I was shocked how good of a job it did. Especially for the short cost 115 vs something like a t500 or building something. Not a bad piece of kit at all.
Just a tip for these stills, if you let them sit for awhile, like 4 months, before you run your still, run vinegar through it. The copper tubing has a tendency to corrode, especially in warmer, more humid climates. My liquor ferry figured that out the hard way.
A friend presented me with two five gallon buckets of muscadines to make wine with a few years ago. I had made cider for years out of apple juice but never from whole apples and I had made wine from grape juice but never whole grapes. I wasn't quite sure how to handle processing the muscadines until I remembered my sausage grinder that we use for processing deer sausage. It took about 15 minutes to run through both buckets and the end product (post fermentation) was outstanding. The liquor fairies could have had a field-day......
I put the fruit in a pressure cooker, add water as needed, then cook it at 15 lbs for 20 minutes. It breaks down the cell walls & in high seed density fruits, like bitter oranges or muscadines, I end up extracting more juice, since seeds get in the way of presses, & grinding up the seeds, could release more bad stuff contained inside the seeds, than the pressure cooker. Also, pressure cooking kills any microbes, leaving no competition or other interference for the yeast, instead turning the microbes carcasses into a "yeast feast". I strain it through a filter bag, funnel it into a carboy or 5 gallon bucket, add sugar as needed, bloom some yeast, pour it in, & cap it with an airlock & carry on from there.
One year in the 80's after picking wild blackberries I decided to make homemade wine. After following a recipe from Mother Earth News I got a high alcohol thick Brandywine. Knock your socks off stuff. Of course it's because of mistakes. But one shot was yummy, silky and knock you out.
One year back in the 90s I had no idea what I was doing. I tried making wine directly in the bottle. Used a balloon over the bottle until fermentation was done. When I thought it was done I capped it. It was a Friday night about 2 in the morning and I was sitting in my underwear in the living room lights out playing PlayStation. I heard what sounded like a shotgun going off in the kitchen. I guess it wasn't through fermenting lol. It was inside my kitchen cabinet. It blew so hard it embedded glass into the wood.
@@BeardedBored I don't remember all of it. Here you go from memory from 1990. Picked wild blackberries for several days. After typical cleaning regiment removing debris and tiny bugs proceeded to separate and process jarred Jams, jarred presserves and syrup for pancakes. Ended up with left over intact and partially used berries. Humm🤔 So pulled out an old Mother Earth News story on wine. Took a 1 gallon glass milk jug, added must and other fresh berries, sugar, 1 packet of bread yeast and muddled it. Then added some water to muddle again. Filled jug about half full. Left it on brick fireplace hearth uncovered for several weeks. No fire in fireplace. Once bubbles started to go over top I inserted plastic hose into vessel and placed it into a lower glass gallon jug. Then waited for gravity. Couple weeks liquid began to flow from the main vessel into the lower one. Once it looked complete. Removed hose, added a little water to must and muddled again. Let it ferment couple days and repeated the siphon step. The end product was blackberry forward and sweet thick, similar to liquor but thicker. The end product was very high. In alcohol. Even a shot would give a buzz. It was so concentrated the amount made was just above 1 quart. If my memory is in tact. But it's not anymore. Too many years and too many experiments. Tasted delicious. Gave all of it away as gifts. Now I know open direct air fermentation is dangerous and would not do it again. However, it was tasty strong liqueur.
I just did a big run of muscadine and scuppernong brandy. We have a small "vineyard" in western NC and we've been making wine and brandy for months now. My entire family gets either wine or brandy for Christmas presents.
Great video, as always! I started watching you, Jesse and George a while back....decided I really wanted to start "chasing the craft." Bought this exact Vevor a couple of months ago, made that same mod for the thumper too! Had a couple of great runs, then decided it was time to up my game a bit. Scowered the internet and pieced together a pretty nice setup for $350. Been really happy with the way things are turning out.
I have this exact one but without the thumper and I felt the condenser flow and temp were hard to control, so I made a condenser with a 5 gallon pail and used all the fittings to connect it to the boiler pot and to the pond pump, it makes it a lot easier to run. This set up is totally worth the expense and I'm going to make a thumper from one of your previous video. Cheers man good review, and the brandy sounds great!
