Home Distiller

Stonecutter, I've made a number of batches since that first post - and have had excellent results. Vodka from sugar wash is as good as any store bought, per wifey. Whiskey is the most fun - quick aging with charred oak sticks, and it tastes great. For that, I configure as a pure pot still with no se...

Bottled and labeled the batch of wifey's favorite vodka. Very clean tasting. Had run this in two stages: first a stripping run in pot-still mode followed by tempering back to about 38% ABV, then a flute still run on the MileHi. The two shorter runs may take two seperate days but seems to go quicker ...

Made the "Tried and True Recipe": NChooch's Carolina Bourbon
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 14&t=17750

Scaled it up to 14 gallons of mash.

Vodka from a sugar wash for wifey. Got 1.3 gallons of (up to) 192 proof likker which will make nearly three gallons of her vodka.

[/attachment] IMG_0207.jpg Ran another 15 gallon mash through the MileHi yesterday. After conservative cuts, I've got 8 qts (75% ABV) in mason jars, along with charred oak sticks. I little high on the ABV for aging, I know. Last batch at 62% turned out great! I temper it all down to 50% before sippi...

Having fun with these 200ml bottles and home-made labels.

Got another 15 gallons of bourbon mash percolatin' in the conical.

Discrete (wedding was 4 states away) and fun... it was a hit! I made personalized bottles for members of the wedding party, a 1.3 gallon keg, and a bunch of "Not Purell" bottles (new, never having been filled before). WeddingHooch.jpgIMG_9892.jpg Were did you find the small bottles i was ...

Re-ran the corn mash I had stripped the other day... Came out a tasty likker at 90% ABV. Good flavor. For this run I kept the copper mesh packed spool, but added the dephlagmator to better control separating fore shots. No copper plates at all. I like this setup for grain IMG_0114.jpg : keeps the fl...

IMG_0098 (1).jpg Stripped 15 gallons of a corn and barley mash. Ran the Mile Hi flute still in full pot mode; even added a section filled with copper mesh. Temps stabilized at 205 for the pot, and 200 up top. Steady stream runs began at an astounding (for me) 1000ml in 11 minutes at 50% ABV. Much f...

NOT Purell

Wow, congratulations to you! She's a keeper!

What would you say is your average output per hour on a strip run running as strong as you can I have not run a strip on this still yet, because I just haven't needed to. First time through yields crystal clear hooch, even running just two plates. I run slow, and keep the boiler below 200 until get...

still.jpg Simple corn and barley. Been using four sections of the Mile Hi for washes, but just two for this mash. Lots of barley in the finish, but not much corn flavor. For the next time, I'll run without any plates inside, pot style, to keep more flavor. Is that a 4" column reduced to a 3&qu...

Tdick adn Sailman - both look good! Gotta love the pride folks have in their hooch. I've been using Microsoft
Word to make mine, but may try Gimp. I used Kraft adhesive sheets and enjoyed making labels for my nephew's wedding recently...

Mashed 15 gallons of corn and barley.

You forgot “none of the above” as a viable answer... So, I gave that a try today. 20 lbs flaked maize, 4.6 lbs malted barley, 15 gallons water. After conversion, I strained out the solids. BTW, thumbs up for this recent stirring acquisition: the two handled paint stirrer saves a lot of back pain. S...

but reinvigorated with

JeannesWhiteLightning.jpg I only make sugar stuff for the wife she likes to make her girly drinks with it I use my grains for my sipping whiskey and to age Same here. The wife likes my sugar shine as well as her Tito's Vodka. I made her own label (though it needs replacing after several re-fills, h...

Though ferments like

Still_stirrin – you are exactly right! My mistake, and I cannot seem to edit the original survey. In fact, I’ll do mash lauter on my next batch to see how it goes.

Toxxyc – Good detailed info. I learn something from everyone here.

I wonder if BIAB inhibits full fermentation, with the grains being constrained. Is the mess worth it for better fermentation? What method to you do?

I use 15 or 16 gallon size for all three: mash tun, conical fermenter and still. Not sure what you mean by "how much water"... for cooling? I use a 20 gallon plastic trash can and a submersible 1/4 hp pump. When the water gets too warm, I dump it and refill from the hose. Thank you, I was...

still.jpg Simple corn and barley. Been using four sections of the Mile Hi for washes, but just two for this mash. Lots of barley in the finish, but not much corn flavor. For the next time, I'll run without any plates inside, pot style, to keep more flavor. Yes, nice outfit. What size kettle is that...

Simple corn and barley. Been using four sections of the Mile Hi for washes, but just two for this mash. Lots of barley in the finish, but not much corn flavor. For the next time, I'll run without any plates inside, pot style, to keep more flavor.

barre1.jpg Kudos to BarrelsOnline.com for replacing my barrel, which I received today. Sure, I'd have liked it done right the first time; given that it was wedding gift with no time allowance for a re-do, but they responded quickly to my email (with pictures), and agreed that the barrel was damaged...

My nephew has a winch like that. He has it mounted to a gantry so it can lift, then move sideways... Geoff Geoff, that sounds like a great upgrade. I'm pulling the squeezed bag sideways now to lower into a bucket. Of course, the Warn winch is overkill, but hey - its what I had! And I'll use it for ...

That is a beautiful fermenter. Thanks, Deplorable. It sure is a step up from the carboys I used just a month ago. I just can't lift those things without back pain, so this conical lets me do it all in one place. The ability to drain mash off without getting sediment is a big help. Using the siphon-...

Expat wrote: ↑Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:17 pm How dry did it get after 30 minutes, Anywhere close to wringer squeezing?

Moist, and clumpy... good enough for me. I hand squeezed the bag as best I could over the fermenter.

Is that a corn mash I spy in that grain bag? Smitty, yess it is. Flaked maize and cracked malted barley. Fermented in the bag. Really made cleanup easy, but alcohol seems a bit low at 9%. It sure smells good, though. It took about a half hour to squeeze all the liquid out of the bag. I did not let ...