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I also had a muck bucket once that, among other things, smelled like bread mold. This smell actually came over after distillation and pretty much ruined the batch. It cleared up somewhat after a few years on wood, but not enough (yet?) to classify it an acceptable drink. All the other smells and nas...

Perhaps off-topic but apparently the thumper on (some?) Vevor stills is not really a thumper because the inlet pipe is to short - making it effectively a puke box. It should be sufficiently long to be covered with whatever you put in it.

Considering the title of this post, how could it not be about Uncle Jesse’s Simple Sour Mash. Turns out it is actually your answer. As for making cuts; I found it extremely difficult to make good cuts when I was starting out. Making a selection based on smells and flavors that were basically all new...

I did not make it myself but here are a few YouTubers that did. Bananas are rich in starch and conveniently have the enzymes to convert it in their peels. So there is a mashing step involved before fermenting. Jesse from Stillit https://youtu.be/qjNJO580rnM?si=TxuVXPpofhNqIsZU Techingredients https:...

I think most of us are of an age where we have experienced the loss of close friends and/or family in similar fashion.

Thank you for your story, it made me reflect on the people I lost in the past years - two also of pancreatic cancer.

My heartfelt sympathies

Welcome from another lowlander, though I moved out of the country years ago. Lots of good info in the build section if you are going to diy your still. And a wealth of information regarding the spirits you mentioned in the respective subforums. Beer making experience gives you a great head start whe...

It depends how far you wish to adhere to the official rule book. To call a whisky single malt it must be: - from one distillery - batch distilled (pot still) - aged for a minimum of three years on oak - only malted barley You can still blend multiple batches from a single distillery and call it a si...

I started with almost the exact same parts that smf listed above and it still serves me well a few year into the craft. Only difference; my 2” riser is made of boro glass because I wanted to see what was going on in the column. Also +1 for the links to oakstills; I have ordered there a few times and...

Interesting, also never heard of it, but now I have to make it….

I run my 4 x 4” bubble plates with a 2” deflag; it hardly requires flow. My needle valve is usually less then 1/8 of a turn open when taking off product. I can turn the deflag off entirely but then takeoff speed is slower (because less power input ). Btw, it is still a flavored product, however when...

One of the easiest with a clear write up of mashing, fermenting and distilling is Jimbo’s all grain in the t&t. Also, enter ‘mash bill’ or ‘grain bill’ in the search field and you will see a wealth of recipes and discussions

Good luck

Awesome, would love to get my hands on one of those!

Enjoy the project

This lab lady generally talks rum on her channel and gives an interesting chemical analysis of ester buildup, both of the kinds of esters as well as actual quantities in a particular rum

As I have been leaving all whisky snobbery behind a couple of years ago; Grenadine lemonade with white, high proof gumball head. Or any kind of bourbon with 7-up - scotch doesn’t quite mix well for me. I guess there are still some snobbery remnants … Never thought about diluting Mountain Dew, I will...

Wrong in so many ways

My deepest condolences

I know some baiju is aged in large clay pots that are buried in the ground and covered with soil for at least one year. Since I never tried baiju, i cannot tell you what it does to the taste

I’d be happy to hear what you learn

I volunteer for researching the gravitational lens cooler - I keep a miniature black hole in the freezer for just these occasions. Who is picking up the quantum damper cooling?

Often distilleries use intricate schemes where all- or a percentage of heads and tails are added to the low wines for a future run. However, even then some heads should be discarded because of the buildup of high alcohols. However, I do not doubt that they try to maximize ethanol production and usag...

Happy holidays everyone!

I also got sucked down the rum rabbit hole - it's a fantastic product to get a drinkable result without much effort. The number of things to tweak and change is numerous and lot's of fun to play with. Having said that; note that I only have about 10 generations or so under my belt. Some of my observ...

I actually looked up ham bush before It clicked… I guess I should drink more smart water…

I have a helmet that, in all honesty, I bought mostly for aesthetics. Secondary reason; it puts a bit of extra copper in the vapor path. As for sizes and content I can offer you only that it has 4" tri clamp connectors and 12 liter volume. Larger connectors generally seem to have larger volumes...

Zubrowka is also sold as Grasovka in some parts of the EU. It is the exact same flavored Polish wodka though. As a know-nothing noob I added some of the grass to my first ever distillate (Birdwatchers). I found the result amazing and delicious and still have some in my archive. It definitely inspire...

Cider, wine, beer; there all just unfinished products... mere ingredients for something more potent ;) I never got into cider because the shop-cider I had tastes like sweet applejuice with a bit of alcohol and CO2 - i.e.: not very exciting. I will however, not rule out that my fermentation skills at...

Indeed, both defleg and PC are stainless. Same lenght also; 20 and 40 cm. The deflag effortless maintains full reflux at 3.5 kW at water temp ~13 deg C. I would think your calculation is good enough for the purpose. Aah, thanks for confirming. What sort of water flow rates are you pushing through t...

I have a few apple trees that supply us with more apples then we- and our friends and relatives can eat. So my wife makes apple vinigar and I started on (hard)cider a couple of years ago. I did not particularly like it. Then I got into distilling; it was the second run I did (after sac. run) and it ...

Edited for misreading the OP Wrote I had the same set, but both my condensers were 8 x 8 mm. They have no issues with whatever I throw at them; which is 3.5 kW at the moment. Hey @stilljoy, thanks for joining the thread! Are your condensers all stainless, or copper? If one assumes (simplistically) ...

Edited for misreading the OP
Wrote I had the same set, but both my condensers were 8 x 8 mm. They have no issues with whatever I throw at them; which is 3.5 kW at the moment.

You may consider a solera type whisky. I.e. keep adding product as your experience improves and potentially make adjustments along the way. Perhaps through a yearly buddy-event where you make whisky to add to your base cask/bottle/container. Fantastic idea by the way and a great way to celebrate you...

Thanks Ben, I did as you suggested. I did have a peek this weekend and the 'brett' is starting to look like Elon's future Mars colony. Didn't want to withhold this beaut! ;) 65b.jpg Plan to rack it all this weekend and get it off the grain. After that, life and its intricate intricacies will determi...