INTRO

[saltwatersaint]

Hello. I'm from north florida. In my early 30s and just getting started at it, brand new to distilling. Though not new to drinking "untaxed" liquor haha. Finally decided to try my hand because I'm fascinated by the history of it, as well as the concept of "grow your own, brew your own". Came to this site to supplement my learning, and get pointers where I can. As far as my rig, I bought a mile high distilling 13 gal torpedo reflux, 3" column 40 " tall. I run it with propane fire. I know some people have some bad things to say about this rig, and about buying one as opposed to building and what not. But this is the one I got so it's the one I'll be using. Have run two runs with it so far,both simple sugar washes and turbo just to begin getting aquainted with the process. I'm keeping a journal as well on everything. Lovin it so far, two months into it. I reckon this will do for an intro...

[Bushman]

Welcome, sounds like your heading in the right direction. If you haven't already check out some of the recipes in the Tried & True Recipe section. Good luck and be safe.

[dieselduo]

Welcome SWS I'm from Florida too. Enjoy the hobby !

[pfshine]

Welcome. Take your shoes off and take a walk around. Happy stillin and stay safe.

[Bigbob]

Welcome saltwatersaint, check out crankys post in novices called a little spoon feeding for new distillers. This is the one post you need to read. You might want to try something other than turbos too. Enjoy the forums!

[S-Cackalacky]

Welcome to the forums. I lived in FL for a bunch of years. Was all along the east coast from my teens to early adulthood - miss it sometimes. Come to think of it, I've lived in a bunch of places. Like the others said, do the reading and when you feel ready, check out the recipes in the tried and true section.

Good luck to you and stay safe.

[Truckinbutch]

Welcome . You have been given good advice .

[saltwatersaint]

Thanks for the hospitality fellas. I am reading the suggested threads you all are shooting me at (rules we live by,spoonfeed with links,etc...) and will continue untill I've completed all of it. Gotta kinda pace myself on the lengthy reading, I get stir crazy doing too much of it in one sitting haha. In the mean time, as i said, ive been running a few sugar washes to get aquainted with the process on the still and execute the steps ive been reading about. Cackalacky you mentioned checking out some of the tried and true recipes on the forum. Well that brings me to a question. I was wanting to try something a little different than a sugar wash but still on the real simple side, cause I'm more focused at the moment with learning the process than I am with trying to make a "quality" batch , because I know I'm nowhere near that yet. So I saw a recipe on the main part of this site,not the forum. It's under "grains" , and then the name of it is "brandon does a corn whiskey " or a corn something. Anyway, I'm guessing that this recipe is nothing special at all, but it seemed to have a little more character than a sugar wash to me. Plus I already had all the ingredients here, so I wanted to try it. But I wanted to ask if any of you had seen this one, and if it was "real" recipe that would work as listed pretty decently? Anyhow,sorry for the lengthy text.

[Bigbob]

Check out uncle jesses simple sour mash. Or sweet feed. Both are super simple, and as to quality...I feel my sweet feed is better then most regular bourbons (Jack, Jim bean etc). You love them!!!

[Truckinbutch]

Check out uncle jesses simple sour mash. Or sweet feed. Both are super simple, and as to quality...I feel my sweet feed is better then most regular bourbons (Jack, Jim bean etc). You love them!!!

I second that suggestion . Nobody turns mine down . Especially when they get to the sour mash stages . Very cheap grain bills , too , when you do multiple generations .

[saltwatersaint]

I looked at that one yesterday, and def planned on trying them. Thing is, like I said I've already got all the stuff this particular recipe called for, plus it was just a one run mash done his way. That's why I was gonna give it a shot first. Just wondering if that recipe I mentioned sounded firm.

[Bigbob]

Just found it under moonshine recipes, its basicly a UJSSM. Should work.

[saltwatersaint]

Big Bob thanks for takin the time to look it over for me. Much abliged.

[HDNB]

brandon does a corn whiskey is basically the first sweet run of UJSSM.

SSDD. the Uj recipe will just keep the drive alive and save you some bucks on yeast. it's a little ( a 125 pages or so) better documented so you may find a lot of answers there that can help!

UJ gets a better flavour as you go through some generations too!

[Truckinbutch]

brandon does a corn whiskey is basically the first sweet run of UJSSM.

SSDD. the Uj recipe will just keep the drive alive and save you some bucks on yeast. it's a little ( a 125 pages or so) better documented so you may find a lot of answers there that can help!

UJ gets a better flavour as you go through some generations too!

+1 . Until generations start stalling because of ph or yeast toxicity issues it just keeps getting better .

