Excited for the Journey into Distilling!

[AleByI]

Lived and brewed in the US before moving and living in Mexico for 3 years. It was near impossible to do any sort of home brew in that country due to lack of suppliers and cost of shipping including 20% import tax. My wife and I decided stretch our legs a bit more and make the move to Australia (her native country) and certainly not looking back.

Seems to be a wealth of information in the forum on distillation and I have a great deal of reading ahead.
Been considering the pro and cons over copper vs glass columns and leaning towards a 4 Inch Glass Column with Copper Bubbler Plates. I'd like to get a dedicated boiler, maybe an all-in-one system, so I can do brews separately.

Glad to be part of the community - cheers Bill

[Renhoekk]

Glass looks cool, but that’s about it. Hybrid stainless and copper systems give the best of both worlds. Welcome to the hobby.

[Rusty Ole Bucket]

Welcome to HD!

[AleByI]

Thx and appreciate the feedback.

[AleByI]

Welcome to HD!

thx Rusty!

[LWTCS]

Hi Bill,
Nice intro.
I disagree with the "glass looks cool but that's about it" comment.
The ability to observe your plate behavior from accross the room without having to peer into a relatively small sight glass is definitely a creature comfort that will provide immediate visual data that is very helpful to a new distiller.
Is it a requisite? Nope. Once you get a hand full of runs under your belt will you need the same visual data? Prolly not. Is it cool? Absolutely. Similar to starring at a camp fire or the like. Is there value in that? Sure there is.

[AleByI]

Hi Bill,
Nice intro.
I disagree with the "glass looks cool but that's about it" comment.
The ability to observe your plate behavior from accross the room without having to peer into a relatively small sight glass is definitely a creature comfort that will provide immediate visual data that is very helpful to a new distiller.
Is it a requisite? Nope. Once you get a hand full of runs under your belt will you need the same visual data? Prolly not. Is it cool? Absolutely. Similar to starring at a camp fire or the like. Is there value in that? Sure there is.

Much appreciated especially coming from a well seasoned moderator that sees all

[sadie33]

Hello and welcome!!

[Bradster68]

Welcome to the club . There's probably a recipe here for everything u mentioned.
Stay safe

[Yummyrum]

Welcome to the forum and to Aussie .

I believe they have made it next to impossible to get permanent residency here . So well done .
Heck , if you have the cash to pay off all the red tape collectors , buy what ever still you want .

So long as the boiler is less that 30us gallons

All the pretty does entice one in .
But good old Pot still and also a Thumper can do a good job too .

my pretty sits parked up in the corner of my shed watching the O’l school doing a fine job .

[bilgriss]

Welcome to the forum. You are in the right place. There's plenty of information on all your interests and styles and you'll find it all with some searching. The homebrewing experience was very helpful to me when I started, but there are also things to un-learn which are very important in beer but work against you or are unnecessary for distilled product.

[Black Bull]

Welcome mate, Both to the Forum and to "Stralya"
Be warned though.
Make sure ya strap a big assed board to your backside. might stop ya fallin head first down this wombat sized rabbit hole

My advice being 2 years or so along from where you are.
Try and buy something simple and second hand to start with.
Keep an eye on Facebook market place and the like.

Where you want to be and where you end up will most likely change.

Start small, and get your systems/methods established.
Unlike me.
I started with an old T500 style rig I bought for $50 did a few sugar washes and
dived into the rabbit hole head first whilst holding a cannon ball in each arm.
now I've got a great setup, but it's not ideal for what I want to do and I'm still falling down this damned rabbit hole.

With a background of doing grains, after you get your head around where you want to go,
I'd look into building a steam powered rig.
There's a few fantastic build threads here.

[AleByI]

I believe they have made it next to impossible to get permanent residency here . So well done .
Heck , if you have the cash to pay off all the red tape collectors , buy what ever still you want .
So long as the boiler is less that 30us gallons

thx Yummyrum
Came over on a tourist visa and had it immediately changed to a bridging visa which then changed over to permanent residency after application was approved - all inside of 8 months.
30L is perfect size as we are only using it to create flavor concentrates and a bit of essential oils extraction.

[AleByI]

Welcome mate, Both to the Forum and to "Stralya"
Be warned though.
Make sure ya strap a big assed board to your backside. might stop ya fallin head first down this wombat sized rabbit hole

My advice being 2 years or so along from where you are.
Try and buy something simple and second hand to start with.
Keep an eye on Facebook market place and the like.

Where you want to be and where you end up will most likely change.

Start small, and get your systems/methods established.
Unlike me.
I started with an old T500 style rig I bought for $50 did a few sugar washes and
dived into the rabbit hole head first whilst holding a cannon ball in each arm.
now I've got a great setup, but it's not ideal for what I want to do and I'm still falling down this damned rabbit hole.

With a background of doing grains, after you get your head around where you want to go,
I'd look into building a steam powered rig.
There's a few fantastic build threads here.

Excellent advise - keeping it small and keeping it simple - cheers mate

[AleByI]

Welcome to the forum. You are in the right place. There's plenty of information on all your interests and styles and you'll find it all with some searching. The homebrewing experience was very helpful to me when I started, but there are also things to un-learn which are very important in beer but work against you or are unnecessary for distilled product.

Never considered the un-learning aspect but now that you mentioned it I'll be mindful of the fact.
thx mate