George, again as a community all we can say is "Thanks for taking the time to share with us". I really enjoyed this series. Thanks again for all you do! Happy Distilling!
Just a wonderful video as all of them have been. You need to be a teacher in a school or college somewhere, you have the gift! Thanks for all you contribute to the science and craft of this fun hobby! You remind me of my grandpa I lost so many years ago. Happy Distilling George!
George - I would love to see an episode specifically on column packing materials. Types, how to use, advantages/disadvantages of them, etc. keep up the great work! I appreciate you any your channel!
George, I am so happy I found your channel. I'm new to this craft and you have taught me so much in a short amount of time. God bless you Sir. Shine on!
Well done George! The best demo of a plated column still I have ever seen. Most channels on distilling give short shrift to the actual process and you miss important info. Now I need to go buy some extra garden hose to reach from my shop to the pool and back!
As a selfmade distiller I highly appretiate your effort and passion for sharing this alchemy knowledge and experience gold mine. After 2 Y with basic equipment I just ordered my column and I enjoy to study how to run it. Tx Tx Tx !
Before I watched the first video I was like wth is heads, hearts, tails. What strange words he is using. After those four videos Im a million miles ahead of where I was. You have the perfect knack for getting this information across. Thank you very much
when ever I m alone & enjoying alcohol , I use to play this series & find a great companion , so happy , so enthusiastic . Distilation is illegal here but obviously watching distillation on youtube is great with You . no access to 95% proof stuff just to smell at least ...... keep it up
George is the man just started distilling and just watching these vids i have got the answer to all the questions I had thanks George hope to see some new videos soon bro
Hey George, time for a video about clean up!!! I haven't done my first run yet, my new still is 200 liter steam jacket, 4" column just like yours. Everyone is showing the fun part, no one with fast easy tips to clean up and storage of equipment. Ideas please!! Thanks buddy, great job.
Mate, very very good, I loved the 4 parts, I have been running a Pure Distiller 25lt for a year now & I should have told the ex years ago I am just going to do it, but she was no no no, anyway I am looking at moving to the next stage an upgrade, more control use my local corn, barley excetra, & thanks to you, Jess & Bearded & Boarded you are making the move a lot easier on what to buy excetra. Thanks
I just found your channel George and I agree with Valued User and Mark R. your channel is priceless. You are so down to earth and now seem to have a "Signature Ending" Happy Distilling lol I am just finally getting started because I bought a Chinese Still lol and that's how I found you and became a subscriber and now hope to be a friend for life please keep making the videos!!
Awesome run George. Hey one thing on strips. One could use it to better handle large volume of mash when you have a smaller still to save time. Think 30 gal mash into three 10 gal strips at 2 hours each then a 6-8 hour spirit vs three separate 6-8 hour spirit runs. Save a little time and makes cuts so much clearer. But that just my two cents. One could argue just do a 11-12 gal mash and pull off the 10 gal of clear then be done with it. So there is that! Anyway. Keep on teaching George. We love ya!
سلام من ساکن ایران هستم. خیلی ممنونم کمک زیادی به من کردید و تجربیات و دانش خود را به من آموختید. تمام نوشیدنی های الکلی در اینجا ممنوع است. راهنمایی های شما خیلی به من کمک کرد. خیلی خیلی ممنون ------- Hello, I live in Iran. im so much thankful. You helped me lot and taught your experiences and knowledge. all Alcoholic drinks are forbidden here. Your advices were helped me a lot. very very thanks
Like the new still. I'm setting up a 2in shortly. Just for small prep batches. But I'm thinking about a continuous one of those. Not sure how it'll all shake out. One to match the big one would sure be nice.
That was great George! I haven't seen a cleanup video and would like some guidance. What can one do with backset besides sour mash or dunder? Does it go in the field behind my house or down a drain? Is it useful for gardening or anything? I would appreciate your input, thanks again.
Thanks, great video. Wish you would have told us the temperature at the top of the column throughout the process, especially when you thought you were getting tails and when you turned the run off.
Perhaps you could do a segment on making a high end whiskey like Blanton's or similar high end whiskey using a simple still (if possible on a simple still!). With the popularity of these high end whiskeys it gets a little expensive to enjoy some if you can even find any.
Loved your 4 part series. Quick question for you. If one were too leave the bubble plates/caps in the column and keep the deflag turned off, how much reflux action would you get from the plates and caps alone? Only reason I would leave them in the column is for a bit more copper to vapor contact and running as a pot still for alchohol that needs flavor passed through rather than a neutral spirit. Regards
According to things I've read, fermenting closer to the minimum comfortable temperature for your particular yeast strain produces fewer fusel alcohols and can keep your higher ABV beers from tasting too harsh. Does this same reasoning carry over into distilling or is it a diminishing returns kind of thing? It seems to me like fewer fusel alcohols would result in more hearts, but I'm a home brewer and not a home distiller so I don't have the experience to back that up.
