Been distilling for about 2 years now. Steep learning curve, but I started this hobby in an interesting way. Ive been wanting to learn more skills to produce things that are useful around the house and generally just be a little more self sustainable. It began with wanting to learn how to make vinegar strangely enough, which meant I needed to learn how to make hard cider first. Once I got the initial hang of yeast fermentation I built a continuous vinegar fermenter and use that to convert a max of about 2 gallons/month of 6-7% acetic acid, mainly as a dietary aid for my families livestock. After this I got interested in ethanol production for small engine fuel, while sampling along the way
, which leads me to this post.I run a modular column that includes a pot still setup for stripping, and well as a reflux column for spirit runs. Strictly seeking as close to azeo neutrals as possible for the time being, and doing sugar washes (mainly all bran and tpw), but grain and/or tubers will likely be next (long term dream would be growing and harvesting jerusalem artichokes for conversion to fuel).
My current reflux column is a packed 3" LM, 60" tall, on a 16 gallon boiler. I wont post often, as this forum has many lifetimes worth of knowledge to mine already. To those who have contributed much, words cannot express my gratitude! To the admins, you run a fantastic forum! Thank you all, this is always the first and often the only place that I look to for answers to my questions.
See you around!
