Distilling: Notes and Observations from a Novice
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2025 7:27 pm
I’ve been out of the hobby for about a decade as a result of life getting busy as well as several moves due to work relocations. Sold all of my equipment but kept my shop-built simple copper lyne arm. Distilled several generations of UJSSM and a single malt whiskey run back in the day before packing it in. Decided to dip my toes back into the golden pond recently and elected to start with Jimbo’s AG Wheated Bourbon recipe. I’ve now completed 6 stripping runs and 2 spirit runs and thought I would share a few notes and observations as a small give back in return for the wealth of knowledge freely shared here. None of this is new and most is old news to the veterans on the board but there may be a few nuggets here for those just starting out. Keep in mind there are many ways to skin a cat and this is just what seems to be working for me.
I ferment on the grain and distill dirty. Many varying opinions on this topic. I strain the grain from my mashes through a paint strainer but don’t wait to let the yeast to settle out of solution before distilling. I cook with propane. Electric heating would be more economical and efficient but the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze for me given my miniscule output. Only interested in making whiskeys and bourbons.
1. The Equipment
I ferment on the grain and distill dirty. Many varying opinions on this topic. I strain the grain from my mashes through a paint strainer but don’t wait to let the yeast to settle out of solution before distilling. I cook with propane. Electric heating would be more economical and efficient but the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze for me given my miniscule output. Only interested in making whiskeys and bourbons.
1. The Equipment
- a. I use a 15.5 gal keg with an opened top to heat and gelatinize my corn and a 20 gallon food grade trash can for my fermenter. I distill with a simple pot still – 15.5 gal keg for the boiler and a 2” diameter, 24” tall copper column which transitions into a 34” long Liebig water condenser at 45 degrees.
- a. I have been using cracked corn from the local feed store for Jimbo’s grain bill. I give the corn another grind using a cheap Corona crank grain mill (currently about $40 US on Amazon) with the handle removed and easily modded for use with a hand drill. The result is not cornmeal but much is much finer than the original grind. I have consistently been getting a juicy 1.068 with a 2.5lbs/gallon grain to water ratio.
b. I have been rinsing and drying the cracked corn prior to grinding to remove any dirt and anti-mold additives. This has added time and effort to the process so I’m soon switching to food grade cornmeal for less labor and improved conversion.
c. I first used a corded drill and then a cordless drill to drive the grain mill and both drills started overheated very quickly. I learned that these drills are typically not geared for low torque / low rpm’s. I then bought a fairly inexpensive corded paddle/mixing drill on Amazon (about $75 US) which grinds through the corn like butter and runs super cool. I will still use this drill to regrind the small grains once I switch to corn meal.
- a. I have not experienced even a whiff of a bad odor after 6 runs which is likely due to –
- i. I keep a spray bottle of Starsan close by and spritz anything that comes in contact with the mash, every time.
ii. I cold crash my mash after my malted grains have done their work using a couple of frozen water filled milk jugs, a large plastic tote container, a cheap submersible pump (again from Amazon, I should really buy some of Amazon stock given the amount of business I give them) and a copper wort chiller. I can usually crash the mash to 90 degrees to pitch the yeast within about 45 minutes.
iii. As mentioned, my fermenter is a food grade 20 gallon Brute trash can with a loose fitting lid. I don’t use a fermentation lock as the carbon dioxide given off is heavier than air and forms a solid air buffer over the mash inside the container. Once in the can, I only give the mash an occasional peek to check the status of the grain cap. Once the grain cap sinks back down into solution, I know its ready to distill. I usually give it an iodine test at that point just for fun. No need for multiple specific gravity checks throughout the process which could introduce bacteria unless you run into a problem (stalled ferment).
c. If your fermentation room is a bit on the cold side for the optimal temperature for the yeast you are using, try wrapping your fermentation container in a blanket. For my 12 gallon mash, I have found this will raise the mash temperature by 6 to 8 degrees without extra heat in the room. - i. I keep a spray bottle of Starsan close by and spritz anything that comes in contact with the mash, every time.
