Eyes tired from reading, hands ready to get dirty

[AZdesertrat]

Hello from the sands of Arizona!

I am known as a hobby addict (per my wife) and seem to switch between all of them regularly. One constant in my hobbies is the inclusion of small batch bourbon (unless guns or machinery are involved,then only after play time is over) After drinking my way through the entire whiskey/bourbon shelf at Total Wine and about $3,000 later I finally know what I like, the problem is nothing totally fits the bill. I might not be able to articulate the taste I am looking for as yet but I sure as hell will know it when I try it now!

It is with that in mind that I endeavor to start down the path to finding my one true, fiery , mistake making love. It started with adding those wood flavor sticks to random bottles (they were a gift) and becoming intrigued in the massive as well as subtle differences It had in flavor, and even in a few rare cases differences in viscosity. Long story long, I'm ready to give it a go. Had done my fair share of chemical engineering in my last degree and thought this would be fun..... So far it has been painful! I read early on that I should read damn near everything on this site before I get started. Well 3 weeks later I have finally created an account and I am quite sure I have forgotten half of what I read!

That aside I did make sure to commit to memory three things. 1.)Do you own damn research and admit humbling defeat before asking for help here. 2.) Read all the safety information at least once a day. I may make garbage hooch to start but I sure as hell wont be hurting myself or anyone else whilst doing so. 3.) If you ask for help, for the love of all that is holy, remember they don't OWE you anything and are giving their two cents from their own experience; even if that is in the form of a harsh reproach.

Welp, that right there is my long winded "Hello!" and look forward to muddling through this with your patience (kind or otherwise)

As for projects. I plan on doing 3 batches, 1 Gerber, 1 winos sugar wash, and JUST as a basis for comparison and to know what all the hate is about, the dreaded TURBO wash. If I have to toss what I make, so be it. I'm not into this to cut costs (as per my previous tasting bill at the store) I'm doing this for the life experience, the possibility of finding the one TRUE drink, and the pursuit of not driving my wife crazy from idle hands searching for interest.

[Danespirit]

Greetings AZdesertrat

Seems like you made a good start already, but if you haven't stumbled over it yet, Crankys spoonfeed thread is full of good information (link in my signature).
You're right...guns and machinery don't go hand in hand with your beloved bourbon..
I take from your intro, you already build a still...a potstill..?
Please post a picture, if so.
Independent research is the key to success in here, but if you have any questions...there are a bunch of nice gals and guys to help you out.

Have fun and stay safe..

[Bigbob]

Welcome AZdesertrat, may I make a suggestion? I would try either UJSSM or sweetfeed for a simple easy step into whisky. The other two you mention are good in their own right, but they are more of a neutral or vodka spirit. The two that I mention are also sugar washes but include grains for flavor. You'll find both recipes in tried and true. Enjoy the forums!

[AZdesertrat]

thank you for the warm welcome and much appreciated! I know from what I read that as sugar wash was the easiest way to get started and far be it from me to turn down the opportunity to try my hand at my own gin.best part it would be from juniper berries I picked and dried locally. from majority of what I read I have two options one being to fill a sachet or cloth with the berries and spices and put that in a bottle of neutral alcohol. the other option I see online that sounds the most attractive but also the most risky is to put that pack of berries and spices at the top of my column just above my copper mesh and just below the first level of the reflux.

[apdb]

I suggest you run the Turbo wash through first before running any Tried And True Recipes. (if you feel you must try a Turbo, that is) The reason i say that is because it really is nasty stuff and you need to do a sacrificial run through your new apparatus to clean it thoroughly. It'll also be a tool to learn how your new rig runs and prepare you for the good stuff coming.

Aaron

[AZdesertrat]

A damn fine idea and a good point. I really just need to develop a pallet along with my skill set and felt like knowing what "bad" is would be important in that endeavor. Besides the sugar and yeast only cost around $16 so even if I have to toss it, its not really that much of a loss anyways. Also per request here is a picture of my rig.

