somewhere in the woods

Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper 8)

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deer_farmer
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somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

still site deep in the woods-20 gallon with thumper
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bearriver
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by bearriver »

Yours?

She's purdy...
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Da Yooper
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Da Yooper »

Very nice set up :thumbup:
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Halfbaked
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Halfbaked »

Gotta say real nice. Did you make it? Hows she drive?
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Cu pipe
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Cu pipe »

I wish my woods looked like that.....
Very nice.....
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more than I speak and notice more than you realize.....
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

it made for me,i not run it yet.it is a huge job to set up a still site in the woods to get everything needed so it will operate as it should.i slowly getting site ready,next big job is getting 20 gallons of mash to the site.
so this will be my first run as the old timers did it,i run my other still at the house.the tradition of a copper still with a thumper in the woods is what it is about.i feel for the old time distillers that roughed it the wild.nothing is easy and the reward will be much greater.
so many of us run our stills on the oven,in the garage or in the fenced in backyard getting away from the true roots of those have walked before us.i want carry on the tradition of moonshining as it was in the past and try to stay on the path they paved for us.
I hope to have my mash clear Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and operating my still deep in the woods.all work is done by myself with no help from others,kinda like 3 can keep a secret if 2 are dead.i post updates of the operation.
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W Pappy
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by W Pappy »

Nice rig friend it would be nice to run a rig in the woods be safe have fun.
Buy the ticket and ride the lightnin boys !!!
Impatience is the root of all bad things in my book of makin likker!
The sound of a thumper is the heart beat of the rebel" Warden Pappy"
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335Guy
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by 335Guy »

Sweet lookin' rig!

Have fun, but be careful out there...
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Halfbaked
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Halfbaked »

Hay deer farmer don't forget to do your 3 step cleaning. Id hate to see you do all that effort and get sick or waste a good mash. I'd make your mash right there at the sight and leave it there. The old timers had the best temp control in the world for their mash. If the mash was something they didn't want to get that hot they would dig a hold in the ground and put their ferment barrel in it and they put . The hotter it is the deeper it was. Keeps your mash cooler. If I was moving anything I would move that still. It won't weigh much and setup not should be easy. In my area if someone sees it, one of my neighbors be makin likkker
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

I have ran the vinegar and water and plan to to do it again then i boil water through it.mash not clear and temp has been close to 80 the whole time.i in a woods that nobody go into and i know it secured.
it a 20 gallon and will be full to the shoulder and thumper will be charged as well.would any member here give me a rough estimate on how long the run will take to complete?mash it at 10-12% and i wait for it to clear.i going to pour it through cheesecloth then transport it to still.i think 4 gallons a trip i can handle.it a rum wash,i also just started the corn syrup any honey mash,i thought about adding some light malt but didn't add it this time.i used a distillers yeast that needed nutrients added.more on that later.

do other moonshiners go into the woods?where are some places members here would run their stills?i would like to hear about some other still sites...thanks for the kind comments on my still.
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Red Rim
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Red Rim »

At first, I used my back deck. Then I moved to the garage.

If a person isn't a good enough friend to keep from ratting you out, they are not a good enough friend to have.
Besides, siphoning my wash into my boiler is already enough work! I am way to lazy to pack 20 gallons into the woods, and this comes from a guy that runs marathons for entertainment!
There is no such thing as a stupid question....... Unless you didn't research it first.
StillLearning1
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by StillLearning1 »

I would feel much more vulnerable in the woods than in the shed in my back yard. No random people wandering through my yard where as the woods are a different story. People tend to get "confused" as to who's land they are on. Specially during hunting season or if there's is a pond near by.
But what the heck do I know.....I am still learning.
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

I am only person that walks my woods.its more than just making shine its tradition and I going to follow it.i aint got nothing against shining on the back deck I made my 1st runs in the living room.
humans just don't go to this place.this is just 20 or so feet away from the site,it is thick and secluded.i do thank the good folks here for their concern for my safety.
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HDNB
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by HDNB »

great photograph.

nice to have your own wood.

I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know
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now i drink for evil.
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W Pappy
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by W Pappy »

Yea if your a deer farmer your woods is fenced so you got it made.Hard to trespass when there's a high fence in your way lol.
Buy the ticket and ride the lightnin boys !!!
Impatience is the root of all bad things in my book of makin likker!
The sound of a thumper is the heart beat of the rebel" Warden Pappy"
StillLearning1
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by StillLearning1 »

W Pappy wrote:Yea if your a deer farmer your woods is fenced so you got it made.Hard to trespass when there's a high fence in your way lol.

