Hello from Southwest VA

[J3ff]

My name is Jeff. I have been lurking on these forums for a week or two now, trying to learn as much as I can. I must admit the more I learn, the more confused I am. Before I started reading, the science behind distillation seemed basic, Heat up a liquid containing water and alcohol, Alcohol evaporates before water, then cool the rising alcohol vapours back into liquid form leaving water behind. Now I am reading about cooling manegment, liquid manegment, vapor manegement, pot stills, etc.

I currently do not own a still, nor do I have any experience using one. (obviously)

My only experience with any alcohol production at home was my little sister gave me a wine making setup a few years ago for Christmas. It included a 6.5 gallon bucket to ferment in, a carboy, some wine bottles, a nifty gadget for putting corks in bottles, and also a few box kits for making different wines that included concentrated grape and or fruit juices, as well as yeasts etc. I have a friend who makes some great beers at home, and I have helped him and learned a bit about that, but have not done it on my own yet.

I am basically a total beginner. I only really know that if you feed yeast sugar in a somewhat sterile environment, it will piss something that I like to drink a lot of, and if you distil it, it will take a lot less yeast piss to get the job done.

[NcHooch]

LOL, That's a start J3ff.
I think you'll find that if you keep readin everything will start coming together for ya.
Welcome to the forum

[banter_king]

+1 there is a lot of information here that is very overwhelming at first. It will all come together the more you read. One thing i recommend is taking notes while reading. It will make things happen much faster when you can bring info up from your notes instead of sorting through here trying to find some thread you remember from a while back.

[Bushman]

Welcome to the forum Jeff, you have a basic concept and what a great little sister you have. +1 on keeping notes I cut and paste into files on the computer also if you break it down into smaller parts as you go it helps. An example is to decide what type of drink you like, concentrate on that design still and then study the different parts and build them in sections. Worked the best for me when I was just starting. Good Luck

[rad14701]

Greetings, J3ff...

Plenty of information here to keep you busy for a while... Many come here and only after some reading realize that there is more to this hobby than they originally thought...

Hey, how about some pictures of your little sister... Umm... I mean pot still... Yeah, that's it, your pot still... Pictures of your pot still... Yeah, that's the ticket...

Good luck, and happy reading...

[LWTCS]

Great thing about this hobby is that it can be as simple or as complicated as ya want it to be,,,for the eggheads or construction bum alike. Its all about the likker.

Welcome Jeff
This is the best hobby ever.