you are so right!. after a little reading and a little common sense there is no better teacher than hands on experience.theholymackerel wrote: The easiest way to learn a potstill is simply to start usin' it.
then comes the real learning. a fella can talk a good game but until he gets in there and does it it just does not really come together. to me, there are two basics. the ferment and the distillation. both are easy and both are complex too. easy when everything is working right and complex when something goes wrong. best advise i can give a true newbie is to keep it simple and keep it clean. but a newbie has several unique problems:
1. he needs a still. build or buy? how big? copper or SS? gas or electric? pot or reflux?
2. how to cool the distillate?
3. where to set it up and how to hide it from others?
4. how to clean it for first run
5. gathering all the assorted hardware for the still. hygrometer, funnel, big spoons, stir paddle, bottles, etc, etc,...
6. when all this is ready, newbie is anxious to run it but needs a ferment to distill
7. deciding on the ferment to make
8. gathering the ingredients
9. first ferment
10. record keeping and recipe development
11. lots of other stuff
and all of this is new to newbie. so we should try to always be kind to our newbie brothers and sisters. at one time we were all newbies too. if a noob gets frustrated and says weird shit, i think it is understandable. even the slightest effort on our part can have a big impact on their success or failure.
Fester