Home Distiller

Rad, no worries there, this is definitely just a cheap-o get my hands dirty kind of still. I believe in studying theory to an extent, but also getting your hands dirty eventually. That's where this site is great, through offering feedback Usge has no doubt sharpened his/her own knowledge. Now, back ...

Hi Usge, everything makes a lot more sense now, good descriptions, thanks. I hadn't considered the speed of "take off" being a variable, nor 100% reflux time. Of course temp will rise and fall with increased output, but that didn't click for me before. Now my results make more sense. I als...

I'll post some real pics in the future. For now this is from the product brochure (pdf too large to attach). Kee from KegKing had suggested that this unit was actually better than his CM model, but that the profit margin compared to other major brands was too little to win over the retailers. Anyway...

Hi Usage, I appreciate your offering of time to reply in great detail. I fear I may have not been clear enough when indicating which type of still I am using. Unfortunately it is not a CM still. It only has one condenser and is supposedly a "Flow Management" (FM) still, whereupon purity is...

Looking for some experienced eyes to scrutinize these results. Below is my data from a second distillation of 3 batches in a flow management reflux still (Kegomax FM). Foreshots (250mL) from each of the 3 first batches were discarded including the foreshots from the second distillation (150mL). I'm ...

I couldn't find any specific info regarding this on either the home page or the forums, that is there's no obvious headings addressing this, it seems. So can someone please provide the scoop on polishing neutral spirits with baking soda? Is it 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon per liter, for instance. Does...

expensive wine is an illusion of the senses. I don't necessarily agree with that. While some people use expense to justify their liking for a product, those of us who aren't tools realize that sometimes wines are naturally expensive from a non-marketing based perspective because of processes like t...

Thanks, I'll definitely try the finger rub lick test. Sounds very sofasticatted, haha. From the Welch's Grape thread (http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=39495&start=12): Used a turbo yeast for my first batch and fermentation was rapid with an instant end after 3.5 days. (ori...

Edit: Can you imagine if the ATF, or whatever they call themselves now, ran THIS site. HAHA. And used it to pick off high volume (sellin?) folk by scrubbing the site with search strings like "55 gallon drum fermenter" eh P? HAHAH :wtf: ^ This tactic (or very similar) is exactly what the f...

Thanks for the tip. It's been well documented that expensive wine is an illusion of the senses. I'm not sure we can get Welshes brand here... and there's no Costco either which I imagine would carry American brands... but I'll see what kind of grape juice is available in the grocery stores. You're t...

I'd love to see a youtube video of your process, MDH. But also alternatives. I found a nice guide at the following website: http://suite101.com/article/propagating-yeast-for-homebrew-a96880" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow But I'm still confused of co...

I have harvested wild yeast several times in the form of sourdough cultures. I agree, they aren't monocultures but rather an array of various yeasts growing hopefully in harmony with eachother. So what are commercial yeasts then, single strains? I wish we could find an insider here from a yeast lab ...

Regarding cuts, I'm confused about foreshots and heads, as I thought they were the same thing. Seems that despite reading much of the forum and main page, incongruities still linger. Please don't mind my asking! 1. Foreshots = methonal. Remove 5% of estimated pure alcohol produced - ? - 29L wash, es...

If there's such an enormous glut of wine in the world, then why are wine kits so expensive? Especially in Australia where 25% of the worlds wine is grown! A walk into most home brew shops and you can expect to pay at least $120 for a box of concentrate. Now, for those of us who want to distill grape...

Of course the turbo yeast trash concept is mentioned in almost every beginners thread, but I'm still confused about a few of the veterans comments about it taking longer. Used a turbo yeast for my first batch and fermentation was rapid with an instant end after 3.5 days. (original ABV potential was ...

I think it's absurd that governments [most likely lobbied by coca-cola and such multinationals] are stripping clean pure water of it's organic status in place of systemically tainted mass medicated fluoridated water. How bizarre! Therefore, use of such tap water would in fact be contaminating an org...

Certified organic grains and or sugars. And most yeast (other then turbo crap) would be organic. Not hard. Seems many yeasts have other preservatives included. What's the deal with Turbo yeast, everyone here is against it, some even claiming it's GM. So is Turbo Yeast genetically modified? The loca...

Thanks all for contributing. I never wanted to evoke paranoia, but rather contribute by reminding everyone that it's a healthy habit to be aware of your digital footprint and the unlimited growing power of those we elect or haven't elected but grant unlimited powers through their leverage of our fea...

Warning trolling for money read small print you'll get all the adds unless you pay 30 bucks a year ??? I don't believe this guy he's advertising claiming to offer what?? Hi Wayne, there's no fine print and I'm not trolling for money. Really not sure what you're talking about, could you explain your...

Great, thanks for the feedback. I chose not to dump it on my wife's organic biodynamic planted by mooncharts and blessed by fairies garden. Instead we shall see if it "helps" a few palms instead around the pool. Cheers!

Seems that many of us interested in this hobby may be from surveillance states such as North Korea, USA, UK, France, Canada, or Australia. In light of recent revelations of the "entire internet" extent of NSA data collecting, it might have occurred to you to start using a different search ...

There does not seem to be a pre-existing discussion regarding the concept of organic or certified organic ethanol production, how to make it, what the difference would be from conventional ethanol (your opinions), etc. Many natural health tinctures in the US for instance, will utilize a carrier of &...

Sugar content is a bit high, i wouldnt go above 4kg in 20L. too high a SG creates stressed yeast and off flavours And these off flavours, are they bad health wise, or just on the palate? The reason I ask is because I had it in mind to dilute and re-distill a 2nd time, possibly adding bi-carb first....

Refluxed today in my new Kegomax FM still. 300mL head/foreshots disposed. 4L from 5 cuts, all 91-92% ABV (77C) 6th cut = 87% (100mL) (78C) 7th cut or tails = 85% (50mL) (80-85C) Odor: Buttery, floral smell, consistent from cut 1-5. Appearance: slight yellow tinge " " cut 1-5. Considering b...

Hi, I tried to find answers to this question but to no avail, HD nor DuckDuckGo. I guess nobody has asked the question this way, and it's probably obvious (dump it). But that's what I'm wondering, Are there are any other uses for backset after distillation? Creative answers welcome. How many uses ca...

Now I regret using turbo yeast, but after some reading it seems that everyone does it in the beginning. Why oh why are Brew shop owners doing this to beginners? Kind of starts a relationship of non-confidence... Just to recap: - 18L fresh pineapple juice (let sit for 24h) then - 9 kg raw cane sugar ...

Thanks for the replies. I abandoned the attempt to brew high % without adding sugar. Who would have thought, that fresh pineapple juice was so close to water in sugar content! I read on a fruit sweetness chart somewhere that pineapple is 17g sugar per 100g, not exceptionally high compared to most ot...

There's a website in the US selling organic ethanol. They seem to have a target market or natural remedy therapists, herbalists, alchemists. I certainly can't imagine they're part of a large company, therefore I'd be very curious to know how they're doing this legally, with what equipment, etc. Any ...

And the last article in the series... I love the thought of smelling pineapple plums of smoke from my chainsaw. Much thanks to the author of these articles, as I was previously obsessed with western technicalities and the belief in the need for expensive equipment. http://scienceinafrica.com/old/ind...

http://scienceinafrica.com/old/index.php?q=2006/april/solarstill.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow Separating your alcohol from your fermented fruit By Dr Garth Cambray In the previous article we looked at how to convert old fruit into a fermented ...