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  • Distillation

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    groenspookasem
    Banned
    Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:27.

  • #2
    I've done hundreds of sessions using either a small pot still or the T500.

    My opinion:
    If you don't often drink hard tack, and prefer good stuff, I'd say save your money for high quality stuff from the shop. You'll be much happier and save some money.

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    • #3
      A friend of mine played around with a potstill to make some whiskey. It's not as easy as one might like it to be. If I were to seriously consider something like this, I'd go for the T500 rather than a Potstill.

      Not sure what you would want to make but the ultimate is always a good whiskey. Many whiskeys are distilled to a very high abv and most of the flavour then comes from the oak. From what I've gathered, Bains for example is a 100% corn mash, distilled in a massive reflux column. Most likely distilled to over 90% abv.

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      • #4
        ^ You're doing it wrong

        many a time I find myself "double fisted" ... whisky on the rocks in on hand and a beer in the other
        The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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        • #5
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          groenspookasem
          Banned
          Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:27.

          Comment


          • #6
            I have a copper T500 for my Grainfather - gotta admit, a lot of work for a little out. Prefer the brewing but hey, every now and again I can do away with a bad batch of beer or some old wine that doesn't taste nearly as good at home as on the farm...

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            • #7
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              groenspookasem
              Banned
              Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:27.

              Comment


              • #8
                You could link some sort of PID to a solenoid valve on the water inlet, but.... a still that isn't watched can explode if something goes wrong unchecked.

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                • #9
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                  groenspookasem
                  Banned
                  Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:27.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by groenspookasem View Post
                    I'm still (lol) researching this, but surely there must be a way to make it less hands on?
                    On my urn based alembic pot still, I'm there to catch the methanol and then I dump everything into a drum for the stripping run and even the second run. I don't sit and watch it, the reverse chiller on the lyne arm simply does its job.

                    I only bother with heads tails and hearts on the 3rd distillation.

                    If I use the T500, I constantly have to sit and tune that bloody water supply for the cooling jacket, you can't walk away.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by groenspookasem View Post
                      I saw some of those theoretical automation mentioned in online. Thinking about not constantly turning temp or flow up / down.

                      If all goes according to plan, my alembic will arrive soon. Pressure is on to get knowledgeable... Planning to kick a few double brew days to keep the kegs filled, then attempt a single grain whiskey, perhaps Vienna or Marris Otter.

                      Do you need recipes or just seat of the pants? Thinking to do a reiterated mash to hit high as possible OG. Voss kveik and perhaps enzymes to turn the mash into wash in double time

                      Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
                      Plain old Anchor yeast from the grocery store. Anything else is wasting money.

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                      • #12
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                        groenspookasem
                        Banned
                        Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:27.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by groenspookasem View Post
                          That does sound easier, I would be able to tune the GF temp which would affect the distillation process and adjust for volume loss and drop the temp accordingly. Do you need temp control though? Also, I understand that multiple runs increase ABV and clears the spirit - do you lose a lot of the malt flavor each run? I'm not too worried about hitting a high ABV on the first run - 70% is perfectly okay with me, not too worried about end volume. Have you ever done a single run, dumping the ethanol and heads, hearts, tail blending from there?
                          1) temp control is needed for purity
                          2) yes, multiple runs increase ABV, and the first stripping run always removes most flavours and aromas
                          3) first run @ 70 is optimistic, I'd say around 55-60% unless you have a high ABV beer/mash
                          4) yes, when I do something like mampoer, I stay with one run and split off every 200ml into individual bottles and then taste and smell everything once it is all cooled down

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                          • #14
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                            groenspookasem
                            Banned
                            Last edited by groenspookasem; 29 March 2021, 11:28.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by groenspookasem
                              @TheFlyingBrew Would using the alembic copper still not impart more grain flavor? I'd be keen to attempt a rye, a smoked malt and a "vienna single malt" whisky and barrel age for at least a year. I do get the impression it's quite an art, I need to do more research.
                              Hi Groenspookasem, probably best to follow Jakes' advice as he has much more hands on experience in this. My understanding is that the extra flavour you get from the potstill is not always a plus and might make it more difficult when making whiskey, especially for someone starting with distillation. I wouldn't know about the cooling issues with the T500 and it's a pity to hear this because I was thinking to some day go that route. Things like yeast selection doesn't really seem to get through in the final product so I'd agree with jakes and not go for any fancy beer yeast. At most i'd go for something like turbo yeast to reach a higher abv than what I can get from beer yeast, which could help if you have a relatively small still. Even grain selection doesn't really come through as much as you might think so I wouldn't splash for expensive marris otter. SAB malt should be fine to start with. Could even add some simple sugar to boost abv. We did some with wheat but didn't try rye.

                              A large part of the whole whiskey thing is not so much the yeast and grain selection but rather the use of back-set from previous distillation in next, knowing how to do your cuts (which is an experience thing), knowing how to oak or age it appropriately and having the required patience. And yes, you certainly can over-oak a spirit. Most of this comes with experience and doing it often enough. It is a bit of an art that you can't really learn in a text book because every setup is a bit different and I'm not sure what volume of a kettle is really required to make all of this a feasible/enjoyable hobby. Still hope to do more of it some day though. When I do, I'll probably go for a reflux still and first hone my skills on doing a really clean spirit that doesn't need as much aging time. Something like schnaps or mampoer. Once I'm comfortable with all of that, I'd be more willing to invest the time into making a Whiskey.

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