Raw Dogging

[Kilo8]

What started as following the Mile Hi recipe and instructions, to watching youtube instructionals, to now scouring the forums here I now know how little I know so I apologize if I give anyone a brain bleed reading what's to follow:

Equipment:
8 gallon Desennie stainless pot, thumper, and condenser (prob not great but need a start)
Was going to run on a propane burner but switching to a 1500W band heater for safety. Want to make sure it fits before ordering a controller.

Wash recipe: (yup this is before I saw SSB)
6.5 gallons of water
1 gallon unsulfured blackstrap
8 pounds raw cane sugar
Rum turbo yeast (I know I've read but it's a little late now)

Combined per instructions and filled 7.8 gallon fermenting bucket pretty much to the top not leaving any head space. Unfortunately room temp is hitting a low of 65 degrees and high of 75-80 but for the most part I'm averaging 70 degrees which I know is lower than desirable. With no head space and lower temps the airlock is regularly producing bubbles so for now (day 4) it seems active.

Brain bleeds start now:

Fermenting

Per the recipe the fermentation was supposed to be 12-14 days. Will this 10 degree lower than ideal temp extend the fermentation process?

Read that the wash is ready after a stable 990 hydrometer reading for 3 days but I thought hydrometer reading was ineffective due to the sugars in the molasses.

Once it is ready do you adjust the PH to 4.5-5 then rack the wash/siphon into the still and discard anything left in the fermenting bucket that wasnt picked up or is there a use for this residual (maybe the thumper or just trash as waste?)?

Stripping run


Planned to put some of the wash in the thumper between 1/2-2/3 capacity

Bring temp up on pot with the head off till frothing/ spray down frothing to reduce puking / close and clamp off head / turn on condenser pump at 130 degrees / start collecting at 168 degrees

No separation on stripping run

Spirit run

Dilute stripping run distillate with water by 20% / add distillate back to the pot with first run stillage (how does the first run help if you're basically recombining all the ingredients minus water cook off?)

Distill again (with original wash in thumper?) and start collect cuts / discarding first 100-250ml foreshots

Once finished collecting disconnect lyne feed to thumper to remove pressure and risk of pot collapsing

Cuts and Aging

Pull samples from cuts/dilute to 40%/test/record findings/mix based on desired results

Proof down distillate and barrel

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So look I get this is a first attempt and will likely result in a poor product but I learn through mistakes (as long as they are safe mistakes). So beat this up however you'd like because I appreciate the differing opinions and approaches. Again, started with an instructional and kind of adapting as I'm learning.

Should unused tails be saved for the thumper in a future run?

When using a thumper I read that its basically double distillation so a stripping run and a spirit run with the thumper is 4x distillation?

Lastly, obviously starting from scratch so no dunder. If anything is salvageable maybe I could atleast get a start on that for a future batch but not sure how to pull that off given external temps here freeze and not sure having it living in breathing in my house will keep me living and breathing in the house the first time my wife catches wind of it. Any suggestions on how you manage maintaining a small amount for infrequent runs?

Thanks all and no offense taken on any feedback. Learning and adapting.

[NZChris]

Don't use running advice for a simple pot still for running a pot and thumper.

There are plenty of different opinions on what to do with rum heads and tails and what works for one distiller may not work for another, I suspect it has something to do with differences in how each selects their cuts.

[Yummyrum]

There are plenty of different opinions on what to do with rum heads and tails and what works for one distiller may not work for another, I suspect it has something to do with differences in how each selects their cuts.

For sure …. Especially when it comes to recycling heads and tails for future thumper use .

I’ve gone back to using the Thumper for Rum .
I put the Heads from the last run in the thumper and put tails cut and “we are definitely into tails “the stripped out tails from the last run in the boiler with stripped wash .

OK . Rough numbers . 200litres of Rum wash strip down to around 50 litres of low wines .

About 2litres of heads collected from the last run in the Thumper ….. just enough to cover the thump tube . Actually add a few litres of water as well . Just to make sure .

About 10 litres of stripped out tails from the last run in the boilers with the low wines .

Now this is the fun fact . The amount of heads doesn’t go up by much . The amount of stripped out tails doesn’t go up by much . The amount of collected hearts does

[Bradster68]

Your lower temp may be a little slower.
Look at it for a visual. Is it fizzing?
How's it tastes? Sweet or sour?

Personally I strip and spirit very slow. Give those esters time to create some flavors.
I wouldn't age at too low a ABV. I like 55 to 65%.
Save all your"dunder" for next batch and add the appropriate amount. It's a generational thing.

