 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 8/17/2011(UTC)
Posts: 24
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"Hello all, I did my first run last weekend and for the most part, it turned out okay. I want to describe what I did and I have learned. I also have some questions about what I did right/wrong in the process, so here goes:
- I have the 15 gal kettle on a Brewhaus HC Extractor. I purchased some light molasses and rum yeast from Brewhaus.
- When making the mash, I diluted the molasses into 3 gallons of water into a 6 gallon fermenter.
- I added 1/2 packet of the rum yeast b/c the package said it was good for 5 gallons. My first mistake was not activating the yeast before I put it into the fermenter. I will do this next time...or does it matter?
- I then let it ferment for 4 days. After the ebullition stopped, I took a reading of 8% abv. Another mistake I think I made is that I never took a Specific Gravity reading. Why would I need to do this?
- I fired up my still (in reflux mode,not pot still mode) and starting to collect after about 35 minutes.
- I threw out the first 80ml. I read somewhere that you need to discard the first 50ml for every 30L of mash. I had only about 11 L of mash, so I think I am safe. I also read that a 'molasses/water/yeast' mixture doesn't contain methanol. The methanol comes from grains. Is that true?
- After a while, I collected the distillate into large 5 gallon carboy and then transferred it into smaller mason jars as more distillate came out. I did not know anything about cuts, but I wanted to have some separate containers to see if I could tell a difference.
- So at this point, should I have started to take different hydrometer readings throughout the process to determine my cuts? I could be totally wrong, but as the process goes on for hours, the ABV should continue to drop? Thus, you can determine your heads, hearts, and tails by ABV? I'm confused on this.
- I diluted my distillate down to 40% ABV and bottled it. I had a total of two 750ml bottles and one 375ml bottle from 3 gallons of mash.
- I made three Mojitos for friends to celebrate. Didn't taste bad compared to 'professional' rum. My rum had a sweeter smell than store bought rum.
- Started the cleaning process.
So that was my start to finish summary. This was my first run and I know I made many mistakes. However, I DID learn a lot from the process. I continue to read on this forum and will continue to master the process with all of your help. Thanks for taking the time to read and if you can chime in to the above bolded questions, I would greatly appreciate it. Cletus"
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 Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/10/2009(UTC)
Posts: 519
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"Making a yeast starter can be very helpful to insure that you minimize the competitive environment within your fermenter......But I have never used a starter. Nor felt the need. I have always simply sprinkled on top and allow a half hour or so for re hydration and colony growth. My ferments chug along nice and steady and finish within 5-7 days....... Taking gravity readings will assist you greatly if you need to know how much abv potential is in your wash/mash/must. And also how well your conversion performed. When using sugar there are calculators available to give you your potential abv. Taste your finish wash. if it is dry,,,,like drywine it is complete. If it is sweet,,,,,,,let it finish. Use your airlock bubbling to gage progress too. Methanol can also be found in fruit.... Collect your product in small jars and let it air overnight. Evaluate your keepers the following day. Use your alchometer to gage your transitions but use your senses to determine your keepers. Trust your taste buds not the instrument. It is possible to run so hard that tails can be pushed into the higher percentages of abv as well. So let your taste buds tell you whats really what...........the instrument is really just there for sumpin tah break while yer futzin and stumbling around at the cutting bench  What kind of still are you running?"
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 8/17/2011(UTC)
Posts: 24
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" Originally Posted by: LWTCS  What kind of still are you running? I have the Essential Extractor PSII High Capacity with the 15 gallon premium kettle. I also have insulated the kettle and two columns with Reflectix and Shurtape. I am using a Blichmann burner for the heat source."
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/16/2010(UTC)
Posts: 453
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"I never activate my yeast, I just let it sit on the top for half hour or so and then stir it in. It's usually bubbling within 10 minutes.
The only time I take SG is in wine making or starting out a whole new recipe on a wash.
I never heard about the no Methanol in a molasses wash , I've been dumping that since day one. I bought the 5 gallon buckets of molasses from a feed store, seems to work fine. It's a lot cheaper than buying in small containers, I think I paid about $26 dollars for the last bucket, I only use 2 lbs of it for a 5 gallon wash(plus the sugar and all the other ingredients).
I know that my first drips are going to be around 140 proof, in pot still mode' , from there on I may monitor content until it gets around 80 proof. At about that point I start collecting whats left over in another container to be added to the next run. I quit collecting all together when it gets below 60 proof. Soon you will be able to tell from the quantity you have collected about where you are in regards to cuts. I say that when you are using the same recipe , I generally just use a whiskey and rum recipe's. They are real close as far as cuts go.
From what you said it seems like you did just fine. The only thing you have to work on is worried about it :) Pretty quick you won't even have to think about any of the process. Have fun :)"
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