Howdy all

[Selvagem]

I'm a little late in posting here, since I hit some of the other forum areas first. I suppose I've been reading these forums for so long that I forgot nobody here actually knows me.

I've been homebrewing beer, cider & mead for 20+ years, and I've been thinking of doing this for at least 10 years. I live in Missouri now, but I'm originally from Texas, where I occasionally partook of some really excellent shine. I don't know anyone here who does it. Probably just running in the wrong crowds So, I guess I started because I can't get it otherwise. Same reason I bought a big ass smoker...there is some very good barbecue to be had in this part of the country, but they absolutely screw up brisket. I started missing TX brisket, so I make it myself now. I know nobody's going to show up at a party with a jar of shine they way they used to in TX, so I'll be the one to bring it.

Bought an 8 gallon pot still, and so far have only done the cleaning and sacrificial runs. I have two washes fermenting now, one AG barley-only, and one barley+corn meal. Add that to the 10 gallons of oatmeal stout and 5 gallons of last fall's Pawpaw fruit mead, and it's been years since I had so many full fermenters at one time. I picked up a 50lb bag of cracked corn the other day, plus enough sugar to run several batches of UJSSM, once I run the first two washes. After that, I'll start messing around with rum.

Looking forward to it, and to learning more from you all.

[texashine]

A big Texas howdy, Selvagem.
I jump in occasionally to welcome newbees and throw in a bit of my knowledge. I've been doing this for a long, long time. You've got a pretty small still but it's big enough to have some fun with. Don't expect to get more than about 1 pint of hearts out of each run. If I may say so, you have jumped into this head first, like a lot of folks, and want to create all the drinks you have been anticipating and imagining. I suggest you focus on one recipe at a time, though so that you can learn what not to do. To begin with, decide whether or not you want to duplicate the real old timer's recipe or take advantage of a few things they did not have available. First, will it be no sugar, or with sugar, since you can do it either way. You probably don't have a cool running spring or stream to germinate a bag of corn in, so my guess is you will choose to add sugar. You already know most of the secrets on fermentation from your brewing knowledge and that gives you a head start on most.

You should learn early that you are going to capture a liquid that is like rocket fuel, without very much good flavor. The initial flavor comes from the background taste of the water coming from the mash or wash. It will either be very subtle or overbearing and nasty. The flavor will then be enhanced and modified when you learn how to age it. There is no comparison between new white shine and aged shine. It goes from rocket fuel to angels choice.

You need to decide if you want to create a absolutely neutral drink, like good vodka or good everclear that can be artificially flavored in many ways. If you want this, then you are going to use a reflux still. I would be classified as a dyed in the wool pot still shiner myself for many reasons, but to each his own. A lot of beginners get all silly to create the damnedest rigs that seem better suited for the space shuttle than making moonshine, and no doubt they have a lot of fun creating an object that ain't worth a hoot. The best shiners focus on their preferred recipe more than anything else for a good reason: they want a good, dependable product.

I guarantee that you are surrounded by loads of experienced moonshiners, they just don't advertise it. And, regardless of what anyone says, there is no edible brisket other than that which comes from Texas. Anything else is simply cooked dead cow. About 40 years ago, I put on a barbecue for my rich neighbors in Washington DC. All of the women and most of the men winced when they found out they were about to be served brisket, since everyone knows that is a piece of meat they buy to boil for their precious poodles. They filed by my carving board and demanded the smallest piece. Just about three inches square on the average. Had to be polite, ya know! Shortly later, here they were for seconds, for about a pound this time. I'm glad I had 6 big briskets because they turned into absolute pigs. Pigs that knew no bounds. Just goes to show that no one but a Texan knows how to do brisket.

Good luck. You're gonna have a lot of fun and the novelty will never wear off.

[Selvagem]

Thanks for the good advice, Texashine! Totally agree on the brisket thing. Around here, they cut all the bark off it, then slice it super thin, like sandwich meat. What the hell? When people come to my house for a bbq the first time, it knocks their socks off.

I don't feel like I'm jumping in super fast, but I probably am. I've been reading the forums heavily for about six months--and sporadically much longer than that--, and before that I read every book on the subject I could find. I did it the same way with brewing, so instead of going through the usual evolution of stovetop extract brewing to all grain, my first batch was a 10 gallon AG, with all homemade equipment modeled after Bill Owens' How to Build a Small Brewery. My first batch was good enough that I was proud to share it with friends, but I know that won't be the case with this hobby--there's just too much that can only be learned by doing it.
My sac run yielded about 2 liters of hearts (based on smell alone--I didn't drink it), but the wash was a higher abv than I'll typically have by fairly wide margin. I'm not looking to produce large volumes, nor do I want to make high proof, neutral spirits. Just whiskey, and eventually rum.

I forgot to mention my thinking behind doing multiple recipes. My plan is to make the following runs:

-One all barley, single run
-One barley + corn meal, single run
-One UJSSM, single run (I know, it won't be sour mash with just one run)
-Then, single run of each again, but with feints and backset
-Then, double run of each one (low wines & spirit run).

After that, I figure I'll be familiar enough with the three of them to pick one that I want to focus on for perfecting the oaking process.

[TDS]

Welcome!
Keep at it!
Cheers!