Home Distiller

I plan on making small amounts of shine at a time. I have a 25-quart All American pressure sterilizer that has a 1/2" hole. I plan on getting 3/8"copper tubing, and sealing it with the flour/water paste. I'll have the copper tubing running spiraled in a 5 gallon bucket filled with ice (seen all of this in a youtube video). The only issue I'm having is finding a reliable recipe. When making the mash should I use corn meal, or is that just for flavor? Would it take longer to use Apples? Here is my recipe for 4 gallons of mash:

in 5 gallon Lowes food grade bucket:

4lb white sugar
mix in 2 gallons distilled luke warm water
add a bunch of sliced apples
1 ounce Fleischmann's Bakers Instant Dry Yeast (would packets of Active Dry Yeast work as well?)
then add 2 more gallons of distilled water, and make sure it's all mixed, and let that ferment?

I'm not sure if these measurements are right. I have the twin bubble airlocks and everything, the main issue is just the recipe. Thank you.

You aren't going to get much of a final ABV out of that wash. You're using about 1/3 of the sugar you need for a 4-5gal wash.

The following recipe is a good place to start and has yet to fail me: http://homedistiller.org/detail/econ-o-wash.doc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Or, you can use this calculator to figure out how much sugar to water you need:
http://homedistiller.org/calcs/alcohol_yield" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

If you use that calculator, you'll find that to make 4 gallons of wash, you need almost 8lbs of sugar. Your apples are going to add some sugar, but not a lot. It takes much more fruit to ferment out to a decent ABV than it does pure sugar. Also, with apples, I like to make sure to add some pectinase enzyme to prevent the build-up of congeners from the fruit pectin.

As you aren't using any malt, the corn is only going to add some flavor. The yeast can't convert the starch to sugar to consume it without amylase. you'd either need to add amylase in its pure form, literally chew your corn meal before adding it (your saliva contains amylase) or add malted barley to the mash, it's just going to sit there and give a little bit of corn flavor.

I highly suggest going back and reading through the main page of the website (not the forums) and glean as much info as you can before starting. Then, when you really feel comfortable, start with a sugar wash and work your way up from there. Take it from a fellow novice, you can't possibly read too much before starting.

a few things I disagree with..
first if making fruit must (wash) go to the fruit calc. look up fruit...calculate how much the fruit is going to add,then add sugar to bring up the SG to where you want.dont make it to high as it will "wash out" the fruit flavor..
next...
" add some pectinase enzyme to prevent the build-up of congeners from the fruit pectin."
wrong,,braking down pectin produces methanol..all fruit produces some and some like apples
are worse then others, adding pectin enzymes just compounds the problem..

So am I getting conflicting information here?

bwpz wrote:So am I getting conflicting information here?

Not really. I'm saying go a sugar wash route for your first ferment and run to keep it simple, he's saying if you DO want to go the fruit route, go to the fruit calculator and get your must bill that way.

I've seen people on this forum and others go both ways with the pectinase. If you do use it, you will increase methanol production, but by an amount so minimal in a mash of your size that it can be countered by throwing out an extra oz of distillate from the foreshots. In Dnderhead's favor, being a neophyte, you're probably best foregoing the pectinase until you're skilled enough to know when to make your cuts.

first you can just will-nilly add sugar,well you can but not a good idea.
so you need to know how much you start with,,then add sugar if you want..

as for pectin,,pectin is the "glue" for connecting tissue and what encapsulates the juice.
pectin brakes down into methanol,so the less you brake down the less methanol
.yeast will "attack" the juice cells and make some. but if you use
a enzyme that brakes down the connecting tissue you have made more methanol, not only from the cells but also the connecting tissues

I'm looking to create a product with high proof. Using the calculator I see that with 12.5lbs of sugar and 4.07 gallons of water, you can create a 5 gallon wash with an SG (no idea what special gravity is) of 1.114, with 17.6% alcohol.

Would I be able to substitute some of the sugar with cut apples? I want to do something simple, yet flavorful.

What kind of nutrients should I use? Pectin? Sodium carbonate decahydrate? Folic acid?

if you want flavor use more fruit,,if you want high ABV then use sugar. its a trade off ,you cant have both. fruit adds most nutrients,but a bit of DAP,or go ferm or fermid K..other?
17% is going to be hard to achieve,Id make it more in the neighborhood of 10% or even less.

