Home Distiller

Following up. I let this sit loosely covered, for a couple of days and it has mellowed considerably. There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference in smell and taste between jars. I need to get a taster but first I'm going to drop a piece of charred oak in and put it in the garage (cold, warm, cool, ...

OK, wasted morning. Wasted batch. Not the end of the world, but down below 90 proof with about a pint of heads and hearts. I cranked the controller all the way open and will run tails to about 20%. I anticipate another pint. Next time: oyster shells in sugar washes. At least one of my four gallon ba...

Finally doing the spirit run this morning. Set up with T-500 boiler, blanket, pot still head, and controller. Started the still, heated to about 185 and held it there to run heads. The first heads were running at about 130 proof but it dropped to 40 within an hour. The same thing happened on my stri...

Hope to run it later this morning. Will follow up later today.

Finally got the switch replaced in my boiler. Ran the rest of the wash this afternoon. Final yield of low wines was about 1.5 gallons @20%. I'll do a spirit run tomorrow and then put the result on some oak for a week or so.

I came here today looking for a "Tequila/Mezcal" recipe. And look what I found. Few thoughts I have: Shouldn't be a reason this couldn't be scaled up by 5x to make a 20 gallon wash? Probably no reason. I used this because it was going into smaller (5 gallon) buckets. Additionally, after w...

I ran the first four gallons of this through the pot still and got about 1/2 gallon of low wines. I had just started the second batch and before we reached temperature, the thermal disconnect on my T-500 | Grainfather boiler popped. I reset it (fun when the thing is full!) without scalding myself an...

Thanks, Jonny. Agreed. That's what the Wyeast nutrient was for. I've never followed a formal schedule with nutrients as fermentation time is pretty quick.

Jerry

---Just realized that you were replying to the post above...

Progress Report: Day ten in the fermenters. No stalls yet. I had a batch of TPW that did, though, so oyster shells are on the list for next time. One batch has been steadily ahead of the other. Both still working though. Today's readings: 1.006 and 1.014. So we're winding down. Both at around 80F

Pretty new here. I posted pictures in another thread. I started with a Still Spirits t-500 boiler and reflux column. Added an eBay post still column that I've used more than the other. The boiler works well, although I added an SCR to control the heat a bit.

Zaphod_Beblebrox wrote: ↑Sat Jan 15, 2022 2:30 pm

GDGeorge wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:40 pm Welcome! Remember that it's a process. Any idea what kind of still you want to start out?

Thanks George.
GD > Gosh Darn, God Damn or Grand Daddy??

Well - according to one of my Drill Instructors, oh so long ago, the middle one.

Cheers!

Made a spirit run with the t500 column today. 2 1/4 gallons of low wines from 11 gallons of TPW yielded just less than a gallon of 186-188 proof in about four hours. (Don't hold me to the time... I didn't log it correctly as I a) was focused on the t500 and b) had a bit of buck fever...) The spirit ...

I took one of the heat mats and taped it to a 6 gallon bucket with a piece of insulation behind it. Hooked up the Inkbird and, while it took a bit to get up to temp, the mat has been holding the bucket in the low 80s with no problem. I think I'm brewing tomorrow, so I'll probably try the same thing ...

Welcome. I hope to visit the emerald isle at some point. I have relatives from there, or so I'm told.

Best!

Ingredients 44 OZ Blue Agave Syrup (BJs) 32 OZ Table Sugar 3.5 to 4 gallons tap water, aerated by pouring back and forth between two buckets half a dozen times. 3 TBSP DADY 1/2 TSP Wyeast Nutrient Procedure Heat 2qts water to boil Place in brewpot Add 44 oz bottle agave syrup in two or three parts,...

A fermenter closet / cupboard is not really an option right now, but is in the plans for the future.

Thanks,
Jerry

Welcome. Sounds like you have a great plan. Good luck!

Welcome

Welcome! Remember that it's a process. Any idea what kind of still you want to start out?

It's an eight gallon. This particular batch is a beer and I'm using a Kveik yeast, so I want the heat. I can double up heat mats, and may do so, just in case. Actually, looking at the project, I think the hardest part will be cutting the insulation to fit.

Hi Folks, Up to now I've use aquarium heaters successfully in my buckets when needed. This past year I acquired a FFT conical fermenter on Freecycle. It worked well the times I've used it, but the house is chilly in the winter. I've got a couple 17.5W (120V, I'm in the US) heat mats and I'm thinking...

It's a *plastic* cap... I don't get any vapor over there that I've detected, even with the thermometer out. But I've been meaning to replace it anyway. Ideas? I thought about drilling out a wine cork and then turning it down to fit inside the tube.

Hi folks, I thought I'd share some pictures of my rig. It's not actually my first. I started with an air still in 2015 but outgrew it almost before I ran it the first time. I started looking and finally wound up purchasing a new Still Spirits T-500 that had been dropped and had some damage to the ba...

Aside from the need to clean everything, congrats!

My answer to this dilemma involved a cheap grain mill, a KitchenAid mixer, a bolt and two nuts, some scrap wood, and a 3d printer. Once the part was printed, I cut the head off of a bolt that fit the mill and screwed it in. I didn't have to tap the part. I added the nuts to keep the bolt snugged up ...

Thanks! This will be helpful. Although I do keep some records in Beersmith, I'm more likely to take (and record!) daily tests if I have a notebook right there. Honestly, I'm not that fussed about accuracy. Predictability, yes. But what happened this time was that it looked to me like my fermentation...

That makes sense. I usually use Beersmith but didn't this time. I thought that the table that I was using would correct for the alcohol but without the OG, how could it?

Hi folks! Happy new year to all! before we headed out for our holiday travels, I put together a batch of TPW. I wound up using 10 pounds of sugar, about six gallons of water, a can of paste, and lemon juice. (And then I remembered that with our water I didn't need to juice. I wound up using some bak...

Well, I guess it might be an appropriate time to update my OP... It's only been what, five years since I missed Bushman's reply. I'm actually on the forum a fair amount as I look for specific information, although I don't bother to log in. In fact, I actually have a specific question this evening an...

Hi all. Been lurking for awhile, chewing through the forums. Thanks for such a useful place!