Home Distiller

Ran my first UJSSM Tonight, right off the still it has a nice mellow flavor, very impressed! I ran a single run on my pot still, held a broken stream the entire time I do have a question. My og was 1.07 and my fg was .98. So if I did it right that's about 11.8% alcohol?

1.07 - .98 = .09
.09 * 131 = 11.79

I ran around a 7-8 gallon charge, pulling around 65% for the first 2 quarts then 58% then finally I think around 52% before I got into the tails and cut it off. My % per jar may be off as I failed to record them and am going off Memory, the first 2 quarts were right around 65% though, the other 2 I'm not certain. My next question is this, 65% seems very low to me, am I messing something up or is that normal for pot still runs? I feel like I read it is normal and to dilute it and run it again to increase the abv...? I also had my first taste of tails and the wet cardboard nastiness that come along with them, I feel initiated now! This is only my second run but I'd like to know sooner rather than later if I am making mistakes and how to correct them. Aside from the low abv I am very happy with this run, it really has a very nice flavor. Now to put it all back and do the next generation of it thanks for all of the help and feedback, I sure love this new hobby!

I get a slightly lower number from the parent site, but it is negligible. Congrats on your first UJ.

MmmPeace wrote:Ran my first UJSSM Tonight, right off the still it has a nice mellow flavor, very impressed! I ran a single run on my pot still, held a broken stream the entire time I do have a question. My og was 1.07 and my fg was .98. So if I did it right that's about 11.8% alcohol?

1.07 - .98 = .09
.09 * 131 = 11.79

I ran around a 7-8 gallon charge, pulling around 65% for the first 2 quarts then 58% then finally I think around 52% before I got into the tails and cut it off. My % per jar may be off as I failed to record them and am going off Memory, the first 2 quarts were right around 65% though, the other 2 I'm not certain. My next question is this, 65% seems very low to me, am I messing something up or is that normal for pot still runs? I feel like I read it is normal and to dilute it and run it again to increase the abv...? I also had my first taste of tails and the wet cardboard nastiness that come along with them, I feel initiated now! This is only my second run but I'd like to know sooner rather than later if I am making mistakes and how to correct them. Aside from the low abv I am very happy with this run, it really has a very nice flavor. Now to put it all back and do the next generation of it thanks for all of the help and feedback, I sure love this new hobby!

Some sources multiply by 129 some by 131 I think the site calc uses 130 to split the difference. But yeah,
Negligible.

What about the ABV I'm collecting, does it seem to be in the normal range for a single pot still run? Thanks all!

For a single run that seems about right.

Seems about normal. Best thing you can do is get you a case of pint jars or two of half pint jars to collect in to help with cuts though.

If you strip below 40%, there is no need to dilute for the spirit run and the flavor will be better. My preference is to use a fermenter that provides three or four charges so that each ferment gives enough low wines for a spirit run. That makes it a lot easier to get some good quality likker aging in your cellar.

NZChris wrote:If you strip below 40%, there is no need to dilute for the spirit run and the flavor will be better. My preference is to use a fermenter that provides three or four charges so that each ferment gives enough low wines for a spirit run. That makes it a lot easier to get some good quality likker aging in your cellar.

+1 barrels are for fermentation, buckets are for experiments

Thanks a lot!