This channel is designed to offer insight and background on the science, art and practice of making alcohol based products at home. Lin for the apps: oaa.app.link/l...
George, these videos are great. I'm an old chemical engineer who has been shining for a few years. I built my still from an old stock pot and scrap-copper and I'm self-taught, so my product has never been very good, until I started watching your videos. You explain the distillation science very well and your tips and tricks are wonderful. Thank you for both the education and entertainment!
I've been in this hobby for over two years. Read the entire "flute" tread on forum. Spent months of doing research. Built a couple of columns including a 4 plate modular column with 5500w heater.... But i still watch your videos from start to finish to absorb the information, every single one of them! Thank you!
I don't know why he thinks that either. The cooler the top of the reflux column, the greater the reflux, and lesser the amount of vapor making it to the condenser. The higher the reflux, the higher the ABV of the distillate, and the lower the total volume of distillate.@@kevind7617
Sir George. Watching your video session is more like having a conversation with you in person. What are you giving away is the profound experience earned by research, experiment, trials, , errors corrections and success through the years. The way you talk. I just simply love it. You are so frank and very friendly and very very informative in every little detail you explain. When you say "you follow me ". Yes Sir, absolutely i follow you in every bit. You really helped me a lot to correct my misconception about home brew. You are the man. Thank you so much.May God bless you Sir. Take care.
25:45 If you increase the cooling of the dephlegmator (i.e. the partial condenser), the column's number of theoretical plates (and so the separation, and so the proof) is gonna INCREASE, NOT DROP !
I'm definitely no expert on copper. Ive heard it will hang on to fusel oils while ur running. Who knows. Appreciate all your knowledge and videos George. Ty
Happiness is Distilling! Sir, you my friend have a direct connection with my tin foil hat, or lack there of. Lol I just got done with half, of my forth run, 3.5 gl pressure cooker pot still. But I changed my travel process, I used a 3/4 inch flex tube 36inches long, with about a 20 in rise, same mash as last, but threw in 4 lbs of brown sugar, and a can of coconut flavored oil and 10 drops of banana extract, Yes, there was a bit of gelatinous stuff that worried me at first, and sucked too clean up after. But it came out tasting like a Caribbean style gin. It ran off in about 2 hours, produce 3 pints of rocket fuel, and my neighbor is passed out on my living room floor. Thank you for you're passion for your informative videos, legitimate advice, and answering my questions about the hobby, about an hour after l figure out what I need too know. Its truly amazing ! How ever you know exactly what I need too continue my adventures in self medicamanagement, I applaud you! I thank you! And you sir, are my fricking hero !!!!! 👏 😎
Aluminum coated bubble wrap is available in rolls at Home Depot. I just wrap it around, cut it to size and tape it together with aluminum muffler tape. Probably duct tape would be fine.
George, I love you so much as a mentor and as a human. I can tell you this about copper; I can detect the sulphur compounds, whatever they are, in the nose, so strongly that I cannot drink a drop made without running through copper. I can 100% pick out products not run through a reflux that haven't used copper in the vapor path. However, I cannot say the same for something run through a reflux as my only experience use on pot stills. That's all I know. Maybe the reflux makes the difference. I'm not sure
Thanks. You have a very special sense of compounds. I cannot detect any difference at all but still hold out on the prospect that something is happening.
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing I do have a fairly sensitive sense of smell. I cannot drink jack daniels because of the acetones. Very loose cuts IMO. I met my neighbor down the way, and he also agreed that bluefish distilling white dog out of colorado springs is so sulphuric he couldn't drink it. Strangely, that smell is only on the nose for me. I've never tasted it. Thanks for the response. I'm going to be studying this video. Just ordered a 4 plate, 4" perforated flute column and a 26 gallon fermenter
Hey George! Your videos are great, thanks! As far as the copper mesh goes, my understanding is that it helps increase the final proof. As water and ethanol travels up the column, I would think the water would be more likely to condense on the mesh and drop back down. Wouldn't it work the same way as the marbles and ceramic bits but with a lot more surface area?
