Hi

[ShelbyMedicRN]

Hey guys, I'm Donald. I've brewed beer for about a decade and recently acquired a 8 gallon stainless Mile Hi reflux still. Making my first batch on Thursday!

[Bushman]

Welcome, that still should serve you well!

[Deplorable]

Welcome! Be sure to do all the prerequisite cleaning runs.

[Sporacle]

Enjoy and have fun

[Saltbush Bill]

Making beer will teach you a whole heap about making beer......it won't teach you about cuts.....why boilers boil at the temps they do.....how oaking and aging in barrels works......and a million other things.....two very different hobbys.....they have fermentation in common.

[subbrew]

SBB, I think you are a little harsh. I find distilling to be an extension of beer brewing as you spend days or even weeks in the brewing process to create a "beer" which you only spend a few hours distilling. You are certainly correct that brewing does not teach cuts or still behavior but beyond all the fermentation skills, it does teach what different grains contribute to a recipe. I have aged beers so don't discount the aging knowledge of brewing. It may have taught construction skills doing brewing equipment builds. Depending on the depth of brewing in which you delved you may have picked up much of the chemistry which aides in understanding a lot of what is going on in a still and in the product.

Yes, there is a lot more to learn and you can extend that learning in many directions and levels. But I feel brewing experience, especially if you really delved into the science and chemical processes involved provides a huge platform for which to build your distilling knowledge.