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Well the Rata is in the goods

I shall let you know how it turns out......... in like a year or so

Well nothing changed,

The supplier says it is chemical free, I say he is full of BS.

I have just been gifted some Rata,

Smells awesome when burning on the fire and has a lovely smell fresh.

I was wondering if anyone had used it charred before, I thought it wood (heh) be nice in a maltexo type whisky I am doing

Alright, I will try that.

I have halved the molasses and upped the sugar for this next wash, to see if it changes anything

I forgot to add, it is through all of the samples till I get down to about 20% (ABV) which tastes like dog vomit.

Or should I say it tastes like what I imagine dog vomit would taste like

Yeah I run it real slow, warm it up slow then run it slow. The distalite coming out of the end of the condenser is like a fast drip but not quite a line. I have always seperated the product into 500ml jars, Then let it sit for a few days covered. Funny thing is that when it comes straight off the st...

Hey there people, after doing this three times I am having some issues. I have stayed exactly as the method outlines and have found the following; Every run tastes like chemicals, like that really crap rum you buy from the store. I am running it through a pot still that I have successfully made a fa...

There can be NO ups & downs with the worm. If anything you JUST want a "downward spiral". If ANY condensate pools within the worm it will build pressure behind it. A worm sounds like a great idea, but I went with a Liebig condenser. I had fun making mine. They aren't hard at all. If y...

I've been doing a heap of kiwifruit lately. Alot of gold. Found the best thing to do is to freeze them. Then just thaw them an squeeze all the juice and pulpy bits out. I ferment it mainly with a country wine yeast that is good for 14% Things to do; Make sure the kiwi is really ripe before you freez...

Ok, so I built this thing now, and it is kinda cool, in a, I like it kind of way. I will try to get some pictures for you sooner, rather than my usual later :) So I had this kiwi wine (Gold variety) an thought hell yeah!!!! So after doing the vinegar and sacrificial run with some "Cat vomit bre...

So I have some more stainless now. From the boiler I have this 4 inch (100mm) RJT, so I can go about making two, or three, or four heads as things develop. To start with I think a nice pot still head would get me started. I care, because these things matter, what things you may ask, well, whatever i...

I was doing some pic re-sizing tonight and found these. First are my audio pride and joy. They both turned 50 this year. Next is the first incarnation of my 7.25" gauge ride on tram. The seating area is not the same as pictured, was changed to allow a larger battery. But its about 5 years old ...

36 proof, don't have me still yet

If you ever toot your car horn (dixie) when going over to your mates house for a drink @ 3am you may be..........

Thanks Bentstick for the advise. Appreciated. rad14701, thank you for what you have written, perhaps I ought to trawl through more information, as you say reinventing the wheel is pointless. I shall indeed search with more intent and nimbleness through what is already here. I appreciate your stance ...

4 ft = 1219.2mm :) Thanks Dakotasnake, Indeed some advice I am heeding! I might have another half keg to weld to weld to my other one yet, giving me about an 80L rather than 50L. This would make the overall still quite high, High enough to run my collection end onto the bench I have (photos later) w...

Still.jpg So now the water lines would pass through the column, in stainless 1/2 inch or something. I guess that is looking far more like a reflux but is still a pot still until I can afford further modification. I do my own stainless welding so that is not an issue, it is more an issue of material...

Hey Bushman, thanks for the suggestions. I am not really to sure what it is that I am building, I figure I could with very little modification turn this into a reflux, by running the water lines through the main column at the top of the packing. Then I can always run further modifications later when...

Cheers mate,

I just got a black marker pen and drew all over the few remaining packets of Turbo Yeast I have left, I am hoping this will make them "black" label

No seriously I have read up on some stuff here and will try it out next round

As a note; ordinary garden lime can be used to neutralise the HF pastes. I use some of the pickling pastes on occasion, gloves and respirator, I am in truth scared shitless of the stuff and always hope to be. After it has cured 5-7 minutes then I douse it in the lime until it stops bubbling then hos...

I have some going at the moment, scored it for $1/kg, which for here is a pretty good price when it usually runs you $5/kg. It is still clearing, but to be honest, using turbo yeast, because I am a dick, it tastes like cat vomit. I think it tastes like cat vomit because of the turbo yeast, not becau...

Still.jpg Ok, so it is about that time, I always promised I would, this place always keeps me keen (even when I am working I think I must be logged in sometimes) and I have some gear. Not lots but enough to make something serviceable I think. Firstly if this is in the wrong place, forum wise, sorry...

Still bubbling!

TN.Frank knows best..........

I may have a sealing solution that could work really well that can seal totally and come apart real easy for cleaning and so on and so forth. I will try to make some pictures of what I mean later.

Cheers.

Could you use Pyrex instead of glass, that would be a super cool option!

Nice work, I like your style!

SG = 1.02

I know its usually cheap China stuff. But has anyone looked at the new165 amp digital display inverter TIG/ARC welder from Harbor Freight? $399 for a 165 amp welder. It does have trigger start. It doesn't have a foot pedal but does have a adjuster reostat that one could make a foot peddle and conne...

Tig! If you are going over 80amps welding all the parts for a still there is WAY too much heat! Tigs are versatile because you can run an arc lead out of most of them if you need to. Migs are a good option if you are doing alot of welding, day in day out, but for small scale operation a Tig is the o...