Yeah, the condenser flow rate is definitely fiddly. Took a few minutes to get it flowing high enough to hit the top coil and not so high that it overflowed. But I've had practice with my mini still condenser. I'm not a big fan of the worm condensers in general. Liebigs are so much easier to run.
I watched a few of your videos years ago and learned plenty. Found Good Old George and learned more. Now seeing your newer videos you should be complemented on how the look and sound have evolved for the better. Subscribed
Awesome timing! I just got the 9.6 gallon unit in last week. The main pot was almost worth the full price! I'm glad you made this video because I was a bit nervous about putting it together. I am excited to put it to use (hypothetically), but honestly I decided to get it as an emergency water distiller too. It can clean up contaminated water quickly with any heat source. Viva Vevor! Their stuff is amazing! They make a killer air still too. Thanks again!
Your gonna get that warm buttery flavor on every brandy you run, does for my copper still anyways, take some of the sweet tail ends and cut down the proof, then age it in a little barrel for about 30 to 40 days. I put mine in at around 100 proof due to the water I use to seal the barrel, itll soak up and mix inside the barrel dropping down the proof. Its heavenly on the finished product. Great video man, I just got some muskydynes so I'm gonna try it!
Muscadine makes a great drink. I got lucky this year and ended up with 15 gallons of finished wine with only muscadine for fruits. I use the left over skins for jam.
we have frost grapes in my area and they are so small and don't produce much and are hard to pick the grapes are 20-50ft in the trees but they make such great grappa if you get enough "hypothetically"
My 5 gallon just arrived, I'm thinking I made a mistake and should've gotten the 8, but all of that is moot until I get off my chair and run something!! Thanks for the slobber box/Thumper clarification and very simple suggestion!
On my 3 gallon Velor, i hypothetically change the fitting on the slosh box to a compression fitting along with a length copper tubing. I removed the top ball valve and replaced it with a brass nipple. During the run, I pack the thumper with 100% copper Chore Boy scratch pad to give more copper for the sulfur removal. I also take the thumper out of the mix when doing a stripping run. I hypothetically get between 170 to 178 proof from a sprint run with the thumper.
I brought the same kit but I used the conical silicon piece to attach the down tube, same result different solution. I’ve also found the condenser is not big enough, small investment in a copper coil and 5gal bucket plus using the fitting from the original condenser and that problem was solved as well.
Oh, the little stopper looking piece? Nice. I had the same thought about the condenser that it may not keep up, but after some fiddling I was able to balance the water flow just right to keep the water luke warm temp the whole time....hypothetically of course.
Great video! I have this Vevor too, is very versatile. Something I will add to the pot is that the bottom is very thin. I suggest to put a plate of iron or alluminium between the flame and the pot. I also made a bigger output from the ceiling to increase the steam output doubling the copper tube size. All home depo stuff that cost few bucks. Btw as you say, for the price and for the easyness of use is a very nice still ready to use out of the box.
:) In Latvia we have Muscadine grapes. They are adopted to our climate. We are in the North Europe. 2 month ago we where in grape yard and we drink Muscadine wine. Tasty, spicy, acidic. In our countryside we where Muscadines, but we destroy them, because of "wrong place"... Cheers! 🥂
@@BeardedBored Yes, they were planted 50? years ago at the front side of the house - the bush was so big and it gave a big shadow on the windows and this is it. No grapes. :)
Growing up in Grapevine Texas where muscadine grapes grow wild my stepmom made some Muscadine Champagne (sparkling wine) that was tasty. Was by mistake but good.
When I was a kid and in Bremond Tx. Not to far away. The Old Timers use to make the Best Grape wine but That Stuff was AtLeast 20% Alcohol man it was Srong but it was Delicious! I Wish i could get my hands on their Old Recipe of that wine! Best wine i Ever Tasted!🍇😇🥰
great info!!! i bought a vevor just because the money to try the craft was reasonable, I tell you it's an awesome little still for someone just wanting to get their feet wet. Enjoying your videos.
