I saw an instruction for a European still manufacturer, awkwardly translated, but the one thing I took away from it was their insistence that the temperature or the vapor at the top of their column, the point of no return, be maintained at less than 178F. Their column setup uses a deflag. I have run UJSSM through a column with plates that way, but also run a rum pot still the same way, cutting power as the temperature rose. With the deflag I varied water flow to hold the temp. With the pot still I just turned the heat down. It worked really well for me and was surprised by the width of the hearts cut. With the deflag output was fairly steady but in the pot still it started fast and then slowed down. In both cases I ran a full power stripping run first. Any comments welcome.
Allan, im interested in your comment about ozone and oxygenating water and that the yeast love it. Can you expand on this process and benefits. I have an ozone generator and would love to put it to use besides removing cigar smoke oder from my sanctuary. Thanks for being the yoda of distillation.
Drip drip spurt or a broken stream is meant as a guide to a starting point for a new distiller, in my opinion. Every still will perform a bit differently. To a new distiller, giving them tempratures to follow leads to them being distracted with closely monitoring thermometers. This, in my opinion, takes away from the true indicators, which come from your senses. Feel of the temperature and volatility as well as smell and taste of the distilite are much more important. For a small 5 gallon ish home still, with a condenser with limited capability, that broken stream description does get a newbe into the right ballpark. Personally, I get to that 68 - 70 degree you describe by dipping 2 fingers in the stream and feeling it. Then I rub them against 2 fingers of my other hand to feel how volitile it is and smell to judge where in the distilation I'm at. Then, if at an appropriate point in distilation, I will taste a small sample to decide if it's time to switch to larger hearts collection vessels, and to switch back to small cuts jars as I approached tails. These senses develop with experience. A new distiller needs a starting point to develop them from, and I think that's where the broken stream idea started. Most new distillers will still have a small still with a limited condenser where that offtake speed is close to appropriate. The same idea applies to collecting small cuts throughout and letting them air before making cuts selection. It's an exercise in sensory development, intended for new distillers with small stills.
I don't disagree, nor do I think it's a bad starting point, it just isn't ideal for correctly made and operated stills or for spirit quality over time. I think if one knows that going in they will be OK, otherwise it develops some extremely bad habits in terms of distillate quality.
Thank you for finally saying this.. everytime I see people saying you most drip drip drip your worm and I tell them I've noticed no difference between drip drip and thin thin stream.. they would say it's wrong. Thank you Alan for saying this.. m
Legality Soapbox Note: the Federal alcohol tax is ten billion dollars. That's why it's been illegal. The revenuer's bosses don't want their cheese moved or reduced. I hope it's made legal. We know it was the Federal government who poisoned most of the moonshine during prohibition, no matter what they say (technically added methanol to industrial alcohol which hadn't been done before). It's legal in certain countries IF you get a license, which is usually free. And, it's legal in Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Rhode Island. Minnesota is considering it but have decided to ask the wrong people if it's okay first, so that might not be a serious attempt. I yield back.
Hey Alan, great stuff as usual and greatly appreciated. I have a question about your new endeavors at The Old Homestead Distillery. I am gathering that it is brand new yet to be fully set up. I am assuming it has no product yet so that would seem to mean it may be years before you could sell anything aged in barrels. How far out do you see it being before you have some spirits for sale and will they be non barrel aged spirits first? Thanks and good luck with this next level of your adventure.
You’re right. I know George likes his PID controllers and I think that is what causes this action. Potentiometer is much better because it keeps the power to the kettle constant. A PID will turn on and off constantly, causing the drip drip spurt things happen.. In my opinion.
Thanks for answering my question about thumpers! Have you experimented with charging thumper with organics/botanicals? I'm a rye lover & was thinking about putting cut up apples/juice in the 2nd thumper to flavor the output.
One can also get a very inconsistent drip rate with sputtering and spurting like that if they're running a worm condenser that isn't leveled correctly It causes the condensed liquid to build up in any uphill sections of the worm and then get pushed out by the incoming uncondensed vapor Regardless of the cause though, it definitely shouldn't do that😅 And btw, that old greasy ass "hangover cure" breakfast shit always used to do the same thing to me back when I used to drink more Although everyone told me "That's what it's supposed to do! Cleans all the alcohol outta ya!"😒😂 --RuneShine, Michigan's Norse-Druid Alchemist✌💚🙃
I have a hypothetical question: I heard recently about something called “heavy water” (D2O) I was wondering what your thoughts are on hypothetically mixing low wines and heavy water. I’m thinking it would possibly create 99% ABV ethanol (if used with reflux) I know this is a strange question, but I thought it to be an interesting idea.
