Home Distiller

A little about yourself
I am a country wine home brewer

A little about what you want to do, and or what you would like to gain from the site/forum.
having read lots of information on the site, I have a question I would like to get answered before my still arrives on friday

A little about what still you currently have, or what you are wanting to make/buy
I have on order the air still by still spirits, I chose the pot still as I am not interested in neutral spirits,
I am also not interested (at the moment for large volumes of spirits) this still is just for the occasional gallon of wash
I would like to make brandy from my wines that don't quite tickle my pallet, although they are not bad wines
I doubt I will drink them as they are, I could use them for blending in other wines,
but I thought I would have a go at some spirit.


Any other additional information you find helpful.
my question is on acid, I have a gallon of pineapple wash about 10% ABV made from fresh pineapple
I like my wines dry, this brew is so acidic, i have neutralised the acid in a small glass with sugar
and it tasted great, really pineapple, but far to sweet for my pallet. so I prefer not to sweeten the batch.
so if I put this gallon of pineapple wash (unsweetened) in the still
will acid (citrus or malic) be left behind ?
or should i try and neutralise the acid (perhaps adding precipitated chalk) before I put the wash in the still ?

Where you are at. You don't have to list exact location, but simply Central US, or Europe, or AU, would be more than enough. Just enough so that folks have an idea on what part of the globe you hail from.
Europe

Welcome!

Most of the acid will stay behind, but you may have some tartness carry over since you will be running a pot still.

As a beginner, a 1 gallon still may not be the best choice, as the cuts will be VERY tight and difficult to separate.

at 10%, you can only produce a potential 1.6 cups of 100% ABV ethanol

thanks, I was hoping i can leave the acid behind

if I can save 750ml of something drinkable around 30% I will be more than happy
much better than pouring it all down the drain.

I plan on making 50ml or 100ml cuts just to try and work out what that is all about
but I have read on this type of still cuts are very difficult.

the second run will be a much nicer gallon of apricot wine,
this one I would drink as is, but I have a few extra DJ's worth to experiment with.

I am looking forward to the weekend, and learning the new hobby, if my still arrives on time.

+1 on what Steve2md said. One gal at a time is time consuming and cuts are tiny. However IMHO starting out with an air still was great for me. Relatively low cost, No effort/time or skill needed building a still. If the hobby is not for you? then you are out pretty cheaply. Beginners forum is always a good read. Enjoy and be safe. (ps. I'm thinking of changing my name to "Bi Bada Boom") haha

thanks again,

I have spent much time the past few days & nights in the beginners forum. the amount of information in there is staggering !

there is a possibility of my next still, a vintage copper alembic from the grandparents,
but I honestly thought it would be safer to start with the air
learn a bit about what is happening, and when, and why.

if i decide to pursue the hobby further, the forum has shown me the way, and safety must always come first.

multipazz wrote: I plan on making 50ml or 100ml cuts just to try and work out what that is all about
but I have read on this type of still cuts are very difficult.

Remember, in the 1.6 cups of potential 100%, there are only 378.541 ml. I'd collect with a shotglass. 1 oz is about 29ml. get a $5 flat of pint jars and a 99cent shot glass. collect in the shotglass and dump into individual jars, let it air out over night, then smell and taste your way through the cuts starting at the center and working your way out. put everything you want to keep in 1 pint jar and either age or cut to your desired strength with the tastiest water you can find. Remember, the water you cut with will effect the flavor of your drink. Try distilled water even. Good luck

awesome, I collect in 25ml samples, label them all and test them the next day

mix the best stuff together and dilute to desired strength.

and the stuff I don't want, I keep for either other uses or save for reprocessing

that is exactly what I will do, wow thank you so much, I think this will turn out better than I ever hoped !

EDIT: just ordered 50 x 30ml plastic shot glasses with express shipping for friday

You must be kidding. Plastic shot glasses

I still get pissed when my friend pours a shot in his plastic shot glass. When he offers some i always pass and give him my lecture. I can't believe he still does not get the hint.

the plastic is to hold the cuts not for drinking

or will storing and airing them in plastic for 24 hours change the liquor in some undesirable way ?

I can use the plastic cups in work for holding screws if that is the case.

if you are using food grade plastic, keep it below 40%

other wise it will leech, trust me.

(but no plastic is better or use it just for fermenting)

this is what I ordered



I have a quite a few glass shot glasses but not enough to do cuts

378ml at 100% but I doubt the air still can achieve anywhere near that

let's say I get around 40% about 800ml

25ml cuts will require over 30 containers

how about some small foil trays ?

You've managed to bounce from plastic to aluminum... Are you just trying to jerk our chains or have you seriously not done any research here at all...??? Please see The Rules We Live By, paying very close attention to Rule #8... There is a link located in the forum header because it is that important...

If you're just trolling, get lost...!!! Otherwise, get serious about your participation in this hobby...

I am truly sorry, I had no idea this was aluminium, I guess I should have thought more before posting
I have read about aluminium dissolving and do not want that at all
I was hoping someone would point me in a direction for thin steel pressed vestles
I just in a flap to get everything I need at hand and ready before my first run

so I have now found some lab supply of glass vials
they are 20ml but I won't be able to get them for this weekend
my search continued for suitable glass containers

if I don't have everything I need then I will postpone until I do

EDIT:
point #8 duly noted and I again apologise for my noobishness

I think I have found the cheapest solution for the cuts

baby food jars

they are cheap, easily available, made from glass

multipazz,

My friend do the right thing for not only yourself,
your friends & family and the home distilling crowd
in general and

HIT THE FRICKIN' BRAKES

You have much reading to do before you get to the
point you currently believe yourself to be at.

Read read and READ some more until your eyes bleed.

You are fooling around with a high flammable product,
It can be poisonous if handled in the wrong containers,
You CAN burn your house down, You CAN burn yourself,
You have much to learn Grasshopper.

Please go back to the reading room and spent several
weeks. In the long run you'll be better for the effort.

Coyote

thank you coyote

I think you may be right, I have spent many hours reading until the early hours of the morning,
I fear I have run myself down, to the point of making myself unwell
burning the candle both ends so to speak

safty first, I will not operate the still until my head clears.
early night and some cold & flu mixture for me I think

reading back I think I made myself look like an utter fool today
plastic and aluminium, what ever was going through my head? doh

Baby food jars sound great. I have a bunch but have not even used them. I use mason jars for cuts but the first 4 are small for jelly. I finally came upon The baby food jars but not so sure of the lids. They seem to leak too much. and have that rubber-plastic seal, and they do not twist on very tight.

I did not want to sound too harsh when you mentioned plastic shot glasses but my friend actually has plastic ones that he uses when camping. He is quit OCD, in his thinking about breaking his nice glasses when in the hills. my OCD is my booze will not ever touch plastic.

By the way, welcome mutipaz, yes there is a lot to learn but take things slow and your booze will show more quality in the long run.

Your pineapple wine does sound good, High acidic washes sound like some trouble to ferment but they sound so good for drinking, I want to try some type of orange.

Acid won't carry over so that should be a non issue, just watch the tannins from other grains as they add that taste that seems like an acid. that is the distillate that gets talked about that has the bit and is hot.

I use baby food jars for spirit collection but tossed the lids... The synthetic seal is a non no and the metal will rust if exposed to high proof spirits... Just use them for collection, not for storage after airing...

baby food jars and no lids for the cuts

after airing, testing and blending I will store in shop brought vodka bottle

I also found stainless steel shot glasses from china
if you search on eBay for
stainless steel cups 35ml
stainless steel cups 70ml
these sound like a great solution for your camping friend Tater Patch Kid