Home Distiller

That rum does sound really good. I did one very similar recently, and it turned out great. I usually just do UJSSM.

I have to use eggshells or oyster shells every time. My pH crashes and ferment stops if I don’t. What’s crazy is that I have fairly alkaline water locally; I guess it’s the trubs I leave in the bottom.

FWIW, I have a 50,000 BTU propane turkey fryer heating a 5 gallon pot, with an old school copper worm. It takes me 20-25 minutes to heat up, and about another hour to to run the distillate.

I criticize Jesse for making goofy recipes, then he comes out with a video on making an all-grain mash from store-bought ingredients. It looks really good…

Jesse knows his stuff; his videos on cuts and blending are pretty good. However, he’s getting spoiled by that YouTube fame and fortune. Making a wash from M&M’s or Hot Tamales candy is just clickbait. The merchandising and Patreon money is addictive…

It’s still bubbling along, right around 74-75F. SG has consistently gone down, now at 1.015. It was around 1.045 when I first posted. It should be finished in a few days.

I live in a warm climate, and never tried heating or insulating my ferments before. I was really surprised by how well it worked. They usually clear pretty fast in the summer, but really slow down this time of year. This isn’t a slab floor, and it’s insulated, so I didn’t think it would make much of...

I usually use a 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket for my washes. They take forever to ferment this time of year, sometimes two or three weeks. The heat is on, but the floor can get pretty cold. The ferment usually drops to 68F after a day or two. I had a 16W heating pad for a terrarium lying around. I pl...

I ran the Pugirum I had fermented, and it’s fantastic. Buttery, smooth, with a hint of molasses. I hadn’t made it in a long time, and the boiler puked the last time. I ran it slow this time, and it came out clear. It’s ready just in time for sharing with the family at Christmas!

I recently found a gallon of the Evolved molasses I had left in a closet. I’ve done a few runs with it, and it works well for me. I made a quasi-Pugirum with it, but didn’t have brown sugar. I mixed some white sugar with a little table molasses, some epsom salt, DAP, and starter. I used Lavlin D-47 ...

I just ran my first UJSSM made with D47 yeast. I’d used D47 for wine, and couldn’t find my bread yeast. It turned out great, with a good flavor. I even started a Pugirum wash with it. It loves the molasses!

I’ve tried using backset, but the acidity just gets too low. Ironically, I live in an area with fairly alkaline water.

You can make good cuts with a 5 gallon boiler if you run it slow. I’ve been doing it for years. You should be getting a lot more than a quart of distillate. I usually get about 3 quarts.

The US was the first with metric money, everyone forgets that. :mrgreen: There’s a crazy legend about the US not using metric measurements: supposedly, Thomas Jefferson wanted to go metric during his presidency, and asked for a sample kilogram from France. It was sent via ship, but the ship was capt...

I used to have a toy similar to this when I was young. It was basically a bicycle pump with a hollow plastic rocket on the end. I haven’t seen them for sale in a long time. I guess they got pulled off the market like lawn darts did.

Baking soda works, too. I’ve tried it. Put 1 tsp/15ml in every quart/liter and let it sit about a week. Run it again and the off-flavors will be gone.

I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. I’ve made muscadine wine on and off for the last thirty years. My father actually taught me how. I had a great crop this year, and have 4-5 gallons of good red wine. I found an old carboy from a few years ago, and it still had about 3-...

Welcome from the USA. I think it’s fantastic that a woman wants to join. Several of the legal operations around here have females as distillers, and they make solid stuff.

I’ve tried just about every yeast out there, and Fleischmann’s is hard to beat for whiskey. It’s not super fast, but it tastes good and clears well. I like to use Red Star Montrachet for my wines, though. I make a lot of reds.

v-child wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 10:19 am Out of curiosity, how does a sugar head taste oaked?

Like dark rum, which makes sense. Some of my runs have brown sugar and/or molasses. The JD barrel chips give it a bit of whiskey flavor, but don’t overpower it.

v-child wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:45 am Bourbonstreet, good luck. After all my failed attempts make a good whiskey or bourbon, I now exclusively drink vodka.

I put a small bit of every batch in the oak jar. Most of my liquor I drink white like a vodka. I tried all-grain once or twice, but stick with sugar head now.

Definitely char it with a torch. I do that even with the JD chips. I like a darker char than comes in the bag. It pulls a lot of the heads bite out, and clears up any off flavors.

I had a batch of UJSSM wash from the spring. It had MAJOR lacto infection, but smelled OK. I ran it, and it tasted a bit funky the first day. I blended it the next day, and it was pretty good. I put some in my “Solera” on JD chips that has dozens of runs in it. It’s like a good golden rum! I just st...

I didn’t buy it; someone I know did. I figured it wasn’t usable, but I was wondering what was in it. Tea tree oil? That’s some nasty stuff!

I found a store with several cases of 80% “hand sanitizer” from a distillery. It doesn’t contain isopropyl or bittering agents, just ethanol and peroxide. It smells like heads and tails mixed. Could this be redistilled into a decent liquor?

I did a feints run with heads and tails left from the last two or three UJSSM runs, and diluted it down. I ran it really slow, and it turned out amazing! 75% hearts on a regular pot still. I blended and diluted it down to 60%, and it is super smooth. I’ve been using the heads to sanitize my hands, a...

I read an article about people trying to make their own sanitizer. They interviewed a doctor that said nobody has the correct equipment at home, and wouldn’t know how...

I’m looking at getting a keg myself. I had lots of trouble with the bowl method at first, too. My first worm was too small, so I had a lot of leaks. It even caught fire once or twice! That’s when I built a bigger stillhead and worm. Now, paste and binder clips easily keep it sealed. I figured out ba...

I’ve used a bowl ever since I started, 5 years ago. I made a riser out of copper tubing and a 90, and soldered it to the worm with a reducer and a 45 for a lyne arm. I cut the hole slightly smaller than the pipe and pressed it in. I just put flour paste around the pipe, and harden it with a torch. I...

I use JD barrel chips, but I char them a little. I fill a jar about 1/3 full with them and put my UJSSM at about 55% over it. It didn’t taste that good until about 6 months to a year later. It’s been in there a couple years now, and it’s very good! I actually use it as a Solera now. I take a little ...