caught the next part of the run in a quart jar. After this was full, I used 1/2 pint jars for the remainder of the run, which took about 5 hours. I could tell when I started getting into the tails, because the product started getting cloudy. Not includung the bad stuff, I distilled 1.5 gallons of nice looking, smelling stuff. By the way my hydrometer arrived Saturday, so I did some testing.
Started off at 180, then dropped down in proof every other pint or so, 170, 160, 150... Towards the end it really started dropping off fast, and I quit at around 60. It was a great learning experience.
Now, the questions!
1. I never could discern any real different smells throughout the run. The only part that really smelled different was the first 1/2 pint, which I discarded. Should I be able to tell when the hearts come through? What smell should I try to notice? All the way until I shut the burner off, everything smelled wonderful. I've read about wet cardboard smell for tails, but I didn't get any of that.
2. I saved 3 gallons of the wash after distilling, and am planning to add this back into my next batch. Can I keep it at room temperature, or should I refrigerate it until I can use it?
3. On average, how long should I let this sit on charred oak chips? I charred some myself (white oak plank) and put 4-5 pieces per quart jar about 2" x 2" x 1/4" in size each, after I cut the proof to around 90.
Once again, thanks for all the information. This place rocks!
JK