Can you help me with my recipe? Here is one I'm thinking might work:

12.5lbs white sugar
4.07 gallons of distilled water
5 apples, sliced and seeded (would this even be necessary? Google says it's only 23g of sugar per apple, so it's not much at all)
1oz Active Dry Yeast

Using a sugar wash like this, what proof do you think it will come out at?

bwpz wrote:Can you help me with my recipe? Here is one I'm thinking might work:

12.5lbs white sugar
4.07 gallons of distilled water
5 apples, sliced and seeded (would this even be necessary? Google says it's only 23g of sugar per apple, so it's not much at all)
1oz Active Dry Yeast

Using a sugar wash like this, what proof do you think it will come out at?

First off, that's way too much sugar.

Using the calc on the parent site (http://homedistiller.org/calcs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow), you're wash is going to have potential of around 21.6%. That's way too high. Read what Dnderhead said about keeping it at 10% or less. He knows what he's talking about.

Secondly, you should really get some experience with tried and true recipes. (http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=14)

Third, 5 apples probably won't do anything, especially with that much sugar. As for the sugar content, you'll probably get a better idea with this chart: http://www.thefruitpages.com/contents.shtml

Sorry if I didn't answer the question you asked, but this should be helpful information nonetheless. Good luck!

Stop playing around. Wait until your still is built. Then go to the tried and true recipe section. And find a recipe to start with. They are all reliable consistent producing recipes. That's why they are placed in the tried and true recipe section.

Oh and stop with the YouTube crap. You have now found the best source of home distilling info on the net. Take advantage of it. And use it wisely.

+1 PP

Prairiepiss wrote:Stop playing around. Wait until your still is built. Then go to the tried and true recipe section. And find a recipe to start with. They are all reliable consistent producing recipes. That's why they are placed in the tried and true recipe section.

Oh and stop with the YouTube crap. You have now found the best source of home distilling info on the net. Take advantage of it. And use it wisely.

This hobby is one that you can't rush!!!!

yes wait until you know what to expect,make sugar wash for now and make some apple pie? (good stuff).
now as for fruit,,all fruit is best,even if its 5-6% wash,next is with a small amount of sugar.
for good fruit wash you need to use fruit,not sugar.thats why you see certain things made in diferant places. you could not afford to make say rum in Alaska..well you could but...... you have to go with what you can git local.unless its just for the fun of it.

I truly appreciate everyones help. This hobby requires time, patience, and perseverance. I grow mushrooms and marijuana, and I love perfecting it, so now I'm on my way with this (: I hope I can turn my 5 gallons wash runs into bigger ones when I gain some more knowledge, but I have a lot of work to do before I even start the 5 gallon wash runs xD

Dnderhead wrote:yes wait until you know what to expect,make sugar wash for now and make some apple pie? (good stuff).
now as for fruit,,all fruit is best,even if its 5-6% wash,next is with a small amount of sugar.
for good fruit wash you need to use fruit,not sugar.thats why you see certain things made in diferant places. you could not afford to make say rum in Alaska..well you could but...... you have to go with what you can git local.unless its just for the fun of it.

cant afford to make rum in illinois

if you want apple wash ,fiend a orchard .then git wind falls. it takes a lot to make a mash of fruit.
better yet buy cider the cloudy stuff.

Dnderhead wrote:if you want apple wash ,fiend a orchard .then git wind falls. it takes a lot to make a mash of fruit.
better yet buy cider the cloudy stuff.

When you say for me to make sugar wash and then make apple pie with that, could you hook me up with a 5 gallon recipe?

I'm thinking this will work for 5 gallon sugar wash:

7lb sugar
4.5 gallons of water

It should have a SG of 1.064 (is there a way to check?), and 9.9% alcohol.

If I'm looking to make something like 160 proof I'd probably need sweet feed or corn or something, right?

bwpz wrote:

Dnderhead wrote:if you want apple wash ,fiend a orchard .then git wind falls. it takes a lot to make a mash of fruit.
better yet buy cider the cloudy stuff.

When you say for me to make sugar wash and then make apple pie with that, could you hook me up with a 5 gallon recipe?