We had Muscadine and Concord grapes growing in the back pasture when I was a kid. My mom would make jam from a mix of the two. What I'd give to have those in the backyard here to brew with 😂
Muscadine and scuppernongs….love em. Reminds me of my childhood living in North Carolina. Randomly found a batch at a grocery store here in Chicago. Only regret was not buying all they had because they never restocked em.
My grandfather always said the mustang grapes as they called them in Tennessee back woods were so peppery that the old timers would boil them down with baking soda to clean it up. I guess what they were doing without really knowing was to use baking soda to de-acidify them.
Wow, never heard of doing that. I'll look it up for next year. Might be an interesting side project. Also, we have 2 distinct species around here. Mustang (fuzzy leaf) and muscadine(smooth leaf). The seasons overlap by a week or two but I couldn't find any fruiting mustang vines. I always thought they were the same until I started picking this summer.
@@BeardedBored I was just guessing when he said old timers and Tennessee that it was an old trial and error thing they figured out back in the day. :) I mean these are the same old timer family members from the Cumberland Gap area who bathed in lye soap made from their left over fry grease. Lol.
I've looked around here for muscadine grapes, never found enough to make anything. I DID stumble on some Paw Paws tho, made some tasty wine ! Not enough to distill, but maybe next year.
Yeah, I had trouble finding fruiting vines this year. The neighborhood was dirty with vines, but only about 1 in 50 had fruit. Hoping to catch it earlier next year. I'm jealous of your paw paws. I don't think we have them down here. Good luck next season:-)
I have one vevor still just like that only the over flow condenser i have a problem with on you teach me something about the thumper key i was planning well copper tub
Hi thanks for your video ! Two quick related questions : 1) Are the gaskets silicone ? 2) Aren't you worried of putting silicone in contact of the alcohol vapor ? (hoses + gaskets?)
Yes, the gaskets are silicone. No I'm not worried about it, but I understand your concerns. Silicone is rated as "good" for chemical resistance to ethanol, but not "excellent" like ptfe and epdm. I am toying with the idea of doing an "upgrade your vevor" video to swap out the silicone with epdm or ptfe for folks that want to make the change.
Also my 8 gal Vevor thump has a jump to a 3.5 gal Stainless bucket with clamps for an extra flavor basket Then to the condenser but it’s a attachments and doesn’t have to be used
Couple questions 1. Do you lose any distilled liquid because of the corrugated flexible pipe, liquid taped in the tube, would you swap those hose's out for copper? 2. How much heads, methanol, did you get from your recipe?
Not recommended. With (most) inductions, they'll heat up to the programmed temp, then shut off, then back on.....not great when you want a constant energy in the boiler. I have this setup and was thinking about installing a heating element.
Good shit my brotha. Yeah it all started with the Vevor. Then I seen it didn’t have the down tube for the thump and the condenser was WAY TOO SMALL. So I ended up spending a shot ton of money and converting it to be a 8 gal thump for my 16 gal boiler and a 5 gal bucket with 10ft of copper coil for the condenser. I use the same hose and in/outlets for the water in my bucket and I pump from a 15 gal Home Depot bucket full of water and ice… lot of money and lot of time because I can’t afford all this at once. Also I re engineered my drawing 4 times so yeah but it’s bad ass and you and Jesse from Still it and George all inspired me bro. I never would have taken this road but im glad I found this community because I love projects and in Oregon you can build and own a still legally. Since I have no intention of using it for anything but water im safe 😜
Interesting Question since I'm the kind of guy that likes experimenting: Can you, in theory, use JUST the Thumper and the Condenser to distill 1/2 or 1/3 of a gallon of alcohol? So you put the boiler away and you get a simple stopper screw for the inlet of the Tumper and you just use the outlet+tube+condenser as they are normally hooked up. I'm just thinking of simple Gin-like experiments where I do just a single bottle + some herbals to see what I get. Then if I'm happy I can scale up. What do you think?
when i did down tube for thumper the copper line fit really loose so i used part of the piece you tossed and used part of that pushed into the other size tube you used to make a tighter fit any comments on this would be nice and thanks for the video
Stupid question but what if you had added wine instead of grapejuice? (If you'd really want to avoid the "Welchness" ??) BTW, great video and really nice to see you again!!
