Three Stages
First: The first objective in distilling alcohol is to discard the bad oils that are not good for you to drink. These are the oils that have boiling points below the boiling point of alcohol (Ethenal 78C (172F). This ridding is done by heating the filtered mash to 56.5C (134F). This temp is maintained for a 5 minutes then slowly increased, gradually to one degree below the boiling temperature of ethenal, or alcohol. This slow raising of temperature should take about 10 to 15 minutes for a small gallon batch to ensure there has been time to totally eliminate the non desirable oils. these oils once condensed should be about 3/4 of an ounce. So it is essential that you throw out the first ounce that condenses from your slow rising temperature stage. If you have the lid off the mash pot you can visually see the oils floating on the top of the heated mash. When they disappear it is time to collect the alcohol from the condenser.
Acetone =
Methanol = in the body, it is metabolized first to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which attacks the optic nerve.
Ethyl acetate =
Second: Slowly maintain a consistent heat so that the condenser produces one or two drops a second. Any faster your higher boiling point oils will also be condensed. It is a slow process that you can’t speed up. The only way to speed up your production is to have a huge capacity pot full of mash. It is just a matter of scale. Slowly increase the temp from 78C (172F) to 82C (180F).
These temperatures are theoretical. When alcohol is mixed with water the boiling point of the combined liquid changes and becomes higher. All the combined ingredients in a mash will affect the boiling point of that mash liquid. Example;
So if you have a mash that is 50% water and 50% alcohol then the alcohol evaporation into steam will start to occur at approximately 180 deg F instead of the theoretical 172 deg F..
Third: As the temperature is increased beyond the theoretical 82C (180F) the tails start. This is where there is some alcohol and water mixed as well as a small amount of non desirable oils. There is a slight alcohol taste but you can tell it’s not worth drinking and it isn’t. The balance of liquid remaining is of no use and can be thrown out. Some people use it in a subsequent batch to get some more mileage out of it but there doesn’t seem to be much return on the effort.
Out of a gallon and a half of mash, the amount of alcohol produced is one to one and a half 750 ltr bottles. Two 750 ltr bottles might be possible with a high sugar content in the mash.
1- Foreshots methyl alcohol 148.5 boiling point
The foreshots are the first vapors to boil off during distillation. These contain the most volatile alcohols and should not be ingested, as they contain methanol and other undesirables. Moonshiners always discard the foreshots and never consume them. This portion makes up roughly 5% or less of all liquid collected during a distillation run. For more info on foreshots, read this article on moonshine blindness.
2- Heads
The heads contain “lighter” compounds such as Acetone, Acetaldehyde, and Acetate. These compounds taste bad and they smell like solvent. Additionally they are said to be the primary culprits in causing hangovers. There is little to no sweetness in this part of the run and it is far from smooth. The heads are not worth keeping for drinking and should be set aside. In general, roughly 20-30% of the liquid collected during a distillation run will be heads.
3- Hearts ethyl alcohol 173 degrees
The hearts primarily contain ethanol and it is the most desirable part of the spirit run. One can tell when a still starts producing hearts because the harshness of the heads has dissipated and the smell is no longer harsh. This is the “sweet spot,” which isn’t just a metaphor. The whiskey produced during this phase is very flavorful, but also very smooth and, (depending on the recipe) slightly sweet. It is by far best tasting alcohol produced during a spirit run. The skill of the distiller comes into play as they must recognize the beginning and the end of the hearts portion of the run. However, in general, this phase will make up around 30-40% of all spirits collected during the entire distillation process.
stop collecting distilled whisky at 180-185 degrees
DON’T EVER DRINK ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE STILL AT OVER 185 DEGREES!
that’s why commercial booze gives you a hangover, right under poison level
home brewed alcohol that comes off the still at less than 185 degrees will not give you a hangover
4- Tails
The tails start once alcohols with lower boiling points has all evaporated. This portion of the run contains fusel oils such as propanol, butanol, and amyl alcohols. The tails are not very good tasting and are mostly water, proteins, carbohydrates and less volatile alcohols with higher boiling points. There are several ways that one can tell when heads end and tails begin. First, the flavor profile of the distillate will change significantly. The rich flavors present during the hearts will start to fade, as will the sweetness. Spirits collected during this phase will taste somewhat “thin.” Additionally, the fusel compounds will create an ever so slight oily sheen on top of the distillate, which can be viewed at an angle in the right light (just as gasoline can be seen floating on top of water). The distillate will also be slightly slippery to the touch when rubbed together between a finger and a thumb.
Tails make up the final 20-30 percent of liquid collected during a spirit run.
(very high proof moonshine burns with an invisible flame)
- A 1 gallon run will yield 3-6 cups of alcohol
- A 5 gallon run will yield 1-2 gallons of alcohol
- A 1 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 10%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 2.72 cups.
- A 1 gallon run with a starting alcohol of 20%, a final proof of 100, and a collection efficiency of 85% will yield 5.44 cups.
- 5 gallon batch – discard the first 1/3 of a pint jar
- gallon batch – discard the first 2/3 of a shot glass
Boiling Points of Substances Found in a Mash
- Acetone – 56.5C (134F)
- Methanol ) – 64C (147F) (wood alcohol
- Ethyl acetate – 77.1C (171F)
- Ethanol – 78C (172F) @sea level————————————
- 2-Propanol – 82C (180F) (rubbing alcohol)
- 1-Propanol – 97C (207F)
- Water – 100C (212F)
- Butanol – 116C (241F)
- Amyl alcohol – 137.8C (280F)
- Furfural – 161C (322F)
When water is mixed with Ethanol the boiling point of combination is reduced based on it being an azetorope mixture. Measure temperatures always from the head of the still, not the pot.
Burping, also called Puking
Burping is when there are remaining sugars in the wash and as the wash is heated these cause bubbles to form on the surface of the wash. Bubbles will appear on top of other bubbles and if there is not much space between the liquid in the pot and the exit column, these bubbles will produce a “burp” where the condensed liquid is coming out at. It is like a fast squirt.
A Distilling Conditioner will eliminate any bubbling produced from any remaining sugars. This occures often when using fruits as a fermenting material since fruits have such complex sugars.