Strip Runs

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Strip Runs

Postby jread » Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:09 pm

Hi Legends!

Question about strip runs, after a strip and you collect your alcohol and dilute it down to 40% - does that go back into the still to add to another sugar wash, or are you distilling the low wines by itself?

And also - everything in a strip run gets collected and added to a spirit run, does this include the forshots?

Thanks in advanced.

:handgestures-thumbupleft: :text-thankyoublue:
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby Rumblepants » Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:35 pm

In my understanding the low wines go back into the boiler by themselves for a spirit run where you toss the foreshots and collect heads, hearts, tails.

You can dilute with wash instead of water if you have any left over. If making a rum or whiskey this can help bring over a bit of extra flavour
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby The Stig » Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:36 pm

Strip 2 wash’s then dilute BELOW 40%
You run the low wines from 2 or 3 wash’s depending on boiler size.
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby mathewf » Tue Jul 28, 2020 5:33 pm

I had a similar question though I suspect it could be a waste of time and electricity.

I've stripped a half a still charge of TPW into low wines. I've got another half charge of FFV to strip. I was planning to combine them to do a full charge spirit/reflux run.

Is any benefit to be had of including the low wines of the TPW with the FFV's stripping run?

Cheers
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby RC Al » Tue Jul 28, 2020 6:31 pm

As your making a neutral, no

Rum or whiskey, different story with a 1.5 run where you water strip back with more wash as mentioned, but is a spirit run then, not a strip
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby Chocko6969 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 7:14 pm

jread wrote:Hi Legends!

Question about strip runs, after a strip and you collect your alcohol and dilute it down to 40% - does that go back into the still to add to another sugar wash, or are you distilling the low wines by itself?

And also - everything in a strip run gets collected and added to a spirit run, does this include the forshots?

Thanks in advanced.

:handgestures-thumbupleft: :text-thankyoublue:


Just throw the foreshots away...I'll say it again, throw them away. I've seen on other facey groups etc some people telling others to save all the fores and add them to future strips. For the small amount that it is, just toss them. It will save your health, possibly someones life if they're stupid enough to drink them in any sort of concentration, and will save your reputation of making a drinkable and enjoyable spirit. Personally I can't make it any clearer....NEVER, EVER keep foreshots (unless you want to start a fire or put it in your mower).!
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby Birdman85 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 7:47 pm

Chocko6969 wrote:
Just throw the foreshots away...I'll say it again, throw them away. I've seen on other facey groups etc some people telling others to save all the fores and add them to future strips. For the small amount that it is, just toss them. It will save your health, possibly someones life if they're stupid enough to drink them in any sort of concentration, and will save your reputation of making a drinkable and enjoyable spirit. Personally I can't make it any clearer....NEVER, EVER keep foreshots (unless you want to start a fire or put it in your mower).!


:text-+1:

For how cheap it is to home brew and the quality we're chasing, there's absolutely no harm in throwing away 200ml or so of every batch. Don't be stingy.
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby Lowie » Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:28 pm

This is not about being stingy, its about your health. Fores are absolutely DANGEROUS! 200ml from a 40L wash is well within the safety zone. As Chocko said, chuck them away. I have found them excellent for killing my neighbours trees, but that's a story for another day...
When you're stripping (asked in the OP), some people collect down to 20%, store what they collected (in glass not plastic) and strip the next lot. When you have enough stripped product, mix it all together in your boiler with water to get a dilution of around 30% (up to 40% is apparently ok) then do a slow spirit run. Still throw the first 200ml away. This is the method I have done for years.
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Re: Strip Runs

Postby MartinCash » Fri Jul 31, 2020 1:25 pm

I'll go against the grain and say that you can either toss the foreshots of each strip (I do this nowadays, and toss 250 mL from 25L of wash) or collect everything and do a foreshot cut in your spirit run. Whether you take foreshots at the stripping or spirit runs, these never get recycled or re-distilled, they either get tossed or go into your cleaning solvent jar.

Doing a single foreshot cut in the spirit run is a little less work, but I find that I get less heads overall in my spirit run if I discard fores for each stripping. This makes sense as fores and heads are not really different things. The compounds that make foreshots are just somewhat more dilute (but still undrinkable) in the heads. By removing the most concentrated part in each strip, there will be less of the compounds to bleed through into your run. Hopefully I'm making sense.

I also combine as much as 5 or 6 strips for a spirit run, rather than 2 or 3, if I'm using a wash that pukes badly. For example, my boiler is 50 L but if I put more than 25L of SBB's all-molasses wash (the batch I'm doing at the moment), I have to run too slowly in order not to puke like crazy. I'll often run 3 x 50 L washes, and strip it in 6 x 25 L batches. I collect 6-7 L off each strip and use it to fill the boiler as full as I can. I collect enough in each stripping run that my low wines are between 30% and 40% ABV so I'm not diluting away flavour by adding water. Low wines don't puke (and your spirit run should be slow anyway).

If I'm running something like Mac's BWKO or UJSSM, which doesn't puke, I'll strip as much as 45L in my 50L boiler, so I only do 3 strips to fill the boiler. Each strip is 10-12 L and I keep a bit of wash to add to the strips when I do the spirit run, if the boiler is not full.
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