I started home brewing when I was a kid, making awfull tasting yeasty beer from kits, then branched out into barley wines which I tried stilling when I was still in my teens. Of course, you couldnt ask anyone how it was done and the internet hadnt been invented.
So, my first 'still' was a 4 pint kettle with a cork bung in the spout, a length of quarter inch glass tube, bent in a spiral over a gas flame and threaded through a sawn off plastic soda bottle with glue sealing the holes and placed in the sink under the cold tap. The kettle boiled and I collected the half glass of foul smelling liquid. It tasted disgusting.
I knew something was wrong so I headed to the library and found an encyclopedia which explained the complexities of distilling. Sadly ive never tried it since but did leave a bottle of cider in the fridge freezer once and was pleased with the result.
Since those early daze, I have brewed many hundreds of gallons of beer cider and wine.
Now its time to move on up and make some good spirits. So, ive been reading all over the net for a few weeks and realised the wealth of knowledge out there but dont get the impression there is much activity in the UK.
I certainly havent seen stills for sale but at the prices advertised on the net, Im sure im going to make my own cos even though im a girlie, ive spent 4 years working as a heating and plumbing engineer, so how hard can it be?
Actually, finding materials is hard and expensive here. I can get 2'' copper tube but only in a 3mt length. Burco boilers are very popular so used ones dont come up for sale. New ones are expensive.
Good news is ive got a stash of sugar ready and was about to order some turbo yeast until I read the post saying how crap it is.
So guys, where would you advise I go from here?
