Home Distiller

After posting a few times on here, I realized there was no place for new folks to introduce themselves.
So, here goes. I am a semi-retired chef who recently became interested in distilling as a hobby. I recently moved to the Blue Ridge Mtns to be back home and became interested in the culture here. I read http://homedistiller.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow for months until I decided to buy http://www.brewhaus.com/Essential_Extra ... 001000.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow .This gave me the option to do a reflux or a pot distillation at an economical price. I considered building my own, but, this has worked great for me.
I use 5 gal plastic buckets for fermentation and the local brew shop sells air locks for $.80. I first used a hose into a pint jar for an air lock.
I first used flaked maize, but now use cracked corn from the feed store.
I first used bakers yeast and it worked well, now I am trying a dry champagne yeast that is cheap and suppose to be high alcohol tolerant, we shall see.
My Recipe for corn squeezins is 5#corn, 2 # 2 row malt barley, 4# sugar, 2# brown sugar, zest of 1 orange, 1 vanilla bean, 4 gal spring water.
I won't go into detail about how I cook it, but when it comes out it is a kind of chocolately smelling smooth sipping corn likker that is great.
Like I said, I am just a beginner, and really know nothing about this, but, please don't give me suggestions to make it difficult. when the old timers did it it was simple.
I would like for all other new folks here to tell there story.
Peace

Another satisfied convert. Howdy.

not a convert, just going back to to my roots

Sounds good mate, welcome.

Does the orange rind come over very strongly in the hooch?

it gives it quite a good fragrance when cooking, what it does as far as distillation, I honestly don't know. some of these other posters here have said something about adding citric acid, so, I put the zest in there and no, it is not overpowering. but my hooch comes out sipping quality(usually)

Old Ass wrote:not a convert, just going back to to my roots

Another satisfied revert. Welcome back.

HookLine wrote:

Old Ass wrote:not a convert, just going back to to my roots

Another satisfied revert. Welcome back.

revert? possibly, maybe, I should think about that. I am just an old hippie who is ready to retire and wants to be self- sufficient as much as possible, and enjoys making alcoholic beverages.

Welcome old hippie. The world still needs us. (Pun not intended)

blanik

Welcome. I’m not really an old hippie but I ain’t a young one either. After you pass the half century mark old means really REALLY old! Good to know there are others around and in spite all how hard we tried, we still have a few brain cells left.

Hippie Alert! Hippie Alert!

Break out the anti-paisley cream, the incense neutraliser, and the #4 clippers. Impound all Kombis, and lock up the impressionable teenagers.

Actually, I'm just jealous cause I missed out on some of that free lovin'.

Uhh, like, peace, man.

The orignal woodstock? ben there

I recently moved to the Blue Ridge Mtns to be back home

Sittin' here looking at them now. Nothing like it.

Welcome back.

Thanks all
Tomorrow , or maybe Thursday, I am going to run off my first batch of sour mash. It will be interesting. I also have a batch of straight moonshine to cook off. It's going to be cold and I want to try running my condensing water off of a 5 gal bucket sitting outside, with a submersible pump in it. I only use a trickle of water to condense , it should be OK. I don't want to burn up my cistern pump. And if I burn up a cheap submersible pump, I can live with that.
OK I had the opportunity to go to Woodstock but didn't because I had no jack, who knew then it was going to be free.
I grew up in Raleigh, but now have a small farm in the high mountain country. Went out today and bought a pregnant alpine-nubian mix goat for milk .Also got 20 brown egg layers last week. And have a garden plot for organic veggies next summer. Life is great. I think I may have arrived.

Absolutely nothing like those smoky blue ridge mountains, and the people ain't bad either

good for you i hope you enjoy yourself and welcome from another old toad from east of Raleigh but Marion is where my heart is

Hello, "Old Ass". I'm new to posting here, but have been reading for a long time. I've only ran around 3 or 4 batches, but my drink is a lot better than the homemade stuff I used to buy around here. I've been using my homebrew beer experience and creating some of my own washes that have come out quite nice. I was up til 3 in the morning last weekend running off a 14 gal. batch. Man, that went on forever. I think I will stick to smaller batches. 8 gallon seems about right for me. I hope to brew another batch of beer soon, but that may never happen since I started this. Good luck with your new life!

HookLine wrote: Impound all Kombis,

How dare you impound my Kombi. I actually got it up to 50mph the other day, but it was down hill.

Love my Kombi, blanik

blanikdog wrote:

HookLine wrote: Impound all Kombis,

How dare you impound my Kombi. I actually got it up to 50mph the other day, but it was down hill.

Love my Kombi, blanik

I actually have a soft spot for Kombis, learned to drive in one, my parents had two of them, we travelled all over Oz in 'em.

When yall say "Kombi" ya mean the camper version of the VW Microbus, right?

If so, I'm with yall. I've had quite a few of 'em, both the camper and the standard version.

I'm a bit of a 4-cylinder air-cooled VW nut. They are easy to rebuild, easy to work on, and need little maintenance if driven properly, which few folk do. If folks would shift at the right time and keep the motor in the proper narrow power-band, there would be alot more 200k VW motors out there. They get good MPG too. A stock 1600 dual-port will get a hint over 20 MPG in a bus, if maintained and driven properly, and it'll get 33ish MPG in a Beetle. The same 1600 dual-port will get as much as 35 MPG in a Karman Ghia. The Gias are the worlds first auto with a Unibody. (1956.) I've had 2 of 'em (both '74's) one a hard-top and the other a convertable. They both had 1600cc dual-ports in 'em. I only gave 'em 2 upgrades: a low-impedence exhaust and switched out the stock vacuum advance distributer for a Bosh 009 mechanical advance distributer. Stock carb, flywheel, coolin', and everythin' else. The exhaust system and the distributer alone added 4 HP to that tiny 49 horse engine, and gave it another 1-2 MPG!