I've been looking for a long time. Looking to move past apple cider and wine. Best video I've seen on a review. I went ahead and bought this same one tonight. Used your code and hope it helps you. Great video and thanks for all that you do.
After reading through the comments I guess my Vevor is the only one that came with the tube for the thumper. It just screws on to the bottom of the lid.
My grandmother here in Central Texas used to make a few cases of awesome Muscedine jelly, while grandpa made a couple of cases of wine instead. Bummer I lost track of their recipes.
I put the fruit in a pressure cooker, add water as needed, then cook it at 15 lbs for 20 minutes. It breaks down the cell walls & in high seed density fruits, like bitter oranges or muscadines, I end up extracting more juice, since seeds get in the way of presses, & grinding up the seeds, could release more bad stuff contained inside the seeds, than the pressure cooker. Also, pressure cooking kills any microbes, leaving no competition or other interference for the yeast, instead turning the microbes carcasses into a "yeast feast". I strain it through a filter bag, funnel it into a carboy or 5 gallon bucket, add sugar as needed, bloom some yeast, pour it in, & cap it with an airlock & carry on from there.
Question, I have heard that these stainless stills produce a different .. almost off.. taste as compared to copper. Couldnt one use copper pipe and tubing along with some copper wool to clean that up?
If the fermentation is clean, then the spirit will be fine in a stainless still. But yes, you can absolutely use copper scrubbies or tubing somewhere in the vapor path to clean up sulfur compounds.
I'm going to start transplanting some vines in more areas around here while they're dormant to see if I can get some better production over the next few years.
I've heard that muscadine grape juice is so acidic it will strip paint off a car! But the flavor is unlike anything else. Kind of like sand hill plums. Small, powerfully acidic and sour, but a flavor more delicious than any other in jelly, jam or wine. Gonna have to get some together and send them to you, and see what you can make from them! Thanks again for another great vid. brother. God bless. Rev. D.
When you have a thumper in line in your distilling rig, temperature in the boiler is no longer relevant because of the redistillation in the thumper. Go by the flow rate, not the temperature.
Could you proof it down with the original ~8% wine? Would that affect/ruin the distilled flavor? I've been "hypothetically" considering getting into this and your video are great for answering the stray thoughts that sometimes pop up
Better idea, proof up your wine. That's what they do with port. Make the wine, then add enough brandy to get it up to 25-ish% I think. Have not researched it, but now I have to or it'll drive me nuts. Thanks for the idea👍👍👍
I find them when I'm driving. During the season you'll see them scattered in the road under trees that overhang, or along fence rows. Google best times and locations for your specific area to see if anybody has put together the info. Usually universities have some info.
If you're distilling you want it as clean as possible to prevent scorching in the boiler. You don't need do a true long term aging for wine destined for the still.
Ok awesome I just hear people say distill as soon as primary is done so I was curious on the difference if any thank you for always answers my questions
In fact, I have one and I did not use the beater, but I faced many problems, including the condenser, its size is very small, and I made one from a bucket, and another thing, there was a lot of steam leakage, so I replaced all the pipes with copper pipes. I think it is not worth this price. I hope the manufacturer will think about attaching stainless pipes or tubes. Copper even if it costs more
Would constant stirring harm the yeast action? Oh and I saw another review of this set and it did come with a down tube. Yours may have been left out by mistake or they started adding them in later shipments.
Hey Brother. So glad to see you back making videos again. Hope all is good with you and the Family. Will drop you an email at some point. -- den in NH.
i cannot recall the proper name of it off the top of my head, but french grape farmers would make a low abv (we're talking about 6%) "session" (for lack of a better term) wine from the leftover pomace. might be fun to try. also, have to say, I tried Vevor's air still and it was absolute shite
Piquette! Yeah I didn't know about it until a few days ago and had already dumped my pomace in the compost bin. Next year though:-) I haven't tried an air still. Built my own 1 gallon mini still instead.
