One very handy cooling method I like is a small transfer pump pulling water out of my swimming pool. It can run through, dump back into the pool, and never get too warm to do the job. Plus I get a free pool heater out of the deal-though it never raises the temp more than 1 degree.
I like when you say it's not rocket science because I belong to a couple of distilling forums and members are always trying to make it rocket science. Thanks for the honesty.
Sweet setup ! Sorry to hear the store closed, I'd be even more sorry if it had been local to me. Sure wish I had 1 close by. Thanks for all you do George !
I've been brewing beer for years and am looking at running some spirits now. For my cooling I think I will use a stainless kettle or modify my mashtun to have a return line and use that as my cold water reservoir. I can circulate using my chugger pump. Add ice and circulate the water. Just keep adding ice as needed. Thanks for the great video.
Congrats on the retirement. I just went on the website after a year of being out the hobby and seen that it was closed down and did not know what happened. But I am glad that it was nothing worrisome.
George, I almost fell out of my chair laughing as you mentioned having a B.A.C. only to reveal a chilling system the size of a small house. Okay, you win! Yours is bigger than mine!
...yet another trick is to use excess tubing before running the vapours to the condenser. This will pre-cool the vapours using air cooling, which is for free and you will save some energy.
50k Congratulations George so now we have to get you over 60k. Thank you for another great video. Don't forget to subscribe and support George for all his hard work for us.
Using the evaporator from an air conditioner is a really cool idea (literally :-)). Another option might be using Peltier elements to chill down your water container. Unfortunately, I think these are not very energy efficient and you need a fan to take away all the heat as otherwise they are prone to break. Recirculating water baths (chillers) are another option, these are sold for labs, but are very expensive. I just keep a freezer with ice blocks in a tupperware container. I pop the ice blocks out of the tupperware using warm water and once all the ice melted, I use the cold water to refreeze it (to avoid straining the freezer too much).
George, in this video you talk about 100% Proof (50% ABV) / 204'f (94'c) as what you go down to, to ensure you avoid tails in a spirit run. Could you do a video to expand on this in detail? Bring out your whiteboard! How you came up with these thresholds, if you only get to 100% proof doesn't that leave a lot left in the still? etc? I have watched 100's of your videos and this specific concept lept out at me as something I'd specifically like to understand better from you. Thank you Sir for all your videos, Happy Stilling!
hey George, thanks for all the good info. I recently was given a 15 gallon keg half full ( roughly 7 gallons) of 4% beer. my question is ( may be a dumb question) if I have 5 gallons of mash 14% and I mix the 4% beer with it to run , will that lower my abv? thanks
I want to go to junior high school again and have George teach every subject (except math and geography, because he doesn't look as good as what I had)
I have yet to hear you mention distilling a fruit/ honey based fermented beverage. I’m curious as to how one would prep/ run a still differently from a mash? Also, I apologize if I get any of the terminology wrong, I’m very new to the distilling hobby.
Hey George, thanks a ton for the video. Is this the same still as you showed around the 10 minute mark of the Beginner's Guide #5 video? What still is it?
Howdy Mr. George, my name is Glenn nice to meet ya. I’m not a distiller yet but I’m thinking very strongly about it. I’ve been doing my homework and I like your videos. I have quite a few questions and was wondering if you have the time and patience to get me up and running. Nice meeting you sir, I hope to hear from you soon.
Most places have a personal or hobby distilling permit. Maybe someone at the city building where you live can point you in the right direction. Oregon has a personal hobby permit. Some of my fishing buddies brew stuff, especially black berry wine
@@hiramabiff8809 I hope you receive good news. I also understand that some perfumes and flavorings are distilled in this way, perhaps you can do that and well if something is distilled occasionally in the pursuit of research; well, se la vide. We have been blessed with the gift of life and should not be constrained by mans laws as long as we act responsibly and do not harm people or planet.
Hello George! Two questions! First, lets say that we have 5gal of mash to distil and on the other occasion we have 5 gal of 40% abv low wines to distil. In both occasions we have the same volume of liquid, 5 gals. Will the volume of foreshots be the same because of the same volume to distil, or it will be different because of the difference in abv between the mash and the low wines? Should i go with volume of by temperature to do the cuts? And second in a different occasion that we have 5 gals of mash to distil, or the striping run of that 5 gals which could be only 1 gal, will in that incantation the foreshots volume the be same because both liquids contain the same amount of ethanol? Thank you