It does initially but after the temperature balances it is only providing more surface area for the vapor to travel over. It helps but does not really increase proof. The process control is what affects the proof not the packing. George
Sulfiet as we call it, is prohibited being used to prevent meat from turning brown, simply because it's bad for your health. Still it is in wine. In the good old days we used tons of it.
Mr George. Fellow Texan here. Been watching you and think you are spot on with just about all you go over. I haven't had the time watch all your yet so I have a question. What's the A/C all about? It gets humid down there, but having it in the shop? I suspect you've harnessed the power of A/C for some sort of condenser. Can't finish this video yet so I hope for my sake you dont explain it here. Great info sir. I really enjoy your videos. -B
This is the video set I’ve been looking for. I understand much about refluxing but you are just the man to fill in the gaps. Appreciate this very much. Good stuff and best wishes.👍🥃
Hello George, Thanks again for the great information. I was wondering about the direction of water flow the head of a cross tube reflux still. It seems common convention is for the water to run from the bottom to the top as in a Liebig condenser. Shouldn’t it actually flow from top to bottom? If the cold enters the bottom won’t it be creating a “wall” of cold then fading where as if the cold was at the top the rising molecules would experience more of a deceleration? Thanks
Sorry,i dont know english well,i have a solder wire with 42%sn,50%bismut and 8%copper.can i use it for solding a shutgun condensor and runing copper reflux?
Hey George, theoretically speaking. Is there a specific temperature in the reflux circulation water that we can control? If we had 170°F water circulating all the time will that work for a more consistent reflux? Maybe find that perfect place where it is flavorless or that sweet spot where just enough flavor passes.
Just my opinion...May be more effective to just adjust water flow to match proof and production rate instead of trying to control the temperature of the water.
One question, if the reflux column is equiped with a precooler, wahet is the appropriate set point of the temperature we have to obtain in the precooler?
Copper works as a filter, capturing bacteria substances and waste products. The taste difference between copper condenser tube, and steel/other material with active coal filter is profound.
Waste, yes. "Bacteria substances?" Not sure what substances you are referring to, but boiling wash should have little more than a bit of now dead, uncleared yeast, and the temperature and alcohol content of the steam passing over it ensure that no microorganisms make it through the still.
@@MrGregrice Bcz going by the taste, I'd say the copper reacts with sulfites and phophorous compounds as well as being an antibacterial material, at least copper alloys, brass and bronze are. Dunno exactly if it's the copper or the tin/zink doing the heavy lifting there, but properties of capturing and killing bacteria it has. And, as said, the taste is night and day different. It has less other stuff in it when the product has gone through clean copper pipe, than coal filter.
George, I'm really really intrigued with your cooling system you built. I'm tired of the whole frozen gallon jugs of water in the cooler. I know you have posted your email but I can't find it.
I clicked "ok" on the pop up, then clicked on the 3 lines in the upper corner and clicked on the "google" option to sign in. Then searched for "barley" to bring up the calculators. Hope this helps.
George.....Its not a matter about sulfites/sulfates when dealing with a copper still....Copper scrubbs out SULPHUR COMPOUNDS because it sticks to the copper.Stainless steel does not allow Sulphur to stick to it as much and its mostly related to the way the mash is fermented...........You know about batshit crazy yeast and the byproduct........
Interesting thing about this topic. I've been testing lately to determine as accurately as possible the effects of copper and actually what is happening. So far I found that hydrogen sulfide is the cause of the off odors in many washes and mashes. It is not hydrogen sulfite or sulfate (neither one is present). What is most interesting at this point is the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) before fermentation. It appears that this is a natural byproduct that is produced even before fermentation starts. This tells me that yeast are not the creators of this gas which is opposite everything I read about the topic. I've been at this for several weeks and have tested this in various stages. Planning a video on this soon to demonstrate the findings. I know that it is common practice to use copper, even more common that everyone says copper removes this gas (H2S is a gas) so I need to further study this to determine just how accurate this is. This is a slow process but I am making headway. George
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing You are the man and have faith youll get to the bottom of it scientifically and then give is the facts behind it all....Thanks George!!
