Home Distiller

Ice balls are $25 and they don't make clear ice. I'll buy one of your setups and give you a fair review, Loins. Yes, the Tovolo sphere ice molds are made very well, but they make opaque ice. You can greatly improve the clarity of the ice they make by insulating them, but it is a lot of hassle, and ...

A $10 personal size [internal dimensions about 8" x 6"] Igloo cooler does a better job and lasts longer. The trick is to get cubes easily instead of having to use an ice pick and a saw. :) And you still have the problem of the inevitable time when you let the thing stay in the freezer too ...

clearIceCube JLA.jpg This is the way they should look: Looks fantastic that's for sure. Any way you could share a pic of your cube making setup ......???? Thanks for the interest. It's prob'ly about time I registered some concerns I have. I have been answering private emails on this subject, with t...

It's a stone-nixon [offset head with condenser in the offset] with a takeoff valve and reflux valve with copper mesh packing in column. The difference between heads and hearts seems very subtle to me. Must be lack of experience because with most things my nose seems to be better than most. I've trie...

Damn! What you guys are saying makes too much sense. Patience? I ain't got no patience. Got no time to be patient. Guess I'll have to take the computer and easy chair down to the garage on 'still'n day. Is that one of the reasons you do a stripping run first? Haven't wanted to take that extra step, ...

If you are getting a bananna like nail polish remover smell in your hearts, then you are smearing your heads into them or not making proper cuts. Heads smell like banannas to me. I don't know how to describe a neutral taste for alcohol, because it tastes just like alcohol. If that is what you are a...

Every post in response makes complete sense to me. And that is what I've been doing, making 500 ml cuts or so until I get to the obvious tails where I''m just going to throw it back into the next run. What I'm getting at, since of course I do not have a 20 foot column; more like 4 feet, and I'm only...

I'll add that I've also been experimenting with turning this stuff into gin by adding juniper berries, coriander, cardamon and orange peels. Great stuff! My process is just to crush the botanicals a little and throw them right in the bottle, then add more of whatever to taste. I'm going to keep expe...

I've only done two runs, both with a reflux still. I've liked the results, but since I've never tasted Moonshine, I don't know what it is supposed to taste like. When it first comes out, the hearts, for a few days or more, taste/smell like Vodka + something I find hard to describe. The closest I can...

clearIceCube JLA.jpg This is the way they should look: Looks fantastic that's for sure. Any way you could share a pic of your cube making setup ......???? Thanks for the interest. It's prob'ly about time I registered some concerns I have. I have been answering private emails on this subject, with t...

Has anyone found a source for these items? Boom I googled it: http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Tumbler-Drinkware-Kitchen-Accessory/dp/B007MZYNM2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-copper-pitcher-Drinking-water/dp/B00C4ROSDW/r...

I've got a basic 'sweetfeed' mash going, with corn, sugar, malted rye, and molasses. Because I got whole corn instead of cracked corn, I over compensated with sugar and added water the next day to dilute it since I had very high SG readings. Then of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, and st...

I've been having issues with 40 gallon batches of multiple generation sweet feed ferment times . Not unusual for me to go well beyond 30 days to complete one . I control heat with aquarium heaters and insulation . I think my issues come from ph levels and I'm still working on that . Getting impatie...

Thanks. Yes that's about the same temp mine stays at, about room temp including nights, despite a heating pad. But a week with no measurable progress is what's bothering me. I'm about ready to run it despite the fact it's still bubbling a little bit.

I've got about 15 gal of this bubbling away now for about 2 weeks, but the P & T hydrometer stays at 10/5. Yet when I take the lid off the 20 gal Brute the delicious smell of alcohol smacks me in the face. I've never before had such an almost pure alcohol smell before. Tested the hydrometer in t...

I posted this on the continuous fermentation thread: "I've got a basic 'sweetfeed' mash going, with corn, sugar, malted rye, and molasses. Because I got whole corn instead of cracked corn, I over compensated with sugar and added water the next day to dilute it since I had very high SG readings....

I've got a basic 'sweetfeed' mash going, with corn, sugar, malted rye, and molasses. Because I got whole corn instead of cracked corn, I over compensated with sugar and added water the next day to dilute it since I had very high SG readings. Then of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, and sta...

There is also no mention of whether any of these grains is ground, or if ground, how coarsely. Same with the 'Cracked Corn.' What does that mean? How finely or coarsely is the corn ground?

Tractor Supply SKU 5021132 is what you want. I've seen the bags marked differently at times so pay attention to the SKU number. All grain. No pellets. I have 150 lbs. on my porch. Not all their stores carry it in my area so sometimes I have to drive. Sometimes one store will ship to another. Ask. h...

Becoming aware of the antimicrobial effects of copper, due to reading about distilling, it suddenly occurred to me that copper stirring sticks, drinking vessels, pitchers, carafes and storage vessels makes sense. Thought I'd mention it to see if others had the same thoughts and whether you were awar...

This is the way they should look:

Thanks Hound Dog. Yes on the vent at the top of the condenser. When I ran my first batch last week, It seemed to take so long to heat, I kept experimenting with the reflux valve. Never saw any vapor, but then I never had it all the way open. great idea on Google search. Yeah, the Brute can (I use a ...

I'm with Jumbo here. Cut that batch in half. Can't see the yeast surviving that journey. Aim for 10-11% and you'll get better results. Yeah. When I was doing this I was using a lot of guess work because the corn wasn't cracked. I did end up using more water, but should probably add more. Easy to do...

I have a related, novice question. I have a stone-Nixon still with two valves, the take off and what I assume is called a 'reflux valve' since it controls whether liquid/vapor is directed back to the main column. I assume that if I want to run this in 'pot still' mode I close the reflux valve and ju...

Thanks guys. I went ahead and ground some of it with a mortar and pestle. You're right. Tough to crack. I have an old commercial coffee grinder, I may try, but I'll bet it won't grind coarse enough. I used a lot of sugar and some rye and molasses along with the corn. I started bubbling away right aw...

I just bought a 50 lb sack of whole corn feed; no other ingredients; plan to run the same recipe. I've got molasses and rye to add to it if necessary. Anyone run this with just corn + sugar, or does that just take too long to ferment? I bought the corn because it was the only one that did not have a...

Thanks! I'll take a close look at this.

After waiting 4 weeks for my first effort to finish fermenting, I almost lost interest in distilling it. But, boredom finally prevailed. The mash was mainly cane sugar and some Special K with strawberries and baker's yeast. What I finally loaded into the keg/boiler was about 4 gallons of the 5 I sta...

Try turning it slowly while pulling up on it, like cracking a safe, might find your just missing the sweet spot. That's what worked for me. Getting the spring out was relatively easy. But then turning the valve/spear assembly seemed impossible, even after I hit it with a rubber mallet on the end of...

kekedog13 wrote:It's weird, I can move it like it's loose in there but when I try to lift it up it hits something solid like there is still some thing holding it in.

I feel like that every morning.