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A big Texas howdy, Selvagem. I jump in occasionally to welcome newbees and throw in a bit of my knowledge. I've been doing this for a long, long time. You've got a pretty small still but it's big enough to have some fun with. Don't expect to get more than about 1 pint of hearts out of each run. If I...

WOW! From my perspective, you've just learned lots of things not to do. I think your recipe is very close to the one I do a lot, so I'll add my two cents here. Here's a few things you did wrong. You killed the fermentation process when you allowed the temp to get to 96F. I keep mine below 83F, and i...

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JD, It's unusual to find someone just beginning to have done as much research as you have. You are way ahead of the game, for sure. That is one reason I decided to respond, to see if I might clear up a few things for you. On this site and elsewhere you will find people who feel like they are the ult...

Get comfortable with how to make the cuts, which is the first step. You are gonna find that you did not get 4.5 quarts out of your 5 gallon run, as you thought. Remember, you only want the good part. That means only the heart. Anything else you are just gonna dump into the pot when you run another b...

Do you mean brewery, rather than distillery? You are about to discover how simple distilling is, provided you follow the basic rules. The excitement is developing your own formula to exceed any other's. Assuming you are going to run a pot still (for efficiency and speed), your only limitation will b...

Use water first to find any construction/fabrication/assembly errors. Wide open for several hours. Everything, including worm cooling water.

There's something wrong here. It is for certain your thermometer is incorrect. Get a digital, they are more likely to be more accurate. How do we know this? Because you cannot exceed the boiling point of water unless it's sealed and under pressure. That's why you can boil water in a paper cup. Someo...

I agree, it will age better in an ambient environment. I do all my aging in one gallon, airtight glass containers. My charred strips go in immediately after all cuts have been made. I have fooled around with different types of wood, but now stay with white oak, period. I do not make my final proofin...

Ralph, You jumped into it head first, didn't you? Fortunately, I think you lucked out. You have the right pot size. Unfortunately, you decided to make it a reflux rather than the basic. But, that's still okay, for you can run it almost like a pot still-but only almost. That having been said, you rem...

My advice is to do a simple pot still first no smaller that 7 gallons. Add a thumper. Make it easy on yourself. It would be a loss to see you build a beautiful copper pot that you later discover is too small. In my opinion, a 15 gallon pot and 15 gallon ferment tank is the perfect size. One batch, o...

You will love the new pot size. You can ferment more now, and distill more now. Having experience with such a small pot, you probably have mastered the art of cutting. Are you electric or gas? Do you have a particular spirit you have favored? Any good recipes to share? I've been doing this for about...

You've come to the right place for knowledge. You will get answers to just about any question you may have. Being individuals, every answer will be somewhat representative of that person's personality or mood. Which leads me to state why I am addressing your introduction. Most people have their stil...

About 40 years ago I watched a Native American from the Navajo tribe on the sidewalk in downtown Flagstaff. I couldn't hear him but watched him hold up one hand every time a beautiful lady walked by. He was saying something to them, and they would do the Texas two-step and proceed at a much faster p...

I learned the hard way to never look at another package of turbo. Strike it out of your vocabulary. And I can taste Fleishman's for some reason, and find it overbearing. (Admittedly, I could have overloaded it.) Just use your grocery store baker's yeast, and don't overload it, It will multiply rapid...

There's a whole lotta good help and advice here, and lots of folks willing to help and encourage younguns learn the craft. Got any questions yet?

Apparently you have sheet metal skills. There's few things more beautiful than a mirror finished copper rig with all the curves in the right places. I am happy with my polished SS rig, but wish it were copper. But that's the romantic side. I wish I had the time to make one myself. I would try to hid...

You are entering an area from which you will never leave. POT STILL WORLD. Where it all started. Where art and skill are combined. A wonderful place. Suggestion: If you will start with a pot at least 5 gallons, no smaller, you will be happier. 15 gallons will keep you happy till the cows come home. ...

Photos prove if there's a will there's a way.

Nice to see someone upgrading. Tell us what kind of rig you're running now, and what you are thinking about stepping up to. You've come to the right place where lots of folks are continuing their education.

The forum mentor will more formally welcome you, Mike, but I felt compelled to talk to you a bit. Your enthusiasm is very apparent. A whole lot of us started on a stovetop also. My very first thoughts are to tell you that I don't think you are going to be happy at all with a tiny boiler pot. There a...

Another lucky Grandchild, fortunate to be able to learn the difference between earning your needs and being handed your wants. That's what you are teaching. Not how to make shine.

Welcome to the group. Many of us were called into this art in exactly the same way. Like any trade, it is fueled by the individual's level of desire and commitment. If your goal is to produce a product that far exceeds anything commercially produced, you have come to the right place. If your goal is...

Man just has to have it, and is gonna make it regardless of the challenges. In the back areas of Indonesia the locals make spirits without the luxuries we take for granted. They don't have stainless steel. They don't have copper pipe. They don't have running water. So how do they make it? They take ...

The corn meal recipe does not need anything but sugar and yeast. You will find that if you boil the meal at the beginning, you will be happy with the first run. You will be very happy with the second generation run, and completely ape-shit about the next 3 or four generations. Then, you will pitch i...

Pardon me. I meant to say you won't get meal into your worm. The thumper will catch any meal you might vomit out of the boiler by running it too hot.

Your theory about why you can't use corn meal is absolutely incorrect. Go for it. If you are careful when you cane it, you won't get much meal into your boiler. And it washes out easy - requires only a rinse out. And, if you run the boiler wide-ass open, you will get vomit, or overflow from the boil...

I'll try to help you a bit. I see a few problems in your rig. First, worm size. I run a 3/8 inch worm as well. Only one reason I do this- it is efficient as hell. The reasons are twofold. First, the ratio of copper line surface to volume (size) is higher than 1/2, Second, if it is more efficient, th...

This is an excellent title for a topic:"learning the hard way". I went through the learning process like all newbees. I had the desire to create something JD and the other distilleries could not. Early experiments created undrinkable jet fuel. Must be missing something I needed. Shortly di...

Pitch the tri-clamp. Get a plug from the hardware store, drill a hole in the center, make a riser stop by adding a coupling that prevents the riser from going too far into the boiler. Make a plug hold-down that spans across the top of the keg and clamps down to the handle ports. You're off and runni...