Home Distiller

Sorry, I wasn't trying to stir the shit pot, but I know the end goal for many here is to produce a product that is better than anything off the shelf at the liquor store. And to do that, we have to adopt methods that have been practiced by the professionals for decades (centuries?). Saying kiln drie...

I'm actually experimenting now with this. I soaked a board of white oak in water for a few weeks and then placed outside to season. I have about a year to go before I make it into a badmo barrel, and then another year after for the whiskey to age... I know some people have tried this on the Badmo ba...

So the problem that I am running into is that there are plenty of peer reviewed articles out there on the subject, but it can't be accessed for free. So I tried to find other articles/blogs that can be accessed. This guy puts out some neat articles on his blog, it's probably the easiest of all to re...

I love these kind of non-traditional washes, I once did something similar with cherries that were incredibly under-priced. What are your plans for aging?

popcorn2014 wrote:I don’t know much about ageing wood but I do know a bit about mycology, and that sounds unlikely.

Since you seem to be interested in seasoning oak before use, I can find some articles about wood fungus that might change your mind?

When I worked in the whiskey industry I met yearly with a rep from the largest cooperage in the U.S. He told me that part of the seasoning process that is important is the role that fungus plays on the wood. Basically the oak is at maximum water saturation when it is freshly cut. Then when it is qua...

Wanted to share what I've been working on lately. I ran 30A 220V to my basement and installed a twist lock receptacle. I saved this nice stainless workbench from going into the dumpster at work. Then I searched online for a free stove that someone was getting rid of, picked it up and ripped all the ...

Nice stainless tabs! I have been thinking about making a bracket for my barrels just in case I ran into your same issue. For us who don't have access to a welder, something like this would keep constant pressure on the barrel head. It would span the top of the bain-marie and grab on the lip, and the...

Wanted to show off the barrel head that I decorated recently. Designed on the computer, printed, then carbon copied to the wood, and tediously painted by hand.

Check online at Cabela's. A couple weeks ago I got 3 one gallon jugs of Evolved Habits jugs ($7.99) plus $5 shipping. I could have got a few more jugs for $5 shipped, but didn't need the extra molasses.

This is my first time trying the infected dunder thing... I got 4 gallons of fresh dunder straight out of the still from a nearby micro distillery. He adjusted the pH to ~5.2. I also added a cup or two of water to decrease the osmotic pressure. Then I steeped some raw barley for a couple days. The a...

I thought this was worth sharing. It's a short read. After having some concern over accidentally creating mycotoxins in a dunder pit and then concentrating them in the product further from distillation, I came across this article. According to this study, mycotoxins do not carry over into the distil...

AlChemE, Have you tried this yet? Has anyone else? Looking to order some for my setup, just don’t want to toss $ down the drain if this is a waste of time. Cheers! - Irish After some more reading and research, I found someone on this forum who used the same transducer setup on just a regular tank. ...

If you're in the Colorado area or live near a Jax Mercantile, they have a really good high quality grain there that is producing some really really great tasting stuff. I've included some pictures for reference. Has anyone tried to do All Grain with this recipe? Was thinking about giving a shot and...

Two wheels - good question. I originally thought about that. At my work we have a dozen or so industrial US cleaners which got me thinking. I went to price out a bath that would fit a barrel or the contents of a 6 qt barrel.....then I saw the price! WOW! They are very expensive once you get larger t...

Sorry to hear about the accident Badmo! Hope it heals up quick. So I have an idea in my head that I've been thinking about. I've had very good luck in the past with ultrasonic aging, and I'm having success so far with my two Badmo barrels. Like most of us, I can't wait to tap into my barrels. Since ...

Excited to fill both of these barrels this week! On the left is a 4 qt. bain marie that has used staves from a local craft distillery. It was a 2 year old barrel so it likely has a little more flavor left in the wood than a 4 year old barrel. I popped the head off of the barrel, scrapped the loose c...

Butterpants, have you ever used Rice Hulls to aid in your lauter? I also use to use similar corn and was always disappointed in yield. Since corn has to be kept HOT to unpack and gelatinize the cornstarch, I've switched to using pre-gelatinized corn (it's an absolute time and mess saver, completely ...

Set the still up to try the third configuration - Column Only. Filled the boiler with Birdwatchers sugar wash to do a neutral run. This thing performed like a champ! Solid 94% abv with 35% low wines in the boiler. My stove is just barely able to supply enough heat to power this thing though. I'm thi...

AL, Do you have any other pictures of how you created your lid. I'm getting ready to get at this project and I want to mount a 4-inch ferrule within the lid. After that (and of course the internal element port, I plan on fixing the lid to the pot permanently. How did you get the "collar" ...

I started on my barrel head today and ran into a problem! As I was sanding the sides down to make it fit in the pot, I got a little overzealous and sanded too much off. It was just slightly larger than the opening. So I sanded about a 1/32" off but now it sits about 1-2" inside the pot. Do...

Really nice. Three way valve on the top of the vapor supply manifold would let ya pot still or run the column without having to break anything down. Though that would likely mess up your space saving adjustability. Thanks! I thought about using a three way valve, but wasn't able to justify an extra...

AlChemE My "water dispenser" arrived today. It is a little smaller than I thought but man is it beautiful! The copper is much sturdier than I expected (except the base which I agree with you on). I'm wondering if it would support a short internal element instead of the induction burner I ...

Alright! The time is here!!! I got the second half of the column still up and running!!! It is truely now an 'Optional Offset Column Hybrid' I added the inlet and outlet adapters for the dephlegmator. I am trying a dual level control method to allow either 4" of cooling water in the dephleg dur...

Well, I just ordered my own 6 qt bain-marie pot and stainless spigot. I got my hands on a 3" x 24" tongue and groove oak board from the Independent Stave Company. It was a demonstration piece that they had laying out at a booth... they also had some other neat staves with various levels of...

Building a dephlegmator. I have laying around a sweet 3"x1-1/2 reducer ( very thick copper) that I'm going to use for the top of the dephleg. I already welded a 1-1/2" ferrule onto it. 20171018_133740.jpg 20171018_133752.jpg 20171018_133810.jpg 20171018_133821.jpg Looking to add a 1/2"...

...I GOTTA take a damn welding class! Al... this is beautiful! I have been wanting a small (5 gallon or so) still to do final spirit runs on after I get my 25 gallon strips done. This water tank is great and your additions make my job easy! What material is the spigot at the bottom of the tank? Is ...

I'm looking to make some gin here soon from either a sugar wash or simple pale malt recipe. So if adding acid will increase esterification, I'd suspect that adding a base to the boiler (sodium carbonate?) during my stripping run would have the opposite effect and likely produce a more neutral produc...

The column is starting to take shape! 20171012_150415.jpg 20171026_112834.jpg 20171026_114205.jpg Saddle cut on standard 1-1/2 trap adapters. I had to hone the top of the copper so that the PTFE gasket will sit flush for the sight glass. 20170825_121732.jpg 20170825_121636.jpg No pics of making the ...

Here's the bottom: 20170912_094113.jpg I failed to take pictures during the process, but I needed to make a stand so that the column could be offset, but still higher than the boiler. I cut out each side with a plasma cutter, TIG welded each panel together to form a stand. I also have adjustable fee...