Search found 17 matches

by chemeng
Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:24 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Barrel Environment
Replies: 2
Views: 544

Re: Barrel Environment

5 L charred from oak barrels ltd. Was going to get a Gibbs, but the wait was a killer. For my next batch (hopefully a few gallons) I'll employ a little foresight and get a Gibbs, everyone around here seems to love them.
by chemeng
Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:56 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Barrel Environment
Replies: 2
Views: 544

Barrel Environment

Heyo All, I've just barreled 5 L of corn whiskey, and I'm not sure where to store the barrel. I've kept it in my covered barn for the last week, to let nature have it's way (it's chilly right now, with the rare rain). Is this better or worse than just aging it indoors at a steady temperature? Thanks...
by chemeng
Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:32 am
Forum: ** Welcome Center **
Topic: Howdy, All
Replies: 5
Views: 512

Re: Howdy, All

Odin,
Yep. Thanks for talking to me about that. After talking with you in the other thread I realized that I'd been asking a lot of questions in the last week or two without properly introducing myself, and felt right ashamed.
by chemeng
Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:59 pm
Forum: ** Welcome Center **
Topic: Howdy, All
Replies: 5
Views: 512

Howdy, All

I'm a long time lurker, been posting some recently so I thought I'd drop by the Welcome Center. The parent site and this forum have been an awesome resource, I've used it a lot to get recipes and figure out "tried and true" methods to bypass months of trial and error. Thanks to all of thos...
by chemeng
Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:17 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter
Replies: 6
Views: 1298

Re: Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter

Will do. Thanks for the tip.
by chemeng
Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:08 am
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: Whiskey Column Still
Replies: 18
Views: 4123

Re: Whiskey Column Still

Odin: I've been using a what I now know to be a CM type still of my own design with a 1 foot column packed with 6 mm Raschig Rings to make whiskey, with pretty good results. The thing's on its last legs, and I've been itching to upgrade to something a little bigger and more robust. A big advantage t...
by chemeng
Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:38 am
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: Whiskey Column Still
Replies: 18
Views: 4123

Re: Whiskey Column Still

So it people are saying the LM (which I think means liquid management- like a nixon-stone type head) condenser is no good for flavoured spirits. Why is this? To me the big advantage of LM is that it's mechanically simple, easy to build, and easy to wrap my head around. I understand distillation theo...
by chemeng
Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:20 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: Whiskey Column Still
Replies: 18
Views: 4123

Whiskey Column Still

Has anyone had success making whiskey with column stills? I've read Ian Smiley's book (Making Pure Corn Whiskey), and it looks doable, but from what I've read most people swear by pot stills. I'm thinking of building a Nixon-Stone type reflux still with a 2 foot column packed with 6 mm ceramic Berl ...
by chemeng
Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:58 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter
Replies: 6
Views: 1298

Re: Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter

I ended up using cheesecloth as a make-shift "teabag" and it worked nicely. ~5 minutes of dunking imparted a nice "char" flavour to the spirit. Coffee filer paper + whatman #1 filter paper filtration got the particulates out, leaving the spirit looking a little darker looking, bu...
by chemeng
Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:41 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter
Replies: 6
Views: 1298

Lincoln Country Process Charcoal Filter

I'm trying to imitate George Dickel (I like JD too, but Dickel is superior in my taste). I have about 4L of white dog "chill mellowing" in the fridge, and I wan't to charcoal filter it. I've already prepared some sugar maple charcoal, but I'm unsure how to charcoal filter on such a small s...
by chemeng
Thu Dec 29, 2011 12:28 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Time In Barrel
Replies: 1
Views: 695

Time In Barrel

Hey All, I'm getting ready to put my New Year's White Dogs (some Corn Whiskey and Rum) into new barrels, and I'm barreling for the first time. What's the rule of thumb when it comes to aging spirits in "small" casks? From what I've read here on the forums, I've figured the following: -1 Li...
by chemeng
Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:43 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Buying/Prepping A Barrel
Replies: 6
Views: 1099

Re: Buying/Prepping A Barrel

I haven't purchased it yet, still deciding where to buy it from. I think for whiskey a heavy char is better than a toast (is that so?). Right now I can't decide between a brewhaus barrel (which comes with a valve and a stand) or a Gibbs barrel (which from my reading sounds a little higher quality). ...
by chemeng
Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:24 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Buying/Prepping A Barrel
Replies: 6
Views: 1099

Buying/Prepping A Barrel

Merry Christmas All, I think as a Christmas gift to me I'll be buying an 8L oak barrel to age some corn whiskey. I figure I'll be buying a heavy-char barrel (I think that's better than toasted for this), but after reading around some in the forums, I don't want to over-oak my hooch. Would it be wort...
by chemeng
Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:41 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Charcoal filtering vs. Charcoal aging?
Replies: 8
Views: 6898

Charcoal filtering vs. Charcoal aging?

Hey All- Is there anything about forcing a spirit through charcoal (a la Jack Daniels or George Dickel) that would be different from just a quick "pre-aging" before aging the spirit for the long term? Thinking about charcoal mellowing, it struck me that it'd be easier just to put my spirit...
by chemeng
Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:52 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Simple Partial Condenser
Replies: 3
Views: 672

Simple Partial Condenser

Hey All- So I'm working on my first column still. I'm going to experiment and see if I can make flavored spirits with a short column. I'm looking for some way to induce a little (not too much! I want flavor) reflux over my packing (about 10 inches of 6mm racshig rings). I'm thinking a really easy pa...
by chemeng
Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:51 am
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Packed Column Still w/ Little Reflux for Flavored Spirits?
Replies: 6
Views: 1019

Re: Packed Column Still w/ Little Reflux for Flavored Spirit

Thanks for the positive responses! I'll have to run the experiment and get back to you all. Worst comes to worst I can always take out the packing and just keep double-distilling.
by chemeng
Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:59 am
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Packed Column Still w/ Little Reflux for Flavored Spirits?
Replies: 6
Views: 1019

Packed Column Still w/ Little Reflux for Flavored Spirits?

Hey all- I've been reading through homedistiller.org for a while, and I've decided to try and enter the wild world of home distilling. I've had a little luck so far with a basic pot still, making brandies using double-distillation, and wanted to move to something a little more complex. I want to be ...