[Danespirit]

I see you got a CM still there...
Well, first off i would offer some constructive criticism.
While it's not the best design for a still, you can make a decent drop with it..
The adjustment of the coolingwater would be the hardest hurdle to take, but once you master it..you should do fine.
BUT...the rubberbung with the thermometer in, MUST go..!
Even if the manufacturer praised the stuff as "tolerant to alcohols and bla,bla,bla", it represents a serious healthrisk.
A cork stopper made out of pure cork, a piece of wood with some flourpaste, PTFE tape or stainless steel, would be the choice for a seal on top of your column.
There are some threads in here about CM stills, that could be of interest for you.
The HD Google search, is a outstanding feature...

[Bushman]

Good advice so far. That is an older designed CM that will not nor was it intended to give you 100% reflux thus you won't reach aezotrope, once your temp starts to get up there make sure you run it slow. I think the best you can expect with that still is 85-87% on a single run.

[AZdesertrat]

Basic Overview of Common Reflux Designs+


OK, so I tossed the rubber bung out and got a big cork one. Thanks for that heads up! As for the plastic tubing, that is all carrying cooling water, does that really need to be ptfe? I understand that is necessary for things alcohol is touching, but all those tubing lines on my still will be carrying tap water from my garden hose. Keep in mind im not arguing here! Just confused and and hoping to learn the "why" of things so that (god willing) I can help others on this site once I have a foundational understanding myself.s for the still, is there any salvaging what I have or buying a better column or is it just that this design is not desirable and to look into buying a different one. When it comes to my interests I have more money than time, so buying a still is ideal for my situation. Looked into getting this per a previous members suggestion on improving the design by extending the length, http://www.brewhaus.com/Essential-Extra" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow ... P1509.aspx. Or if I should just call time of death on this thing and get something entirely different?

[nerdybrewer]

Cooling water can flow through anything, garden hose, vinyl, doesn't matter as long as it's never coming into direct contact with the vapor path or the product.

I think what you already have will work and you could explore it's use and learn on it.
For the other question, I personally would invest in a few tools and learn about fabricating my own equipment.
There's no better way to absolutely know what you've got and what you should expect from it.
Buying a still is problematic, sellers are (unless I'm mistaken) required to report sales of stilling equipment to the Federal Government.
Unless you live somewhere where this hobby is legal I'd be wary of getting myself on that kind of list.

[AZdesertrat]

Ok and as always my thanks! I think it best if I follow that advice, I will stick with what I got, get a better understanding of the "do's and don'ts" as it were and then have enough information to make my own. I suppose I can just design all the parts in AutoCAD and send it off to a shop to have all the parts CNC cut.

With that solved I do have a technical question that I desperately fear I missed in the readings (crankys post and otherwise) If so I do apologize beforehand. What I am shooting for with my run of wineos sugar wash is a neutral spirit to turn into gin. With that in mind as my desired outcome it seems like I have a few options. I can put my berries in my column on that first run, keep,drink and enjoy the flavored hearts, OR I can run the whole thing, take the heads, tails and hearts out (stripping?) and toss that back in for a second run with the berries on the second run. Wondering what my best approach is. Is doing the stripping needles for what I want my outcome to be or mandatory?

[rad14701]

Greetings, AZdesertrat...

Adding a packed column extension would increase purity and most likely marginally increase take off rate... Another option would be to do stripping runs in pot still mode, without coolant flow through the cross tubes, and then doing a spirit run of the low wines in reflux mode... You have options...

Good luck, stay safe, and enjoy the journey...

[AZdesertrat]

that is some damn good advice running in pot still mode first, I shall make it so. And I feel honored to have the great Rad responding to my greenhorn post read a ton on this site that you posted.

[raketemensch]

I know that the sugar washes sound easier than the UJSSM, but once you put one of each together you'll see how little difference there is between the two, difficulty-wise. Corn, sugar, water, rice. Done and done.

[Truckinbutch]

I know that the sugar washes sound easier than the UJSSM, but once you put one of each together you'll see how little difference there is between the two, difficulty-wise. Corn, sugar, water, rice. Done and done.

