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Safale SO-4 is also pretty good. Got a batch of raw, fresh pressed cider fermenting now. Had a nasty sulfur smell after 3 days, but added a tablespoon of nutrient and it cured it overnight. Now has a very strong apple aroma. Fermenting it down to 1.01 and halting fermentation there. Should turn out ...

Alright, good to know. After some more research on sour mashing, I found the lower ph to be beneficial to mashing, but had no idea that it's easy to get it too acidic for fermentation. Thanks!

Alright, so after doing the "sour mash" method with UJSSM, I kind of have an idea of what sour mashing actually is... Kinda. When doing an all grain recipe, I'm assuming you get the used up wash from the first batch, mix it 3:1 with water (for a 33% backset), then use that mixture to mash ...

Hmmmm.... I was going to run my first wash today... My eleven gallons of wash has been fermenting for one week with some Nottingham Ale yeast. It's still bubbling away actually... but gravity is only down from 1.071 to 1.030. Normally I ferment in the un-air-conditioned portion of the garage (aroun...

That sounds pretty good... Adding a shot of apple brandy to a hot still cider. I'm planning on making 15 gallons of hard cider, sweetening it, then force carbing with a keg. Wish I could bring myself to throw some in the still, because last year, 15 gallons went QUICK! I probably only went through 5...

Yea, I was thinking the same method for clearing beer (not distillers beer) of suspended yeast and grain particles would work just fine. That's what I do with all my brews is "cold crash" them to clear em up. Just stick the bucket in my designated cold crashing fridge. Maybe add some biofi...

I hear fermenting on the grain gives more flavor, so I'm thinkin Im gonna take that route. If I do use flaked, putting it in the fridge for 24 hours should settle most of the suspended solids to the bottom before tossing it in the still, right?

Sounds good! I think I'm going to start with your Carolina Bourbon recipe first. Run a few washes of that till I get a 2-3 gallons of low wines, then do a spirit run.

Can I buy the right grind of corn at a feed store? Yessir! Just ask for "cracked corn" and there ya have it. It's more common than whole corn. Another way to cook the corn is in a BOP, in the oven at 200F for a few hours(usually, the lowest possible setting on the oven, and you may have t...

Yep, and some pvc and great stuff to stabilize the coil. This site was a ton of help during the build. And if I remember right, I was running UJSSM in that pic. Trying to think of some way I can put a pre-condenser in that column and pack it with scrubber pads to adapt it for reflux stillin, but I t...

Since I finally joined, thought I should post a pic of my first pot still (ok, maybe not my FIRST. That one was a 1.5 gallon aluminum POS. First one I'm proud of I guess I should say). This one is 7.5 gallons with a worm condenser.

Dried apricot... Never thought of that, but sounds like a great idea. I'll try that and post the results, thanks!

Alright, so I just sampled some of my apricot brandy I distilled back in early July from a 7.5 gallon pot still and damn... It's some good stuff! I adapted the recipe from Tater for peaches, but for a 5 gallon wash and added 2 pounds of sugar and 2 gallons of steam-juiced apricot juice just to get t...

Alright! That sounds easy enough. And how much barley to the flaked corn minimum to convert do y'all use? I'm thinking goin that route would be easier than having to scrub the pot with the whole geletanization process. From what I have read on the forums, it sounds like a lot of work to get the gunk...

Alright, so after a few batches of UJSSM and a few more batches of all-grain beer using malted barley, I think I'm ready to try a true corn whiskey (though probably a blend with barely as well). And here comes the questions: I understand the mashing process with barley, where enzymes are used from t...

Been lurking on these threads for close to a year now, and for some reason just never thought about joining. I mean, almost any question I had could be answered in the search box, as the suggestion is given to most noobs who post something that's been asked a million times. Anyway, can't go into too...