"So I ran a SW wash about 4 gal on Monday. Ended up with 16 6 oz. jars. covered each with paper towel and set up on shelf. Now at 48 hours I started in the middle and smelled jars to the left and right of center. The foreshots jar was easy to detect. the difference in heads to hearts (middle of run) not able to smell anything but the alcohol. The final 2 to 3 jars (#14,15,16) have a very slightly different smell, but nothing like the wet cardboard or sock smell that some report.
Are the different smells very subtle? I was expecting a big slap in the face smell of tails. And I honestly cant tell the difference in heads to hearts. Any suggestions are appreciated. B."

Heya Bwash...

Also, did you take alchohometer reads along the way during the run? I can usually tell tails is coming by the drop in my parrot readings.. I put a little white dot on that jar and later I know where I "thought" taiLs was starting so I can zero in better. Two days later is a long time to try and remember a momentary smell or taste as a run is progressin'... :)

In SF washes, the aromatic flavor notes can mask the transition, especially in small 6 oz containers.. I am assuming spirit run here since it wasn't stated..

Heed ye what JB has told thee, it works well :)

Cheers

Jes for SnG's.. what is your local H2O boil temp? (depending, you may not be at 212 F - mine is 207 this time of year..)

At 195, it's prolly getting on to tails. Those periods of temp stabilization's are points in the run.. How slowly we creep (or allow the wash to do it) into them determines if there's smear of the previous faction into the new zone. So, as a "hint" I watch my temps and my EtOH readin's and make notations on the jars.. I still do not sort anything out for 48 hours till the angels have had their share... :)

Depending, you will be able to taste the diff between last jar and last jar -3 - Those will be fairly diluted as they are. When I started I did all manner of things.. Spoon tests, drops over my fingers and rubbin' them and smelling the left over, watching how long it evaporated, blowing up ant hills with fores or heads I wasn't sure of, etc...Mostly outa curiosity (this is supposed to be fun, yes?), but I'd read all these different ways in literature and books and thus I wanted to try them all to find what I use.

Ok, the next time .. take a pan of water on the stovetop... Heat it to a boil - but - take a temp reading just as the bubbles start to rise - It's a environmental thing - humidity, baro pressure, etc.. these effect the local H2O boiling temp. And it shifts a bit over the course of a year... I was amazed to see my area was 6 degree's shy of 212 (Winter), summer it's closer to 210 (like now)...

I'll try and find where I read that...

cczero, It was a 5 gallon sweet feed wash which I fermented in a 5 gallon bucket. When I siphoned off the wash, I only had about 4 gallons of liquid to run due to the grains in the bottom. I ran a single slow pot still run. I collected in 6 oz jars and ended up with 16 jars. I kept these in a rack in order of collection and covered with paper towels for 48 hours. When I went to sniff the jars to determine heads, hearts and tails, I was unable to determine the cut line. It all smelled about the same. I later learned about diluting a portion of each jar and tasting it for undesirable flavors. The dilution did help the determination of tails, but the heads less so. I ended up with about 1.5 qts. of 110 proof product. B.

Heeler, Thanks, I think my cuts were OK based on what I know at this time. The product is aging now with a 5 inch stick of toasted and charred white oak. color is dark amber and I can smell slight vanilla after I give the jar a puff of air. I think I will pull the oak and dilute to 90 p this weekend. Then put away for a while.
Have 2nd generation going now and started a 10 gallon cracked corn/ sweet feed and rye batch. It been fermenting for a week at 65 F in the ferm. box.
I really appreciate the help you and the others have given me in this hobby. B.

Steve. Thanks for the support. I am sure that even with the cuts I made, some heads and tails are in the product. I tasted every jar after dilution and the early heads had a wicked burn, so I left out first 4 jars. The tails were smooth and I tasted no bitterness, so I only left out the last 3 jars. The middle 9 jars I combined and it proofed out at 110 proof. I split into 2 quart jars and put some oak in each. The color and smell is nice now, so I will strain off the oak, dilute to 90p and put aside to age. B.

Steve, It took on color fast, like 3 days. The wood flavor is still very faint. Im planning on 4 weeks,cut to 90p, then bottle and put away. I think it will be a trial and error thing. I noticed the 2nd batch, which was left to air out too long, was about 88 proof and its is slow to take on any color. I think higher ABV product ages and picks up the wood faster. B.

I actually start with less than 5 gals, closer to 4.5, after racked and pull 5 quarts or to 10 abv. My wash usually is 12 abv when I rack it. I thought I was doing pretty well. What volume do you think I should be pulling? I use 10lbs sugar, 1/4 cup bakers yeast and nutrients in a 5 gal bucket usually (depending on outside temp) run about 20 days to around .990.