Home Distiller

Sounds like a good plan. I was thinking that size might have been too large, but that may work out nicely. I saw another design where the output from the keg boiler went into the brewhaus kettle and that was acting as a thumper.

Yeah... this is what I am thinking of also! I dont know if I need a full soda keg though.

Hey all. I haven't been around in a while. I have a simple pressure cooker with condenser that I have used in the past. Small unit but gets the job done. Anyhow, I picked up the Brewhaus kettle but have not set it up or performed a run through it yet. I came into possession of two full size beer keg...

I agree. It all comes down to experimentation, repeatability and what the final product is. Most important is if you are happy with the outcome. Everyone has different tastes and likes.

My question at this point would be where these oils actually exist. Say if I do stripping runs, I should collect everything down to oh, say 10%abv, just to reuse in the final run. Then take the foreshots etc out, collect the heart (as per usual) and start saving the tailings. I think that these oils...

Hmm.... Going through the local job lot, I came across corn meal, potato starch and barley. I think these were 1lb plus bags, I saw the potato starch one and wondered the possibilities....
I should finish one thing at a time I guess.

@bcboyz86: yes I know, it does take a while. I've been doing small batches so far, just to get the fundamental practices....hey, I'm still a noob. ;) I might just do the stripping runs and then a final run. Your advice sounds good. @rad14701: I measured the mix with a hydrometer, it came out to be a...

So I ran my first 5gal wash as fast as I could without it boiling and making a huge mess and ended up with 13 pints of stuff down to about 20%ish. First 150ml of fores, 2pints of heads, 3-9 of hearts?, two pints had film on top...guessing those are tails, then from 40%ish-20%ish they smelled a lot ...

I have a question for some people... I have a propane burner for now because it was free and handy, but want to switch to electric and am caught between a cast iron hotplate, or an induction with transfer plate so it works with my boiler. I will only be able to use it with my 23L pot boiler and not...

I'm about to start a batch of rum too...There is a recipe here somewhere, 24oz molasses, rest white sugar. I thought I had yeast nutrient at home, I don't, so I guess I start that and a sugar wash on Monday.

Gotcha. It's just a simple pot still, not a column. There aren't any scrubbers in place, should i install something in-line somewhere? The second distillation seemed to have helped.

Double distilled.....left the smell in the pot

Just finished a double distill of my first run. I forgot to toss the foreshot and heads the first time so I took this brandy, plus tails from another run. Total distilled liquid 1.15L. Re distilled, adding distilled water to the pot. Measured for foreshot and heads, went a bit further on the number ...

Biker geek,
That sounds like a nice idea....


Dnderhead,
Yes, I agree....I used maple in the ferment also with the blueberry mead, the flavor was not coming through at all.

Braz, Thanks, that's what I'm looking for too. I made a mead once with blueberry and maple flavor. I added so much maple syrup to it to have the flavor come through it was sickeningly sweet. One of my friends fathers had tried it, liked it then had me try the maple brandy. I couldn't figure out that...

I've tasted this before, it came from Canada. I did various searches for a recipe but came up empty. I have some brandy, freshly distilled and waiting for some flavor. I am thinking flavor to taste with maple syrup, light toast oak chips and let it sit for a while. I think this sounds pretty simple ...

Richard7,
Thank you, I realize this also. There is a pressure relief valve on the cooker.

Usge wrote:I wouldn't use 1/4 od tubing for your still...other than for a reflux condenser coil.

I know, I know.... I have room for improvement. It seems to work ok although slowly...

I welded a weld-in Swagelok compression fitting in the top of my stainless pressure cooker. I used 1/4" tubing and compression fittings. Also obtained a block off plug so I can stil use the pressure cooker for other purposes after I upgrade to larger equipment. I have a picture posted somewhere...

Did some of those smells contain a sulfur odor? I had that issue wish some I just did....potassium metabisulfate as a preservative....?
Did you get your brandy onto oak yet? I've got some light toasted American chips and some medium toasted French chips, not sure where I want to go here yet.

Yes, I agree the calculations will vary. The apple cider (wine) I ran I thought it was only 12% and formulated my (estimated) results based on those calculations, however the alcohol level was much higher. I think once I make a few batches from scratch and record everything the calculations may beco...

I used these percentages on my last run... Seemed to work ok if you know what the total amount of alcohol output will be. Took the foreshot and heads percentage, combined it. Switched containers when into the hearts. Took several containers when collecting the hearts, saved the tails for the 2nd run...

Stainless pot, copper lines, coiled condenser. Its a small rig, I posted a pic of it somewhere. I modified it as since, as I had the condenser angled, instead of vertical.

Hey all. Recently ran a batch of old (nov 09') apple cider through the pot still. 5.25L of wine, cut the foreshot and heads, miscalculated the hearts, but saved the tails and reran in the next 5.25L batch. The calculations for that was spot-on as far as yield was concerned. Since this cider (wine) w...

Nchooch, Thanks! Since this is all new to me I'm sure I'll be making some mistakes here and there. The thoughts behind this setup was if I fail at this at least I'd still have a pressure cooker to make food with. ;) I'll be planning on moving up to a 1/4 keg size once I can iron out the processes. S...

Tools, nice to meet you. Welcome aboard, hehe :ebiggrin: I didn't throw out the foreshot or separate any of the product except for what I assume was the tailings. I knew the flavor was coming through and the alcohol level was becoming less pronounced. On hindsight I should have let the boil finish t...

ok cool thanks I shuck it up a little yesterday and i's still going today i'm gonna give it another shake and see what happens if anything i'm going to take your advice and wait it out another week. Also I kinda made this recipe from seeing others, most that i find are for make 10+ gallons of wash ...

Hey all, new here. So, I've been homebrewing wines for many years and have quite the um...collection. So, In order to free up some space and start a different "collection" I've decided to start making some brandy. Anyhow, here is my basic unit. I have a 8qt pressure cooker (slightly modifi...

did all required cleanings.......only trouble I had was a slow leak with my water cooler at the inlet side,easy repair......as for a recipe- I used 12 lbs of black raspberries,boiled them in 2 gallons of distilled water,then mashed them real well,strained the seeds and skins,time consuming extra st...

That looks like a super setup. I'm on the same path....I've been making homemade wines for about 10+ years now also. I just put together a simple unit, did a cleaning run and ran a batch of wine through it. Got so excited it was working I forgot to collect the foreshot and heads! :thumbdown: saved t...