Hello from south africa

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Sethral
Novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:00 pm

Hello from south africa

Post by Sethral »

Good morning all
I've been interested in the craft for years, first collecting stories from old fruit brandy stillers known here as mampoer and ask anyone from here if you drink water the next day you're either drunk again or regretting ever being born. So I've started off with vodka using birdwatchers and well water, done about 7 or 8 runs so far. No headaches at all, running a stepped reflux,works ok for a first build just slow with a 3/4" collom. Trying a marmite/vegemite wash for the first time for a change of pace. This forum has been a great guide to starting safely so thank you for all the advice and still plenty left for me to learn
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Demy
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3084
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:45 pm

Re: Ciao dal Sudafrica

Post by Demy »

Welcome!
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Bushman
Admin
Posts: 17988
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:29 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Bushman »

Welcome, I also started with birdwatchers on my first VM still. Good luck and enjoy the journey.
Toxxyc
Swill Maker
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:26 am

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Toxxyc »

Welkom meneer. Daar is meer van ons hier as wat jy sal glo... :D
Sethral
Novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:00 pm

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Sethral »

Bakgat
Setsumi
Distiller
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:23 pm
Location: Central South Africa

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Setsumi »

welcome Sethral. myself a saffer. HD has much to offer. some is different from sa folklore or the bs on local whatsup and fb groups. but a bit of research will show HD to be superior.
My first flute
My press
My twins
My controller
My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?
Sethral
Novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:00 pm

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Sethral »

Thanks for the welcome
I'll be honest and admit the alcohol ban gave me the push to start this hobby and now I look at everything in the shops and wonder how it will ferment. A year ago we were mixing drink o pop with sugar and yeast as brew shops were not essential services, you couldn't even buy a pot or a spoon as it wasn't on the approved list,so we did what we could. Ferments well by the way and only left it because the mango flavours became a bit strong after stilling. Made most rookie mistakes like waiting too long for an alcometer, was running until I couldn't taste ethanol anymore and stop the run which turned out to be the 30%mark so hope the compost heap enjoyed all the fruits of my labour
Setsumi
Distiller
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:23 pm
Location: Central South Africa

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Setsumi »

a combined abv of 30% is an ideal low wine ‰. 3 strips will equal close to a full boiler charge for a spirit run.
My first flute
My press
My twins
My controller
My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?
Toxxyc
Swill Maker
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:26 am

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Toxxyc »

My low wines are typically a bit stronger than that, sometimes over 40% in total (not taking off fores). I think I should let the still run a bit longer then.
Setsumi
Distiller
Posts: 1371
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:23 pm
Location: Central South Africa

Re: Hello from south africa

Post by Setsumi »

Toxxyc wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:14 pm My low wines are typically a bit stronger than that, sometimes over 40% in total (not taking off fores). I think I should let the still run a bit longer then.
maybe follow the current low wine storage thread and ask there. but, for sugar washes for neutral 40% combined is prolly right, for flavoured products go deeper... you can always stop early if you have much tails...
My first flute
My press
My twins
My controller
My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?
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