Home Distiller

If you want to sweeten it up early on try just a touch of real maple syrup. It might just help you make young likker more palateable, but like Rad said, Let the spirits sit on wood longer. You won't regret it.

All the brewing catologs and wine making supply stuff I have been through I have never seen precharred sticks, Just toasted chips and cubes and toasted spirals. Maybe I've just missed them but I think this might be something you just have to do yourself.

If you are getting a bananna like nail polish remover smell in your hearts, then you are smearing your heads into them or not making proper cuts. Heads smell like banannas to me. I don't know how to describe a neutral taste for alcohol, because it tastes just like alcohol. If that is what you are a...

If you are getting a bananna like nail polish remover smell in your hearts, then you are smearing your heads into them or not making proper cuts. Heads smell like banannas to me. I don't know how to describe a neutral taste for alcohol, because it tastes just like alcohol. If that is what you are af...

A good ale yeast might seem expensive at first, but if you take care of it and keep it alive and happy, it will serve you for many generations, and make you a lot of corn whisky. I am also assuming you are making all grain. Sugarhead corn likker I'd just use the cheapest bakers yeast I can find. Alw...

Yep, more grain, less water, or post mash boil, (and that would waste alot of time and effort).
I am very happy when I get a 5% potential in a bourban recipe. And they never finish at or below 1.00 SG. I guess I am just happy with what I get. I use 2 lbs grain per gallon of water.

Maximum efficiency would be 1.072. You hit 55.7% efficiency. Not great but not bad either. I used flaked corn in the calculation so cracked corn would be less anyway.

Sure hope everything turns out for you.. Best of luck Rockchucker

Skeena wrote:Help...I am only getting SG 1.04 at best with this recipe...what am I doing wrong???

Hard to tell, really don't know what you are doing at all...
What was your grainbill and process? Temps and water to grain ratio??
1.04 is a little low but not unheard of.

I ferment on the grain and distill off the grain, but am not trying to emulate Tennesee Whisky. Gives me all the flavor I need and I don't worry about burning mash in the still. If you are trying to make JD for your friends, you will need to use their water, grain and grainbill, their stills, their ...

I've got about 15 gal of this bubbling away now for about 2 weeks, but the P & T hydrometer stays at 10/5. Yet when I take the lid off the 20 gal Brute the delicious smell of alcohol smacks me in the face. I've never before had such an almost pure alcohol smell before. Tested the hydrometer in tap ...

What do you call a machinist with all of his fingers...
Supervisor.
Just kidding, I was a machinist for 22 years and still have all 11 of my digits!!!
Good luck Odin, You'll make it through just fine!!

^ I initially followed this ^ logic. It will do you ok, but longer with less oak in is giving me better results. Case in point - Sweetfeed with 3x 3inchx1inch square roasted and charred sticks in a gallon of 55% for a year is far and away superior to the stuff that had oak for 3 months only - simil...

To come close I think the barrel is the most important part.

Is the iodine post to turn blue when it's converted over ? I did an allgrain beer today and when I stirred the drop of iodine in the sample it pretty much just disapeared after conversion. It turned the first sample black/dark which was one I did 5 minutes after adding the hot water to the mash, ju...

HUH! I thought I was the only one that even knew what DTE was. How do you know and what do you use it for? i use food grade DE to keep the insides of my outside cats a little less buggy. don't use pool grade DE in a way that it can be ingested. use only food grade DE on your good critters, or yours...

How does it taste? It will be sour when done. Does your wash have a cap and did it drop? How much backset did you use, PH might be out of controll, need calcium carbonate. Seals on 5 gallon buckets have been known to leak also, have you taken readings over a couple of days?

OMG they are in corn meal too!! And in Jiffy too . Im freaking out now. Do people just dump them in the mash after the killem? Mybe i'm to much of a germaphobe for this mashing business! Lol Just grind them up and ferment them with the rest of the corn, nothing will come over when you distill. If y...

2 years minimum for UJSSM, at least that is what I'd do.. It gets VERY good.

Actually I am, if you started or stopped with an abv less than 10% it would be no different than reducing a bottle or two of wine for an italian meat sauce, which I've done numerous times like for our past Christmas dinner. I boiled rum last night prior to adding homemade frozen apple sauce so the ...

Very bad Idea! Besides, the first run of UJSSM isn't that bad, it makes great apple pie, ages on oak nicely, or you can just rerun it with your second batch. I would collect it and keep it in my aging vessel, and just keep adding generations right on top of it. By the time the aging jug, barrel or w...

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the responses. rad, is there a thread/diagram showing what you are talking about, or can you tell me a bit more? The valve would be used on the reflux return tube or the "product" tube? I am guessing the product tube and the reflux return is not valved? Thanks. I'm not...

If it still has enzyme in it to convert, I would assume you still would need 2-3lbs for 10 lbs of grain. It could make lautering and sparging difficult as the husks from crushed barley keep the wash from getting too gummy, and flour would act like glue when trying to strain out your liquids.

Kinda slow compared to me, I will do a potstill mode stripping run in about 3 hours, not counting heat up, and take off about a gallon per hour.

Distillers grain us usually used as cattle feed, all the goodies have been used up in them. It could be possible to add them to a sugarhead, maybe contribute some flavor, but probabally not much left in them.

Is it possible that you burnt your wash, either preparing it for fermentation or durning your run? I've burnt malt extract making beer. Didn't keep it stirred before it all disolved.

LWTCS wrote:Got a dead critter in there?
How much mold could it have been to bugger your run like that?

+1
You would think that high proof would clean that out pretty fast, Maybe you had a dead rat or squirrel in your boiler??
What kind of wash and what kind of still?

Grandparents on both sides did their share of indirect influence on me, One side made and sold beer during prohibition,( I have lots of their old crocks and the bottles they used), grandfather on the other side used to haul shine in the thirtys. My parents didn't make or mess around but my dads best...

I've made some fine bacon by using tenderquick as a dry rub for 5 days and smoking with cherry wood. Gotta make sure you use correct amounts of cure for weight of pork or it can get too salty real quick.

But if you don't heat corn to higher temps, like above 180° to over 200°, will the enzymes be able to break down the starches enough? I was under the impression that one had to get the corn to gel stage in order to get enough conversion. If I am understanding where Tater is coming from, the sugar i...