I got to qualify my agreement with the fact that I am just simply prejudiced toward UJ because I like it .

[AZdesertrat]

that advice is duly noted and much appreciated. I just got a fourth six and a half gallon carboy to do just as you suggested and whipped that up today.I am curious now as to the max capacity my seven and a half gallon boiler can maintain while doing a pot still run. Any suggestions are appreciated with the sugar wash I plan to run the first time.

[raketemensch]

Hmmmm, I'm not sure how you're going to get the spent grain out of a carboy. You usually scoop an inch or so off of the grain bed when you start the next gen, and I can't see how you could do that through that narrow little neck....

[AZdesertrat]

Can always buy new material. I'm more in this for the skill,knowledge and reward of making a top quality product rather than saving money. Unless that saving of grain is essential for making a high quality batch .if that is the case I'll but a few buckets and switch to that.

[Danespirit]

Can always buy new material. I'm more in this for the skill,knowledge and reward of making a top quality product rather than saving money.

With this attitude, you are on the way to become a master distiller..
Some recipes, require a part of the already spend grain to be reused in a new batch, it's essential in order to get a quality product out of it.
Well, i even let some of the dead yeast stay behind in a normal sugarwash like birdwatchers recipe.
In this case it ain't done because of the taste (won't change anything), but entirely because yeast is canniballistic..the dead cells will provide nutrients for the new ones.
So there are many good reasons, why recycling is a good idea.

[AZdesertrat]

Understood and the explanation is greatly appreciated. I do have another question I have been unable to locate an answer to. Can I just toss a bottle of Everclear in some water and run that through my system as a cleaning run? (again money never being an issue in the pursuit of perfection)

[Danespirit]

You can do that, sure..
But why don't you just make a cheap sugarwash..?
You could be familiar with how to run the still, you would have your first stripping and spiritrun..

[AZdesertrat]

I was under the impression I was supposed to toss out that first cleaning run (or keep that unless I plan on making or getting another rig later down the road) perhaps I misunderstood. Main reason for the Everclear run suggestion would be to run the still ASAP rather than wait for a wash to setup enough to run, so that I wont need to sacrifice the 3 washes I have going already. I could be wrong...

[Snowe]

I was under the impression I was supposed to toss out that first cleaning run (or keep that unless I plan on making or getting another rig later down the road) perhaps I misunderstood. Main reason for the Everclear run suggestion would be to run the still ASAP rather than wait for a wash to setup enough to run, so that I wont need to sacrifice the 3 washes I have going already. I could be wrong...

You're right, you should toss the first alcohol run that goes through the still. I think he was wondering why waste money on the everclear because running a simple sugar wash would be cheaper. But if you're more worried about time than money then either will work.

[AZdesertrat]

I am, as for money this is not a cost saving measure in the least. My primary concern at all times is 1) enjoying myself and my craft and 2) producing a higher quality product than my previous attempt.

[AZdesertrat]

As for time, I don't want to burn one of my first washes (I'll admit I am a bit attached to the effort therein so far) on a sacrificial run, and starting a new wash would mean its ready AFTER my current ones, so the thought was to toss a $35 handle of Everclear in there and a few gallons of water and run it our. No tears from tossing a bottle of everclear out vs. my first washes

[nerdybrewer]

I just got a gallon of cheap wine and ran that for my sacrificial.
To each his own.

[AZdesertrat]

Hmm bet I can find a box of wine for cheap, that doesn't make a mess to clean afterwards?

[nerdybrewer]

Add a gallon of water to the wine and run it, gotta wash out the boiler after anyway and no it's not messy - just liquid left over maybe more if you run real hot I suppose.

[AZdesertrat]

Roger that and greatly appricated, would make for a cheaper go of things! Not looking to spend more than I need to, just don't need to focus on budget when it comes to my pursuits as my time is the most precious commodity I have.

[MtnView]

Welcome AZDesertRat. I also am here in the desert. I started with the sweetfeed it is in Tried and True and tasty. So much so that it never seems to get past the 30 day mark.