Home Distiller

Another Xmas pty story. Friends house and friends from all over the state. I had brought a btl of UJSSM aged for about 8 months for one guy in particular. so I and the host got talking about shine. he did not know i had some. He said his son's friend makes it and they drink often. I pulled out my jar and his son said "oh you made brandy. When you add anything after you distill it its brandy" ????? I never thought much of the kid anyway so I poured him a little and walked away. I can't imagine what he's been drinking.

I have to say there are a whole lot of people out there who make bad likker. Myself I have always thought of moonshine as nothing but bad likker, I know there is some sort of romantic ideas surrounding moonshine but I like to think of good drink as something more than moonshine, fine brandy, fine whiskey, something better, just like the difference between MD2020 and icewine. One is cheap and common (like my high-school girlfriend) while the other is something fine and rare (like my wife). I will choose fine and rare any day but there is an awful lot of mad dog sold every day. The same with home made likker, many people are only out to get drunk and quality doesn't matter. As for home distilling I believe it has never really been that uncommon. Everybody seems to know someone who does it and quite frankly I believe always has. Growing up everybody seemed to know someone who had a still so maybe the perception is all that's changed. Someone at my work bought a still a few months ago. Stupidly he let everybody know he bought it and it was getting a bit too much attention. It soon became obvious to me he had no clue how to run it. Fortunately for him everybody knows I make wine and am weird and know way more about a whole lot of strange things than I really should so somehow I wound up being asked for advice. I try not to reveal too much about my knowledge but I don't want him making bad likker either so I advised him a bit and told him to come here to HD. A few weeks later he had more questions which I answered and then typed up a bit of advice good enough to get started with some copy and pastes from HD. I discreetly printed it up and left it sitting on the desk in front of him when he was distracted by someone else as I left for the day. I don't think he even realized I was even in the room to leave the notes. He hasn't said anything about the still since but I know we now has good advice. I figure maybe he has learned to keep quiet and as soon as I can get him alone I'll ask him how it's going but it's difficult to get him alone and prefer to do things as discreetly as possible.

I live in a dry county, so if you want a drink you either find a bootlegger or make a 30 mile trip to the closest wet county liquor store. I keep my activities close so not even my neighbors know what I'm into but it is amazing how often they come by and tell me they wish they had a beer, some wine or whisky. They know the family business is barrels and I do believe they wish I was a shiner. Since we just moved to this acreage, it will be a while before I go handing out samples. I don't believe in selling cause where I live, that would indeed bring BATF attention. It is amazing how many of the local people are beginning to talk about shine and how they wish they could get it. I hope the trend keeps up, because that is how we will finally get some political action so we can pursue this wonderful hobby with out fears of prosecution, seizure of property and jail time.

Here's a "tip-o-the-hat" to this site. My "mentor" in this art came over yesterday to play some guitar and I had him taste some 4th gen UJSSM and my first spirit run of the same...he came unglued!! We spent 1/2 an hour just discussing what i've learned on this site in my short tenure and he claimed my spirit was the best MS he's ever tasted (he know's 4 other shiners). Thank you all for your help and input!!

I know one guy I used to work with that makes it. Complete shit. I just started and am not impressed with my product so far. Still way better than his. Most folks at work know I am making, but what happens in the team room stays in the team room. I have brought in some white, some apple pie and some cinnamon. They all like it enough to drink all of it at work. I on the other hand am always in search of the mythical unicorn vagina and think nothing is ever good enough. I am on my third gen of UJSSM and am starting to like it better. No blending yet, just drinking the good stuff, recycling the rest eventually. Well I have rambled enough.

scout wrote:The only people I would tell anything to in a face to face situation would be folks I've known for a very long time and they would have to have also earned my trust. I know several folks that I've helped along at the cooperage but they were already making it and just wanted some help with ideas. These folks had already shared some of their wares with me a long time before they asked for my input. When someone calls me a hillbilly, I take it as a complement.

Don't ya know it ain't politically correct to call someone a hillbilly no mo?!

We is "Appalachian-Americans" now!

Thats funny right there SBB

SBB , that just makes me feel downright impotent

I think there are many out there that make their own ... and I would guess the majority of those make crap. I noticed in my local HBS they are carrying a t500 ... so there has to be enough demand from what they see to bring one into stock.

Regarding quality, the issue is with the population in general. People now want immediate results - in everything (stock market, availability of products, and likker) - nobody wants to put in the time to research to make it correctly. This site has TONS of info - a ton of it great knowledge, but I think it would be hard to get people to get on here and sift thru all this info when they can ebay or buy a still, get told "mix water, sugar and turbo" and thats it.

To get people hooked on the knowledge in here, there needs to be a tutorial - say, simple pot still build (say with stock pot, and keg), then 2 or 3 simple recipes, then a how to distill (do this, do that, then do this ... etc, etc), and then you will see people come in and start exploring more ...

