Frist Post

[nezer]

Hello.

Moonshining came up a few times with different people at my office last month. I realize now that Moonshiners on Discovery must have been running ads that put shining into the zeitgeist (I don't really own a TV and I surely don't get Discovery). Anyway I decided to treat myself to a still form MileHi for Christmas after reading and researching. I have been reading a lot in the last month or so and I'm looking forward to this new hobby. I'm somewhat surprised I hadn't found this hobby prior as this is just the perfect mix of science/geek/outlaw/heritage stuff for me!

I am now working on my first batch of beer ever with the thought that if I can ferment something drinkable then I should be able to produce a drinkable spirit. My first batch is AG and is going pretty well. Even if the end result isn't that great (it sure smells good after a week in the fermenter) and I can say I learned a lot during the process. I'm really looking forward to my first AG single-malt whiskey which I will do in good time.

The still arrived this week and I'm working out how I'm going to operate this thing in my apartment. I plan on running my first cleaning/learning runs in the next week or so using a basic sugar wash with the turbo yeast provided with the kit. I'll then decide what to do next based on this experience.

So before I started posting dumb questions I figured I would introduce myself here.

I'm not quite sure what I want to get out of this experience other than experience itself. I'm looking forward to the journey and wherever it takes me.

Thanks to everyone here for all the advice I've already received before even registering. Intellectually this site (and a few others) has taken me a long way and now I look forward to applying this knowledge to the fermenter and the still. I'm sure this is where the real education will start.

[Washashore]

Welcome to HD nezer. It sounds like you're well on your way. If you can brew beer, you can make a fine AG whiskey. One word of advice: ditch the turbo yeast that comes with your still. For all of your hard work, it'll get ruined with the off flavors that yeast will put out. Have fun and be safe!

[nezer]

I was just going to use it for sacrificial runs and probably to harvest the yeast itself to play with later (I'm guessing it's probably EC-1118 or similar).

[Bushman]

Welcome and good game plan!

[Bayou-Ruler]

welcome to the forum

[lumberped]

Welocme Nezer. I like your earlier statement about the mix of "science , geek , and outlaw"....never really knew what drew me into this , but I think you just nailed it ! Have fun , be smart , and safe. It's worth it all in the long run!




Lumberped

[nezer]

I bottled the Amber Ale this weekend and did it smell yummy! Had I known it was really this easy I would have been brewing beer years ago.

I also found that the still with set on my stove nicely if I pull the stove out about 2 or 3 inches. I found that I could bring about 6 gallons of 55F tap water to boiling (200F at my altitude) in about an hour and a half. I then let things cool off a bit and started attaching pieces one at a time checking for fit. Eventually everything was up and running without any leaks. I blew about 20 minutes worth of steam through it as I don't have the plumbing for the condensers worked out just yet.

With any luck I can get time to make a Home Depot run this week for the pieces I need for the coolant lines and then I'll run a 50/50 vinegar/water mixture through it letting it steam out for about 20 minutes or so. I imagine that when I do this the apartment will reek of vinegar? Once this is working I'll start my first fermentus cheapus for the first sacrificial run.

I think instead of using the turbo packs that came with the kit for the sacrificial runs I'll culture some of the yeast to save and boil the rest of it in my first real washes for the nutrients. On the surface it seems to me the nutrients are the real "magic" in those packets.

I'm really enjoying this hobby already and I haven't even done anything except read and ferment as of yet. The biggest surprise is how much fun I'm having playing with the few different yeast strains I have picked-up so far including a wild yeast I caught a few weeks back.

[Prairiepiss]

Welcome aboard.

I wouldn't worry about doing anything with the turbo yeast. Other then making a good sacrificial learning wash. It gets so stressed that it won't be that great of a yeast to use again. Baking yeast is cheap so is EC-1118. Both are great to have around.

Give the cm mods link in my signatures a looky look. It will help you out with that new still.

Good luck be safe take your time.

[OlympicMtDoo]

As an owner of a MileHi rig, +1 PP, do check out the CM mod thread, it'll help you bypass a lot of experiminting on your own.

[nezer]

Thanks! That post is the reason for the trip to Home Depot. (the valve, tee, a garden hose, and, most importantly, a fire extinguisher or two)

I've lightly packed copper around the condenser area in hopes of increasing condensation surface area. Depending on performance I might add the copper funnel and repack the column but I have a feeling it will be just fine as it is--especially for learning.

[nezer]

Got all of the plumbing together and attached so I ran with a 50/50 vinegar/water solution for cleaning last night. I'm glad I'm taking it slow as I had a few mishaps but nothing too major (burned myself on the column, one of my hose clamps slipped off, and my water intake plumbing wasn't quite right). I think my biggest challenge right now will be using a ball instead of a needle valve for the reflux control. I'll know more after the first sacrificial run which I just started fermenting.

I'm thrilled that it will work up on my stove! I ran a garden hose from my washing machine cold water line to the condensers and run each condenser output into my sink. I'll probably try and recirculate eventually as I don't like mucking around with garden hose and washing machine plus I'd rather have a mishap with a known quantity of water in my apartment.

Once the beast is under my control I'll be fermenting some batches of all bran to do some stripping runs and finally a spirit run for enjoyment.

This is a lot of work and a lot of fun! I forgot what it was like to have a hobby.

[Samohon]

Welcome to HD nezer...

Once you do your first AG beer/wort nothing else really compares. Any commercial beer/lager can be brewed with a little practice...
I really like Sierra Nevada and always have it on tap. It really makes doing an AG, malted/unmalted, for distillation is a lot easier IMO...

Good luck on your way forward...