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This is my first attempt on trying to make shine.

I Used Corn Meal, Sugar, yeast and water

I filled up a 1gallon milk jug with water a pored it into a pot and i added 2 cups of CM and i brought it to a boil then i added the 3 cups of sugar a stirred it all up and then i added the 2 packets of yeast.

I Then pored it all back in to the milk jug and i placed it in a cabinet. The next day i could see bubbles rising to the top with a foam layer on top of the liquid. 2 days later everything stopped bubbling i thought it was done. there was 2 layers in the milk jug a liquid layer and a solid layer that looked to me like grits.

i heard that you wanted the liquid layer so i siphoned off the liquid layer in to another milk jug and left the soild "grits".

My still is made up of a pressure cooker connected to a 4' copper tube going down to a copper coil submerged in ice.

after 15mins i started to get a steady drip i let the jar get half full of this clear liquid and i took a sip and it was water..

i say i filled up 1 and 1/2 jars full of water before i said duck it and pored it all out behind the shed.

what could have went wrong?

If you added the yeast right after you boiled your mixture you killed the yeast.

Needs to be 40C or less.

If there was no yeast to convert sugars to alcohol you would just get water, which you did.

lol... i feel like a idiot.. oh well newbies will make mistakes, i just wish i found this site sooner.

so i just let it set at room temp for a couple of hours before i add the yeast?

Thanks

What I do is not boil the whole volume you intend to ferment. That way I top it up with cold water and can add some icecubes. If you have a thermomitor just make sure its below 40C then your ok to toss yeast in.

40c is for wine yeast im sure bakers yeast is similar but ive never used it. If you want to be safe aim for 35C. Make sure to stir before taking the temp as it may be hotter below than it is on the surface.

Most yeast prefer the same temps that are considered comfortable to you....I'd get it down to 30 C just to be sure.

15 min is a short time. you either have a really small pressure cooker or to much heat. once you get your wash figured out heat the cooker with a moderate flame until you hear it boiling and then cut the heat down as low as you can and still here a soft simmer. when using a closed boiler and condender like you are you cold stand the risk of an explosion. remember that the pressure cooker is designed for about 10lbs of pressure. if you keep the heat real low you should be safe and the shine should be better. do some more reading on this sight and the parent site and good luck.

That's another thing i did wrong was, i had the heat on HIGH.

Also the pressure cooker I'm using has a safety feature built in when the pressure gets to high it will pop open a valve like and release some of the pressure.

how old are ya ?

25 will soon be 26 in 2 weeks... why??

Tater,

You are embarrassing these poor youngsters. They will be in our shoes someday, and hopefully correcting other youngsters. We have to teach them with a loveing paddle, or a pack of matches, or preferrably just plain good advise, so they will learn and pass it on.

We were both that age once, and impatiant, hopefully, we can give them our aquired wisdom, if they want to hear. I'm an oldster, but still learning much from you!

MrShineOn wrote:That's another thing i did wrong was, i had the heat on HIGH.

Also the pressure cooker I'm using has a safety feature built in when the pressure gets to high it will pop open a valve like and release some of the pressure.

This statement was why I asked . Read over sights in my signature.. .Distilling will make lot more sence to ya then.Do this and you will find fokes doing best to help you out.Welcome to fourm

If that pressure relief pops and a high abv of alcohol comes shootin out of it, your heat source could very well ignite the vapor. Wouldnt be pretty, Id lose the pressure relief valve for this task.

I didn't see anyone tell you to aerate the wash before adding the yeast. Do it - yeasties like a bit of oxygen to get them breeding up before the have to settle down to working for you.

In this case - pleasure before work - but maybe they're married and breeding is less pleasurable than making whisky.

haven't seen anyone mention cuts either... Not all that hootch is going to be good to drink... the first part that comes out could well be poison. You have to seperate this from the rest of the alcohol.

Reckin that might been reason I suggested him reading tonys sight fellas

junkyard dawg wrote:haven't seen anyone mention cuts either... Not all that hootch is going to be good to drink... the first part that comes out could well be poison. You have to seperate this from the rest of the alcohol.

Like throw the first 50-100ml away

i got SHINE!!!! i read and read and read my head is hurting for reading so much.. thanks to tater for pointing out the links in his sig and thanks for everyones help...

know read some more and you will have some good shine. i have been doing this off and on for about six years and after my last batch i concider everything before it crap. i have finally gotten an idea of how to make my cuts. lots of people just lurk and learn. its not a bad idea. once you learn the basics then when you ask a question you will most likely get some good advice. congrats on your success but i guarentee that it will get better with time and practice. good luck.

i got about 5ozs from 1 gallon, does this sound about right?

It would depend on the wash, but you can get a lot more than that.

Well i think it was because the lid wasnt sealing right because i was loosing a
lot of steam