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Good afternoon. Started my 1st reflux again today. Did two stripping runs of Birdwatchers and ended up with 1.5 gallons of low wines.... I forgot the Abv. But I know I added about 3.5 gallons to bring the proof down before refluxing.

1st off. I learned a valuable lesson.......if using Firehouse subs buckets.....GET THE PICKLE SMELL OUT before using as a fermenter.

My low wines tasted of garlic and pickles....may keep that in mind for use in pickleback drinks later

Got my colum started warming up and let it start producing.

I took off 300 ml of each strip and still had fores/heads that smelled very strongly of acetone . Around jar 2-3 I hit what I believe is the hearts... nice warm mouthfeel with no discernable taste, just a little sweet. Checked with a proof and trailles and it was on the high side of the 190. Had shut down because it got late last night. Woke up this morning and fired her up again. Discarding 300 mls.

Pickle taste crept in a few times, so I put it back on full reflux and it went away. From reading here 20 mins in full reflux seems to be the minimum.

Pretty decent run, but my cooling water got hot fast because I'm using a cooler. So it never cooled completely from last night and was to lazy to get ice to help.

My question is what is a "normal" drop rate whole refluxing? 3-5 drips per sec? As I see, refluxing can take all day.

I did take 1 pint of hearts and proofed down to 80 to enjoy as I finish. Its s bit cloudy but I think because the jar was not pristine, I used store bought distilled water.

So I have a sbout a half gallon of 190 sitting in a jug waiting to be mated with the rest. Its outside away from everything (fire hazard)

Just want to say I have learned more just by lurking this site than I could have imagined. Thank you all.

Hi, I'm not sure I understand your process well (my fault). If your distillate is cloudy you have probably caught too many tails, that's just a guess. Hearts shouldn't have strange tastes and smells.

Distillate was crystal clear. Got cloudy when I proofed down. Probably the jar.. taste great and clean.

Proofed down a jar after in a different jar...still clear. So I blame the jar.

Add likker to distilled water, not distilled water to likker and it is less likely to cloud.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:55 pm Add likker to distilled water, not distilled water to likker and it is less likely to cloud.

Deplorable, a curiosity, will this make a difference? I've never heard this ....

Demy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:33 am

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:55 pm Add likker to distilled water, not distilled water to likker and it is less likely to cloud.

Deplorable, a curiosity, will this make a difference? I've never heard this ....

When I diluted a jar a while back I had this issue. Added distilled water to a jar of 74% to reduce it to 40% and it clouded up. Did a search here and found that advice. Tried again adding booze to water, and it was crystal clear. Now thats the only way I will dillute.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:23 am

Demy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:33 am

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:55 pm Add likker to distilled water, not distilled water to likker and it is less likely to cloud.

Deplorable, a curiosity, will this make a difference? I've never heard this ....

When I diluted a jar a while back I had this issue. Added distilled water to a jar of 74% to reduce it to 40% and it clouded up. Did a search here and found that advice. Tried again adding booze to water, and it was crystal clear. Now thats the only way I will dillute.

Thank you very much, it's one of those practical tips to keep on hand. I wonder what the scientific explanation is ......

there are a couple threads that discuss the reasons, but i didn't read all the way through to see if a definitive explanation was provided.

Yall are great. If it doesn't clear up I'll re-run it.