I'm thinking this will work for 5 gallon sugar wash:

7lb sugar
4.5 gallons of water

It should have a SG of 1.064 (is there a way to check?), and 9.9% alcohol.

If I'm looking to make something like 160 proof I'd probably need sweet feed or corn or something, right?

You can find the specific starting and final gravities using a triple scale hydrometer which can be found at any home brew store. That is the only way to know how much alcohol you have in your fermented mash/wash/must. Take the starting gravity and then, when you think the wash is fermented out, take the final gravity. Then, either use the equation that comes with the hydrometer, or an online calculator to figure out the % alcohol. Just like a proofing hydrometer, it's temperature sensitive and must be corrected for anything above or below 60*F. The correction figures will be on the paper.

As for your 160 proof product, you simply aren't going to get enough at that proof to make it worth your while to even try. I really, really suggest reading over the parent site again.

bwpz wrote:

Dnderhead wrote:if you want apple wash ,fiend a orchard .then git wind falls. it takes a lot to make a mash of fruit.
better yet buy cider the cloudy stuff.

When you say for me to make sugar wash and then make apple pie with that, could you hook me up with a 5 gallon recipe?

I'm thinking this will work for 5 gallon sugar wash:

7lb sugar
4.5 gallons of water

It should have a SG of 1.064 (is there a way to check?), and 9.9% alcohol.

If I'm looking to make something like 160 proof I'd probably need sweet feed or corn or something, right?

you need to read more or the stuff you make will be just like the crap your buying
try one of these
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=14

a bushel of apples will make prominently 5 gallon of must/wash.that mite not be exact but gives you a starting place.as apples/peaches grow in Illinois so you have both.go to a orchard and pick apples in exchange for cider. most on here become scroungers,from stainless /copper to ingredients. some must look like a "bag lady" .
as for apple "pie" make a sugar wash distill,mix in apples/apple juice/spice.
its not the wash that make the higher proof its the still and distiller.

I know I need to read more. But the main thing is I need to practice more. I don't want to be practicing with a BS recipe :p

usually what i do is to make 50 gallon of a good wash, fruit or grain,run this once saving the best.at 7-10% this gives me 35-40% this is high enough for me.
put tales in the next run,do this untill i run out of wash, then run the heads threw a reflux.or not
some is used as utilities .

So you use the hydrometer to check the SG right when you make the wash, and once when it's done fermenting? And then when you distill it you use the hydrometer to check the Alc% of it?

I want at least 50-60% though (not with my first sugar wash runs, just when I get everything down.

yes and no ,,there is a wash/mash/beer/wine hydrometer (you have that part right)
then for spirit you use a proof and tralle hydrometer

Okay, I just found the parent site and have much reading to do. I noticed on there, someone was using a pressure cooker (not sure if it's aluminum or not).



I'm just trying to do it a couple runs, not long term or anything, I want to buy the best when I get the funds (:

Thanks for all your help, I'll definitely be around.

For my setup I'd need a 3.5g wash. Here is Wineo's recipe for 3.5g (my calculations). What is the starting/finish PH? What is the finish SG supposed to be? Wineo says 1.070-1.080 starting, and Birdwatcher says 1.09 starting. When I use the calc on the parent site it said my sugar/water wash would be 1.066 SG starting, without the nutrients and all. Is there a way to supplement those nutrients with something organic I can easily get locally, like corn or something? Any help is appreciated.

Wineos 3.5g:

5 lbs sugar
3/4 tsp of citric acid
3/4 tsp of DAP
3/4 tsp of gypsum
A pinch of epsom salts
.3 cups yeast


Mix 5lb sugar with 2.6g hot water.

Add rest of water and sugar, along with the 4 nutrients to bring mixture to 3.5g, With a SG 1.070-1.080.
Temperature of finished mixture should be 86F-95F to start.

Carefully sprinkle .3 cups of yeast over surface, stirring in. Stir again in 20 minutes.

Check SG and temperature daily. Stir daily.

Also, how do I find out how much % my still collects its distillate at? Is that something that I'll find out over time?

ipee7ABV wrote:...
cant afford to make rum in illinois

Why not? I'm somewhere near there (ahem) and was planing on making rum. Why do you say you can't afford to?

P.S. Sorry for the hijack..... If there's another proper way, please inform me.