Hi George again a great video thank you for the very clear video you are so helpfull to get thing right and be happy distilling :-) thanks from the Netherlands and happy distilling Don
When doing my grain batches I usually use twenty gallon drums and ferment on the grain with head space I wind up with a little over 18 gallons. Now the tip for this size batch as I cook my corn I add two cups of corn starch this boost my ABV without messing with my flavor profile at all. In fact next time I'm going to try adding four cups per batch and see how that works of course I will post my results here.
Happy distilling. Thank you for the content you create. I can't even begin to think about how much trial and error time you have saved me with just starting out with this. I'm grateful that I found your channel to help me understand this awesome hobby.
George would love to see a video on spp spiral prismatic packing how to size it what the best size to use and what you think about making your own. Thanks for all of your help.
Good talking with you the other day George. Thanks. When I was getting ready for my first whiskey I asked for suggestions. The boiler is 7.5 US gals. I was sort of thinking two slightly different batches that might then be blended. I posted, on the homedistiller forum, the ingredients that I had purchased. This what I had on hand Maris Otter 2.2 kg Heavy Peated Malt 3 kg Pale Malt (Canadian 2-row) 5 kg TF Chocolate Malt 1 kg Special Belgium 1 kg This response came back... That’ll get you roughly 12-1/2 (+/-) US gallons of wort. Give it a go. The peated malt will be slight in the finished beer and likely not noticeable in the distillate. But the darker and specialty malts will give you a complex grain flavor offstill. The 12-1/2 US gallons of beer will give you roughly 3 strip runs through your still, which when you collect the low wines so the average is 30%, or so, will yield a whiskey suited for the aging cask after your spirit run. It should be a great keeper. And it was.
HAPPY DISTILLING! Squeezing the boiled bag: Years ago, I lived near a big Italian grocery. Every year they imported grapes for wine-making. Most customers were "regulars," & the store had a screw-type grape press they'd loan out for a day. Years later, a buddy got hooked on beer making & wanted a grain bag press. Very pricey. BUT! One Saturday, I went into Princess Auto (Canada's version of Harbor Freight) and by the door was a stack of 2-ton screw-type scissor jacks for cars, brand new, $12 on sale. Hmmm - 2 tons. We built a frame from angle iron, a pressure plate from layered 2x4's, and a "barrel" with slats of 1x4 lumber ripped in half and stood on end, held by 2 rings of 1/4" wire rope, cable clamps, and big staples. It sat in a big plastic vat, and it worked: put a wet grain bag in, turn the jack screw, which squeezed the bag, & the trapped water flowed into the plastic vat. $20 bucks of materials, & 2-3 hours to build. Still squeezing 18 years on.
Using a fruitpress with a bag in it, is also a good handy way to press out the liquid from the grain. And you can also rinse perfect threw it before pressing ...Happy Distilling..🙃🤞
So I wasn’t get much alcohol on my mashes and was so frustrated and the fix was I was using an aluminum pot for cooking the mash. I switched to a stainless pot and 6 row boom fixed! Bubbling like mad now!
As you said with stainless steel , cleaning not much needed,, but if you are doing this with copper and only run say every other month,, you need to run some sort of cleaning sacrificial run ,,, the inside of copper will tarnish after a few weeks and become a greenish color,, there fore you need to do a good cleaning or the end result will have a tinted color to it, if you are running every week, probably not needed,, You have said in the past that you didn't know exactly where the sacrificial run developed,, my guess is ,,, those Shine maker of old that did not produce all year,, because of many reasons,, no abundance of grain out of season ,, and temp of site for mash fermentation ,, probably caused stills to set up for months at a time,, and in order to clean the still and remove any tarnish from inter parts,, a sacrificial run was probably the easiest way to clean it,, things like citric acid were not as common as today. Just my thinking on the cleaning of copper.
Happy Distillin’ - George, not that I’m incapable of doing metric conversions in my head, but could you please give us both units if possible. 1.25 pounds is about 550 grams per 3.8 litres is 145g/litre Incidentally, 9 kilos of dextrose will fill a 25lt fermentation keg to the 13 litre mark, so I’ve just marked my fermenters at 13lt and pour it straight out of the bag, then top it off to 25lt and chuck in my turbo yeast. That’s just my method I’ve found to be easiest. Thanks for everything you do, I have learned literally everything from you, the local brew shop and trial & error experience.
Happy distilling George. You made a good point there about 5percent and 10 percent but with more water , I have made a 50L still and was worried that the heater element might get exposed when do 15 or 20L washes ... so would it be ok to just top up with water to level I know will be fine ? I know it will take a bit longer to run but that same amount of alcohol is there surely
HAPPY DISTILLING 👍 I enjoy making spirit's. I watch your videos while I'm distilling, though I don't / can't consume alcohol. ( health reasons ) I've never sold as much as a drop, but my friend love it when I bring a jug with me. Again, HAPPY DISTILLING 👍
A mop bucket! Why didn’t I think of that?!? Here I am trying to invent or think of some device that could squeeze a hot grain bag & capture all the liquid 🤣 Genius, thank you!
Happy Stillin Tip 2 as I wander around RU-vid and see people teaching unsafe, dangerous, and down right dumbass ways to do our thing I alway post Barley and Hops Brewing in the comment section and tell people to come learn the right safe way with George.
3:12, I just finished soldering my copper pipe and I don't have any 551 + the store is about 1 1/2 hrs. 1 can of 6oz into 5 gallons of water, if I boil it? or if I use vinegar? how much per gallons? Do you think it would do a good job as a 551? Would it cleans it or gums it inside the pipes? or anything from my household? anyone? thank you
Hello George, and HAPPY DISTILLING! Another channel I watch, different subject matter, the guy has a saying. I've found it applies to many areas of life. "Common Sense IS a SUPERPOWER" No disrespect meant to any fellow distillers. A can of tomato paste comes to mind 😁 Thanks for all your efforts George👍👍 And GO CHIEFS !!!
Happy Distilling, George!~ I must have missed something... :-( I have a solid copper Alembic still... and I typically clean it using a 30% household vinegar and water. However, I do not know what you're referring to wrt "5/5/1"... Please educate me.
Hi George, I sent a message and needed help regarding the yellow balls that came with my Chinese still....what are they for and are they safe to add during the distillation process....Please help??!!
I must be a fan I looked at this vid then went back to doing paperwork. I heard an echo. Its playing on my phone and computer too that'll never happen again haha
Happiness is Distilling! Is the sweet wash supposed to be sweet in the jar? After being distilled? I'm not complaining, my first run taste awesome! Just dumbfounded that its sweet tasting. Thanks in advance George,
Kewl. Had it the garage and it got cold, but it's allgood asfarasim concerned. Still have 8 gls left to cook up. Wutz the difference between a sacchrometer, and a hydrometer? If you will?
Hey, at the end of this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fNJfNaN7MiI.html Another great video from George the happy destiller :-)
Happy Distilling! After taking your advice of recirculating the sparge water a couple times, I achieved my best efficiency ever! 11 lbs of grain in 5 gallons got me 1.060! 7 lbs of maized corn! I let it sit for a good hour to hydrolyze and a little help from powdered amylaze and cut down on the viscocity followed by distillers malt and flavored malts to achieve my highest potential AVB to date! It ought to be fantastic beer! Lol 😂.Thank you for all those helpful hints that make my brewing day go smoothly. Keep up the great work!
Don't worry about the water in the grains the sparge will get the sugars you want and leaves clean water behind. ABV dilution and anal cleanliness is only important when your brewing beer because it's still alive when bottled
