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Saving Low Spirits with the Stripping Protocol
I’m putting this here because at least in my experience it has only come up with AG recipes and the relatively low ABV that they produce.First off, I freely admit to being inexperienced and most likely incompetent. With that out of the way, this is what I’ve been doing. I’d like to know if this is a common thing, or is this maybe something that is a complete waste of time? Is there a name for it?When I strip, I try to aim for about 30% ABV on the low wines. For my pot still and my taste, that usually results in a final cut that’s right around 60%, perfect for aging on wood. But with the low ABV beer that’s going into the still, there’s a fair bit of alcohol left after I reach that point. So what I’ve been doing is to swap to a different vessel and keep running, usually until the ABV off the spout is under 5%. That yields a fair bit of 10-15% low low wines, which I recycle into the next striping run of the same recipe.My theory is that alcohol is alcohol, and why pour it down the drain? But also, I know that there can be some good flavors hiding way down in the tails, so presumably these low low wines have something to contribute.Am I a fool, or have I hit upon a good idea?Learn from the past, live in the present, change the future.
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12 Replies
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Sounds logical to me.Get a bunch of jars and fill them, like you would for making cuts.Next day decide what gets dumped into the pot for the spirit run.
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That’s a matter of grain water ratio and conversion rate (brew house efficiency). It’s easy to get fairly high fermented abv if you just throw grain at it. I’m trying to get the best ABV I can by improving my mashing skillsI’m right there beside you bro. I liked to call it a steep learning curve.I run my strips into jars. I run to 5% or less off the spout. Decide what to include in the spirit run later. If we’re fools we’re not alone.viewtopic.php?t=90225I don’t suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
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25-30%abv low wines seems to be a good spot for me – better than 40%. My spirit runs are usually10-11g of that plus about 3g feints, and topping up with fermented bier. For my feints cut I keep mid to late heads plus tails up to about three gallons and keep recycling whiskey feints indefinitely so far Cheers,J————i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred————
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My AGs are over 62% even though I strip as long as you do and it all goes into the collection.
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Ditto. I usually strip 12gal down to 5% off the spout and it all goes into the spirit run with a gallon of fermented wash.“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake.”- W.C. Fields My EZ Solder Shotgun My Steam Rig and Manometer
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Stripping runs can go down to 5%. Spirit runs you can go by taste. Save the tails and put them in the feints jar. An all feints run, when you have enough, can be quite flavorful.I don’t drink alcohol, I drink distilled spirits. Therefore I’m not a alcoholic, I’m spiritual.
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I’ll add to what the other experts have said.For a whiskey strip, I collect down to 5 to 10%ABV off the spout. That applies to an 8 to 10%ABV potential ferment. With the collection, it usually averages about 30 to 35%ABV, with the variability most likely attributed to how fast the beer is stripped, ie – a slow strip will carry over less water and as a result, the low wines %ABV will be slightly higher.But, with the collected low wines (spirit run), I typically run at a common production (power input) speed and the product collected in 18 to 24 jars yields a hearts in the 62 to 65%ABV, ready to go on wood. Obviously, first drips come off around 70 to 75%ABV, but once I’m through the heads it is closer to 65 to 68%ABV. As it progresses, the proof will fall quickly towards the backend of the run. Volume wise, the hearts section is around 40 to 45% of the spirit run collection volume. For a whiskey, sometimes there is some good flavors towards the backend, so keep those jars separate and blend them in sparingly. You may get a nice tasting “signature”.ssMy LM/VM & Potstill: My build threadMy Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate BuildMy stock pot gin still: stock pot potstillMy 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
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I probably do the same, but 5-10% at the spout isn’t a target to be aimed for and I wouldn’t want newbies thinking that it is. I only know that I go that low because I recently bought an alcohol refractometer and checked the abv at the end of a couple of recent stripping runs.My targets are the optimum abv’s for the Low Wines for the type of product that I’m making on the day.
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I generally strip until what’s coming off the spout is lower ABV than the beer. At that point, I figure what I gather isn’t going to contribute anything more than another mash. Typically end up over 30%.On a spirit run, I sometimes do something similar, or alternately if I have the time and energy I may continue to sweet water for proofing. But I’m usually ready to be done when I’m done, so that’s not as frequent. Usually end up around 65%.
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From past posts I think Steve and I are running similar rigs in similar styles. What rate are you taking off during your spirit runs? I strip to below 10% on the spout which gives a low wine of 28 to 32%. But even if I dilute that some more when doing a 1.5 spirit run I can still maintain 60% blended hearts. But I totally control that by take off speed/power on the spirit run. I test each jar as it comes off during the spirit run and if it is dropping too fast I slow down the take off rate.
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I was doing some math the other day, as I live in an area with high energy costs which are increasing, and wonder when it made sense to shut down a stripping run from an economic sense. Using the calculator for physical properties on this site a 2% wash will boil at 98.4 C and the vapor is 17.1% ethanol, and 82.9% water. The heat of vaporization for water is three times that of ethanol. So a this point 93% of the energy input is vaporizing water.I’ve decided that 209 F is my cut off, as the taste and cost below that is not worth it. Leaving a 2% in the boiler is OK as I usually have 10% or better starting (wine) and I recover 80% of the ethanol. If you have an all grain wash that is 6% starting then maybe it’s worth going a little farther depending on energy costs.I’m considering a wood fired boiler, but that is just one more illegal activity in my area.
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I really like to strip down to 0% coming off the still and maybe even a bit further to get my low wines in the spot where I feel like they need to be. That 0% isn’t clean flavorless water either so it is adding something to the final product in my opinion even if minimal.I’ve thought about building a wood fire box with a smoke stack under my deck and putting up some wood fence paneling for privacy so I can get better height that I don’t have in the cellar-shed for refluxing – I don;t thing it would be too hard to manage or build with some cinder blocks, fire bricks, and expanded mesh grating or steel plate kind of thing.. Could probably double as a smoker fire box to at least be sorta legit for folks that might ask…Cheers,j————i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred————
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