READY TO START

runingkind · Post by **runingkind** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:46 pm

I just built my first still.I have been reading for months on every site I can find.But this one is the best ever.Will be starting my mash sat.I'm like a small kid the nite before xmas.Thank you so much for what I have learned by reading all you guys post

knuklehead · Post by **knuklehead** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:56 pm

Welcome here and you are right, this is an awesome site. I know exactly how you feel, about being a kid at Christmas. The only difference is now you are an adult and the patience you neglected to show as a kid will need to play a part in this new found hobby of yours. Lack of it will get you very frustrated in no time. Patience is always the key. Good luck runingkind

MyDBear · Post by **MyDBear** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:23 am

Saying this site is the best ever or awesome is an understatement by far,and I too know how you feal. Just remember that every thing has a procedure and you have to do A befor B. But the most important thing is THIS

runingkind · Post by **runingkind** » Sat May 13, 2006 4:49 am

I got to make my first run,every thing went great.Nice and clear smooth drip
but to weak.I put 5lb. corn,5lb.sugar 1 pack of bakers yeast to 10 gallon of water. Did I put to much water? I didn't want to over do it the first time.
But it has a bite it just tastes watered down.Should I put less water or more
corn and sugar?I'm hooked on this hobby And want to make good spirit.
Thanks for any feed back.

Sat May 13, 2006 5:18 am

That is a lot of water for that much corn and sugar. Maybe try running all of the output of that first run through the still again, to strengthen it up. Are you making cuts?

runingkind · Post by **runingkind** » Sat May 13, 2006 6:01 am

Yes I'm makeing pint cuts,so if I distill again will it get stronger?

Sat May 13, 2006 7:23 am

Yes it will get stronger each time you run it. Just pour it all together and run it through again. Or make a new wash with half as much water or twice as much corn and sugar, and add the output of your first run to the boiler when you run that.
I usually double distill everything through my potstill. I save up a few first runs with no cuts made and combine them into a spirit run, taking cuts on that.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Sat May 13, 2006 10:49 am

You mean you're collecting in pint jars? making the cuts refers to differentiateing (sp?... thats a big word...) between the tasty portions and the not so tasty portions or poison portions of what comes off the still. The first portions are poison, the next one tastes rough, then there are some hearts, then some rough stuff...

If you do this a while and build up a stock of stripped spirits and a bunch of collected and saved heads and tails, you can really begin to see the cuts. The last run I did collected 16 ltrs and numbered them in a line on a counter. You can really tell by walking down the line and sniffing where the heads and hearts and tails happen. Then you get to pick the best jars and mix 'em up and bottle 'em. This hobby gets really fun and rewarding after you've been doing it for a while and start seeing yer whiskey yields grow.