Try telling me that back in my high school days when I had a fishing rod in my hand! Lol. Man I can't believe I never got shot!
But what the heck do I know.....I am still learning.
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

that would be a good place in a fenced area,in the deer pens there is not very much green growing.deer are eaters as a goat is,they eat everything green.not safe to distill with large wild animals in the same pen.
I just seeing what it like to follow tradition.if your still is in your yard it is yur still,if it a still in the woods and it found and you are not it anybody still.but I have not seen any human in my woods for over 27 years...I hope to have good update soon.
Last edited by deer_farmer on Fri Jun 20, 2014 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

it raining today,so I start in the morning.. :thumbup:
Young_Blood
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Young_Blood »

Very nice setup . Crazy thing... It literally looks just like mine !
Just a bit smaller .
Wish I could be outside , but I'm in a neighborhood with no woods close by.
Looking to move in the near future so hopefully I'm blessed with a homestead that had some land !
Btw.... Love your outlook on distilling. Wish more people in this world had the passion that you do.
Dan P.
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Dan P. »

How are you going to get running water into your condenser? It looks too small to work without it.
Dan P.
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Dan P. »

deer_farmer wrote: so this will be my first run as the old timers did it,i run my other still at the house.the tradition of a copper still with a thumper in the woods is what it is about.i feel for the old time distillers that roughed it the wild.nothing is easy and the reward will be much greater.
Romantic but wildly inconvenient unless you have to. Don't feel bad if you go back on this after a couple of sessions of getting eaten by bugs, etc.
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

I have the luxury of water to the back of the property.i just needed 3 100ft garden hoses to get to the site from there.i ran them back the drainage ditch.as for the bugs they small and really don't bother me after I sprayed the area with some skeeter killer.
it cloudy and overcast here today,mash not as clear as I would like it so I going to hold off until tomorrow morning,it going to be nice.went fishing today and we only caught 2 small bass.have ribs on the grill now.
so anyone have an idea how long it going to take to run that 20 gallon stiil with the thumper?
Dan P.
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Dan P. »

deer_farmer wrote: so anyone have an idea how long it going to take to run that 20 gallon stiil with the thumper?
It depends on the ABV and also, unsurprisingly, on how fast you run it. If you are "single footing" it, as our esteemed colleague goose eye calls it, then don't be in a rush with your twenty gallons. Somewhere between 5 and 10 hours??? But really, it's impossible to tell.
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Truckinbutch
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Truckinbutch »

Like the rest say , it all depends . When I was stillin I charged boiler with 12 gal and thumper with 6 gal of wash for a strip run . 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hrs from fire lit to fire off at 20% for a strip run .
If you ain't the lead dog in the team , the scenery never changes . Ga Flatwoods made my avatar and I want to thank him for that .
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Justafarmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Justafarmer »

I've only got a few runs under my belt, but I prefer to run my set-up in the woods. If it looks like rain, I'll set up in my shed, but I like the woods better. I set up in really thick palmetto undergrowth that's close enough to an artesian well for my condenser water. I like the nostalgia, and, like everybody else said, I don't know anything about a still in the woods.
goose eye
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by goose eye »

First thang you do is set fire and suet up the outside
Of your outfit.

So I'm tole
Dan P.
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Dan P. »

goose eye wrote:First thang you do is set fire and suet up the outside
Of your outfit.

So I'm tole
Suet??
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by goose eye »

Ole boys finally got there own outfit they was young. They
Was proud of that thang they shined the heck out of it.
they showed there pa a only thang he said was it sure is shiney.
well it was fall they set it up on a branch an was gonna charge it later.
well they on away from it an you could see it shinein for a ways evens with
It all camo up. Well they got that thang an set a fire to it
to soot it up. Then they took it back.
ain't sure how many of y'all been in a chopper or such but up there
there you can see real good. Now if dope is growled around there you best
keep your wits about you cause they gonna be flying.

So I'm tole
Dan P.
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by Dan P. »

I sooted up mine. I don't do the do outdoors, but the people who did it back in the old days always had black pots, so I figured mine should be too.
"Milk from the black cow"!
deer_farmer
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Re: somewhere in the woods

Post by deer_farmer »

UPDATE:
run went great,just a wild whitetail doe was lurking around.i really not exposed to any open air,i in heavy cover it a
good set up.
it was nice being out in the woods.skeeters were not a problem at all.
gonna do it again real soon. :D :D :D
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