Distillation

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Heh I'm the same. During the peak production I run pretty slow but as time goes along I tend to bump the temp a tiny bit just to get all the way to 96 in my column

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

I'm going to give that a twirl, I've been running in "power mode" on the bluetooth/connect controller, but it does make sense to step it on pot temp to equalize to head temp whilst in full reflux. I'm assuming that your water flow is adjusted to take it out of full reflux after you've reached the end of each step? Do you keep outlet temp at it at around 55c?

I get a decent flow on the water supply (using the needle valve on the little inline pump but I could use the standalone needle valve), let's say around a 50% flow through the column (you can see the flow on the transparent outflow pipe), and then I mostly ignore the outlet temp, because I realised the nature of reflux means the temp will go up & down all the time depending on the amount of distillate vapour in the column. If the outflow temp climbs too high (80 deg) then I tweak the flow, but NEVER lower than around 66 degrees.

[JIGSAW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JIGSAW]

I see THIS is new at BeerLab

Simpsons' number one selling distilling malt.

The main ingredient in Single malt Whiskey production.
2 – Row Spring, high yielding and what most Scotch/Japanese Pot Still Distillers use.

Moisture %		4.5
Extract lt°/kg (7Dry)	315
Colour °EBC	2	4
Total Nitrogen %		1.40
Total Soluble Nitrogen %	0.45	0.6
Soluble Nitrogen Ratio	35	39
Friability %	92
Homogeniety %	98
Glucan in Wort (ppm)		120
NDMA (ppb)	0.3
Fermentability % (un-boiled)	87
Predicted Spirit Yield "as is basis" lt°/tonne	410
Predicted Spirit Yield "dry basis" lt°/tonne	430

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[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Outlet - you mean your dripping distillate is never higher than 55°C? Because I keep mine ice cold. Literally. If I feel the dripping tube and it's not cold (like fridge water) to the touch, I either swap out the ice bottles or turn down the heat, or both.

[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Ah, I see, so you measure your water outlet temp as well. I guess that's not applicable to someone who runs a coil cooler in an ice bucket

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

Ah, I see, so you measure your water outlet temp as well. I guess that's not applicable to someone who runs a coil cooler in an ice bucket

oh God no, we're not cave men Wynand

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

I think there's a certain appeal to doing things "caveman style". Think of a braai. MEAT. ON FIRE. EAT MEAT OFF FIRE. Hmmmm...

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

I think there's a certain appeal to doing things "caveman style". Think of a braai. MEAT. ON FIRE. EAT MEAT OFF FIRE. Hmmmm...

TURN MEAT WITH FINGERS, LICK FINGERS, REPEAT

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Then your fire isn't hot enough. To get a lekker Maillard reaction you need a HOT fire. Sizzling fat. Can't turn that shit with fingers.

[jakeslouw Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jakeslouw]

Then your fire isn't hot enough. To get a lekker Maillard reaction you need a HOT fire. Sizzling fat. Can't turn that shit with fingers.

after enough dop anything is possible

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Great. Found this thread again. Going to be posting a bit more, I hope. This bug has bitten and I really need to get a bigger still!

[groenspookasem Banned Find all posts View Profile Close groenspookasem]

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

I think that's the big difference. I was heavily into whiskies before I started brewing beer, so this is like a renewed love for me. Being able to make the thing I've been loving for so long is fantastic.

Anyway, my next big thing (beside the whiskies, obviously) will be a distilled honey drink. I'm not sure how I'm going to get there purely because of the price of honey, but I guess we'll see someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I plan on making a distillate and then backsweetening it with honey, similar to the Jack Daniels Tenessee Honey. Maybe that's a good place to start - an all-grain distillate, placed on charred oak to sweeten out, proofed down to around 40%, maybe a bit less, and then sweetened with honey. I want it to be a relatively sweet "on the rocks" sipper.