Home Distiller

Glad to make my first forum post here.
I have been studying the processes of distilling for about three months now, and feel pretty confident thus far.
A friend gave me a "contraption" (his words) when I told him I was wanting to start making beer as a hobby. When I opened the box, I was surprised to see it was a distilling kit. To be specific, it is a three gallon pot still. I had never thought about distilling spirits, but I found this website and was intrigued. You are an interesting bunch!
I ran a couple of sacrificial washes through, and tossed them out. The first batch kept was a sugar wash with turbo yeast. YUCK!!!!! Tossed it, too.
I studied more. And more. And then some more!
Finally decided UJSM recipe was for me, and now I am on my 6th generation with that mash, having put about 30-40% backset in each time. I also threw in some barley into generation #5 wonderful, which made it nice. I have some ground rye on the way, and will incorporate that into batch/generation 7.

My future desire is to get away from adding white sugar, and converting the corn, barley, and rye starches into sugar by cooking. My guess is that it will taste even better. Is it worth the extra energy? Do the grains have to be malted if no additional sugar is added?

Also, I don't have a hydrometer- I don't feel I really need one- I have done pretty well by taste alone.
I have added charred oak sticks, and done the freeze/warm, open top, repeat, etc. process and have a really nice product. I am pretty proud so far, and the runs seem better as the mash ages and additional grains are added.

To any new readers -trust me: READ, READ, and Read. When you run your first batch, come back and read some of the same topics again, and they will make more sense to you.

Thanks mentors- hope to add something useable to these forums soon!

One more thing:
THE ABOVE STORY IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT/ EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE STILL I OWN IS ONLY FOR DISTILLATION OF WATER. I WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY DISTILL ALCOHOL BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL WHERE I LIVE

Welcome to HD.

The virus got to you ...

Congratulations!

Odin.

Welcome aboard. Sounds as if you have gone down the right path. Congrats.

You are an interesting bunch!

I will take that as a complement. Thank you.

I don't want to preach or nothing. But hydrometers can and are a very usefull tool to have in your arsenal. When you get into experimenting with your recipes they provide very useful information. That can help in diagnosing problems that may arise. Not saying they will. But they will eventualy. And if you ask for help the first thing that will be asked is. What's your SG and FG. I would suggest you get a set. Or two they break easily just ask around. They are cheap. But well worth the money. You can get a set with a mash hydrometer and proof/Tralles hydrometer with a test beaker for around $20

Greetings, Tennessee Twisted...

Nice introduction... It sounds like you're well on your way and taking to this hobby like a duck to water... Or should I say goose because I can hear a flock headed over in migration as I type this...

If you are looking to switch from UJSSM to All Grain then you will need either malted grain or enzymes to convert the starches to sugars as that is what the yeast need to make alcohol... If you want to ease into All Grain mashes then the use of pre-made malt or enzymes might be the way to go... Or, if you want to go totally old school, you can malt your own grains... It is your choice as to which method you use...

Good luck and stay safe...

Welcome Tennessee Twisted...

So you've got the bug? There aint no going back now...

Glad to have you around...

Roughly, where in Tn do you call home? I live in the eastern part of the state, Vol country.

To my estimation all grain is well worth it. It's mostly what I do along with an occasional fruit must, some rum, and some meads. You don't need to have all your grain malted but you need enough malted grain in your grain bill for saccrification (converting starches to sugars) instead of using white sugar. Yes, it can be a lot of extra work (especially with corn), but for me it's the only way to go. Properly aged (no distressed aging for me) I get do get some excellent products.

Welcome to the forum.

Big R

rtalbigr-
Interestingly enough, near Lynchburg. Two distilleries near me. Maybe I can go legal someday!

Welcome, as was said earlier nice introduction it is really nice when someone does a bit of research it helps all of us when it comes to sharing information.

Tennessee Twisted wrote:rtalbigr-
Interestingly enough, near Lynchburg. Two distilleries near me. Maybe I can go legal someday!

What a hoot! Doubt you'll ever be any more legal than the rest of us. I read recently Linchburg wants to tax JD by the barrel, and they're a dry county. Is that a paradox or what?

Big R

rtalbigr wrote:Doubt you'll ever be any more legal than the rest of us.

.

Well lets not say that. Just look at Prichards distillery over in Kelso. Stopped by there this summer and they were really busy hiring help thru first of the year and he started out just like us, playing around with a pot still.