[saltwatersaint]

Man you guys are awesome

[Truckinbutch]

Man you guys are awesome

Not at all . We just came here to learn and the Masters mentored us . It is our obligation and passion to pass what we got from them along .

[S-Cackalacky]

+1 on the UJSSM recipe. There's an abridged version of the recipe stickied near the top of the "Tried and True Recipes" section. It's a good simple starter recipe and will also give you a decent overview of all the processes necessary to produce some damned tasty likker.

The SF (Sweet Feed) recipe is also very good and much the same process as the UJ recipe. Some folks have a difficult time finding the pre-mixed SF grain and opt to mix their own - equal proportions of corn, oats, and barley (cob) with some molasses or brown sugar added. Last I checked, there is no abridged version of the SF recipe and it's a very long read.

One disadvantage to using a recipe from the Parent site is that you don't have the discussion to go along with it. Many of the quirks and pitfalls involved in running a recipe are hashed out in the discussion threads. It would be a great advantage to you, as a beginner, to use one of the recipes in the "Tried and True Recipes" section.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[saltwatersaint]

Thanks for all the feedback. Well received. One question I do have, as I have dug into every topic discussing foreshots but can't seem to find this question answered , is this : Being a beginner on my first two runs, I am working back and forth with the heat/flame as the run is starting , trying to get my temp and drip right (not too fast or slow). Well , I know of course that I have my certain amount of initial mL to discard as foreshots. Well, being a beginner working with my heat at the start of a run, I may pull back down on it to slow it, and then my drip/stream stalls for a moment. Maybe 20-30 seconds max let's say. Well when that happens, does my foreshots measurement start over because of the stall in flow? Meaning I have to wait for another foreshots count? And please explain the answer if possible. As well as what time limit WOULD cause my foreshots count to start over.

[woodshed]

Fores are about smell and feel which comes with time and lots of runs. I suggest leaving the heat alone until you feel and smell you are out of fores then slow it down.

I push my fores and heads out as quickly as possible then adjust for hearts collection. I run reflux columns so my protocol will be for my stills (which have different likes and needs) different but even if I was running a pot, and do set up that way on occasion, I always adjust heat after fores/heads collection.

This thread is moving way beyond an intro. You may want to start a new thread in the appropriate board as often many do not respond to intros. I only did cause I like your moniker.

[pfshine]

No you don't need to start over. Just do the cuts. Fores heads hearts and tails. Collect in small jars then separate using smell and feel. After airing them for a day smell and taste to decide cuts and blending.

[saltwatersaint]

Oh ok, sorry. I was under the impression that I could only ask questions in my intro page untill I had been approved to go onto the regular threads. Someone had explained it in a way where I took it like that. And then I saw other new people asking questions in their intro section so I was convinced haha. I'll search for the right spot from now on.

[woodshed]

No reason for sorry I just want you to get the most out of your questions.

[HDNB]

fores are about a quantity of undesirables that boil off at lower temps, first. once they are gone...they are (pretty much) gone. some amounts will smear into the heads, and that's why folks cut them (heads, as feints) and re-run them. by the time you get to hearts the quantity of undesirables has been reduced to negligible amounts...that's why you keep them.


having the temperature of your vapour go up and down is going to cause smearing, and the cuts will be more difficult...as the fores/heads will extend further into the hearts of the run.

if it cooled completely say overnight, and you restarted, any (small amount) of residual fores would be the first out again, but it would be a small amount likely. if you experience stillus interruptus you may want to just consider any take off after that (the restart) to be feints, to be re-run again...because they will be heavily smeared.

kiwistillers guides to cuts in the novice distiller thread will help you immensely.

[rad14701]

You're still trying to rush and do question and answer rather than doing the required research... The community isn't doing you any favors by spoonfeeding you because you need the answers to questions you don't even know you have before you have them... Just telling it the way I'm seeing it here...

Not to mention that this is a Welcome Center topic so it needs to stay one... Recipe and distillation help belongs elsewhere...

[saltwatersaint]

Hdnb that was an awesome and informative answer, that's what I was looking for. Thanks. And to Rad14701, I said my apology for the welcome center topics misunderstanding a few posts ago. We got that covered.

[Bushman]

Don't see any new Welcomes so best lock this thread and ask questions in the appropriate areas.

Oh ok, sorry. I was under the impression that I could only ask questions in my intro page untill I had been approved to go onto the regular threads. Someone had explained it in a way where I took it like that. And then I saw other new people asking questions in their intro section so I was convinced haha. I'll search for the right spot from now on.

Wrong forum information!