newb from American SW

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Mac0311
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newb from American SW

Post by Mac0311 »

Hey everyone, just a new guy here. Always been interested in distilling, but just always thought about it. Got super excited and bought one of them Chinese pot stills on amazon, already regret it and haven't even used it yet. I mean, I ran vinegar through it. But thats it. So since 2 days after i got it i've been looking at brewhaus hard. Just a 8 gallon. Should have bought once, cried once.

Anyways, so i started a sugar wash, the one on here with the raisens, on the 4th of may, just sitting in my living room at a constant 68-70 degrees. Ferment is taking forever, but my 2 yr old likes to listen to the "bubbles". Sitting at 1.005 right now

What really got me off my ass was my friends cherry tree. Every year, he just lets the cherries fall off and rot, and I kept thinking that you could probably make something pretty good from those. I'm guessing i could get 3 5 gallon buckets of cherries at least. So that's my goal this year. I don't want to duplicate a drink from anywhere or anything, just ferment and distill all those cherries.

So i have alot of reading to do still and a lot of questions, like, if you need dunder for rum, but rum makes dunder, where do you get your first dunder? Lots of reading to do.

Anyways, i'm me, thanks.
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Deplorable
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Deplorable »

Welcome Mac. Before you buy another still that you may regret, read around in the construction threads. Building a still isn't hard if you can sweat copper joints for plumbing.
If you don't want to build a keg still, you can get a milk can boiler on line from several places in about any size you think you want. I'd recommend nothing smaller than 10 gallons. Then build you a nice copper still head to mount on it and you're in business. There are a lot of really good build threads here to get you inspired. Have a look around and read until your eyes bleed. You'll be glad you did.
20210516_131321.jpg
Sounds like you're mostly interested in fruits, so a good pot still is a great jumping off point. You'll definitely want to distill a good volume to be able to make good cuts . Lots to read in the fruits section too. Have fun, and stay safe. watch out for rabbit holes, there are a lot of them to suck you down.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Welcome Mac.
Give Deplorables suggestion some serious thought.
Building your own is always the better and cheaper option in my opinion.
stogie
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by stogie »

Welcome to the hobby Mac. Your Chinese still will provide laughs (down the line). If you are like me and do not have the talent, or patience, for a build-ur-own, there are several very reasonable store-bought options available ........ Brewhaus, Mile-Hi and Affordable Distillery are but a few.

At any rate ........ have fun!!
Mac0311
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Mac0311 »

Deplorable wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:10 am Welcome Mac. Before you buy another still that you may regret, read around in the construction threads. Building a still isn't hard if you can sweat copper joints for plumbing.
If you don't want to build a keg still, you can get a milk can boiler on line from several places in about any size you think you want. I'd recommend nothing smaller than 10 gallons. Then build you a nice copper still head to mount on it and you're in business. There are a lot of really good build threads here to get you inspired. Have a look around and read until your eyes bleed. You'll be glad you did.
20210516_131321.jpg

Sounds like you're mostly interested in fruits, so a good pot still is a great jumping off point. You'll definitely want to distill a good volume to be able to make good cuts . Lots to read in the fruits section too. Have fun, and stay safe. watch out for rabbit holes, there are a lot of them to suck you down.
i've read some on that. almost bought a keg last week of my local classifieds. i imagine soldering copper isn't too hard, but the time and stuff to learn it and make sure i'm doing it right is my biggest hang up, maybe when my kids are older and i have more free time. for now i'm most likely going to just buy one, just not sure if i should get a 8 or 15 gallon
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 2:36 pm or patience, for a build-ur-own,
Patience is something required in this hobby in bucket loads, learning some by building your own might be a good starting point.
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Deplorable
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Deplorable »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 2:38 pm Patience is something required in this hobby in bucket loads, learning some by building your own might be a good starting point.
This can't be over emphasized. If you don't have patience going in to it, it will certainly teach you patience. Or, you'll get flustered and throw in the towel.
I don't think I had more than 20 hours total in my build, and I had zero experience soldering copper to SS. Much of the labor was filing away messy solder.
I can understand the apprehension around building, but I also know first hand that it is unwarranted. Been there.
Which ever route you go Mac, go forward knowing that this is not a path to "cheap booze", but rather a journey of discovery.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
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still_stirrin
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by still_stirrin »

A hobby is a way to pass time doing something you enjoy doing. And along the way, you’ll learn something and hone your skills. Patience is very much a required necessity. If you don’t have the patience, then you may be time and money ahead to just go to the package store and buy your spirits.

So, if this hobby is “ for you”, then you should read a while and seriously consider building your own equipment. The build will bring you many rewards that a store-bought still won’t. You’ll gain a better working knowledge about not only your still, but you’ll also understand better how other hobbiests’ stills work.

Take your time to decide...we all did.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
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Mac0311
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Re: newb from American SW

Post by Mac0311 »

Patience isnt an issue. Learning how to braze copper isnt an issue.

Ive reloaded my own ammo on a single stage press for years, that most definitely requires patience. Standing there at parade rest for four hours for battalion commander inspection requires patience.
Son wants a dj controller for xmas to learn to dj, dj instructors arent really common, so dads gotta learn how to beat match and transition and blend different genres etc. (School talent show is thursday btw, hes excited) Daughter wants to learn to crochet, dads in the lunch room with his bag of yarn and crochet hooks making beanies and scarves so he can make sure he shows her right. Tile, roofing, concrete, etc all take patience

I just dont know if i wanna make my own still yet. More interested in the chemistry part right now, thats all.

Hats off to people that do make their own
Mac0311
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Location: Southwest USA

Re: newb from American SW

Post by Mac0311 »

Thought about it and ended up getting a column from Twisted Brick. Its really nice, I like it alot. Glad I went that route instead of a "store".

Image

Soaked in some vinegar and then ran 10 gallons of vinegar/water through it.
Then ran 2 sugar washes through it. So pretty sure its clean. Vinegar run started out blueish tint, and everything after that has been clear.
Image

Been reading Jimbos Ag threads over and over and started that a couple days ago, so I'm going to end up moving over there.

Thanks guys!




Oh, and the birds ate all my cherries, I should have went and picked them all last weekend. So probably just going to do Jimbo's exclusively until next year.
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