Home Distiller

Hmmm...still haven't seen much advice given here. I'd recommend going bigger if you can afford it. If you start small, upsizing is pricey because all you equipment needs to be replaced. Also, a 15 gallon still will give you about 1 gallon of product a run if you are lucky, so base off that. On a rel...

That Bellybuster for the tips and the link. I learned pretty quickly in organic chemistry what happens when you don't label your beakers... From the bank you derived from the starter, did you have the spin down or let the yeast settle to the bottom or did you just pour out a vial's worth and assume ...

A few more thoughts based on my research: Obviously the trick here is in carefully collecting viable yeast. It seems that yeast collected from high gravity mashes (over 1.06) do not work well, which seems like it would pose problems given many whiskey mashes approach that number. Also, the yeast are...

It's still good I Stop reusing yeast after 6 generations, as I had one mutate on me on the 8th gen next time you go to use it, water it down so it's not sitting in such high alcohol :) I have stored yeast for 6 months in the fridge, and it worked fine. There is a guide around here on how to wash an...

I've been working with all grain and backset mashes and get annoyed when adjusting the pH to 5.5. I've read some people use the product 5.2 Stabilize, but does anyone use their own buffering system or know what is in 5.2 Stabilize? I am considering using the phosphate citrate buffer, it is described...

Thanks for the feedback anderson0196- happy to hear others find it problematic. How have most people here been sizing their condensers? So I ran an experiment and crunched some numbers, hopefully people will have some feedback (either on the math or the overall finding). I measurement the power outp...

So I checked- a liebig condenser is just a jacket type condenser correct? I used the parent site calculator and for the same input and output temperatures, to build a 1inch diameter tube condenser it would still be to be 3.5 meters if used alone. That still seems like gross overkill- I have never se...

Looking for advice on how to properly size the condenser for my rig. I am working in large part of the parent site calculator page: http://homedistiller.org/calcs/cond_calc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow My rig has a three foot 2in column, necks ove...

Looking for some input here. I've been messing around trying Birdwatcher's Sugarwash, and have had three very successful attempts making some excellent neutral spirits. I scaled the recipe down and used Safeal US-05 yeast. I have always done stripping and spirits runs, but usual found the taste to b...

That sounds about right. So I was little generous with the corn added...but the diatase I added should have finished the conversion. I'm wondering if the EC-1118 simply didn't finish and I just rushed the mash? I went with the champagne yeast to get a nice clean flavor and because they are highly al...

I wish there was a way to get tastes of good shine of all types- fruit, whiskeys, rum, straight out of the still and un-aged. Even better would be examples of foreshots, heads, hearts, and tails for different liquors. That would really help me know how on track I was with my cuts and learn to distin...

Hey, so I've taken the above suggestions, tried them and got a good batch that came out ~9%ABV, where I expected it. Then, I ran it again, as I'll describe below and the stripping run is behaving strangely. I am running an open column still with a thermometer. I know it isn't necessary to do so for ...

Dear Shiners, I have made two attempts at a sugar wash for neutral spirits and have had poor results both times. I suspect my problem is poor yeast nutrition, espeically after reading this post: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=5230 Still, I want to run my recipe by you and co...

Thanks for the advice. I had thought that the expected alcohol content (5-10%) would protect the mash from a bacterial infection. I've successfully run 2 apple brandy mashes that I let ferment for 2 weeks with no problems. But I did check and there definitely are bacteria that will metabolize alcoho...

Hey guys, I tried what I thought was a simple recipe and had dismal results. Looking for reasons why it went so wrong. From what I've read I have an idea or two but wanted more input. I tried the following recipe that uses Diatase to convert the sugars not amalyase since the brew shop near me only c...

Thanks for the positive feedback! I have gotten rid of the tygon and am using a long stem glass funnel for now. I'm also heading over to Harbor Freight this weekend to pick up a pond pump of the same specs as the one pointed out on cheappumps.com While I haven't switched over to the keg yet, I looki...

Also, any suggestions on a good pump to get to run the condenser? I hate the idea of wasting so much water. I am considering this one, but it is a bit pricey: http://www.tractorsupply.com/countyline-reg-transfer-utility-pump-1-12-hp-1028129" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;&qu...

Hello everyone, My friends and I have been interested in moonshining since we were in high school and had a built a still our senior year with the help of our chemistry teacher (and from Tony's site home distiller). I'm in graduate school for chemistry (so I do enjoy the science behind fermentation ...

Thats a monster there... but looking good! Where did you buy the copper needle valves? I've been having trouble locating them?