My favorite VW ever was my first Micro-bus. It was a '49 panel van. I found it in Baja California (Mexico) while on a VW Safari. It was the oldest VW we found on that Safari. I got it for 2 twenty dollar bills, and a cheap plastic Casio watch. It was complete with original 900 cc 25 HP motor and original transimission, but otherwise I was startin' from scratch: it had been a chicken coop for 20-some-odd years. The restoration took me the better part of a year but I ended up with a style of Microbus that the factory had no knowledge of. It was a "Barndoor" bus... where the whole back end of the bus swung up on huge hinges to give access to both the motor and the rear storage area. It had double doors on both sides to access the rear storage (my bus pushed that date back for the factory almost two decades), and it had only one rear tail-light/brake light/licence plate light dead center of the back of the bus. It also had "semiphores" for turn signals. When ya used yer turn signal an arm would pop outta the post behind the driver or passenger door and would have a glowin' amber light on the end of it.

I miss that Bus. I also miss my '57 rag-top Beetle, and my '74 convertable Ghia (it would only do 90 with the top down, but about 112 with the windows and top up), and I really, really miss my VW Safari. Most folks called the Safari "The Thing". I had one with both a hard and a soft top. It only had a top end of about 70 MPH, 'cause it was geared low, but with the limited-slip-transaxle it would climb hills like a Harley and do better in soft sand than a 4x4.






Now-a-days I drive a One-Ton Chevy truck with a Posi rear end. It gets the job done better, but not nearly as fun or personable as the old air-cooled VW's.

Dang mackerel - you ARE an old hippy aren't you? I had a 59 bug once, 36hp, ran it until the cam was round, wish I still had it. You don't have any photos of that old barn door do you?

Hello Old Ass - sounds like you are off to a roaring start! I think you have chosen the ultimate self sufficiency hobby, plus it can stand you in good stead if there ever is a shtf incident.

I also have a batch of straight moonshine to cook off

Is this that orange zest vanilla bean thing (sound interesting) or another recipe?

I had a 59 bug once

Had two bugs in my time , back in the day. How I wish they still made them. Never was a more practical car.

I used to be a VW mechanic for a while back in the 60's
Easiest motors to work on ever invented.
Engine removal, complete re-build, crank case, crank shaft, pistons, cylinders, heads etc. etc. etc. replace and test.
Came in first thing in the morning, out of the shop before knock off time. One mechanic.
Try that with any other vehicle in those days.





now what was the question again?

tracker0945 wrote:I used to be a VW mechanic for a while back in the 60's
Easiest motors to work on ever invented.
Engine removal, complete re-build, crank case, crank shaft, pistons, cylinders, heads etc. etc. etc. replace and test.
Came in first thing in the morning, out of the shop before knock off time. One mechanic.
Try that with any other vehicle in those days.

I overhauled my uncles Simca in less than a day, start to finish, back in the mid-70's, in the middle of winter, in an unheated garage... Same basic concept as a VW...

Sorry for deviating off-topic...

I had a 69 bug that I bought for $100. Had to use a coathanger to hold the body together, but she ran well and I drove her for a couple years. I rolled her over in a tobacco field one night when the brakes gave out. The rear window popped out, but it snapped right back in.
As far as my orange zest and vanilla are concerned, that is part of my recipe for my mash, I don't know if it really does anything, but the mash smells good when it's cooking, and the shine comes out with a chocolaty smell and is smooth. I also use a little brown sugar.
Cheers

We are showing our age here, boys. I don't know any young fellas into Kombis anymore. Some of em don't even know what one is.

theholymackerel wrote:When yall say "Kombi" ya mean the camper version of the VW Microbus, right?

They are easy to rebuild, easy to work on, and need little maintenance if driven properly, which few folk do. If folks would shift at the right time and keep the motor in the proper narrow power-band, there would be alot more 200k VW motors out there.

That is true. If you change gentle on em, they will go forever. Both ours got 200 k +.

If you can drive a Kombi good, you can drive anything.

Yes, Kombi = VW microbus.

We are showing our age here, boys. I don't know any young fellas into Kombis anymore. Some of em don't even know what one is.

We are indeed, and aren't we proud to be survivors! - Like most people our ages, there were several times that survival was iffy at best.

Butch50 wrote:We are indeed, and aren't we proud to be survivors! - Like most people our ages, there were several times that survival was iffy at best.

Ain't that the truth!

And a lot that fell by the wayside too early in life.












GodRestTheirTooYoungSoulsPunkin

punkin wrote:And a lot that fell by the wayside too early in life.

GodRestTheirTooYoungSoulsPunkin

Too many that were much too young.

But, we shall raise a toast to them and drink a drink to them, and remember them at the height of their glory, and tell their tales to the young so that they may have heroes.

Well, I'm pretty old (60) but gave up growing hair...well actually some of it gave up on me. Since I have a beard, I'm known as the old retired hippy down at the end of the road.

I had a VW bus for 7 or 8 years and drove it all over the country. Finally I got tired of adjusting the valves all the time and never having heat in the winter. Getting up some of those hills wasn't easy either.

Well, It's snowing outside and I got to go back out to the shop to finish some soldering on the new pot still I'm making.