@@user-fw8fc3sw9q vacuum distillation can also make alcohol above 96.5% ("azeotrope"). Because of your question I just watched a couple of RUclips videos; looks interesting, but SO expensive without free electricity to make it yourself, and, dangerous IF you replace half the H2O water in your body with D2O. There was a study of "Deuterated Dogs:" Deuteration of the dogs was effected by replacement of ordinary water with deuterium oxide in both food and drink. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell count dropped but the white blood cell count was essentially unaffected although there was a progressive lymphopenia and granulocytosis. ("Those bastards!")
@@user-fw8fc3sw9qmolecular sieves are what you are referring to. They'll absorb all water remaining in your distillate leaving you with 200 proof. At those levels it's a medical grade alcohol for extractions, not for drinking.
Just hooked up with a Vietnam Vet. He showed me his setup, beer keg 3 inch coloum. Lielbig condencer.. This brings me to a question... How much copper is too much? He is using 4 or 5 6 foot rolls in his setup... Claims therotic plates is about 8.. Is this dangerous or possible? Thanks again for your time and troubles...
Wind the electrolytes to ya, put a pinch of salt in your water and your body will absorb and retain most of the water instead of pissing it all out. Colder the better 💪🍻
I saw an instruction for a European still manufacturer, awkwardly translated, but the one thing I took away from it was their insistence that the temperature or the vapor at the top of their column, the point of no return, be maintained at less than 178F. Their column setup uses a deflag. I have run UJSSM through a column with plates that way, but also run a rum pot still the same way, cutting power as the temperature rose. With the deflag I varied water flow to hold the temp. With the pot still I just turned the heat down. It worked really well for me and was surprised by the width of the hearts cut. With the deflag output was fairly steady but in the pot still it started fast and then slowed down. In both cases I ran a full power stripping run first. Any comments welcome.
Hi Allen I'm just sitting here waiting for my basmatti rice and corn flakes wash to heat up , I want to tell u your great.
Allan, im interested in your comment about ozone and oxygenating water and that the yeast love it. Can you expand on this process and benefits. I have an ozone generator and would love to put it to use besides removing cigar smoke oder from my sanctuary. Thanks for being the yoda of distillation.
Drip drip spurt or a broken stream is meant as a guide to a starting point for a new distiller, in my opinion. Every still will perform a bit differently. To a new distiller, giving them tempratures to follow leads to them being distracted with closely monitoring thermometers. This, in my opinion, takes away from the true indicators, which come from your senses. Feel of the temperature and volatility as well as smell and taste of the distilite are much more important. For a small 5 gallon ish home still, with a condenser with limited capability, that broken stream description does get a newbe into the right ballpark. Personally, I get to that 68 - 70 degree you describe by dipping 2 fingers in the stream and feeling it. Then I rub them against 2 fingers of my other hand to feel how volitile it is and smell to judge where in the distilation I'm at. Then, if at an appropriate point in distilation, I will taste a small sample to decide if it's time to switch to larger hearts collection vessels, and to switch back to small cuts jars as I approached tails. These senses develop with experience. A new distiller needs a starting point to develop them from, and I think that's where the broken stream idea started. Most new distillers will still have a small still with a limited condenser where that offtake speed is close to appropriate. The same idea applies to collecting small cuts throughout and letting them air before making cuts selection. It's an exercise in sensory development, intended for new distillers with small stills.
I don't disagree, nor do I think it's a bad starting point, it just isn't ideal for correctly made and operated stills or for spirit quality over time. I think if one knows that going in they will be OK, otherwise it develops some extremely bad habits in terms of distillate quality.
Hangover recipe: water, water, water.
