Hello from Pa

[JV_n_BV]

Hi everyone, JV here... the hubby and I have been researching and talking about taking up this hobby for awhile now so I surprised him and bought him a little three gallon still for Christmas. I have never got a reaction from him on any gift I have ever given him but his eyes lit up when he opened this one (and I was so excited I forgot to take a picture). I'm not actually sure how good this little thing is going to work but there is only one way to find out. So on the night before New Year's eve we drove over an hour to our "local" brew store and got the supplies we needed to get started. We spent New Year's eve making our first batches, each of us with a five gallon bucket and kind of competition style. We decided to try using apples since the great tasting apple pie shine I bought for Christmas was still a topic of conversation with the family and I still had a ton of them left over from canning. Now they are both bubbling away in the closet and we are waiting anxiously for them to stop so we can have our "cook off".

I'm glad I found this site. This is our first attempt and I'm sure we will have plenty of questions as we go. Oh and no worries, we won't be going to George for any answers. We ran across that guy on YouTube and didn't trust his way of doing things to say the least. If you need to teach someone patience though, just make them sit through one of his videos.

[Corsaire]

Haha great intro, sounds like you're well underway.

Be sure to do cleaning runs on your still, and after that read cranky's recipes on apple brandy.

Enjoy your hobby together, slightly jealous as my wife is only interested in the finished gins

[JV_n_BV]

Thanks, we have ran vinegar through it once and I may do it again today just to get to know it a bit better. I am so glad my husband and I are both enjoying this. It only took us 13 years to figure out something we both like to do. I am in the gin fan club as well.

[Corsaire]

I find the sacrificial run more informative. You get to use your still under real life conditions but don't have to worry about the quality of the product since you'll toss it anyway. See how it reacts to heat inputs and all that jazz.
What kind of still did you end up with?

[JV_n_BV]

Agreed... I think I just like toying with it while we wait. It's just one of those little stove top three gallon pot stills. I don't really imagine it will do much but I figured small is a good way to get the hang of it without wasting a bunch of money on learning to make larger batches. I read the reviews and most were really good. We will most likely get into something a bit bigger once we're a bit more schooled at the technique. Also, I'm about as competitive as they come so these little competitions are right up my alley. I'm going to crush him...lol.

[thecroweater]

You guys are most welcome here, gin is very doable depending on ya still a bit, and if you guys really get into this hobby you can always build a new still down the track

[Tummydoc]

The 3 gallon will become your small gin finishing still when you upgrade in size. Dont get too discouraged on taste from that small still. You get larger volumes of better separated spirits from a larger still. I thought my product was fine on a 5 gallon still.....until I stepped up to 15 gallon and knew what fine was!!

[JV_n_BV]

Thanks y'all... we are so excited to get started. My bucket is bubbling more than his but I added a bag of cranberries and a few of those cutie oranges to mine where his is just apples and cinnamon sticks, so I'm pretty sure that is why. By the sounds of it though, his seems like it will be ready before mine. It has been nine days so far and I'm ready to run!

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Do not run the apple first through the still. You need to clean the still with a throw away ferment. Let the apple ferment sit fir a little while. It will keep. Make a throw away one while you wait and learn.

Welcome neighbor.

[LWTCS]

Yep, your outfit will behave much differently with an alcohol charge.

Welcome.

[JV_n_BV]

Thanks for the info y'all. I had read about that. I'm not sure if it does the same thing or not but we had some left over cheap wine from New Year's eve and we ran that through last night. I was going to pour it out and a light bulb went off. Do y'all think I should still make a throw away batch or will that be enough? If not, I'm off to the store for some bran cereal...lol.

[LWTCS]

Sure. Cheap wine is just fine for your sacrificial run.

[JV_n_BV]

Kewl... sounds like we're all set then. Thanks so much for your help.

[madspeed]

Welcome fellow PA'er