Home Distiller

Rad: Thanks for taking the time to share with the group. My Mom is on the exact same path that your Mom was on, and we're preparing for her next chapter in life. When my dad passed away, it wasn't a huge deal as he was always a very difficult person. But God made up for my dad's shortcoming by bless...

Welcome from another Washington State distiller. From the dry side, the "right" side. Cool winters and warm summers, and very little rain. Works for me...

Did your wash have a layer of whitish liquid on the top with a sour smell? The top layer looks almost like a powder, and is thick. I've had that from time to time. The sour taste comes over on the strip run, and the quantity obtained goes down too. Sanitized your equipment with bleach and hot water ...

For beer brewing I use a product called Fermcap. It's available at any brew shop or on Amazon. It will stop foaming when boiling 12 gallons of wort in a 15 gallon brew keg.

Should work just fine in a still, but I've never tried.

Were both brands cane sugar? I use beet sugar as it's usually cheaper. Interesting.....

I keep the distillate temp between 120 and 125, with 130 as a "do not exceed, turn down the heat" event. That's for stripping, for a spirit run I keep the temp under 120, and shoot for 110.

The cost of a TIG welding machine has been dropping as the Inverter types from China are flooding the market. The problem with that is that you have about a million dudes (and dudetes) out there that would like to make some money by doing some stainless welding. I'm here to tell you that welding sta...

You watch your wife prepare a batch of hummingbird food and you think, "damn, that's a lot of sugar".

I met Dixie Lee several times, she used to live on Fox Island and her dogs were constantly chasing deer down on the beach. Do you have the photo of the State Trooper posing by the stills? Maybe some of the work you did years ago helped to get Washington State into the lead for craft distilling. I tr...

Bushman said:

I defined the angels share to the group and told them even though the angels share is gone the rest of the whiskey is better because of it. Having left us we are better because of it!

Well said, what a beautiful analogy. Thanks for sharing.

Bushman: Thank you Sir, for starting this thread. I'm going to miss Scott's wisdom and passion regarding distilling. I learned a lot from his posts, he was an amazing man, and he brought a different viewpoint to our group. I'm drinking a spot of my finest in memory of Mash Rookie, he will be missed....

I use five gallon stainless steel Corney kegs. They have a large opening on the top, and I just add my young product with an appropriate amount of charred on one side and toasted on the other oak. When done, I pour off the finished product into another fresh Corney keg, pull out the old oak chunks a...

I've used Fermcaps for several years when making beer, it's awesome for stopping boil overs. But I've never used it when making UJSM or Sweetfeed. I just get off of the throttle when the still is coming up to temp. A thumper can also help, but it's possible to overfill the thumper by puking the main...

Welcome Keigan, from the dry side of Washington.

I bought a pound of the Tahitian vanilla beans last year. I used to add two or three beans to a five gallon keg of spirits. With experience I've settled on two beans per keg. The vanilla flavor needs to be subtle, you don't want it to be too noticeable. The keg is usually at 62-64% ABV. The oak is c...

Nice to see Rubber Duck on here. I've often wondered how he's doing. And also good to see Dunder logging in too. He's someone that I would love to sit down and with and chat over some nice shine. I'm retired now, and still making shine. I'm on the site everyday, I just got out of the habit of postin...

Thank you for the info, I will give him a call... The weather here is much nicer than at home, where it's been snowing and temps. are down in the teens. Here it's been cool, in the low 40's last night, and in the 50's today, with a strong wind it's too cool to sit on the beach. I bought a half a cor...

Hey. We're traveling through the south, and are currently at Fort Pickens FL. Really enjoying the south, the food down here is Awesome! My son has flown down from the Seattle area, and I would like to take him fishing for his Christmas present, he LOVES fishing. I'm looking on the web for a charter ...

OlympicMtDoo:

I'm so sorry for you and your families loss. I'm praying for you and your loved ones. Hang in there.


Bull

If your boiler is on the small side, it might work, but I don't think you have enough water capacity in a corney keg to handle much of a run. Let us know how it works.



Bull.

I store my UJSM in 5 gallon corney kegs, which are stainless steel. I have some that's coming up on two years of age, at 62% ABV. I leave it in the kegs, with charred oak chunks until I siphon it off into glass decanters for serving.


Bull.

It says;

"Made in Japan"....



But my Japanese is pretty rusty.


Bull.

The first time I found this website and started reading the posts I just shook my head and logged off. No way was I going to go through all of that bullshit just to make a little shine. Six months later, I logged back on and started reading again. Logged off and didn't come back for another six mont...

Just my opinion here, but I'd go with less oak and more time. You need a bigger pipeline so your final product can blossom. There are no shortcuts I'm sorry to report. Once you get enough on the shelf, you can really enjoy something that is remarkable. You're on the right track grasshopper. 8) Bull.

Rad:

How did you do with Sandy? Just wondering.

If you have any Viagra left, toss a couple into the next batch, could be a real winner.


Bull.

Thank You Husker for your time and effort on this forum. Much appreciated.


Bull.

Legacy... Please share with the forum your expertise in this process. How difficult was the process for you to get your state permits? Your federal permits? Your local permits? What was the most difficult part? What are the state regulations in your state? Were the state/federal/local employees diff...

Last UJSM run I noticed the same thing, all of the fruit flys were on the first three pint jars of UJSM. We're at maximum fruit fly infestation right now, the orchards have been picked and there is a lot of fruit on the ground. Waiting for the first hard frost.


Bull.

Washington State sells a Craft Distillers license, the first question that they asked me when I called and tried to purchase one was what my Federal Permit number was. No Federal Permit, then no state permit.

Call your state office and ask, but I bet you get the same response.



Bull.

Man, that thing's a work of art. Gorgeous. It looks like it's just for display..? Thanks for sharing.

Hey, didn't you just have a vacation? Don't you know we all need to work for the common good of your fellow man? Thanks Comrade...


Bull.