Doogie,

I agree with you on getting people hooked on the knowledge. As a newcomer myself it would be great to have a straight forward tutorial to follow. Since it is near impossible to find a mentor to help us figure out what to do or what went wrong, the only other options are to either follow a tried and true still build and recipe or venture out and make mistakes until we think we know what we are doing.
I prefer to do things right the first time. I know this is a skill that will be learned through repetition so you have to start some where and just do it. It would be great to know you are learning and applying GOOD fundamentals when you start.

Reminds me of a friend of mine who loves to play golf. Living in the north, he could not get out while it was cold. He had a great idea. His basement had a high ceiling so he set up a golf tee and catch net so he could practice his swings during the winter. Said he spent several hours a week hitting drives in his basement. He was even giddy about the fact he was perfecting his swing and hitting long balls. Spring came around and he got on the golf course to demonstrate his new tee shot. Every swing resulted in a massive slice. Seems his practice had imprinted a very bad form on his swing. Jim said he had to take lessons to correct it and it took him all summer to undo the bad habits he had taught himself during the winter.

So, as a newbe, it would be really good to get off on the right foot and not learn any bad habits. For me that will be a simple pot still, not sure of the design yet, prolly a stock pot with 2" column and a Leiberg with a simple wash. Would be great if there was a thread developed and dedicated to those starting up. I will not have anyone locally to coach me or critique my equipment or process.

I appreciate the wisdom here, just wish it was a little easier to find.

@IG - yes, there is a lot here ... however creating a straight forward tutorial is difficult because:

1) People are volunteers here ... so they have to dedicate time to this for free
2) Unless it is kept real simple, the text would probably inspire a lot of debate (for example - I do not keep heads for feints, others do ...)
3) We would be competing with all the youBoobs out there

But if it were to be created - and a link included in the registration email, then maybe the process would be easier for newcomers, and the questions like "my alcoholmeter says that my turbo wash with 50Kg of sugar in 10L of water is not done, but my loose fermenter airlock is not doing anything, can I run it with my modified kettle with a 1/4" arm and worm I bought on ebay" and "youTube guy MoOnShIn3rZ_KiNgZ said dont worry about methanol and to carbon filter it and add essences - it tasted really good but I barfed both ways after drinking it - is something wrong?" type questions may go down in popularity.

IG Guy wrote: As a newcomer myself it would be great to have a straight forward tutorial to follow.

That's exactly what I did for the guy at my work who bought a still. I took my own notes, removed what didn't apply directly to his situation, added in some copy and pastes from HD (full credit give) and discreetly gave it to him. I don't know if he has read it but if he makes bad likker now it's his own fault. All the info I gave him IS on here somewhere but it really can be a bit daunting to find, that's why I have been making notes for a long time and continue to do so but my notes may not work for everyone and even after cutting them down amounted to 25 to 30 pages it could easily have been 100 or even 200, that would be a lot to put in a single thread and people tend to only skim info to look for whatever they are specifically after and there are so many variables everybody has to sort out.

On a good note it sounds like you are on the right path with what you want to build, the real secret is to learn patience.

Doogie wrote:@IG - yes, there is a lot here ... however creating a straight forward tutorial is difficult because:

1) People are volunteers here ... so they have to dedicate time to this for free
2) Unless it is kept real simple, the text would probably inspire a lot of debate (for example - I do not keep heads for feints, others do ...)
3) We would be competing with all the youBoobs out there

But if it were to be created - and a link included in the registration email, then maybe the process would be easier for newcomers, and the questions like "my alcoholmeter says that my turbo wash with 50Kg of sugar in 10L of water is not done, but my loose fermenter airlock is not doing anything, can I run it with my modified kettle with a 1/4" arm and worm I bought on ebay" and "youTube guy MoOnShIn3rZ_KiNgZ said dont worry about methanol and to carbon filter it and add essences - it tasted really good but I barfed both ways after drinking it - is something wrong?" type questions may go down in popularity.

Oh crap that was good.....anyone for sugar soup

I've heard through the grapevines that a guy down the road from me makes a little once in a while for himself. and I have a friend who makes some for himself and sells a little to a couple friends. not sure on the other guy but the friend uses a water distiller and knows nothing about cuts. I just spoke to him a few minutes ago he stopped by on his way through for work. I asked if he takes any cuts and he just looks at me like wtf is that lol. He uses turbo yeast and water and sugar, doesn't flavour it at all. He told me it only needs one run through and it'll knock you on your ass in no time.

Personally I don't want anything handed to me on a silver platter. In order to do anything right and well, it takes time, patience and a s***load of research. The "teach a man to fish" parable, if you will. Because the good folk here showed me where to find the information right off the bat and the fact that I was willing to put in the time to read, read and read some more before running my first distillation I was able to keep missteps to an absolute minimum and I've already made some drink that I'm proud of...no small feat.

tp

using phrases and such is fun, but rarely applicable. People are being given fishes on you tube. I dont think getting someone started correctly is handing anything on a silver platter - I see it as giving basic tools to apprentices and then once they are hooked then let them go explore and develop with the info involved. Instead of smart ass answers and rude responses, a simple "look at your basic guide" ... and of course, part of that could be searching ...