I use a pot still only so got no advice on a thumper.
But give it time on oak and I'm sure you'll be happy

[Kilo8]

Thank you Yummyrum. Once I feel comfortable I'd like to try back to back runs to see the difference in loading the thumper with heads vs loading with tails.

Bradster, I'm going purely off my notes but I think the proof down to 40% was for sampling the cuts only. Haven't settled on ABV to age at so I noted yours and I'm open to everyone elses input on that too. I'm sure I'll make some people cringe when I say this but I love grog so atleast I'll be able to put just about anything to use.

Noted NZChris, thanks

[Kilo8]

By the way Yummyrum, negotiations with the wife stalled so instead of sleeping in the garage to cuddle with the fermenting bucket overnight I opted to get the bucket off the concrete floor and add several insulating layers just to see if it would help.

[Saltbush Bill]

That looks like a very cosy fermenter , just keep an eye on it that it doesn't over heat , it can happen, especially in the early stages with large ferments.
Reading your first post in this thread it seems that you are learning fast.
Lots to be learned here about the right ways to do things distilling .........YouTube and many other of the internet sources have some pretty dodgy information.
Any information on this forum that is Bullshit gets called out pretty quickly and sinks to the bottom of the pile.
The same cant be said for many of the other net based sources.

[Kilo8]

That looks like a very cosy fermenter , just keep an eye on it that it doesn't over heat , it can happen.

I'll keep an eye on the temp to make sure it doesnt swing too far in the opposite direction thank you. It has been spitting and has overflowed a couple times since I didnt give it any head space but hasnt been too bad, I just clear the airlock and clean it up. Right now I'm just happy its still active lol.

Other than removing and clearing the airlock I've kept it sealed (day 5). Is there any impact on removing the lid to observe? I haven't wanted to mess with it too much to let it do its own thing. Also when shes finished, do you just let her sit for 2-3 days to let it clear or do you do something else to clear it before siphoning to the pot?

[Saltbush Bill]

It has been spitting and has overflowed a couple times since I didnt give it any head space but hasnt been too bad, I just clear the airlock and clean it up. Right now I'm just happy its still active lol.

If it gets warmer I'd keep an eye on that situation .....could end up messy.

Is there any impact on removing the lid to observe?

Rip that lid off and do more than observe ....poke a finger in , then suck finger...note sweetness and taste....do this every few days and you will learn things.
Once you have learned throw hydrometer in bin.

Edit
Answer to other question, just let it sit a few days or a week after fermentation has finished ,,,,,syphon the wash off leaving as much yeast as possible on the bottom of fermenter, no need to be to fussy.
If your using a fermenter with a tap at the bottom just turn tap full on for a second or two, turn off again...what comes out will be yeast n cloudy, throw that small amount away.......everything after that should be good to go.,

[Kilo8]

Will do, thanks!

[Kilo8]

Edit
Answer to other question, just let it sit a few days or a week after fermentation has finished ,,,,,syphon the wash off leaving as much yeast as possible on the bottom of fermenter, no need to be to fussy.
If your using a fermenter with a tap at the bottom just turn tap full on for a second or two, turn off again...what comes out will be yeast n cloudy, throw that small amount away.......everything after that should be good to go.,

An answer leads to another question lol.

I kind of get that during the fermentation process the yeast is multiplying for as long as it has oxygen and is consuming sugars and converting them to Co2 (releasing in airlock) and alcohol. So the fermentation process ends when there is no more sugars to consume/convert and the yeast dies and falls to the bottom (clearing)? Is that right?

So I'm guessing too low a temp the yeast may go dormant so all the sugars dont get converted or too high a temp could kill off the yeast and have the same effect with sugars not getting converted?

Goal being to convert the maximum amount of sugar to alcohol. Think this makes more sense to me now after typing it out (if thats right)

[Saltbush Bill]

Yup you got it.
My understanding is that the yeast continues to multiply at the beginning while oxygen is present .....once that stage is complete the yeast starts to make ethanol and other by-products. Oxygen throughout the whole fermentation is not a good thing.

[Kilo8]

Yup you got it.
My understanding is that the yeast continues to multiply at the beginning while oxygen is present .....once that stage is complete the yeast starts to make ethanol and other by-products. Oxygen throughout the whole fermentation is not a good thing.

This makes more sense to me now so I get why tasting sweetness means you havent converted all the sugars (not to be mistaken with tasting molasses which wont get fully converted). So how does your all molasses/no sugar recipe work? Whats being converted/left behind and how are you judging by taste if its all molasses?