Search found 799 matches

by Bull Rider
Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:00 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

Re: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

HDNS: I'm grateful for your response! I've scoured the internet for a case matching my description. I seem to recall discussions in the past that talked about ferments that go sideways and something (yeast??) convert the sugar to ethanol, and then somehow the ethanol gets converted to something else...
by Bull Rider
Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:58 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

Re: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

I have a 3" copper pipe that comes vertically out of the center of the keg boiler, this pipe goes up about 36" and then transitions into a 1" copper pipe that goes over horizontally to the thumper keg. The vapor temp is recorded at this transition by a digital thermometer probe and re...
by Bull Rider
Tue Mar 14, 2023 1:29 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

Re: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

The digital thermometer was reading the correct ambient temp when used. I rechecked it today against a second thermometer. They agree. I use a heavy duty propane powered burner. I don't think that this is a mechanical problem. The problem seems to be in that the fermentation process just did not cre...
by Bull Rider
Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:55 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

Re: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

I pulled out and dumped 16 gallons of wash (twice). That was the same amount that I had originally added. There are no leaks. I can detect a leak by smell, before I visually spot the leak. I bet most distilled know that to be true. It was cold out, in the low forty's, so a leak would have been easie...
by Bull Rider
Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:44 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

Re: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

Thank you. I put 12 gallons of wash into the boiler, and four gallons into the thumper. Normal procedure for the past 16 years. No leaks. It would a HUGE leak to blow off 5 gallons of ethanol liquid into ethanol vapor, just sayin.... :) I check every connection several times during the run. There wa...
by Bull Rider
Tue Mar 14, 2023 6:59 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.
Replies: 22
Views: 1537

No Ethanol. 30 gallons of wash, with zero ethanol.

Okay, I'm stumped. I've been making mashes and washes for 26 years now and I've had great success! I joined this website in 2009, so I'm no newbie. I run washes every spring before the fruit flies are out and before the ants show up. Two weeks ago I started up two totes of sweet feed whiskey. I boug...
by Bull Rider
Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:27 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: The Passing Of A Tough Old Bird...
Replies: 61
Views: 5136

Re: The Passing Of A Tough Old Bird...

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...
by Bull Rider
Tue Jul 14, 2015 5:00 pm
Forum: ** Welcome Center **
Topic: Hello from WA
Replies: 20
Views: 2002

Re: Hello from WA

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...
by Bull Rider
Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:39 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Sour tasting distillate
Replies: 3
Views: 1173

Re: Sour tasting distillate

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 ...
by Bull Rider
Wed Jun 24, 2015 5:17 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Anti-Foam Agent
Replies: 4
Views: 2559

Re: Anti-Foam Agent

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.
by Bull Rider
Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:41 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Sugar discovery
Replies: 19
Views: 3561

Re: Sugar discovery

Were both brands cane sugar? I use beet sugar as it's usually cheaper. Interesting.....
by Bull Rider
Thu Jun 18, 2015 4:28 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Temperature of product coming off a liebig
Replies: 16
Views: 2468

Re: Temperature of product coming off a liebig

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.
by Bull Rider
Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:18 pm
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: What to ask a welder?
Replies: 32
Views: 5673

Re: What to ask a welder?

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...
by Bull Rider
Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:00 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: You know you are a Shiner when…
Replies: 365
Views: 48178

Re: You know you are a Shiner when…

You watch your wife prepare a batch of hummingbird food and you think, "damn, that's a lot of sugar".
by Bull Rider
Wed Jun 17, 2015 2:48 pm
Forum: History and Folklore
Topic: A little history, and pictures of Copper Stills
Replies: 9
Views: 3989

Re: A little history, and pictures of Copper Stills

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...
by Bull Rider
Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:07 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: the Angels share...tributes to faided heros.
Replies: 7
Views: 1433

Re: the Angels share...tributes to faided heros.

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!
:clap: Well said, what a beautiful analogy. Thanks for sharing.
by Bull Rider
Sun May 31, 2015 11:00 am
Forum: Announcements
Topic: Mash Rookie
Replies: 84
Views: 31877

Re: Mash Rookie

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....
by Bull Rider
Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:33 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Aging and oxidation
Replies: 17
Views: 2375

Re: Aging and oxidation

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...
by Bull Rider
Tue Sep 23, 2014 4:35 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: stopping beer from foaming
Replies: 14
Views: 2257

Re: stopping beer from foaming

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...
by Bull Rider
Tue Sep 23, 2014 4:25 pm
Forum: ** Welcome Center **
Topic: Greetings - WA USA
Replies: 21
Views: 2521

Re: Greetings - WA USA

Welcome Keigan, from the dry side of Washington.
by Bull Rider
Tue Sep 23, 2014 4:00 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Tahitian vanilla beans
Replies: 17
Views: 2332

Re: Tahitian vanilla beans

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...
by Bull Rider
Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:43 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: missing members
Replies: 152
Views: 17473

Re: missing members

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...
by Bull Rider
Fri Dec 21, 2012 3:01 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Pensacola FL Charter Fishing?
Replies: 4
Views: 767

Re: Pensacola FL Charter Fishing?

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...
by Bull Rider
Fri Dec 21, 2012 6:12 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Pensacola FL Charter Fishing?
Replies: 4
Views: 767

Pensacola FL Charter Fishing?

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 ...
by Bull Rider
Sun Dec 02, 2012 5:00 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Bad News
Replies: 20
Views: 1730

Re: Bad News

OlympicMtDoo:

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


Bull
by Bull Rider
Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:58 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: put my worm in a corny
Replies: 4
Views: 1160

Re: put my worm in a corny

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.
by Bull Rider
Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:34 am
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Question on Old liquor in SS Keg
Replies: 4
Views: 870

Re: Question on Old liquor in SS Keg

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.
by Bull Rider
Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:11 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Can anyone read Japanese???
Replies: 11
Views: 1419

Re: Can anyone read Japanese???

It says;

"Made in Japan"....



But my Japanese is pretty rusty.


Bull.
by Bull Rider
Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:46 pm
Forum: ** Welcome Center **
Topic: Comments to new members
Replies: 10
Views: 1264

Re: Comments to new members

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...
by Bull Rider
Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:33 pm
Forum: My First .....
Topic: Pic: My first batch of UJSSM on oak
Replies: 15
Views: 2992

Re: Pic: My first batch of UJSSM on oak

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.