Hello

[GoDawgs]

Hi,

New to distilling. NZ based. Have an airstill pro and more recently bought a homemade 25l keg still column still.

Using air still pro. Made two batches of absinthe which have worked out well though only ever tried one commercial one. Two gins which have been average.

Intrigued about growing ingredients. Attempting to grow wormwood, anise, hyssop, fennel, angelica, yuzu. Trying track down sloe tree.

Future projects.

1. DIY Underberg ( German digestif)
2. Gins with unusual ingredients such as yuzu, schisandra, etc
3. Aromatic Bitters

Finding the airstill pro not producing enough neutral spirit for projects hence the keg still.

Spent a good amount on stainless welding on still and wondering if worth pursuing. Still needs more mods.

Looking to learn more about running a reflux still for max ABV and purity, making better cuts, and if worth filtering.

Don’t filter and pretty aggressive with cut so yields not great. Need to calibrate.

Lots to learn.

Cheers

[sadie33]

Hello and welcome!! I looked into growing an absinth garden as well. I like absinth, but we don't drink a ton of it. Still, it would be cool to grow your own ingredients. I found a place that sold all the plants needed, but I didn't finish the research to see if they would all grow in my zone.

[JustinNZ]

G’day mate. Sounds like you’re on a mission! Good luck.

[Yummyrum]

Welcome GoDawgs
LOL , I can imagine the Airstill being quickly out grown .
Heck , might pay to keep and eye out for a 50 or 80 litre keg . Just say’n

[MooseMan]

Hi,

New to distilling. NZ based. Have an airstill pro and more recently bought a homemade 25l keg still column still.

Using air still pro. Made two batches of absinthe which have worked out well though only ever tried one commercial one. Two gins which have been average.

Intrigued about growing ingredients. Attempting to grow wormwood, anise, hyssop, fennel, angelica, yuzu. Trying track down sloe tree.

Future projects.

1. DIY Underberg ( German digestif)
2. Gins with unusual ingredients such as yuzu, schisandra, etc
3. Aromatic Bitters

Finding the airstill pro not producing enough neutral spirit for projects hence the keg still.

Spent a good amount on stainless welding on still and wondering if worth pursuing. Still needs more mods.

Looking to learn more about running a reflux still for max ABV and purity, making better cuts, and if worth filtering.

Don’t filter and pretty aggressive with cut so yields not great. Need to calibrate.

Lots to learn.

Cheers

Welcome to the forum.

Seems like you're keeping yourself busy already.

Plenty of info here about making neutral so you'll soon gather the knowledge.
A good start is a full size keg, then maybe start looking for a 3" column.

Enjoy!

Moose

[SW_Shiner]

Welcome aboard. Thats a nice jump from an air still to 25L keg. Have a look on trade me if you plan on upgrading again. There are a couple breweries up north that seem to always be selling 50L kegs for $50-$90.
What sort of column do you have on the keg still?

[GoDawgs]

Welcome aboard. Thats a nice jump from an air still to 25L keg. Have a look on trade me if you plan on upgrading again. There are a couple breweries up north that seem to always be selling 50L kegs for $50-$90.
What sort of column do you have on the keg still?

Sorry about delay getting back to you. Still getting familiar with forum.

Got off marketplace on FB. Home made. 25l keg with 2kw element plus some sort of electric heating wrap around outside. Column is 2” about 1.2m long with reflux condenser consisting of 4 10mm pipes running through towards top. Was leaking in condenser so had welding fixed. Also had a Rjt connector added for the Liebig condenser. Had a plastic bung connecting it to the column which was odd. No thermometer yet.

Stainless steel scrubbies. Might replace with some Spp sometime.

Cheers Olly

[Bushman]

Welcome, I am glad you mentioned you were based in NZ because the Dawgs are the mascot to my Universities rival.