He never had shine from a copper still with a thumper then. Cause 160 corn whiskey is delicious you cant make that assumption brewing through stainless steel.
Fantastic series!! Thank you very much for a fairly thorough explanation and visual of the steps, especially for newbies. I can't wait to get this new hobby underway! Much appreciated! 😁 I'm going to check out your other videos as well and recommend them to others!
By far the best videos on UA-cam from stage one till the end mate. I’m currently fermenting the same. Tried before but failed miserably, whole thing tasted like petrol
You earned a subscriber. Awesome series. I’m new to the hobby and this helped me understand a lot better than most other channels on UA-cam. I’ve been building up my supplies over 2 weeks and just discovered this series and only thing I’m missing is a air still and the oat and wheats which I assume are just for flavor and a little more starch as the amylase is what converted to sugars. Thanks for your time! Keep up the awesome videos!!!
Thanks for the videos. I've been searching and watching videos little over a week trying to learn more. I had to say you got the best videos out! You hit on everything , now I think I do a better job thanks to you!
This will help you create something better than UJSSM style mashes (meaning, ones that involve adding sugar). You wouldn't believe what you can achieve with all grain, no sugar, and high temperature enzymes instead of that powdered amalayse.
Love your videos. You are from my home country. My sister runs Fuel Services in Scottsbluff. My mom lives in Torrington. My son and daughter live in Glenrock and Casper. I had a machine shop in Oshkosh for 9 years before I came down here to Texas in 09. Keep doing things the common sense way.
A very good series of videos. Thank you for all the hard work. I had not thought about using an air still for finishing, but it makes pretty good sense. Love to compare notes some time. -- den
I just got the air still for that purpose because it was cheaper than buying a reflux column and bubble plates. Less than half the price and is just the right size for the amount of ethanol that you'd get out of a 5 gallon run.
Great videos. Question. I ferment in a 5g bucket. Couple times I kept the mash in a mesh bag. One time no bag but had the bag in the still. Regardless of either of those, the grain holds a lot of the liquid after leading me to have to squeeze the bag of mash by hand. What do you do to get all or most of the liquid out? Or what would you recommend? Use a hand strainer and scoop all the mash out?
I suspend the bag from a rope above the brew pot for a couple days and let it drip dry. While you may think there's a lot of liquid trapped in there, the distilled amount left in there after drip drying would only amount to maybe a tablespoon.
Since you can't safely redistill more than 80 proof, there will always be water left behind in the still at the end of the run. I never worry about heads and tails when redistilling. I always make sure the still is clean before I run it and I quit running the air still when nothing more is coming out of it. What ends up in the pitcher is 140 proof and anything nasty that might have been in there gets left behind. If on the off chance there was anything I didn't like, I'd just redistill it again just like they do with vodka.
Maybe, I'm not sure. I just put these videos together for a cousin of mine so he could see how simple it actually is "if you want it to be simple". I have nothing against people who do things the fancy, high tech, complicated way. I just don't have time for all that and do things as simple as the hillbilly moonshiners do.
Great videos, and lots of good tips. I guess there are many ways to skin a cat; most stills have copper tubes and copper mesh. Commercial distiller say the copper removes sulfides/sulfates, but you have all stainless steel stills. Anyway I have a request, could you spend few bucks and get a tripod. You may not notice but you have a nervous hand. Also some video cameras/cell phone have a built in stabilizer.
There's copper packing in the area where the thermometer is located, all stainless steel stills have copper packing in them somewhere. As for the tripod request, I already have one. I mentioned in all of these videos that they were made as a guide for my cousin. This isn't a homebrew and distillation channel, this channel is for my greenhouse business. There is a channel trailer video on the home page of this channel stating that and any other videos related to that topic are posted on my personal page at ua-cam.com/users/LarryAthey
@@PanhandlePonics I clicked next through but I guess I missed the later ones - I guess your first run was a stripping run then you did that when you used the air still?
Probably not a stripping run by definition of what others call a stripping run. The wash was reading about 18% before it went into the 5 gallon still and then everything after that was distilled a second time in the air still. Now I just use a T500 and do the whole thing in one shot. I gave the other 5 gallon still to a friend.
Great vid series on this! Awesome! Curios, You don’t make cuts on your final spirit run? How do you separate your heads, hearts and tails if you’re running straight through the night unattended?