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing Never stop seeking info and youre right,-you cant quit now. I found the easiest way to get the sulphur compounds is to start the yeast at a mix of 1 teaspoon ec118 and 1 teaspoon of DADY then pitch at 95 degrees and keep fermenter at 85-90 degrees..You also need to start a yeast colony and pasteurize them for food and only do 1/2 can of tomato paste...3 days and youll have 3 asses fermenting....LOL Testing the copper scrubber material for sulphur compounds would also be ideal...keep up the awesome stuff you do as you are a true teacher of the art...Cheers George
Im currently running a brewmaster ice master 4 glycol chiller on my 30 gal reflux and im very disappointed 3.5 hours in im at 120 degrees f way to hot i start off at about 10 degrees lol wish I could keep at around 50 degrees any ideas
George your awesome !! Its so great to have a seasoned pro showing you every little detail so well . This is like a free Distillation college course ! Im learning so much from these videos ....i just cant thank you enough . Really . Take care.
Why not put the water control valve on the outlet? Every still i see the cooling water is throttled on the inlet... but at low flow rates it can cause air to be trapped and water flow is not constant. In my industry water cooled heat exchangers usually control on the outlet. There is only one small issue... cant close the valve off or it might be turning that tubing into a boiler... which it isnt. Just need to keep it cracked open a tad.
I absolutely love your myth busting. Its surprising how many times "common knowlage" proves to be false or irrelevant. Unfortunately in the medical profession there is as much as anywhere, I know because I run a charity for people with a rare Metabolic condition. . However totally false information is readily available on any conspiracy site or anti Vaxer's blog / video / post. ;) Keep smiling and keep up the simple straight accurate information I am learning loads! ;)
Insulating the boiler is for efficiency, don't insulate the column it'll just reduce your reflex. I'd only ever insulate the column in pot still mode when trying to maximise taste transfer.
I really must disagree that doing a strip run is “running incorrectly”. Sure, I can run a wash strictly as a slow reflux, and it’ll make some fine spirit. Especially if I start with something already pretty clean (I’ve had access to some commercially “prefiltered” neutral malt base that does not need a strip run) but there are reasons to make a strip run first. Personally, I prefer to harvest the bulk of my wash and do a flat-out strip run deep into the tails. With my fermentation method this leaves some weak wash that wouldn’t fit into the still pot. This weak wash then gets run with the previous low wines and any previous feints as a controlled reflux, spirit run. Yes, this is partially a volume management method, but more importantly a method to uniformly distill a larger batch from a primary and secondary racking method of the wash. I’ve found better flavor characteristics from this ‘split’ method than by simply trying to equalize the total wash volume beforehand and then simply dividing it between two reflux runs. Plus the material handling is actually much easier. Therein lies the beauty in a column like that; versatility. Detune it and run as a pot still for certain high flavor washes. Or pack it and go full reflux for neutral or at least closer to it. What is correct is more dependent upon the end goal.
Thank you Guru George The best info I got was do it right the first time ( which is also a great rule for life ) You have made the controls of reflux sound a lot clearer. Also a big thanks for taking all the BS out and using common sense, science and logic!!!
I am an insulator by trade for 25+ years and here is the conversion for insulation on pipe. If it is a copper column then your insulation will be 1/8” bigger than the pipe. If it is a 2” copper pipe you need 2-1/8 pipe insulation If it is other than copper then it will be the same size. 2” stainless is 2” insulation
George how can one get all the water out of the alcohol? i am looking to use it to remove the oils off of cannibas plants for medical purposes! They usually use isopropyl alcohol but I want to use a more animal grade product. Do you have a email?
