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If you're new and questioning why you'd take the old timers advice to strip 4 and run 1 spirit: here's a fellow newb's experience.

I run a 2" pot with a custom built lyne arm to a 3/4 over 1/2 liebig.

This is my second gumball (sugar head on top of spent grains from an all grain mash).

The first was a learning experience that:
a) didn't generate appropriate learning
b) didn't get four washes to the pot for the spirit run.

Because (a), I made the same mistakes on round 2.

The good news is that when the shit hit the fan (fermentation started to stall), the learning kicked in and I figured out my dumb mistake which I'll post up in the appropriate channel.

After correcting for (a) aka dumbsh!t, I got to last weekend with about 100 l of wash, 7 l of feints, and a 30 l pot. 5 strips later, tonight I'm loading the boiler with ~25l of 40%. Long slow spirit run. Absolutely blew my mind with how different the run was compared to one with less ABV.

On earlier spirit runs, once distillate starts to run, temps start to climb and ABV starts to drop. Completely different this time.

Fores ran at 82, Couple of early heads at 80, and then the run settled at 79, and ran. And ran, and ran. It was absolutely mind blowing. I pulled 5.1 l at 78% or higher, and the temps only rose 4 degrees F over that time.

Now TBH, that volume was collected in 12 jars. I sampled a taste of #10, and it is still a bit headsy, so much of that will probably end up as feints.

Big picture: running a full charge allows you to see your still in equilibrium, make a good quantity of product, and save some time. Try it you'll like it!

Drifter

It took me awhile to see the light as well regarding having a full boiler charge for spirit runs. I do mine at ~28% (at the recommendation of Swedish Pride), the hearts cut comes in close to aging strength that way without having to dilute much at all. Good on you for your progress.

The difference in a 40% low wine and a 28 - 30% low wine charge is in what the end product one is making.. 40% is the mark for neutral, 30% or less is for a flavor product.. and that for pot still use, whereas with a reflux a different approach is required.. two different animals..

Mars

StillerBoy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:18 am The difference in a 40% low wine and a 28 - 30% low wine charge is in what the end product one is making.. 40% is the mark for neutral, 30% or less is for a flavor product.. and that for pot still use, whereas with a reflux a different approach is required.. two different animals..

Mars

So what i am understanding, i will be running this weekend, 45 litres of low wines which are at just 40%....UJSSM....Are you recommending watering that down to 30% or have i mis understood...?,,,thanks..

ismbardbrunel123 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:07 amSo what i am understanding, i will be running this weekend, 45 litres of low wines which are at just 40%....UJSSM....Are you recommending watering that down to 30%,

or have i mis understood...?,,,thanks..

I think you may have understood, yes.

When stripping the wash (UJSSM), you should collect until the collected low wines are 25% to 30%ABV. This way, more of the flavors from the wash will carry over to the low wines, and ultimately, the product. No water dilution is needed then, for the spirit run.

For a neutral end product, you collect the low wines until the average is 40%, or so. Then, dilute with water to 30%ABV for the spirit run. This will reduce flavors from the end product, by eliminating the backend of the strip run from your low wines collection vessel.

Now, does this make sense?
ss

I do understand what you mean but, i am now at 40%, and can't change that...unless i water down which will take me to a neutral ?

ismbardbrunel123 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 12:04 pm I do understand what you mean but, i am now at 40%, and can't change that...unless i water down which will take me to a neutral ?

SS provided a further explanation.. now it's up to you to make the determination on what you want to end up with..

That's called learning before experiencing.. then doing which become experience.. much to learn before the doing in this hobby..

Mars

O.K., Thanks, leave it with me..

I agree with SS a neutral wash is better run at 28-30 as well .....the added water helps holds back tails and other rubbish that you don't want.

recommend running it at 40 and not watering it down. Your hearts cut will probably end up higher ABV and you'll need to cut it with water anyway for drinking strength so 6/ 0.5doz...

Or dilute it / top up boiler with UJ wash instead of water if you have some - even better...

Cheers!
-Jonny

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:14 pm...Or dilute it / top up boiler with UJ wash instead of water if you have some - even better...

Good input Jonny.

This would make it a 1-1/2 run, which also works nicely for a spirit to put in a cask to age. A way to get cask strength and more flavor from the spirit run.
ss

StillerBoy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:18 am The difference in a 40% low wine and a 28 - 30% low wine charge is in what the end product one is making.. 40% is the mark for neutral, 30% or less is for a flavor product.. and that for pot still use, whereas with a reflux a different approach is required.. two different animals..

Mars

Mars: I ran the strips deep into the tails, 20% or less. What kicked me up to 40% was the feints that I added in. Should I not add feints to the spirit run?

Stirrin: I've used the heavy dilution multiple times on a couple of 4x distillations to create the most neutral I can from my pot. I agree, it is very effective for 'neutralizing' and moving your nasties into the remnants that remain in the still. That gets tossed after collection.

Thanks for the discussion guys!

Drifter

n_plains_drifter wrote: ↑Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:02 pm Should I not add feints to the spirit run?

I don't add feints to any of the spirit runs and run the feints on their own dissoluted down to 25%.. and for neutral I don't run my strip run down to deep more like 45 - 50% overall, and for a flavor strip run I'll stop at 25% overall.. but then again, I don't use a pot still per say to do my spirit runs be for neutral or flavored.. I use my reflux column with different packing providing me with the ability to achieve the different results..

So it hard for me to advise you on how to run with pot still to do neutral other than multi time, as this will reduce the heads and tails with each run..

Mars

I know exactly what the Plains Drifter speaks of for a mind blowing experience watching the proof on a spirit run. My first ever was in November, the proof by quart jars was 148, 155, 156, 156, 156, 156, 152, 148, 142, 134, 120, 102, 90.