The video that you're commenting on is a second distillation, so that wouldn't be necessary because it was already taken care of in the first distillation.
I also didn't do a stripping run. They don't do that stuff in commercial distilleries, there's a lot of things that are only done in UA-cam videos that they don't do in commercial distilleries. Old moonshiners also never did half of the things that you see people do in UA-cam videos.
From my tests here using heavily cracked corn (not quite milled, larger chunks), no sugar or other grains whatsoever, and using high temperature liquid enzymes instead of powdered amalayse. It was 2 pounds of corn per gallon of water. Pretty much the same process as I used here, but the application of the enzymes is different (have to follow the bottle's instructions).
I always give it 4 hours. I start at 82C and progressively ramp it up to 90C so it runs the last hour at 90C. When there's nothing more coming out of it, you usually end up right at 140 proof and pretty much nothing but water left in the air still.
I'm on well water (7.5 to 8 pH) and as you probably know, it's loaded with carbonates and fighting pH levels is a battle that ends and restarts every minute. I gave up fighting with pH levels in my aquaponics system a long time ago and just chose to grow things that work with my pH. So far, every yeast I've used is able to adapt to it as well.
Methanol has a lower boiling temperature than ethanol, which means it comes out first. This is often referred to as foreshots (some people like to think that's the heads). You just throw out whatever comes out before the boiling temperature of ethanol. It's really not much to worry about even if you don't, there's not enough to poison you. There's more naturally occurring methanol in a gallon of apple juice than there is in 5 gallons of fermented whiskey mash. This is covered in an earlier video in this playlist.
There's a lot of bullshit perpetuated in this field by self-proclaimed master distillers. The ones that really crack me up are the people who insist that air locks are an absolute necessity and how you have to worry about your mash turning into vinegar. I've actually tried, it evaporated first. I must just not be lucky enough to have the necessary bacteria floating around in the air here.
I only use this thing for making gin now. After I switched to a T-500 still, I get much cleaner results than I got with that stainless steel milk can still.
You're completely way off on that assumption, and the end result is a hell of a lot better than anything that's mass produced and sold in retail outlets. It's pretty easy to fool yourself into that kind of conclusion if you've never tried to do it yourself. I have 3 UA-cam channels and I see comments like this all the time (aka: Internet Sour Grapes Syndrome).
You obviously didn't pay attention, or only paid attention until you saw something that looked too hard to do. Out of a run like this, I end up with a gallon of 130 proof moonshine. A gallon of 80 proof Jim Beam costs more than the ingredients here cost, even a gallon of the cheap no-name stuff costs more.
That's a lot like saying that you'd rather go buy a Big Mac than obtain and cook a premium steak. By the way, where are you getting your figures from? You know why they say some things are as cheap as chicken feed? Guess what the ingredients here actually are. I'll save you the research, they're exactly the same things that make chicken feed.
Great videos. The best I've seen on UA-cam. I even went back and took notes on the process. This is how I make my whiskey and bourbon. Super simple.
some of us so called "Hillbillies", love the taste of authentic Moonshine as soon as the heads are thrown off... ;)
Yep, I know. I also know some people who think there's something good about the taste of a raw egg...Pass
He never had shine from a copper still with a thumper then. Cause 160 corn whiskey is delicious you cant make that assumption brewing through stainless steel.
Fantastic series!! Thank you very much for a fairly thorough explanation and visual of the steps, especially for newbies. I can't wait to get this new hobby underway! Much appreciated! 😁 I'm going to check out your other videos as well and recommend them to others!
Thanks for the name drop that rye was so smooth now I know why thank you for posting these to UA-cam.
By far the best videos on UA-cam from stage one till the end mate. I’m currently fermenting the same. Tried before but failed miserably, whole thing tasted like petrol
Nice series of videos Brother! I learned a lot! Making my first mash run tonight...
Rock on!
You earned a subscriber. Awesome series. I’m new to the hobby and this helped me understand a lot better than most other channels on UA-cam. I’ve been building up my supplies over 2 weeks and just discovered this series and only thing I’m missing is a air still and the oat and wheats which I assume are just for flavor and a little more starch as the amylase is what converted to sugars. Thanks for your time! Keep up the awesome videos!!!
Thanks for the videos. I've been searching and watching videos little over a week trying to learn more. I had to say you got the best videos out! You hit on everything , now I think I do a better job thanks to you!
