I've made homemade beer, cider and wine over the years and am wanting to try my hand at distilling on a hobby level.
My goal is to create a great tasting whiskey that you can't find in the store, as well as have the capacity to make neutral from time to time. uncle jessies sour mash recipe sounds interesting for me to get me started.
I worked in the machine shop for several years and have collected a garage full of tools, including drills, torches, and a welder. I am currently sourcing out components to construct a 3" boka style column, using a 5 gal sanke keg as a boiler, heated by electric immersion elements.
I look forward to learning from others and becoming a member of the community.
hello from manitoba
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Re: hello from manitoba
Hello and welcome to HD, this is a great place to start your adventures in hobby distilling. Uncle Jesse's sour mash is a good one to start with. I to am a kraft brewer (beer) extract and AG, IPA, ales, reds and a few darks. Have fun and be safe
Fail to plan == plan to fail
Re: hello from manitoba
Welcome DickCup, making a great tasteing whisky is easy as long as you do the proper steps. First, go to crankys post in novices called a little spoon feeding for new distillers. Read ALL of it. After that go to tried and true and get an idea of what you want to make. I suggest you start out easy with either UJSSM or sweet feed, learn the basics and then go for broke! Enjoy the forums 

If you wear underwear then it's a dress!
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=62150 How I run a small still
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=62150 How I run a small still
Re: hello from manitoba
Welcome from a fellow Canadian. Just a tip. 5 gallon boiler is undersized for a 3 inch boka column. Try to get 15.5 gallon keg. You can always do a smaller run but you are really limiting yourself.
Also if you are going to build it yourself, make it modular. Since whiskey is your main attraction a flute would be your best piece of equipment. It's a bit of a learning curve, but by going modular with your boka (making the head and the packed section separate and connecting them with a triclamp) you can build your plates slowly over time, so you learn the basics and are ready when you want to step up your game.
Yak
Also if you are going to build it yourself, make it modular. Since whiskey is your main attraction a flute would be your best piece of equipment. It's a bit of a learning curve, but by going modular with your boka (making the head and the packed section separate and connecting them with a triclamp) you can build your plates slowly over time, so you learn the basics and are ready when you want to step up your game.
Yak
HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.