A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:00 pm
Welcome to my spoon feeding thread. This thread came about as the result of me getting tired of telling new members where to go to find everything they need to know just to get started. I have been debating posting it for many months now and finally decided to do so simply so I can say to any new members "Go read and follow this thread" and save myself a lot of effort. If others wish to do the same feel free to do so. If you feel I missed anything also feel free to add whatever you feel is necessary. Thank you, now on to the spoon feeding.
Cranky
Many new members here are often excited about signing up and are very excited about their new activity. They want to rush in and get started making something as fast, and often, as cheaply as they can. Then they come here and start asking the same questions that have been asked a few thousand times and more times than not they are told by other members that they need to do the required research and we don't spoon feed anybody. Many people have links in their signatures that refer the novice to required reading and a few other threads that get people pointed in the right direction and that is a good thing but sometimes even that falls a bit short mainly because a lot of the information these novices need is quite spread out through several areas. So I was thinking, maybe a bit of spoon feeding isn't necessarily a bad thing. That's why I decided to try to make a post that is a bit more comprehensive about pointing out where to go besides saying " Do your research" I am also trying to list the various outdated parts of the parent site that often get the novices confused or admonished.
I am not a master, nor will I ever think of myself as one. I am just an eternal novice with enough gleaned knowledge from the masters that I feel comfortable giving a bit of advice in the hopes it helps people and keeps them safe.
So to the novice,
Most people on here understand that you, as a novice are excited to get underway and want to produce something drinkable as soon as possible but the very first thing you need to do is step back, take a deep breath and realize that this is not a race or some cheap way to get drunk, If all you want is a cheap fast drunk, you are embarking in the wrong hobby, just go buy something to drink it will work out cheaper and certainly faster in the long run. This hobby takes time and effort to do things right and doing things right is what HD is all about. Now for those who actually want to learn how to do it right here is a little spoon feeding for you before you go asking the same question over and over again.
The very first thing you need to do is forget everything you may have seen on youtube videos. The information there is more likely than not just plain bad information.
You have now arrived in the right place and are ready to begin learning how to do things the right way, but you will need to do your part. There isn't a short video to show you how to do it, instead there is a whole lot of reading ahead of you. This post is only the beginning but it should be enough to help you find the basics.
The very first place to start your journey is by reading "the rules we live by", you will find a link to them at the top of every page or click this link.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =35&t=5090
Once you have read everything there move on to "forum rules, notifications and helpful hints". You will find much needed information there.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=35
Then you can move on to what is considered mandatory reading before proceeding any farther, which is the "New distillers reading lounge" you need to read everything here before proceeding further even what you don't think you need to know.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46
Then move on to the "Novice distillers" section
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=15
Here you will find many things you need to know even though some of it may be a bit redundant from the new distillers reading lounge. You should begin by reading all the stickies (they have that weird little light bulb looking thing next to them) but I would especially recommend reading
"the new-distiller's mini-FAQ
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=5166
"basic distillation 101"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=6243
"What still to build or buy"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=14972
Although if you are in the U.S. I personally would advise against buying since the still manufacturers will give your info directly to the TTB, but you already know that if you read the "Letter from brewhause" thread in the "forum rules, notifications and helpful hints" section.
"Distilling advice"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=6857
"novice guide for cuts"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=11640
and
"advice for newbies, by a newbie"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=19630
Now that you have read all those, move on to the "Safety and related issues" section
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=33
Beginning with this thread titled (what else) "Safety"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =33&t=4282
Then move on to "Mistakes" So you don't make the same ones others have.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =33&t=5200
If you use a keg with an external burner it is important to read this one titled "If you use a keg you need to read this"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=50513
and if you take pictures with your phone this is important too
"geo-tagging please read"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=26915
Now on to "basic safety"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=11187
Then last for this section "Glass Carboy or glass wine jug as pot still?
(Spoiler alert) never use glass in a hot section of a still.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=13723
there are many more discussions in all of these sections, so plan on spending plenty of time in them
The next section to go to is "What not to use" Just read everything here.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=89
Now another thing I would like to mention is something I don't recall in those links above but I feel is necessary to know and that is about Blue distillate which more than likely the novice running copper will see at some point. A good place to learn about blue distillate is here
http://ww.homedistiller.org/forum/viewt ... 33&t=16667" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
and here
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=19850
Basically there might be what looks like a slight blue cloudy tinge to tails but in any other circumstance blue distillate is very bad. Read everything in those two threads and you will understand.
Guess you can understand now why people often advise "Read until your eyes bleed". Are your eyes bleeding yet? I think mine are from writing this. Once they are you may still have some questions but now they probably haven't been asked a million times, but before you ask you have one more bit of research to do and that is the HD Google search located at the top of every page. To use the HD Google search simply click the link then without changing anything already in the search window type in your search and you will probably find the answer to your questions. You should only ask a question after doing all of the above if you don't want to just be told "do your research".