This will help you create something better than UJSSM style mashes (meaning, ones that involve adding sugar). You wouldn't believe what you can achieve with all grain, no sugar, and high temperature enzymes instead of that powdered amalayse.
I might start secondary distillation as I also have an air still with temp control, great idea.
Epic video, love your commentary
Love your videos.
You are from my home country. My sister runs Fuel Services in Scottsbluff. My mom lives in Torrington. My son and daughter live in Glenrock and Casper. I had a machine shop in Oshkosh for 9 years before I came down here to Texas in 09.
Keep doing things the common sense way.
Interesting, I'm trying to figure out why your name sounds so familiar. I've never been a frequent flyer at machine shops.
ua-cam.com/video/2SM1IIH9F_o/v-deo.html
i love the taste as it comes out of the still.... i dont gulp it i take shots as it comes out of the still i find that to be the best taste
I do too!
A very good series of videos. Thank you for all the hard work. I had not thought about using an air still for finishing, but it makes pretty good sense. Love to compare notes some time. -- den
I just got the air still for that purpose because it was cheaper than buying a reflux column and bubble plates. Less than half the price and is just the right size for the amount of ethanol that you'd get out of a 5 gallon run.
Great videos. Question. I ferment in a 5g bucket. Couple times I kept the mash in a mesh bag. One time no bag but had the bag in the still. Regardless of either of those, the grain holds a lot of the liquid after leading me to have to squeeze the bag of mash by hand. What do you do to get all or most of the liquid out? Or what would you recommend? Use a hand strainer and scoop all the mash out?
I suspend the bag from a rope above the brew pot for a couple days and let it drip dry. While you may think there's a lot of liquid trapped in there, the distilled amount left in there after drip drying would only amount to maybe a tablespoon.
Hi, how much liquid remained in the air still after 2nd run? Do you ever have heads and tails in 2nd run.
Since you can't safely redistill more than 80 proof, there will always be water left behind in the still at the end of the run. I never worry about heads and tails when redistilling. I always make sure the still is clean before I run it and I quit running the air still when nothing more is coming out of it. What ends up in the pitcher is 140 proof and anything nasty that might have been in there gets left behind. If on the off chance there was anything I didn't like, I'd just redistill it again just like they do with vodka.
Enjoy the simplicity of your blogs,short and to the point,,,,do you plan to add any new Distillation processes to your channel?
Maybe, I'm not sure. I just put these videos together for a cousin of mine so he could see how simple it actually is "if you want it to be simple". I have nothing against people who do things the fancy, high tech, complicated way. I just don't have time for all that and do things as simple as the hillbilly moonshiners do.
ua-cam.com/video/2SM1IIH9F_o/v-deo.html
Great video, learned alot.
How much volume u get out of your 2 ltrs after your 2nd run and then tempering it down to 80 proof?
I honestly don't remember, I thought I might have mentioned that in the video. I could be wrong, but I think it's between 1.5 and 2 gallons.
Great videos, and lots of good tips.
I guess there are many ways to skin a cat; most stills have copper tubes and copper mesh. Commercial distiller say the copper removes sulfides/sulfates, but you have all stainless steel stills.
Anyway I have a request, could you spend few bucks and get a tripod. You may not notice but you have a nervous hand. Also some video cameras/cell phone have a built in stabilizer.
There's copper packing in the area where the thermometer is located, all stainless steel stills have copper packing in them somewhere. As for the tripod request, I already have one. I mentioned in all of these videos that they were made as a guide for my cousin. This isn't a homebrew and distillation channel, this channel is for my greenhouse business. There is a channel trailer video on the home page of this channel stating that and any other videos related to that topic are posted on my personal page at ua-cam.com/users/LarryAthey
Great series! Did you describe how you mix up the heads, hearts and tails of the distillation? Also assuming you threw out the foreshots?
Yes...That question tells me that you didn't watch all 5 of the videos. But it's all covered.
@@PanhandlePonics I clicked next through but I guess I missed the later ones - I guess your first run was a stripping run then you did that when you used the air still?
Probably not a stripping run by definition of what others call a stripping run. The wash was reading about 18% before it went into the 5 gallon still and then everything after that was distilled a second time in the air still. Now I just use a T500 and do the whole thing in one shot. I gave the other 5 gallon still to a friend.
I'm curious how did you make your cuts? Four shots heads hearts tails
Same way they do it in a commercial distillery, see the video right before this one, #4 in the play list.
