Frustration

[Steve Broady]

It has been a day, and it's only half over... Woke up too damn early to a crying toddler who wanted to get out of bed, probably because of the storm. Felt like I hadn't slept at all. He's been in a mood all morning, so my wife decided to take him to a playground for a few hours and give me a break. Just getting ready was a shit show. I swear, I don't think I've sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee start to finish while it was still hot in over 3 years now. Oh, and I'm on a diet, trying to get my health under control, so I'm watching what I eat carefully. No chance for something tasty and soothing as comfort food this morning.

So with them out of the way, and with the hope that work won't be calling me for at least a few hours, I decided that now would be as good a time as any to get a stripping run in. I've got some apples fermented and they kind of look like they might have a little something extra growing in them, so let's get that done ASAP. It turned nice and runny, so I figured maybe it would go through the filter easily. Nope. Damnit. Okay, its nice and runny... what if I just put it all in the boiler? Heat it up nice and slow, stir a lot until it's almost boiling, then turn the heat down a bit and strip. I even rinsed out the fermenter and the filter, and added the rinse water to the boiler as well to thin things out.

So, I get the boiler head on, hook up the condenser, and discover that I have a water leak in a quick connect fitting. Which has never leaked before. And now I'm kind of committed, so I need the damn thing to work. It's a slow leak, a little silicone grease and even teflon tape aren't solving the problem, so just leave a towel under it and let it drip. I'll sort it out later, when I'm not monitoring the still. And then the power goes out. Thankfully, it came back on about a minute later, so I carry on. Now that I have all my shiny new tri-clamp fittings, I can turn the condenser upside down and hold the still in reflux for a bit, so I tried that. Nice burbling coming out, and the most lovely apple aroma when I take a good sniff at the end of the condenser.

Then the sound stopped, and the smell got acrid. Well shit...
I turned off the power, took the lid off, and sure enough, it's scorched. Damn Damn Damn! Not horrible, so maybe it's still salvageable? Nothing to lose at this point, right? I scraped all the scorched stuff off the bottom, and it started to move again. So I put the lid back on, cranked the power up higher on the theory that it needs enough power to boil hard and keep moving, and away we go. I'm getting product, but man is it low proof. After only about 200 ml, I'm measuring about 35%. Well, there's still alcohol in it, so carry on, I guess. It was probably fairly low strength when I put it in the still, and I added water, so I'm sure that's the explanation.

I've still got the water leak that I'll have to contend with. No idea if this stuff will be any good after a spirit run or not. I can't even taste it properly, because I could end up being called for work, and there's a zero tolerance policy for alcohol. A little taste of a drop doesn't bother me, but I'm not pouring a sample to sip on. Which is doubly frustrating, because this was a batch of some of the best apples I've ever tasted, and I was really excited about this one. And I just realized that I have the most minuscule (as in, I've seen about 4-5 drops in the last hour) leak around the condenser. I somehow missed it in my testing and cleaning runs, but there they are.. are a couple little drops. Nothing a little flux and solder can't fix, but I can't do anything about it right this second. I've got about a gallon and a half of low wines collected so far (out of a 6 gallon ferment), so I'm sure I'm close to the end. I'll collect until I can't measure any alcohol with my refractometer, or until work calls, whichever happens first.

And I still haven't had anything to eat!

I don't need any advice, and sure as hell don't have any to give. Just wanted to vent, and I figured someone here has been in the same place. I hope your day is going better than mine!

[Dancing4dan]

Steve,

Enjoy some peace and quiet when the morning starts off on the wrong foot. The Devil has a way of building on my bad moods and then things go sideways for me all day long.

I have never fermented and distilled apples. I have some freezer but not enough for a full 16 gallon ferment so I am waiting. They would likely do well using steam to strip.

Hope your day gets better.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Scorches never leave. Use it to clean your still after you solder that leak up. I'm not one that feels it best to be vague to spare feelings. Sorry for your loss.

[Steve Broady]

That’s what I figured, SCD. Oddly enough, the backset didn’t really taste of scorching. I even had my wife taste it and give her opinion. I’ve saved the low wines and will revisit them on a better day. Worst case scenario, I learned something.

[shadylane]

I don't need any advice, and sure as hell don't have any to give. Just wanted to vent, and I figured someone here has been in the same place. I hope your day is going better than mine!

You're looking at it all wrong.
Sounds like your life is going pretty good.

[Steve Broady]

Even a good life can have bad days, shady! But you’re not wrong. Today was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong seemed to. I even got called to work tonight with the single worst coworker I’ve dealt with my in 25 year career.

Life could be a hell of a lot worse, and I know it. Just needed to blow off a little steam today.

[NZChris]

If I'm putting solids in the boiler, I follow the age old trick of buttering the bottom of the pot before filling it. Even before then, I have breakfast. Distilling on the pulp can turn into a long day and taking a break with the flame off because you are hungry is not an option because a restart usually results in a burn.

[shadylane]

Even before then, I have breakfast.

Plus one on that.
A hobo once told me.
Take care of your belly and the rest of the world would take care of itself.