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I see this is an old topic but would the Producers Pride Cracked corn from Tractor Supply suffice? Seems like just cracked corn. My fear is any preservatives. I've seen some say its fine, some so no way.

Just curious..is there a certain type/brand of bag corn that you guys would recommend? Are the deer feed bags of corn safe to use?

Just run some water through it if it is dirty?

Got it. Thank you.

Good to know. So if it pukes, keep running as is? If it pukes in the strip and I do my spirit run slowly, will the leftover puke not carry over?
Thanks!

When running a stripping run, I've been told "hot and fast". Will this not cause puking? I figure run it mid heat and it should be ok. Am i mistaken?

So bad all around. Answers that question. I happen to like my face and my house as is.

Thanks Chris. I wish I had known all of this before hand, but we make due. The still was a gift and I just kinda went from there. Eventually, I'll progress into a bigger setup when space allows it. I like the idea of trying to copy something i like. If you don't mind me asking have you had any succe...

Awesome. Running apple again so the 27- 32% works for me. Maybe you can educate me...why is it bad to put something higher than 40% into a still?

When I use the word 'cut' I really mean choosing a blend. 'Cut' is more appropriate when you have done the same product over and over and are able to cut 'on the fly' as they do in the industry. Unfortunately, newbies see the word cut and then get the idea that they should be able to cut on the fly...

This is by no means my permanent setup. It's basically the best I can do for right now given the space I have. My fermenter can hold 7 gallons I believe, so I'm thinking along with Salty and that I want to save time. I think from here on I'll just use the entire capacity (minus space for foaming up)...

I've reconsidered. I make no apology for my frugal cuts. Quality is in the drink. Foreshots, out in the strip (within new moderation). Heads, out in the cuts. Tails, don't even go there. Results speak for themselves. Hearts, middle cut, 3rd jar, call it what you will. There is no point putting rubb...

I For some fruit, like apples, the ethyl acetate is part of the flavor profile, so if you do a ruthless foreshot or heads cut, you might find yourself back here asking why you didn't get the flavor you were expecting. I don't use the term 'early heads' in my shed. I carefully choose a blend that I ...

Make a few? Are you planning on sticking to your undersized fermenter? You can certainly do that, but having to ferment, then strip, then ferment then.... will get old real fast. Yea, it is alot of hassle but it will give me a chance to get better at A) mashing, B) running my still effectively C) p...

Definitely!! There's so many that it all gets overwhelming at times but thank you.

Just curious though, the cut off point that most stop at? What abv?

jonnys_spirit wrote:It's certainly an work experiment in progress

This is an understatement. But, like you guys..i love it.

I dont drink rum, but that flavor profile sounds delicious. What is UJSSM? I asked this on another forum but I'm curious of different peoples views.....at what point during a spirit run would you stop collecting tails( feints?)?? Still trying to learn the terms so correct me if I use anything in the...

So to follow up on the strip run...once I make a few of those and collect enough for a spirit run, I should dilute it down to 40%/80 proof correct? I get that too high alcohol content could be problematic. With the tails or feints (still trying to grasp all the terms, correct me if needed) at what a...

Got it! Fermenter is 6 gallons I believe.

I think I got it SS...gonna have to read it a couple times but it does make sense. Where did you get the 100 from to divide? "So, 6 gallons of ferment would have (6 gal x 9.546) / 100 = 0.573 gallons of alcohol (at 100%ABV, potentially). " Also, sounds like I'm mashing at least 2 to 3 time...

You save the tails.....now you make another mash. Do you add it into the mash directly for fermentation or into the still before running or just hold it until you have enough to do a run of just tails? does this make sense or is this something that isn't done? On a carefully converted mash, yeast d...

Depending on what you are making and how you do your cuts, putting your stinky rejects into nice clean wash can be a mistake. I mostly save mine, (heads and tails), for all feints runs. So Option 1 )Maybe do a couple of stripping runs, mix it together and run a spirit run out of it? Option 2) Do sp...

Thanks CuWhistle, the cuts are my main concern. Got a case of mini jars to try to get it right next time. The link you guys included makes visualizing a hell of alot easier. I had no idea about the size of the wash vs the still size. I'm not looking to go into the 50gal, 100 gal or anything like tha...

About easy of an explanation I could've asked for. Thanks! Here's a scenario maybe you can clear up. If you make mash, run it (spirit run), make cuts. You save the tails.....now you make another mash. Do you add it into the mash directly for fermentation or into the still before running or just hold...

I just stumbled across this and it has made more sense than anything else I could find on cuts. Thank you!! One question, after a stripping run or after a spirit run and you collect the tails, do you just add those back into the next mash or in the still after fermentation right before you run it. (...

Just looked up Calvados on here....the research never ends lol. Some great tips and things to try though. Im still learning the cuts honestly. For my set up I know how much to throw off and then I do a little extra to be safe. Found an article on here that covers cuts more in depth so Im learning be...

Makes sense. All batches have read a little different bc ive been experimenting with different yeast to find the best one for apple. Either way, just gonna keep trying.

We seem to be confusing two distinctly different issues here Frosty36. 2) The issue of your apple water. You are saying that this batch appears to have no alcohol when drunk from the fridge but it reads 60 proof at calibrated temperature. This means it's 60 proof but doesn't taste like it when cold...

After it sat out and came up in temp, 60 proof. Check that the paper in the hydrometer hasn't slipped. If it hasn't and there is no possibility that a third party raided the jar, then the liquor went into the jar at 60 proof. What you need to work out is why that happened and make sure it doesn't h...

The measurement at 5 from the fridge was clearly wrong. If you just measured it at 60 at the correct temperature then a reading of 5 is simply not possible. I have a hydrometer that I use to measure everything as well as a thermometer. I take OG's, FG's, and proof readings always. This could be a p...