Now that you have read all the information in all those links and made a trip to the eye doctor to get some eye drops or new glasses you are now ready to begin on the path of distilling. Now go have fun, be safe and make everybody on this site proud.
Cranky
Many new members here are often excited about signing up and are very excited about their new activity. They want to rush in and get started making something as fast, and often, as cheaply as they can. Then they come here and start asking the same questions that have been asked a few thousand times and more times than not they are told by other members that they need to do the required research and we don't spoon feed anybody. Many people have links in their signatures that refer the novice to required reading and a few other threads that get people pointed in the right direction and that is a good thing but sometimes even that falls a bit short mainly because a lot of the information these novices need is quite spread out through several areas. So I was thinking, maybe a bit of spoon feeding isn't necessarily a bad thing. That's why I decided to try to make a post that is a bit more comprehensive about pointing out where to go besides saying " Do your research" I am also trying to list the various outdated parts of the parent site that often get the novices confused or admonished.
I am not a master, nor will I ever think of myself as one. I am just an eternal novice with enough gleaned knowledge from the masters that I feel comfortable giving a bit of advice in the hopes it helps people and keeps them safe.
So to the novice,
Most people on here understand that you, as a novice are excited to get underway and want to produce something drinkable as soon as possible but the very first thing you need to do is step back, take a deep breath and realize that this is not a race or some cheap way to get drunk, If all you want is a cheap fast drunk, you are embarking in the wrong hobby, just go buy something to drink it will work out cheaper and certainly faster in the long run. This hobby takes time and effort to do things right and doing things right is what HD is all about. Now for those who actually want to learn how to do it right here is a little spoon feeding for you before you go asking the same question over and over again.
The very first thing you need to do is forget everything you may have seen on youtube videos. The information there is more likely than not just plain bad information.
You have now arrived in the right place and are ready to begin learning how to do things the right way, but you will need to do your part. There isn't a short video to show you how to do it, instead there is a whole lot of reading ahead of you. This post is only the beginning but it should be enough to help you find the basics.
The very first place to start your journey is by reading "the rules we live by", you will find a link to them at the top of every page or click this link.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =35&t=5090
Once you have read everything there move on to "forum rules, notifications and helpful hints". You will find much needed information there.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=35
Then you can move on to what is considered mandatory reading before proceeding any farther, which is the "New distillers reading lounge" you need to read everything here before proceeding further even what you don't think you need to know.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46
Then move on to the "Novice distillers" section
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=15
Here you will find many things you need to know even though some of it may be a bit redundant from the new distillers reading lounge. You should begin by reading all the stickies (they have that weird little light bulb looking thing next to them) but I would especially recommend reading
"the new-distiller's mini-FAQ
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=5166
"basic distillation 101"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=6243
"What still to build or buy"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=14972
Although if you are in the U.S. I personally would advise against buying since the still manufacturers will give your info directly to the TTB, but you already know that if you read the "Letter from brewhause" thread in the "forum rules, notifications and helpful hints" section.
"Distilling advice"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=6857
"novice guide for cuts"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=11640
and
"advice for newbies, by a newbie"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=19630
Now that you have read all those, move on to the "Safety and related issues" section
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=33
Beginning with this thread titled (what else) "Safety"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =33&t=4282
Then move on to "Mistakes" So you don't make the same ones others have.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =33&t=5200
If you use a keg with an external burner it is important to read this one titled "If you use a keg you need to read this"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=50513
and if you take pictures with your phone this is important too
"geo-tagging please read"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=26915
Now on to "basic safety"
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=11187
Then last for this section "Glass Carboy or glass wine jug as pot still?
(Spoiler alert) never use glass in a hot section of a still.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=13723
there are many more discussions in all of these sections, so plan on spending plenty of time in them
The next section to go to is "What not to use" Just read everything here.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=89
Now another thing I would like to mention is something I don't recall in those links above but I feel is necessary to know and that is about Blue distillate which more than likely the novice running copper will see at some point. A good place to learn about blue distillate is here
http://ww.homedistiller.org/forum/viewt ... 33&t=16667" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
and here
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=19850
Basically there might be what looks like a slight blue cloudy tinge to tails but in any other circumstance blue distillate is very bad. Read everything in those two threads and you will understand.
Guess you can understand now why people often advise "Read until your eyes bleed". Are your eyes bleeding yet? I think mine are from writing this. Once they are you may still have some questions but now they probably haven't been asked a million times, but before you ask you have one more bit of research to do and that is the HD Google search located at the top of every page. To use the HD Google search simply click the link then without changing anything already in the search window type in your search and you will probably find the answer to your questions. You should only ask a question after doing all of the above if you don't want to just be told "do your research".
Now that you have read all the information in all those links and made a trip to the eye doctor to get some eye drops or new glasses you are now ready to begin on the path of distilling. Now go have fun, be safe and make everybody on this site proud.