- a. I have been using Alpha Amylase (SEBstar HTL) and a glucoamylase (SEBAmyl GL) enzymes to assist in starch conversion during the mash. I highly recommend the use of Sebstar HTL if you are not currently using it. It converts your corn or cornmeal mush during gelatinization into a semi liquid state in a matter of seconds. Amazing to watch. The SEBAmyl GL is used after doughing in the malted grains to assist in the glucose formation. Probably not required if the diastatic power of your malted grains is sufficient but it is cheap insurance. The enzyme I use is also active down to a temperature of 77 degrees F so it will continue to munch away at any remaining liquified short chain starches for another day or so into the fermentation process. Cheap insurance and a possible contributor to the consistent OG’s I have been getting in the high 1060’s.
b. Note that both typically have recommended temperature and pH ranges for optimal results.
- a. My little shop / distilling shack experiences a fairly large temperature swing – mid 50’s in the winter and low 80’s in the summer months. For this reason, I decided to try a whiskey yeast with a wide fermentation temp range and decided to give the Fermentis SafSpririt USW-6 a try which has a 68 ~ 89F fermentation temperature range. It has been taking off like a rocket and consistently finishes with an FG of around 0.995.
b. I mix the yeast with a small bowl of 90 degree tap water and it looks turns into a foamy milkshake within 30 minutes. No need for distilled water or any other additives.
c. This yeast has a recommended dosage of 30 ~ 50 g/hl which pencils out to .81 oz or 23 grams for a 12 gallon mash. I use a cheap digital kitchen scale that I use for making sourdough bread to weigh the yeast.
d. The 500 gram bag of yeast then translates to about 19 ferments or 38 ferments if you are redistilling a sugerhead on the spent initial mash grains.
e. I keep the yeast bag tightly sealed and also bagged in a zip lock bag in the back of my refrigerator. Seems to be keeping it fresh.
f. All of my spirits are currently aging on oak so still too early to comment on flavor and congener profiles from this yeast but it seems to have a good reputation. Has anyone else tried this yeast?
- a. A 12 gallon (45 liter) ferment usually gives me 10 gallons (38 liters) of mash after a heavy forearm workout. That usually give me 2~2.5 gallons (9 liters) of low wines per stripping run.
b. I usually strip down to 15% to 20% ABV which typically gives me a final low wines ABV of around 35% which eliminates the need for further dilution and flavor loss to bring the ABV below 40% for your spirit run.
c. 3 stripping runs have been giving me 6~7 gallons (23 liters) of low wines.
d. For the spirit run, this quantity has been giving me about 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of white spirit after my cuts.
- a. I initially distill into quart and half gallon glass mason jars to aid in making my cuts – higher volume jars in the early Heads and mid Hearts (32 or 64 oz jar fills). I cut the jar volume down to a series of 16 oz jar fills (.5 liters) where I think my transition jars might land.
b. I have been making cuts that extend slightly into the late heads zone and a bit more deeply past the point where I begin to detect tails in the early tails transition jars as I intend to age the spirit for at least 6 months and preferably 18 months where the wet dog congeners begin turning into vanilla and caramel flavors. I make the heads cut initially by smell then then taste, moving cautiously away from the hearts jars into the heads transition jars and then stopping when I detect the heads burn on my tongue when tasting a small watered down sample from a spoon.
- a. I age in ½ gallon glass mason jars with charred oak sticks, 2 per ½ gallon.
b. For my oak sticks I bought a half bourbon barrel from the local box store (sold in the landscape department for planter boxes) and dissembled. I then cleaned up the barrel stave surfaces with a hand plane, cut them down into 1x1x5” sticks and then give them a medium char on all surfaces. A fresh barrel will smell like there is still bourbon sloshing around in the bottom!
- a. I’ve read recently that the old timers liked to sit around drinking some of their distillers beer (wash) when they were watching their stills. I had only ever taken a small sip so decided to hoist a small glass to the glory of our predecessors. It was actually not a bad drink – a mild corn, high alcohol, slightly sour beer, not that I’m going to be switching from an occasional Founders Porter when I’m in the mood for a beer.
b. Currently reading Mountain Spirits – A chronicle of Corn Whiskey. It was published in 1974 and includes many stories and anecdotes from the old Appalachian moonshiners who were producing traditional corn whiskey before prohibition changed everything. Very interesting read as these guys are no longer around to tell us their stories.
c. I have a cheap refractometer and it seems to be only marginally accurate even after a calibration. I’m sticking with my hydrometer.
d. And lastly . . . it seems you can never have too many Mason Jars.