George, I'm just getting into this hobby after all grain beer brewing for 42 years and your videos are invaluable. I've built my own reflux still and you sharing your knowledge and experience, as you do, is a fantastic resource. Thank you so much.
I've worked as a process operator for 30+ years and under stand what your saying BUT!!! As the case with most operators, I had to learn by on job training. If any supervisor or Sr operator could have ever explained the way your explaining years ago, could have made life so much easier. I know some operators with 30+ years would have trouble following you on this. What is your background? You should give classes Thanks M L Rogers Pasadena, TX
Wife has a ChiliPad Sleep system she don't like... Bad for her good for me??? ... small cooling and heating unit I thought might be re-purposed... to expensive to not use IMHO. Not sure of the pumps ability to push uphill a ton.. need to test.. seems like this may work 55-115F 13-46C Great as a heat blanket for fermenting and the cooling should do the trick for condensing???? - if that don't work I have a AC unit so I will apply what you shared regarding the video on the AC cooling system!!! Thanks George!
At the 26:20 mark, he's talking about not enough water vs too much water. With both examples he says you'll have a drop in proof. Maybe I'm missing it or didn't hear correctly, which one would have a higher proof?
Thanks for at last answering why a stripping run, I see the point now (and as I’m only going to have a small still I can just concentrate on getting it done right 1st time!!) As ever great stuff, you give me just enough information to think about and get straight in my own head ...
George, thank you for settling the copper debate! as in let's agree to disagree. i don't think it makes any difference, but it doesn't hurt anything to throw a roll of copper in the column to silence the trolls.
Lol George has a video on it. He wouldn't leave us hanging like that, the man loves his toys and he's happy to teach us how. I'll be making a 120 volt PID pretty soon and following his instructions to the letter. Then the cooler next.
Awesome video George just in time I received the last piece for my new build and will get all put together tomorrow and make my first run on it Sunday. Thank You for all your help and Happy Happy stillin.
@@mikebullard1797 it went great Mike thanks for asking Georges information helped a great deal and I finished with three gallons of 185 proof neutral a gallon of which I split into two one gallon jars then filled the rest with raspberries when it finishes I'll cut it down and add some cream mix from still spirits my wife loves it. Happy Wife Happy Life.
This was the most informative video on distilling I have seen yet. It is the what that is explained and not the why, which is most beneficial and what you did well
The issue with copper is that while there aren't added sulfites ir sulfates, there is always going to be some amount if hydrogen sulfide (H²S) and SO² (sulfur Dioxoide) produced by the yeast during fermentstion. These compounds can cause bitterness, harshness, a dry or hot mouth feel, headaches, hangovers, etc. The sulfuric gasses coming to contact with copper results in a reaction that causes crystalline (basically a salt) copper sulphide/curriculum sulphide to form on the surface of the copper. Basically, the copper helps to filter our the naturally occurring sulfur compounds in your wash or mash, that are produced by the yeast, by reacting with the sulfur. Thus preventing that sulfur from staying in a gaseous vapor and then condensing into your product. The SO² a d H²S won't necessarily all be in your fireshots where you have the acetates, acetones, acetaldehydes etc etc. Just Google "sulfuric reaction with copper". So while you, personally, may bebke to make a finished product with an all stainless build? That is indistinguishable from the same wash run through a copper still... it's one of those "you you want to work smarter or work harder? You can let naturally occurring chemicals bongs help filter this out, our you can try and put in the leg work and elbow grease to filter it, isolate it or neutralize it after the fact". That and many people don't understand what causes the production of these unwanted/unwelcome cogeners in the first place. Many people don't use a well balanced recipe, or DO use high temp fermentation, or Poor temp stability during fermentations... these things can all cause stress to the yeast, which in turn, produces more of these unwanted compounds. And yest strain also plays a role. Some yeast naturally produce a lot of sulfur compounds during fermentation, some produce less, some produce nearly none. So while I could make a sugar wash that's got proper nutrients, is insulated or in a temperature stable environment with onky a couple degrees +/- if the ambient temperature, the fermentation is taking place at around 70F, I let it ferment for 2 weeks or more instead of just 7 days.... it IS possible to make a wash that you can run, pull your fireshots, collect everything else and have it have very little taste or mouth feel. Yes, that is a possibility... nut a very high improbability. You don't HAVE to have copper, but it can help. Especially if one is making fast, cheap and rough fermentations.