We would actually be teaching someone to fish ... instead of them trying to figure out how to build a boat and rod, we tell them how, and then when they do it right, their curiosity would naturally expand.

And remember, for every successful and safe hobby producer out there, the move to legalization becomes more legit. If we have clowns teaching the newcomers, making crap, selling crap, harming people with crap, then we will continue to play right into the hands of the people who say this is always dangerous.

I had some contractors over to my house for retrofitting my existing propane gas installation and install a new gas line for a propane dryer.

I took the time before they got here to hide away all the stilling gear and appurtenances. The only thing i could not hide was my 30 gallon fermenter barrel which is full with the latest wash. Since I also brew beer, I had the perfect cover story that it is my latest brew of beer.

When the work was near complete, one of the lads started looking at the beer fridge and asking a few questions and was looking directly at my big fermenter..... "Is is beer in here?.... Yes, latest batch of beer......"

Then he turns around and asks me "Do you still as well? ....... No just the beer...." Then he says he stills, he's got a pot still..... I started asking a bunch of questions playing stupid a bit (not much of a stretch really) and was satisifed that he really was into stilling. Then I showed him photos of my gear and blew the tires off his rims...... "Where do you learn to make stuff like that? ....... Why of course, on Home Distillers Forum!"

One word, Desire!

As in ... desiiii iiii iiiiire ? She's a candle burning in my room, Yeah I'm like the needle, needle and spoon

You know it Jimbo!

I have to resurrect this thread because of something that happened a little while ago.

I was outside and got caught by my neighbor from across the street who wanted to chat about my new retaining wall. While talking about that I mentioned that I wanted to have enough room to back my truck into the yard to where my apple processing equipment is set up. He asked me about that and I told him I make hard cider and wine. Then he proceed to talk to me a bit about hard cider and wine and said "Oh you've seen the grape vines over here" pointing at the house next door to me. "(Name censored) used to make grappa from those. He grew grapes and made grappa every year. One day they had a party and we were invited and I tried it, I had 2 drinks and could barely walk back across the street. He quit drinking so he doesn't make it any more but he still has the still and all the equipment"

I didn't say anything about me distilling because I don't want my neighbors to know, especially the ones that like to talk to people. I also was thinking "yeah right, he gave up drinking and quit making grappa, that's why I noticed him building something that looks suspiciously like a stilling room in the garage and a couple of years ago he built a secret underground bunker, that honestly until now I thought was a place to keep his next victim, but now think it's a place to age alcohol" So now the weird things he does make a little more sense and I think he told nosy neighbor he quit making it so word doesn't get out. I wonder if he is a member here? Wouldn't that be funny

cranky wrote: I didn't say anything about me distilling because I don't want my neighbors to know, especially the ones that like to talk to people.

I live in small town, I can relate.

Where I am, we don't seem to have a history of making "shine". I had an old friend who started the same time as I and although educated to degree level in Mech E, and practical, he never really understood that you couldn't "still" by temperature. Then there's the guy at the brew shop - who can't elevate himself past "sugar wash and turbo" and sadly another guy (a member here) who's knowledgeable but retiring and I bought a lot of kit off him a few months ago. It would have been really nice to have these conversations with him.

So where I am, it's really quite lonely and I don't have any to share and discuss with - except my Global "friends" - who I can only discuss with - we can't actually " taste and suggest"to each other.

Been fortunate here . I had taken the plunge and then met SRD . We fed off each other and HD to the benefit of both of us . Then here came Coalminer into the flock and we have 3 people sharing knowledge and skills .
Life has improved for all of us .

Truckinbutch wrote:Been fortunate here . I had taken the plunge and then met SRD . We fed off each other and HD to the benefit of both of us . Then here came Coalminer into the flock and we have 3 people sharing knowledge and skills .
Life has improved for all of us .

Hey no fair ganging up!
That has to be beneficial having a small group. Triple the resources. The "rules" are laid out plainly so you likely never have disagreements(?), and the comradery in sharing a drink or seven.
I think that's why I spend so much time on HD. It gets lonely in the basement going solo. And sometimes it's dark and scary.

I've been fortunate to have SCD 15 minutes away so, we get together every few weeks and make something. It's nice having a partner to watch you're back and keep you motivated.

I have been interested in this hobby for a while and read and read more but being dense minded it just don't sink in. I would like a friend to share things with and a mentor that would not mind an apprentice. I would be wiling to pay for lessons to make a decent drop! Why does it not all turn out great and some better than other? We could all use a little help from our friends.....
GA Flatwoods

We're all your friends and we're all here fer ya woods!

Speaking of friends, where'd SoMo go? He aint been on in over a year

Jimbo wrote:We're all your friends and we're all here fer ya woods!