@@BeardedBored yep, that's it - thanks for reminding me of the name. if you live near any wineries, they might be willing to give you some for free, or low cost since they typically just use it for compost as well. Jesse seems to be ok with his air still, but I just can't seem to manage to get it to work properly. and with the most of materials now, building a still will cost as much if not more as a commercial introductory still. so to clarify, you only got 600 mLs final product from a 5 gal wash? eeesh
The wine got oxidized due to a bucket failure, but I was able to save it. Hypothetically...it makes good brandy. Video will be up in a few more weeks. Tepache Rum is next:-)
Awesome video about to try my first time. Question tho when the liquor ferry begins its work what temperature should the pot be maintained at on the stove top? Thanks
Hello great video! So I just got a new Vevor 5 gal still I plan on cleaning with citric acid and doing a vinegar run, but really don't want to run a sacrifical run since I'll have to use a mash feels wasteful and I'm being lazy, do I have to?
If you're doing vinegar, you can skip the citric acid since they do the same thing. I still recommend sac run when you're new to the hobby and on your first still. It'll help you learn how this still works and keeps you double safe. You can just get a box of wine and do a short one. 15 minutes from first drips. Doesn't have to be a full run, just enough to blast some potent solvents through the pipes. Do it or don't. Up to you.
Ok will do! I appreciate your help. That's a good idea just using a box wine or something. I'll do it. Your right, it'll help me get an idea of how the still runs. Thanks
The inner threads on the top if the thump keg are 3/8" Use a threaded 3/8" coupler and a brass pipe to reach down to the bottom of the thumper. Problem solved. (It's safe, just pickle it first. This still already has multiple brass fittings)
I have the same still but considering building an all copper boiler to help get rid of sulfur in the wash. I've noticed that with this boiler you get a strong sulfur smell after running. This normally evaporates after 12 hours but I want it completely removed. I've thought about copper pieces in the pot to help. What are your thoughts?
Yeah, copper in the pot helps. Also, if your fermentations are producing a lot of sulfur, make sure the yeast isn't stressed by temperature, pH, or nutrient deficiency. Those can really create a lot of sulfur. If you do get a stinker, you can whisk it up vigorously once fermentation is complete to help it off gas, then let it sit for a week or so to clean it up.
I just got the same unit from Vevor recently. Mine has a down tube that attaches in the thumper... they must have just missed putting one in your unit.
Just bought the 8 gal. Vevor still after watching your video. I used your advice for using the included parts for the thumper box. Should I be concerned about that the size of the thumper compared to the 8 gal. boil pot?
It's a bit smaller than most size recommendations, including my own from my build video, but it works just fine. The liquor fairy is very impressed after several runs with it. Gives an abv bump of about 8-10% and infuses more flavor. The tricky part of this still, as with most worm style condensers, is getting the flow rate correct for the cooling water. Make sure the outlet tube has no dips or bellies in it so the water can flow out easily. Outlet valve fully open, inlet valve about 1/4 open and you'll need to make tiny incremental adjustment to the inlet valve to adjust the flow until it stabilizes. Take a few minutes of fiddling and waiting to see if it wants to overflow, but once you get it balanced, you won't really have to mess with it much after that.
You get a better bump in abv with a larger thumper, but after several runs, the liquor fairy has not had any problems with it. It's not over filling, but the abv boost is only about 5-8 percent, instead of 10-15.
I have always been leery about cheap stills including parts that are not stainless and dubious gaskets. Has your liquor fairy noticed any degradation of the tubes and gaskets after six runs? C’è or says that they use “Food grade silicone”. Great video! My uncle’s farm near Fort Worth had “mustang” grapes growing wild along the Brazos river when I was a kid. They were highly acidic!
So far everything is working great. I'm about to do a cleaning run with vinegar to keep the worm and lyne arm clean, but other than that, everything is holding up well with just a good rinsing.
Next time don’t kill off the wild microbs. Pitch your yeast and make them compete. You might find that the yeast on the grapes digest it the best. Natural selection.
