New to distilling and learning quicky

[stilltheone]

Hello all,
I'm Steve from Michigan and I'm a novice distiller. I got my first still for Christmas as a present from my wife. It's not huge by any means, only 6 quarts, from moonshine stills co., the "little red". I been brewing beer for 25 years, got into wine 4 years ago, so it's only natural to start distilling. Looking forward to talking to everyone here and willing to learn this exciting and delicious trade.

[FullySilenced]

Welcome! Enjoy your visit here with us... MAKE SURE YOU READ THE REQUIRED INFORMATION

Welcome to the forum... Please read the forum rules and regulations, safety tips and the new distillers section when you can... this may help you get a few questions answered early...

I also have links in my signature line... Last link is for some basic still designs make sure you look at those...

Happy Stillin,

FS

Give this post a read will help you a lot...

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975

[MichiganCornhusker]

Hello all,
I'm Steve from Michigan and I'm a novice distiller. I got my first still for Christmas as a present from my wife. It's not huge by any means, only 6 quarts, from moonshine stills co., the "little red". I been brewing beer for 25 years, got into wine 4 years ago, so it's only natural to start distilling. Looking forward to talking to everyone here and willing to learn this exciting and delicious trade.

Welcome, Steve. There was some discussion recently here on these forums about the smallest still that could produce a decent spirit. 6 quarts would definitely fall near the "too small to really work" size. Hopefully your experience will be a good one, though. If nothing else, it will get your foot stuck in the distilling door and you may catch the fever.

This site is your best bet for honest, dependable info for how to become a first rate distiller. Beware anything you see elsewhere on the internet, especially on Youtube! Lots of misinformation out there, these guys are the best. The link FullySilenced provide is the best place to start reading to get a handle on what you are getting into. Please read up before using your still, there are many important things you really should know that probably are not covered in whatever driver's manual may have come with your still.

One comment, first off, if your still is set up like the one in this pic, you will at least need to reconfigure it to get that collection point as far as possible away from your heat source, not as close as possible, as they seem to have made it. Just seeing that pic makes me nervous for all the people buying the stills that are flooding the market right now.

Little Red:

p.s. As this was a gift, I just want to make sure you know 2 things: Distilling spirits in Michigan, any amount, for any reason, is illegal. Second, because that still was purchased (not built by you), your name, or your wife's if she purchased it, could end up on a list that the manufacturer may be required to share with uncle sam. There is a good thread on here about the letters that have been sent out to some folks. Not trying to instill fear, just want to make sure you are aware before having as much fun as we all are.

[stilltheone]

I agree with what you are saying about the collection point on the still, and yes that's the one pictured, the collection point can be rotated because the tubing to the coil are all slip fittings. I like the still because I can take it anywhere and make spirts. We have a brew club meeting once a month and the still was the hit of the meeting. Now we are thinking of recipes for the next meetings. The reason I got this still is that I looked for a still around $300.00, that's what my wife and I agreed on for gift limits.

[moosemilk]

First you told your brewing club, and brought with you. Not a real good thing to do. Stilling should be like having a mistress, keep it between the two of you or you'll end up in front of a judge getting really fucked.

Second, on a still that small, would probably be easiest to make a bunch of strip runs, then make very small cuts on a spirit run.

Best of luck and welcome.

[thisguy]

You could build a bigger one for that money. Alot of people on here will advocate building your own for a few reasons. One being you built it, so you know all its strengths, weaknesses, ins and outs....etc....

And second, we post about stilling on the interwebz. It's not that anonymous. People really want to find out who we are, I'm sure it's not that hard cause I'm guessing these posts are traceable. If not, that's pretty damn cool. That being said, it is a felony. Best not to blab about it.

The still your wife bought you is pretty though. I'd just fiddle around with wine runs until you get the hang of it. Or since you brew you can use some of your beer. When you get far enough in and want a bigger one it'll make a good piece for your man cave

[MichiganCornhusker]

moosemilk's advice is great: lots of stripping runs to gather up enough low wines for a decent spirit run. That will give you lots of opportunity to learn some of the ins and outs for making spirits.

If you find you enjoy it, you will no doubt want something larger soon. By then you will probably have found out that you can make a larger, more functional still for less than that one cost.

If you've enjoyed brewing for that long, you will probably really enjoy making spirits. It is a fascinating and rewarding hobby. It is more involved than homebrewing, and there is limitless amounts of information on this site about how to do it. Be sure to read up before firing that thing up. Be safe, and good luck.

[Truckinbutch]

First you told your brewing club, and brought with you. Not a real good thing to do. Stilling should be like having a mistress, keep it between the two of you or you'll end up in front of a judge getting really fucked.

Second, on a still that small, would probably be easiest to make a bunch of strip runs, then make very small cuts on a spirit run.

Best of luck and welcome.

I agree . There's some things ought to be done after dark and damned little said about them .

[MoonBreath]

Welcome to HD!
Hope you enjoy the required readn ...That's a cute little still you got there ..
Its your first ..If you get addicted, it won't be your last ..Nice conversation piece.
5gal of wash will go a long way ...Good Luck, Happy New Year!
Please post when you run that thang.

[stilltheone]

Thank you everyone for all your advice, I will take that misstress comment under advisement. I agree about making something bigger for the same amount, I wanted to get something functioning to start with and then work into a nicer still. Sure looks nice onthe shelf in my brewhaus!.

[TBT]

I'm from MI too. I could be wrong, so please look it up. To my understanding the permit to distill fuel is $2,000 in MI. if you want to Distill spirits in MI it's like $100. I thought that was odd because the Federal fuel permit is free. Please let me know if you find the same information. I'm a newbie as well.

[Bushman]

I'm from MI too. I could be wrong, so please look it up. To my understanding the permit to distill fuel is $2,000 in MI. if you want to Distill spirits in MI it's like $100. I thought that was odd because the Federal fuel permit is free. Please let me know if you find the same information. I'm a newbie as well.

That does seem peculiar but the tax later on the alcohol produced will more than make up for it! Also in my state there are 2 permits and the agricultural one is much cheaper.

[TBT]

Here's a link that talks about the Michigan laws.
http://americanhomedistillers.com/home- ... -michigan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow