Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi all.. I've been hitting this forum up with some newbie posts of late, more or less trying to figure out costs/time involved in distilling.

Given i'm interested in Rum/Whiskey, I've been browsing the recipes on here and have noticed that almost all of them recommend doing a spirit run on the 4th or 5th gen.

What exactly does this mean in terms of;
- I'm assuming I complete a ferment and then do a stripping run. What do I keep from this and where does it go?
- on the 2nd gen. Is this another stripping run? If so, what gets kept here and is there anything that can be turned into drinkable product, or does it all go into the next gen?
- 3rd gen, as above
- 4th gen, I'm assuming I do a spirit run here. How much product would I generally have to work with assuming I'm using a 50L still and the multiple ferments?

I'm basically trying to figure out if there's anything left to turn into a drinkable product at each of the stages, or whether it's basically an investment of 3 ferments + 3 stripping runs, to finally get 1 spirit run. Then what can I expect out of that run, ie. the standard 10% of total volume as drinkable product, or higher given the graduale build up of the ferments.

you strip all of your generations and collect what are called low wines.
then make sure your low wines are at or below 40%
then throw the low wines into your boiler and do a spirit run.

simple as that

ed9362 wrote:you strip all of your generations and collect what are called low wines.
then make sure your low wines are at or below 40%
then throw the low wines into your boiler and do a spirit run.

simple as that

ok.. so way less complicated than what i was thinking, however it essentially means that 3 ferments gets you one batch of spirits, correct?

Correct, unless you are running a bubbler, you strip enough low wines to give you a full boiler charge. 50L of low wines will give you a decent amount of finished product, how much is kept is up to the individual, I would collect around 20L from a full boiler charge, I keep maybe 8L after cuts, depending on the spirit. What you end up with will vary, each still is different, run differently and we all make cuts differently. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Please correct me if I’m wrong as I’ve only got my first 2x TPW on the go at the moment.

Aren’t generations to do with the wash? Isn’t a generational wash where you retain most of the grain bed of the wash previously to add to flavour complexity?

But I’m just going by what I’ve read and still learning.

TasSpirits wrote:Correct, unless you are running a bubbler, you strip enough low wines to give you a full boiler charge. 50L of low wines will give you a decent amount of finished product, how much is kept is up to the individual, I would collect around 20L from a full boiler charge, I keep maybe 8L after cuts, depending on the spirit. What you end up with will vary, each still is different, run differently and we all make cuts differently. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks for clarifying. Doesn't sound too expensive, just a little more time consuming than I thought. I'll be using a pot still/shotty condenser, so won't be able to strip it as clean on a single run, but ultimately should achieve a similar volumn of low wines to play with in the final run (it'll just take me longer).

In terms of each of the stripping runs, do you simply let the boiler hit a decent temp then pump it through cutting just the foreshots and anything after say 20% ABV?

A&O wrote:Please correct me if I’m wrong as I’ve only got my first 2x TPW on the go at the moment.

Aren’t generations to do with the wash? Isn’t a generational wash where you retain most of the grain bed of the wash previously to add to flavour complexity?

But I’m just going by what I’ve read and still learning.

You're way ahead of me.. I'm still trying to assess things before I jump in and get setup.

From what I've read, you're spot on. The angle for my question was more to understand at which point in the process I actually get to keep something drinkable for the effort put in. It sounds like after the 4th ferment is finished, I can then do a spirit run combining the low wines from runs 1,2,3. So that's 4 ferments, 4 stripping runs, 1 spirit run, and 5 still clean outs = 1 batch of product.

thedapperbenz wrote:From what I've read, you're spot on. The angle for my question was more to understand at which point in the process I actually get to keep something drinkable for the effort put in. It sounds like after the 4th ferment is finished, I can then do a spirit run combining the low wines from runs 1,2,3. So that's 4 ferments, 4 stripping runs, 1 spirit run, and 5 still clea

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sounds like you have the right idea.
it is a time consuming hobby. the upshot is its a lot of fun (i think so anyway) and you get heaps of booze to boot.
without doing any real numbers i wouldn't be surprised if it worked out to be 2-3 hours of work to get 1 LItre of spirit, using my pot still and 25 litre ferments anyway.

You have around 3 different topics intermingled here.

To do generations (of what ever mash you want), you do the recipe as stated = Gen1, ferment out and allow to settle, syphon off the clear stuff and pot that into your still. Here is basically where the pot still is separated from the Bubbler as with a pot still, you must distill it twice (multiple stilling runs to concentrate the alcohol) bubblers, by their nature concentrate the alcohol very well, you can get away with running each ferment just once.

First distillation run is called a stripping run, end product is called Low Wines. These are usually collected until you have enough to do the second distillation run (Spirit run = final drinkable product).

To make Gen2, you usually use whats left in the boiler (with Rum its usually called Dunder, other brown spirits its often called 'Backset', but you'll find these terms are used interchangeably on the forums, not that that makes it right!) OR the grain bed in the fermenter or both to start the next fermentation of the SAME Mash, with a small amount of fresh ingredients.

Gen3 as per gen 2, only after the second time.

Gen4 as per gen3, only after the 3rd time. You get the idea.

It was suggested to wait until you get to gen4 because the flavour tends to improve/ become more complex (or whatever) but it tastes better than the ferments before and you will finally have sufficient LowWInes to do a spirit run.

Stripping runs are done as fast and as hot as you can make it and you collect everything until the stuff coming off the still is approx 20%ABV or what ever you decide. Some strip lower (based on experience or the mash) but its basically up to you, but 20% is a good starting point for a newbie.

Spirit runs are collected in smaller containers (not plastic) in order to make Cuts (distinguish between the different alcohols) and after letting them sit out to breathe for 24-48 hours, you then go back to taste & smell the different jars to make your CUTS (selection of stuff you want to keep) to combine int one big container and then dilute as required...

I have linked a whole lot of this info in my signature below. Read it, remember it, this is your Bible!

Good luck, shit just got real for you!

You could drink it after the first strip run... wouldn't taste the best but, essentially what you would get if you follow some of the HBS still instructions...

You will need do a spirit run and cuts to clean it up but you will need to top the boiler up with water to ensure your electric elements don't get exposed and then pop, no minimum volume for gas powered.

If you want the absolute best tasting gear to drink neat go for 5 gens, if you want something to drink with a mixer then less would be fine.

You could do a 1.5 run.
Strip 1 ferment, then put the low wines in the boiler and top it up with another ferment.
Handy if you have an 80l fermenter and a 50l boiler.

As for cleaning the boiler a quick hose out is enough unless you burn some suspended solids to the bottom, not so common with elements but more common with gas powered.

If you dont have the time then stick to drinking $200 bottles of rum and whiskey.
Because realistically that is what you will produce once you get into it.

Thanks guys for the replies, helps a ton.

EziTasting, I’m going through your links now. Thanks for the help!

I currently have the 15 jeneration uncle jesse's bubbling at the minute