Hello George and thank you for such a nice video. Have a question for you: Does the speed of taking foreheads matter with this type of distilling? In part 3 of this video the speed was a bit faster than 1-2 drops per second. Could you please advice on that. Also, wondering if such type of distiller allows to make only one run or do we still need to make a second run. Thank you.
George, I have watched the 6 videos of you using the Mile Hi Fluke still, and everything was High proof. How would you run Wishey or rum? Would it just bypass the dephlegmator, or is there more to it?
I have subscribed and have learned a ton from your videos and have a question. I make tinctures using 190 proof Everclear. Currently, to concentrate the tinctures, I evaporate the alcohol off, but it's very wasteful. I was thinking of using an open system pot still to capture the evaporated alcohol. Does this sound feasible and safe? Also, would I need to be concerned about head or tails? Thanks
Beautifull vid thanks a lot. I want to ask if there's any mat that I can use to roughly calcute quantity of total alcohol and cuts starting from volume of the wash and alcohol content of the wash. Thank you from Rome
Great (4 part) series -- I learned a lot. What was the head temperature up to when you turned it off? Also, what temperature is the product in the parrot (really asking what temperature range to shoot for in the output stream)?
Good question, I was of the understanding, that the head temp was more important than the pot temp. The temp in the parrot will also change the value??
excellent video I only have a doubt if you used the reflux condenser only one run is necessary for the distillate to be suitable for human consumption?
Question sir! What is the ideal temperature to pass through the inlet of the deflegmator in my 26 gallon 4 inch column four section reflux still. I’m struggling to keep my water temperature consistent and it’s causing me issues. I need to redesign my cooling system for temperature consistency and I’d like your option on what temperature is ideal to send through the deflegmator?
George love your site u bailed me out of a mess withe your videos..I was wondering if u know of a wheat recipe I have a farmer who supplies with all my grains and we got our signals crossed and he ground all the wheat to a fine powder without malting is there something I can do with it except use it for bread!!
Hey George! Do you have any reccomendations on a good proof and tralle hydrometer? The last 3 I got from Amazon haven't worked and I don't have any shops near by... I tested it on home distilled and store bought and they all float to the top like a buoy lol :(
George I don't know if you are still making videos and answering questions but I was wondering what size arm I need on my 12 gallon still. Right now I have a 5/8 diameter copper line but I am changing adding a thumper and I thought maybe I need a bigger diameter line to heat the thumper up? I was thinking 1 1/2 inch diameter. What are your thoughts?
A friend ran his still two dsys ago, and shut it down as it showed 72% alc. Hr collects his gold onto gallon jugs, and his first smells nice and clean, his seccond though has that moonshine smell. He uses an 8 element 4" flute. Any idea why? Btw he says he'll rerun all the second half jars together eventually again.
I have a 15.5 gallon kettle and run a 2” column that runs into a 1/2” reducer at the top of column, then runs down a 5 ft condenser (all 1/2” with 1” water jacket)...I’ve ran 2 vinegar runs so far to clean everything and noticed the thermometer at the top of the column will jump from 80 degrees to 180-200 degrees after 45 minutes or so...I’m running x2 1500 watt elements at 100%. My question is when do I back off 100% power to gradually hit my target temp of 175? Is this something I have to trial and error or is there some kind of rule of thumb to follow? Thanks! Love your videos!!
Its a trial and error sort of thing. Your elevation and what mash your running will cause it to change some. I have a similar set up for me my range is about 100 f to 120f then I drop down to about 1/4 power input and let my collum stabilize ( no temp increase) then I slowing increase until it starts running at a flow rate I'm happy with. Edit: that's what I run my alcohol runs at. Cleaning runs I run at 100 percent.
In another still like mine I start collecting at about 165 proof and it drops fairly quickly i stop at 100 proff a reflux still allows you to hold your proof the entire time if you run it correctly takes a lot of practice and patience happy distilling!
Agreed. I was a little surprised he cut off so quick. I would have definitely started collecting smaller cuts down to a lower ABV. You find some interesting things where funky stuff disappears and interesting things show up briefly you might want to keep. Lots happen and change quickly in the tails.