Thank you for finally saying this.. everytime I see people saying you most drip drip drip your worm and I tell them I've noticed no difference between drip drip and thin thin stream.. they would say it's wrong. Thank you Alan for saying this.. m
Legality Soapbox Note: the Federal alcohol tax is ten billion dollars. That's why it's been illegal. The revenuer's bosses don't want their cheese moved or reduced.
I hope it's made legal. We know it was the Federal government who poisoned most of the moonshine during prohibition, no matter what they say (technically added methanol to industrial alcohol which hadn't been done before).
It's legal in certain countries IF you get a license, which is usually free. And, it's legal in Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Rhode Island. Minnesota is considering it but have decided to ask the wrong people if it's okay first, so that might not be a serious attempt.
I yield back.
I wish it was legal in Maine but not yet.
You can make all the beer and wine you want but that's it.
Hey Alan, great stuff as usual and greatly appreciated. I have a question about your new endeavors at The Old Homestead Distillery. I am gathering that it is brand new yet to be fully set up. I am assuming it has no product yet so that would seem to mean it may be years before you could sell anything aged in barrels. How far out do you see it being before you have some spirits for sale and will they be non barrel aged spirits first? Thanks and good luck with this next level of your adventure.
Only person I’ve heard mention drip drip spurt was George… not saying he started the idea, but certainly a huge influence on a lot of new distillers.
You’re right. I know George likes his PID controllers and I think that is what causes this action. Potentiometer is much better because it keeps the power to the kettle constant. A PID will turn on and off constantly, causing the drip drip spurt things happen..
In my opinion.
Thanks for answering my question about thumpers! Have you experimented with charging thumper with organics/botanicals? I'm a rye lover & was thinking about putting cut up apples/juice in the 2nd thumper to flavor the output.
One can also get a very inconsistent drip rate with sputtering and spurting like that if they're running a worm condenser that isn't leveled correctly
It causes the condensed liquid to build up in any uphill sections of the worm and then get pushed out by the incoming uncondensed vapor
Regardless of the cause though, it definitely shouldn't do that😅
And btw, that old greasy ass "hangover cure" breakfast shit always used to do the same thing to me back when I used to drink more
Although everyone told me "That's what it's supposed to do! Cleans all the alcohol outta ya!"😒😂
--RuneShine, Michigan's Norse-Druid Alchemist✌💚🙃
good vid dood!!!
I have a hypothetical question:
I heard recently about something called “heavy water” (D2O)
I was wondering what your thoughts are on hypothetically mixing low wines and heavy water.
I’m thinking it would possibly create 99% ABV ethanol (if used with reflux)
I know this is a strange question, but I thought it to be an interesting idea.
I do know I could use mechanical sieves to achieve 99% ABV
@@user-fw8fc3sw9q vacuum distillation can also make alcohol above 96.5% ("azeotrope"). Because of your question I just watched a couple of RUclips videos; looks interesting, but SO expensive without free electricity to make it yourself, and, dangerous IF you replace half the H2O water in your body with D2O.
There was a study of "Deuterated Dogs:"
Deuteration of the dogs was effected by replacement of ordinary water with deuterium oxide in both food and drink. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell count dropped but the white blood cell count was essentially unaffected although there was a progressive lymphopenia and granulocytosis.
("Those bastards!")
@@user-fw8fc3sw9qmolecular sieves are what you are referring to.
They'll absorb all water remaining in your distillate leaving you with 200 proof.
At those levels it's a medical grade alcohol for extractions, not for drinking.
Just hooked up with a Vietnam Vet. He showed me his setup, beer keg 3 inch coloum. Lielbig condencer..
This brings me to a question...
How much copper is too much? He is using 4 or 5 6 foot rolls in his setup... Claims therotic plates is about 8..
Is this dangerous or possible?
Thanks again for your time and troubles...
More copper is not a bad thing. However, with that many "theoretical plates" may strip out most of the flavor.
My dad always claimed mashed potatoes and Big Red as a hangover cure. Idk sounds a bit Hoosier lol
Doesn't make it wrong ...
Eric Wolf at Stilling Wolf? Pretend like I don't know who or what that is, and pretend like I googled it and got nothing obvious....
Stoll & Wolfe. My "Hoosier" got in the way!
Wind the electrolytes to ya, put a pinch of salt in your water and your body will absorb and retain most of the water instead of pissing it all out.
Colder the better 💪🍻