Home Distiller

White spider webby shit hits the nail on the head. It doesn't stink like molds/infections I have encountered in mushroom production. Perhaps fermentation got a reboot when I strained and combined the two batches.

Hurray! I feel much less annoyed with myself for taking shortcuts.

That's a bit hardware intensive for my current endeavors. I'm still just working with 5 gallon batches, but this is definitely something to consider if I ever decide to scale up.

So has anyone ever encountered that frothy white foam on top?

I'm afraid to Google ass pressing and steam stripping.

After another round of birdwatcher's, I plan on using the 25lbs of corn I have with the extra 2lbs each of Simpson's and Fawcett from the respective 10lb sacks used in the current endeavor. I also have another 2lbs of red wheat to toss in the mix.

I'm pretty sure I've made a bloody hash of this process. After the grain had settled I started to siphon off the goods. The output still had quite a bit of clouding and some small bits of grain, so I dispensed into a large carboy. My plan was to let it settle, and then siphon it into the still. I po...

Thank you all for the input. I did elect for a 0.5tsp addition of CaCO3 to B, and upon checking today I noticed that much of the cap has fallen. The surface is visibly bubbling. I guess the extended maintenance of temperatures around 90 has caused the buckets to expand and lose their seal. Next time...

I gave it a good stir and noticed quite a bit of out gassing once it got started, but hours later the airlock remains unmoved. That sounds like the seal is bad on the fermenter. It's one of those plastic 6.5gal buckets, and the airlock had been going bonkers just like it still is with B. Those lids...

A combination is not possible without acquiring a new larger vessel. Also, I only have a 5gal still. The plan was to combine them in the end though. I planned to strip each, combine the two batches of low wines and then run twice more. Having never fermented on the grain before, what I found most al...

This is my first attempt at whiskey. I have successfully run birdwatchers several times now, and had mixed results with an all panella rum. Now I am making two 5gal batches of what I hope will be somewhat scotch-like when they're done. Batch A (The one I am having trouble with) Strike - 5gal at 163 ...

I'd give it a good stir to degas. Should settle out nicely then. I am unfamiliar with this approach. I assume you are suggesting a gentle stir so as not to draw the lees back into the mix. Edit : I gave the top half a gentle swirl, but I am not sure how much of a difference it made prior to today's...

The oyster shells sound interesting. I recently had success with calcium carbonate when balancing the pH of a birdwatcher's wash. After five additional days in the tub, I am down to 1.001. I reset the airlock about 14 hours ago, and it hasn't moved since. I am tempted to run it today, but prudence t...

Peat Monster from Compass Box would go over well with this crowd. That's my current moderately priced favorite.

After six days in the bucket maintained at 90, I am looking at 1.054 (down from 1.078). My pH has fallen to 3.1. The airlock slowed significantly over the last few days. Just for kicks I added two tsp of calcium carbonate before throwing the lid back in place. Edit : So the addition of CaCO3 did won...

After one week I have gone from 1.056 to 1.006. During that time my pH has dropped from 5.1 to 3.4. I will check it again in two days. For the next run I will definitely need to adjust the pH to compensate for the additional drop in pH incurred via the use of dunder. Does anyone have any advice rega...

This will be my next endeavor... I have a 25lb bag of flaked maize to use via three runs of 5gal. My bill will be 8lbs FM and 2lbs of Fawcett Optic per run. I'm still tinkering with birdwatcher's and all panela rum to get my technique / understanding of pH in check before I start using up the pricie...

I finished preparing my second attempt at BW about 30 minutes ago. My first attempt went rather well. I used my potstill to run it three times, and ended up with two 750ml bottles of 95 proof that is difficult to distinguish from the cheap vodka previously contained in the associated vessels. There ...

Concerning pH, I just made my first wash of all Sugar Daddy panela last night. I melted 7lbs into 3gal of water that has a base pH of 6.8. I added another 2gal of cold water to reduce temp and achieve a final volume of 5.65gal. I did not use anything other than water and panela. My final pH prior to...

I was able to complete a stripping run on my recent wash, but my gas tank ran dry during the spirit run about halfway through collection of hearts. I won't be able to get more gas until tomorrow night. Should I just pick up the run where it left off, or would it be a better idea to toss the heads/he...

I just completed my second distillation. I combined the 1.25gal from last night with 2gal of hot water from the tap. I ran the still much more quickly this time and returned 1.25gal in about 2 hours. I discarded the first 75ml as foreshots. Last night the larger vessel I had collected the first 1000...

Glass? The only glass involved is my collection vessel (Ball jar).

I did increase the speed at measured intervals just to get a feel for how the gas level translated into flow rate. It will be interesting to see if these numbers are different with other washes and how. In the end I ran the still for 5 hours reaching a final temp of 98C and collecting 1.25gal before...

Alright, I am about to run my first keeper batch. That long fermenting birdwatcher's is sitting in the still waiting for flames. I will be preparing another birdwatcher's batch later this evening while the still cools. After that I will go for a second distillation as has been suggested. Should I be...

rad14701 wrote:At 90F you couldn't get the SG below 1.014 after 14 days...??? Mine finish well under 1.000 in 4 - 7 days with or without a carboy cozy...

Do you continue to stir yours after pitching the yeast? I left the fermenter alone for the entire time, and suspect this may be relevant.

Update : I did the vinegar run and measured the original sugar wash at 1.012 after 33 days. The birdwatcher's is at 1.014 after 14 days. Since there are too many undocumented variables with the original wash, I will just use it for a second cleaning run once the gravity settles. Concerning the birdw...

the difference in what? Champagne yeast is slow. as you now know. you could always pitch something over it, but then you won't know the flavour. damn, that patience is hard to get into a botttle. maybe try an ale yeast or a bakers yeast. apparently, bakers like it hot and fast. (i think i saw that ...

Oh my, I totally didn't notice that difference. My condenser does indeed have the connections for constant water flow. I used it to prep the laundry machine with warm water during my last run. The only plastic in use is the ROPAK fermenter bucket. Everything else is glass or copper. I just tested th...

Here is an image from the manufacturer. What I received is almost identical. http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/UuMAAOxyBotTaoi7/$_57.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow As previously stated, it is a copper pot unit with a worm and thumper. The...

Why? Well a significant theme to the wedding is hand made local goods. I've spent the last week picking local berries to make jam for guest gifts, the wife is making dried flower arrangements of local flora, we will be serving a locally raised hog smoked on site, much of our beer and wine will be pr...

Alrighty then... Just finished making 5.5gal of birdwatcher that came out to 1.080 (I had to use a bit of brown sugar to make up for a minor shortfall on the white). That beast is already one of the most active fermentations I have ever seen. Got a gallon of distilled white vinegar while I was out a...

What about simply adding my original half gallon of cloudy distillate back into 3 gallons of water instead of making another sac mash? Would the undesirable cloudy particles not remain in the primary vessel to be discarded after?