Home Distiller

Shock cooling is not good for spirits which is why placing ice into a flake stand is not a good idea... Hot water on top and cold water at the bottom gives the proper temperature gradient for gradually knocking down distillate vapor... Letting ice float at the top throws the whole flake stand out o...

I just made my second run and had the stove set to a higher setting and my distillate was weaker than my first. My first distillation was a 6.5% corn whiskey and the beginning distillate was 76% ABV. My second distiallation (Wimeo's sugar wash) was a 10.8% ABV sugar wash and the beginning distillate...

OK, I decided to try my hand at beer, so far so good. I think it's done and I have read that your supposed to check your SG three days in a row to make sure there are no changes. How the crap do you get a sample out of a 6 gal glass carboy without stirrin everything up or contaminating anything? I ...

olddog wrote:Here's one for you to copy, use 1" tubing for the alcometer tube to prevent hydrolic effect giving a false reading.

OD

That is one fine looking parrot. All shiny and sleek looking.

Cornwhiskey, I looked up the flange on McMaster and they list it as bronze. To the forum, is there an issue with bronze? I have read many posts regarding "pickling" of brass to remove the lead. I don't recall seeing anything on bronze. The reason I ask is one of our own here has asked me ...

just wanted to say hey to all yall.i live in the south somewhere. he he i have ordered the stuff i can't but to build my first reflux still and im going to be putting it together in about a week or so if yall want to see my horriable building skills :ebiggrin: . as you can tell im after neutral spr...

any link for a step by step build on a parrot? thanks The most successful distiller should be able to build from a picture. Screw ups and fixes are inevitable. I've been homebrewing for years and and recently started distilling. I built my still from looking at different pictures and truly understa...

First off, do you have a good understanding of distilling? You have to dump the first 50-150mL of distillate because it is poisonous. Find the guide to cuts on this site and read it through a few times. I suggest doing your first runs on your stove top as using propane can pose a SERIOUS threat of e...

This weekend I had some "hard" lemonade a neighbour made ! WOW ... It was good and if I can make it as cheep as he says .... well good by Mikes ... Looking forward to exploring this form Hard lemonade is not made from distillation. Liquor is made from distilling some form of wash and then...

Silver solder. Readily available at home improvement stores (Home Depot and Lowe's if you are in the U.S.). If there is anything in your still that isn't copper, stainless steel or silver, then you better start over. Unless of course you want to poison yourself and those you share your hooch with. I...

You need to throw away about 150mL of foreshots per 5 gallon batch. So if you are combining the beer stripping runs from multiple batches you need to discard 150mL of foreshots for each batch. Example, if you are combing the beer stripping runs of three batches you would want to discard 450mL (3*150...

I made a Shiraz once and it came out pretty good. I'll take a stab at making some brandy later this year.

I've been doing some research on this lately. The best true way to make Tequila is to get an actual blue agave heart, but this is a real pain in the ass. You pretty much have to order it from Mexico. I've spoken with Ian Chadwick who runs the website "In search of the blue agave" and he sa...

It's going to increase your run time. 1/4" is pretty small. How about going with 1/2".

I'm going to need a lot more compelling evidence than something that some unknown person wrote on Wikipedia. My reference to Wikapedia was to imply that you can do your own research rather than wait to be spoonfed, as confirmed by other posts the Wikapedia reference is generally correct. Rather tha...

All you neede to do is a Wikapedia search, and save your confusion. Dunder is the yeast-rich foam leftovers from one batch of rum that is used to start the yeast culture of a second batch. It is the traditional yeast source in Jamaican Rum. Similar in process to sour mash in Bourbon whiskey, it is ...

Thanks cornwhisky. A recipe that I shall try out soon. You say that this recipe is similar to that used by the commercial Bourbon distilleries. But many corn whisky (Bourbon) recipes on this forum require that the corn be cooked for 30-90 minutes at a simmer to release the starches, then cooled to ...

Thanks for the info. I've been talking with Rubber Duck and have decided to convert a cooler to a mash lauter tun. It's cheap and easy and sounds a whole lot easier than trying to ferment on the grain. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-e%20...%20ion-23008/ I would suggest using a bazooka screen...

Thanks a lot ! I said to do a 90 minute mash. But once the mash is done I think it's best to let it cool overnight because you will get better conversion. On my first whiskey mash my OG was around 1.060 after 90min. but I let it cool overnight and it was 1.065 when I checked it the next day before ...

Have you considered making a large condenser? Yours looks like it's about 1/4" or smaller. The plastic liebig is a cool idea, I guest it doesn't matter as it won't ever be touching any of the distillate.

What exactly is dunder? I've done some reading and some say it is the backset from a spirit run, some say it is the backset from a stripping run and others say it is the yeast cake that is left over after fermentation. So, which one is it?

I'm thanking if you try to rechar those things they will fall apart, there is not much to them. and yes you just burn the wood with a torch or what ever suits you . it will burn that is what you are after, sort of like making charcoal on the outside, Id try them as is, and add charcoal if you want....

I know a lot of you have tried it...........it even sounds a little "Popcornish". May I ask what to expect? What kind of taste? Sounds like it is worth trying since I have never got into malted anything yet grain-wise....just liquid malt. Dry malt extract is better than liquid malt extrac...

Try out different ways and let us know. I would like to know the taste difference between charred and heavy toasted. I use a MAPP torch for charring. I've never charred anything in my life. So how would I go about charring with my propane torch? How long should I torch it for on each side? Do I jus...

Does anyone here subscribe to the podcast "WhiskyCast" on iTunes free podcast download page? I don't but thanks for mentioning it. I've been looking for some kind of Whiskey podcast. I'm and avid homebrewer and listen to all of the podcast on The Brewing Network and Basic Brewing Radio/Vi...

I use a filter bag from the brewshop. Yes, it does plug up from the protiens and whatnot. Just have to shake and squeeze 'til you get most of the liquid out. If you have a spare fridge, the cold will help settle the wash. So do you just put the barley in the filter bag and leave it in there for the...

If you wanted to save a little money you could get a copper flange from mcmastercarr, they have 1.25" copper flange's for $24. I bought a 1" copper flange from them and the 4 bolt holes were 5/8" diamter. This proved to be somewhat of a pain because I couln't find that size at Home De...

On the barrell mills website they have American oak spirals that go from light to heavy toast. I e-mailed them about whether they offered charred spirals and they said no. Being as I want to make Bourbon, would the heavy toast spirals be about the same? Or should I purchase the heavy toast and try a...

I just made this mash: 10.75 lbs flaked corn 2.5 lbs 2-row WLP 028 Edinburgh ale yeast It had and OG of 1.065 and it stopped at 1.008. I added some liquid Beano and in about 4 days time it has gotten down to 1.002. So the Beano helped bring it down 6 gravity points and has brought from 7.5% ABV to 8...

Thank You Cornwhiskey! I've cut and pasted your post into my workbook. I appreciate your time in posting this information. Can I use a UJSM backset in these recipes? Again, thanks... Sure. If you already have some backset then you can just start off with the second mash I listed. Some people may no...