Brand new to the sport...

[NWSHINE]

Very wet behind the ears!

After taking on a bit of a competition with my brother in law to see who can make the best whiskey in a year, I started reading... The first book I read was "The Kings County Distillery Guide To Urban Moonshining" by Colin Spoelman and David Haskell. Good book. Not the most technical read in the world, but still a great book to get ones interests up. I also found "The Compleat Distiller" by Nixon and McCaw to be helpfull.

After a bit of research I went crazy and ordered a 6 section 4" copper flute from Mile Hi. I'm sure this may be frowned on by some of the more handy guys in the group, but with a combination of a lack of skills and free time, ordering was the best option for me. I feel like I jumped into the deep end of the pool. The learning curve on this thing has been a challenge, but I think I am getting the hang of it. My first batch of mash was an all grain recipe that I found in that first book I read. Cracked corn, malted barley, water, and yeast. Some 16gal of it. I put about 14gal of it into the boiler and I think I got lucky, as that first mash turned out 3gal at 50%. However it all tasted like crap...

I had a friend explain to me that I could recycle the once used grains by pouring sugar water over the grain and letting that ferment. That didn't work so great, probably something I did wrong. It only yielded 2gal at a combined 45%. Is this method of reusing once used grains a good idea?

As you can probably tell from these numbers I was running my still all wrong. I had a hard time maintaining reflux, my knowledge of how to properly operate the still was next to none. I would be very interested in some specific instructions on the best way to run this Mile Hi flute. The folks at Mile Hi were not able to provide anything due to legal concerns, I understand that. But I suppose here, we are all felons... And beyond the point of legal concerns ; )

Just this last Saturday I combined all of my product along with some extra water to my boiler and cooked it again. This time with much better success. I guess that's the point, improvement.
I started with 94% at a rate of 8oz per cut every 8 min. I don't know if that is too fast or too slow of a rate, but the still stayed quite balanced and held above 92 percent for about 20 cuts before very quickly dropping of to 0. I don't know if it is normal to collect down to that low, but part of it was my own ceriosity with my equipment.
The taste of this product is quite good, the hearts are very clean.

I did read a post in the forum by Mash Rookie, "Dispelling a myth, why you can make whiskey in a reflux column" this was very helpful in many ways. Thank you to all of the veterans of the craft who are willing to share their experiences and knowledge with us new guys. I very much appreciate it!

A couple of things I would like some direction with if anyone can help:
-Some specific instructions on how to operate a Mile Hi flute. I'm sure there are some specifics from one flute to the next. Any help in the proper/most efficient way to run this thing would be great
-Mixing, I did read a nice analogy about "alphabet soup" here in the forum, that helped me better understand the concept, but a little more help on combining these cuts for good flavor would be cool. I feel like I have some ok product in these 20some jars and don't want to screw it up with poor mixing.

So glad I found this group, I can tell it will be very helpful in my efforts to learn this art form. I am looking forward to hanging out here and looking in on the conversations. At this point I'm sure I have nothing to offer, apart from some stupid questions... But over time I hope that will change.

Thank you in advance!
From the state of Oregon.
GO BEAVERS!

[Bob Loblaw]

Welcome from another resident of the upper left corner! I'm no expert on flute operation, building one myself. Based on your comments, it sounds like you might benefit from reading some of the basic material on the parent site. I'm sure others will chime in with specific reco's

FWIW, I hope you had that MH still sent to somebody else's address. There have been a lot of posts about users who purchased from them receiving notices from the TTB.

[bearriver]

I had a friend explain to me that I could recycle the once used grains by pouring sugar water over the grain and letting that ferment. That didn't work so great, probably something I did wrong. It only yielded 2gal at a combined 45%. Is this method of reusing once used grains a good idea?

Fine idea, he just forgot to tell you to add sugar water not just water. Dissolve 1-2 pounds of sugar per gallon. 1 would be better. Then cool the water to pitch temp and dump it in the fermenter. No need to add yeast as it's in the trub you left in the fermenter after racking your first AG. This makes a sugarhead faux-whiskey. Very nice indeed.

If you read the links in my signature which is considered mandatory reading, then I guarantee 100% that you will make far better whiskey over someone who did not. (You both have the same starting knowledge base I presume). Also "How to Brew" by John Palmer is a free online book, and will also be very helpful for understanding the science behind making an all grain spirit.

In those HD links you will find instructions on how to run a CM still, and definitions of what a CM still even is. You will find many other things you need to know in there as well.

Have fun, and good luck

[S-Cackalacky]

Welcome to the HD forums. There's some reading in my signature about what can happen when you buy from a commercial manufacturer. Wish they would warn you up front when you buy one, but then it would be detrimental to their profit motivation.

About mixing your cuts - there's a good stickied topic over in the "New Distiller's Reading Lounge" about making cuts. A link to that forum and a couple others you should read are also found in my signature.

Good luck to you and stay safe.

Posted while Bearriver was posting.

[S-Cackalacky]

You said you got 3 gallons from a 14 gallon wash charge and 2 gallons from a sugar head wash. My guess is that you are using a turbo yeast in your ferment? Three gallons at 50% ABV from a 14 gallon charge seems like a lot from even a stripping run. We're all about quality over quantity here on the forums. Take a look at some of the recipes in the "Tried and True Recipes" section and stay away from turbo yeast.

[NWSHINE]

Thanks for the links guys!
I have and plan to continue to stay away from turbo yeast. My understanding is that the product from it is of a lower quality.
About the purchased still... I too wish I had known about the notifications prior to my order. At this point the deed is done. I keep it clean and disassembled. But the truth is, if the US wants to bust me they will. An inherent risk of the hobby.