On the Copper issue ... I do a lot of precious metals extraction from raw ore, and there's A LOT OF SULFUR COMPOUNDS (-ates, -ites, -ides) .. Every gold miner knows that S (sulfur) needs lots of heat/energy to join a compound .. you gotta heat it to temps even higher than aluminum melting point → there's no way this kinda distillation is bonding S (clean S, or any of it's oxidated states) to Cu (copper), not without some powerful acids or bases .. Exothermic properties of those reactions can stop any argument by someone saying it's bonding the S+Cu in the column or anywhere else in the apparatus - the heat of reaction could flash the vapors ... Remember that for thousands of years "Doctors" believed that pandemic illness were caused by witches, myasthenia etc.. point is that ancient concepts and explanations ARE NOT always accurate when viewed through the eyes of modern science .. If there's a chemist or metallurgist that reads this and can explain AND cite references how Sulfur is able to form Cu compounds at 180F I ask that you please post it in reply to this .. Until that day ✊🎤⤵️ **drops the mic**
At timestamp 3:22 you should have told the viewers to google "what is the circumference of a 2 inch pipe". Multiple answers pop up along with the actual formula to do the math themself if they wish to. The circumference (C) of a circle based on the Diameter (D) is given by the equation C = πD [Circumference = Pi x Diameter where π is the standard constant (≈ 3.14159)
30:56 What on Earth are you talking about? That's absolutely WRONG. % ABV (as the name itself indicates) shows you the volumetric ratio of pure alc. to water. So, if you have the same total volume, and the same % ABV - then you CAN'T possibly have different amounts of water with the same amount of alc.!!! Just think a second.
Eh? Too much reflux cooling results in lower 'proof''? You might need to check up on your chemistry there dude. Totally incorrect. BTW, heads with high methanol will result in an even lower density aka specific gravity than pure ethanol which will be mistakenly seen by a densitometer as higher 'proof'. . You seem to miss the point that the purpose of doing refluxing is to separate the non ethanol from the ethanol organics. Getting rid of non carbon (water) is easy. That includes single carbon (methanol) and all that stuff that is more than 2 carbons (tails to most of you non chemists including linear 3,4 carbon alcohols, ring structure organics, and lighter than water carbon chains and oils. , ) and of course water. The reason I run reflux is to strip off most of the more than 3 carbon crap that creates the 'fire' hangover, and stink. Its easy to separate from the water. What is hard is to get your 190 proof by density that doesn't include all that tail crap.
Let your conscious be your guide If you put your foot inside You wish you left your well enough alone When you got hell to pay Put the truth on layaway And blame it on that old Crazy Bone John Prine ❤
geez.... suppose you had a reflux still with 4 crosstubes. but you only had 2 hooked up and functional....could you get a slightly higher proof product with a little bit of flavor that made it through?
Copper is used because stainless steel is relatively new to the market. Copper was available and a great conductor of heat. It is easier to shape and can be silver braized or soldered to make water tight jointery. Stainless is great, if you want Copper great but it's going to empty more of your wallet and take longer to clean. Oh and it will react with our desireable flavinoids but I haven't found any tasteable differences.
Thank you George I like you teachings. Just want to know if over heating can explode the device. Can this same system be aplyed when refining crude to design.
To properly run this type of refluxer, you need it to be surrounded with raching rings or equivalent for proper reflux. It will not reflux with no packing.