Great vid series on this! Awesome! Curios, You don’t make cuts on your final spirit run? How do you separate your heads, hearts and tails if you’re running straight through the night unattended?
The video that you're commenting on is a second distillation, so that wouldn't be necessary because it was already taken care of in the first distillation.
@@PanhandlePonics oh so you made all your cuts in the stripping run?
I also didn't do a stripping run. They don't do that stuff in commercial distilleries, there's a lot of things that are only done in UA-cam videos that they don't do in commercial distilleries. Old moonshiners also never did half of the things that you see people do in UA-cam videos.
@@webcrawler3332 you'd only make cuts on single distillation. With double-distillation you don't need to make any cuts
Thanks your video! May i know the name of the second distill machine?
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C8RC3TK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
How much corn would you recommend to use for a 5 gallon mash if i wanted to use no other grains?
From my tests here using heavily cracked corn (not quite milled, larger chunks), no sugar or other grains whatsoever, and using high temperature liquid enzymes instead of powdered amalayse. It was 2 pounds of corn per gallon of water. Pretty much the same process as I used here, but the application of the enzymes is different (have to follow the bottle's instructions).
I love my gallon air still for water it makes a pint in less than an hour lol
Love your videos. How much did you discard on the 2nd distillation?
Nothing to discard, ethanol was already removed in the first distillation.
How long did it take for you to drip in the airstill
I always give it 4 hours. I start at 82C and progressively ramp it up to 90C so it runs the last hour at 90C. When there's nothing more coming out of it, you usually end up right at 140 proof and pretty much nothing but water left in the air still.
Not sure if you talked about the PH level of your wash since the yeast likes an environment of around 5-6 pH level
I'm on well water (7.5 to 8 pH) and as you probably know, it's loaded with carbonates and fighting pH levels is a battle that ends and restarts every minute. I gave up fighting with pH levels in my aquaponics system a long time ago and just chose to grow things that work with my pH. So far, every yeast I've used is able to adapt to it as well.
ua-cam.com/video/2SM1IIH9F_o/v-deo.html
sir, how to separate methanol from ethanol during distillation.
Methanol has a lower boiling temperature than ethanol, which means it comes out first. This is often referred to as foreshots (some people like to think that's the heads). You just throw out whatever comes out before the boiling temperature of ethanol. It's really not much to worry about even if you don't, there's not enough to poison you. There's more naturally occurring methanol in a gallon of apple juice than there is in 5 gallons of fermented whiskey mash. This is covered in an earlier video in this playlist.
@@PanhandlePonics Finally someone who understands this. Im tired of hearing people say if you dont take out the foreshots youll die.
There's a lot of bullshit perpetuated in this field by self-proclaimed master distillers. The ones that really crack me up are the people who insist that air locks are an absolute necessity and how you have to worry about your mash turning into vinegar. I've actually tried, it evaporated first. I must just not be lucky enough to have the necessary bacteria floating around in the air here.
What is the brand of the air still
Seeutek, but Amazon shows it as no longer available. But there are lots of other ones from different brands that have adjustable temperature control.
Air still sold by still spirits is a popular brand@@PanhandlePonics
Yep, I just wanted one that was adjustable instead of their one-trick-pony air stills.
Yes it is I drink mine right off the still and it tastes good remember the old timers only distilled once
I only use this thing for making gin now. After I switched to a T-500 still, I get much cleaner results than I got with that stainless steel milk can still.
This looks like fun but for the amount of hooch you get in the end the cost of making it is 3x what you pay for name brand whiskey.
You're completely way off on that assumption, and the end result is a hell of a lot better than anything that's mass produced and sold in retail outlets. It's pretty easy to fool yourself into that kind of conclusion if you've never tried to do it yourself. I have 3 UA-cam channels and I see comments like this all the time (aka: Internet Sour Grapes Syndrome).
You obviously didn't pay attention, or only paid attention until you saw something that looked too hard to do. Out of a run like this, I end up with a gallon of 130 proof moonshine. A gallon of 80 proof Jim Beam costs more than the ingredients here cost, even a gallon of the cheap no-name stuff costs more.
That's a lot like saying that you'd rather go buy a Big Mac than obtain and cook a premium steak. By the way, where are you getting your figures from? You know why they say some things are as cheap as chicken feed? Guess what the ingredients here actually are. I'll save you the research, they're exactly the same things that make chicken feed.