Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

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slammin_salmon
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Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

Long time lurker, first time poster. I've been brewing beer/wine for a good 15 years now and have long been kicking around the idea of leveling up to some distilling. Finally took the plunge, bought myself a 8 gallon pot still and all the gadgets to go along with. I'm mostly a Whiskey (Whisky) or Bourbon guy, so a pot still seemed to make the most sense for me. I'm fairly well versed on scientific principles and complex brewing, so I'm skipping sugar or sugar/corn and going straight to Woodshed's "Booner's casual all corn" for my first mash-in, with plans for a Wheat next in line. I've done a PILE of reading on this (and other sites), so I feel pretty confident that I'm well prepared....hopefully tonight I have time to take the plunge and get my mash working. Wish me luck!
WIski
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by WIski »

Good luck and welcome aboard. Where do you put in? Algoma?
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MoonBreath
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by MoonBreath »

Welcome to HD!
Hope you are enjoying the Parent site as well as the forums.
Good choices, along with patience, preparation, and pride will make your journey more gratifying.
You seem to have your goals and plans in place ..Good job.
Good luck, I think you will do just fine! :thumbup:
*Spend it all, Use it up, Wear it out*
Beware of sheet-sniffers and dime-droppers!
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

WIski wrote:Good luck and welcome aboard. Where do you put in? Algoma?
Yessir, that's my favorite port most of the time - unless it's during the Kewaunee/Door County derby, which I fish every year. If it's "that time" I usually launch out of Kewaunee, less a-holes and traffic.
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Twinrivers
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by Twinrivers »

Welcome and good luck with your ag and new still. It may not be a bad idea to do a cleaning run or two, as well as a sacrificial run before you run that ag. I hate to see a good mash go to waste.
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

My still is all stainless. I have mesh to pack it. Do I still need to do a sacraficial run? Assuming not, but appreciate the input.
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

Oh, I see. It's not sacraficial because your seasoning copper or something. It's sacraficial because, odds are, I'll screw it up. I got that covered- I have 14 gallons of raspberry wine sitting in my kitchen that I plan on turning into Brandy before my Booner's.
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HDNB
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by HDNB »

no, it's a sac to get rid of milling oils and undesirables. with copper and solder, there is flux and crap, but SS still has it's share of crap to clean out with a good alcohol steaming.

good luck with the Booner's. my first was a dismal failure, but careful attention the next time got me better results. I'm hoping 3rd times the charm! :wink:
I finally quit drinking for good.

now i drink for evil.
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

Cool, so it'd be acceptable to dump a cheap bottle of vodka in there and dilute with some water for my sac run? I'd rather not use any of my home-brew if it's going down the drain when I'm done.
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HDNB
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by HDNB »

absolutely. gives a good opportunity to check for vapour leaks too. most use a small mirror to inspect around the joints.
I finally quit drinking for good.

now i drink for evil.
thisguy
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by thisguy »

This guys from greenbay too! Howdy neighbor. Good luck with everything! When I do sac runs I treat it like a real run, even tho you can't drink it. Cause it'll behave as your still would when your doing a real run. And probably learn something from it.
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ET_Racer68
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by ET_Racer68 »

Welcome, Milwaukee here. Love Door County. We all like pics, do you have pics of your setup? I did the UJSSM, and it turned out good, working on 5th run.
IF IT WORKS, DON'T MESS WITH IT!
AT MY AGE, IF IT FEELS GOOD, KEEP DOING IT!
Fastill
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by Fastill »

Welcome, I lived in Green Bay for my college years. Western Ave. and out by Duchmans Creek. Lived next door to Tony Mandrich for a year.
Enjoy the site and all it has to offer. Everything you need to know is here for the reading.
A.D.D. and HD don't go together. This hobby takes time and dedication to learn and do it right and safe.
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http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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moosemilk
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by moosemilk »

Welcome. Booners is my favorite drop. Follow the recipe to the letter and you shouldn't have any problem. Biggest thing to keep an eye on is your pH for each enzyme. And after adding your sebamyl it never hurts to keep it nice and warm overnight for good conversion.
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

The Booner's went off without a hitch. Enzymes did what they should (pretty awesome to see them knock the corn mash back), yeast was happy, and have airlock activity. I was really suprised to see my tap water PH out at 8, but it is city water, and I guess they tend to keep it more alkaline to keep the pipes from corroding. Either way my food grade citric leveled it off quite nicely, and my PH pen worked flawlessly. Test strips were virtually useless, but they were there as a safety net regardless.
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MoonBreath
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by MoonBreath »

Good deal! What was the problem with the strips?
*Spend it all, Use it up, Wear it out*
Beware of sheet-sniffers and dime-droppers!
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

I couldnt get them to change color using the mash at all. They just looked like wet PH paper. Only a few changed color with even saliva....guessing they may have just been expired.
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Twinrivers
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by Twinrivers »

My new stainless pot was a real PITA to get clean. I did a vinegar run and then a sac run. I had to really run it hard to get a clear jar out of it. I fabricated my boiler out of 16ga 304 stainless sides and a 10ga 304 bottom. The amount of oil that came off it was surprising
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

I scrubbed the whole works down with super hot water and Dawn on Saturday. Did my sacrafical run using dilluted vodka/rum, which I tossed out at the end. Then I ran my Rasbperry Wine. I tossed the first 500 ml of each 5 gallon wash down the drain (yep, smelled EXACTLY like fingernail polish remover, and yep, I know that was a litle deep- prolly cut into the heads a bit), then ran it down to 40 proof. All I can say is WOW....it's far better than I ever expected to produce. Had me a few cocktails Sunday while mashing my 2nd tun of Booners....got real warm and fuzzy. Thanks again to Woodshed for posting those details- really easy and repeatable.
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Bushman
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by Bushman »

This thread should be a Welcome thread since it is moving beyond a welcome I would ask the OP to start his questions in the appropriate area! If we all adhere to this it will make searches much easier for all and keep threads on track.
Thanks
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slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

Hrm, I guess I don't get that. If someone poses a question to me or says something to me that sparks another question I'm supposed to respond on a new thread? That's going to make notification and organization a nightmare.
WIski
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by WIski »

Hey SS,

The guys runnin this place do a great job at keeping things organized and it's not an easy task. This thread was for your introduction. The conversation has moved way off that topic and the Mod has suggested taking the discussion to an appropriate section of the Forum. I would suggest putting the ongoing discussion in one of the threads included in the Distillation of Spirits section. You will probably get a lot more people jumping into the discussion as they will be looking for this type of subject matter posted in the appropriate heading. Most people wont expect to see distilling details or build specifications in a Welcome Thread labeled "Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin". Stay Safe, Have Fun, and Enjoy the Journey....... :thumbup:

You do any sledding???
slammin_salmon
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Re: Greetings from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Post by slammin_salmon »

I don't do any sledding anymore. I lived in the U.P. (Marquette, MI) for about 5 years- used to ride my sled (when you get that far north, it's a "snow machine") all over the place, even to work.

Is this still considered proper etiquette for a "Welcome" thread, or should I be starting a "What I do for fun" topic, as it's beyond an introduction? :sarcasm:

Not to be a tool, but it seems like some of these fellers need to relax and have a cocktail. I've seen some responses to other newbie posts that have made me cringe a little inside. Thankfully, not directed at me, but dang....not the most friendly group on the interwebs. I get that there's no place for ignorance when your dealing with potentially dangerous compounds....but wow, there's no need to be a dink about it.

</Rant Off>
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