Hi there I have the same still set up and added a pid controller to it and was wondering I’m at 6800 ft altitude does that effect the temperatures of the alcohol coming off like how my water boils at 198* f The best I can get is 180 to 182 proof I was going to call you but didn’t know if you still took calls and emails thanks for all the info your the reason I got in to this art
Hi, I would like to know if you have done any videos on making distilled water to add to my Distilled Gin, I know this sounds daft, but when i make it in my "cleaned still" it always tastes weird, any suggestions please, Thanks,
Today i found light blue crystals form in the air space of the bottle of an apricot/sugar run from last summer... does not dissolve when shaken. Distillate itself is nice and clean. Used t500 in pot still mode... Apparently it can be copper acetate... anyone ran into this before? Should i be able to rerun it in full reflux/slow steady?
Yes they are ok to use. Reportedly food grade plastics are not going to leech chemicals from the plastics etc. I've used plastics in the past but gradually moved to all glass over time but that's just a personal preference.
Hi George, is there a difference in using the port hole style bubble plate sections compared to an all glass style? I’m planning on building my own still and noticed the different styles.
I've tried both and personally think the glass ones are better. They provide more visual area and are less expensive. We've gone to the all stainless plate column so there is no need to clean copper plates, in fact we pretty much just let it drain without any cleaning since the alcohol sterilizes it.
Hey George. I never really got a feel of your opinion on the Russian Stillman X unit you tested. Also, has your opinion changed on direction of water flow in condenser? Andre does his opposite direction of vapor flow vs in the bottom, out the top....opinion? Keep up the good work 👍🏻
Default rule is to always be opposite simply for efficiency. BUT, it's not necessary for the dephlag/reflux condenser. When plate column is loaded and balanced, you don't need very much cooling. Power in boiler should only be high enough to only require a very little amount of coolant to flow through condenser. There's another rule of always controlling flow at output, not input. By going with vapor, your flow control is at top which will also purge condenser of any air either from first filling or during run when heat releases air from water. The flow is too low to fight gravity and push the air down and out if valve was at bottom.
If you input the water from the bottom, it will fill the void inside the jacket and allow the vapor tube(s) to be fully enveloped by the water. If you go in at the top and out at the bottom, the water will just freely flow without fully filling the jacket.
I always ran my 16 gallon pot still stripping runs so that I could do a spirit run and get a higher proof whereas if I ran just a single run I'd never get over 65%, but I consistently begin collecting at 86% on my spirit runs
I have two thoughts George first one is more a question. Do more plates mean faster distillation at higher abv? (up to a point ... I mean 3 obviously isn't enough, but I've seen some sold with 12 plates) second is one I will probably get roasted for if any one reads this comment but ... I don't clean my still .... ever ! I rinse out the old sugar wash as I'm about to add the new sugar wash but that's all.. I Leave my still (same as the one in this vid) built in my shed for weeks between batches . My theory is the alcohol had no bacteria in it when i started the run (it would be bad flavours if it did) and then the high abv alcohol is an antiseptic cleaning out the entire still as it goes. I mean so long as I only open it as I'm about to use it , it must be clean ! Thoughts please people (friendly not rude)
Stripping runs of sugar mash made with turbo yeast and run that a 2nd time with a reflux and packed colum gives a better end product or? The other reason worth mention is stripping is also nice for those who distill brandy and wants bring over flavors, I think that is worth mentioning and not only talk about reducing volume. Correct me if I'm wrong.
All good points. Striping runs are not wrong; in many cases they are not necessary. I read many comments where people are using these runs as a means to improve their final product and raise the proof. All good techniques in my opinion.
George are you tending to lean in the direction of the PWM instead of the PID to control the power of the elements. If so what is the difference Cheers
Balancing a plate column requires control of both heat and cooling below and above the column that is consistent throughout the run. Would e difficult if not impossible to achieve with a PID. Consistent power output control is needed regardless of boiler or column temp.
You don't run a still on temp, only used for feedback throughout the run. The alcohol content will tell you what temp to start at (whatever temp it starts boiling at) and then go from there.
Good afternoon. I am viewing this video from my nation of Finland and I am wondering if distilling is illegal in America. If it is (as I have understood) how come videos can be published about it on RU-vid? With respecting greetings Lassi Heinänen
This stripping run seems to be up for debate. What if I just run it once really slow, through a pot still, compared to a stripping run, then spirit run. What my results in flavor be? Following that what if I introduced my true thumper, not slobber box?
Another reason to do a stripping run is if you have a pot still without reflux. In this case a good yield of fine wines will not be full strength and a second final run is required to boost the proof.
George, It's been about 3 weeks and I haven't received any reply about my suggestion about doing a run of Slivovitz. I know that you are extremely busy, but I would appreciate a reply.
I am hoping you are still doing great and alive ! Love your videos if you are alive I would like for you to comment to this. Still alive just so I will know