@@capOlllllOable it’s freezing the juice then collecting the alcohol didn’t freeze in a separate container recollecting it putting it back in the containment putting it back in the freezer and repeating the process still all that’s left is pure alcohol. Bearded made a video doing this process with apple jack. I was just curious if you could repeat the process doing it with wine base vs a cider base
@@jonathanhatch7033 I’m familiar with the process. You can do it with any low wine however, unlike with distillation you don’t separate the unwanted byproducts like acetone, methanol, isopropyl and ethyl acetate. With the freezing method you simply concentrate instead of separate. You’ll find if you concentrate low wines to many times the flavors can become very harsh and give you nasty hangovers from small amounts. In my book it’s not recommended. Bearded may have a different outlook.
I got into this with one of their 3 gal ones. It's not bad for the price, like you said just the stainless kettle and bits pretty easily justifies the cost. The condenser annoyed the hell out of me because I had to constantly watch for over/underflow so I pretty quickly replaced that with a helix of copper fridge tubing in a fully-enclosed PVC pipe water jacket, basically ending up like a Graham condenser. Did the same mod you did to the not-thumper with that stub tube and a bit of silicone, also messed around with a short reflux column made from a boro glass tube, a couple silicone plugs, stuffed with copper scrubbers. It doesn't improve the recovery all that much because the tubes I had on hand were only 15 in or so long, but it does make the temperature transitions a lot more clear.
The condenser does require some fiddling to balance it, but I've had a lot of practice with the mini still that I built. Worms are way more fiddly than liebig condensers.
I'm finding the pump is too strong and won't return fast enough to my ice water. Any suggestions without having to worry about the condenser pot overflowing?
It takes a little finesse. Make sure the outflow hose is not dipping anywhere and trapping or slowing down water in the return to the ice water and that the valve is fully open. The inlet valve requires tiny movements to get the flow just slow enough to not overfill the pot. About 1/4 open or less is probably enough, then adjust in tiny amounts as needed until it stabilizes. Once it stabilizes and sits at the same level for 5-10 minutes, then you probably won't have to touch it for the rest of the run. My advice is to get the cooling water fiddling done before the still heats up in case it's being stubborn and you need to slow down the heat to give yourself more time to adjust it.
I just did plum jam but saved a letter to add to other jam's to make brandy , quick question do you need pectin enzymes if you have boiled the fruit? I did jamy brandy ,plum jam, blackberry jam, apple sauce,5 kg sugar and some wild yeast and apple tree blossoms
One question I have always had but never found a video topic on, is the use of artificial sugar for sweetening wines, liqueurs etc after distilling and flavoring. I always make vodka or rum and by column distilling and I flavor afterwards with a lot of the flavors that are out there. I make wine too. Most of them call for sweetening with sugar but I’m Diabetic so have to be careful. Have you tried this?
@@BeardedBored great to hear from you! I have already tried it on some samples and it tastes just as good! Especially Peach Schnapps or Apple Pie! I’m surprised there’s no videos out there on it!
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thumbs down. All the US made still companies and youre pushing one made in China . . .
I was shocked how good of a job it did. Especially for the short cost 115 vs something like a t500 or building something. Not a bad piece of kit at all.
My vevor still arrived today here in Aus , can't wait to give it a run.
I got started on a Vevor still some years ago. Yes, it works just fine. Not fancy but the price is right.
How about making a sourdough spelt whiskey? Or buckwheat, or kamut, or einkorn, or teff and emmer?
Just a tip for these stills, if you let them sit for awhile, like 4 months, before you run your still, run vinegar through it. The copper tubing has a tendency to corrode, especially in warmer, more humid climates. My liquor ferry figured that out the hard way.
You packed a lot of really good info into this. Not just a review of the vevor but how to get better use than as packaged. Very nice
I appreciate that! Thanks!
A friend presented me with two five gallon buckets of muscadines to make wine with a few years ago. I had made cider for years out of apple juice but never from whole apples and I had made wine from grape juice but never whole grapes. I wasn't quite sure how to handle processing the muscadines until I remembered my sausage grinder that we use for processing deer sausage. It took about 15 minutes to run through both buckets and the end product (post fermentation) was outstanding. The liquor fairies could have had a field-day......
A sausage grinder 🤔 Gotta dig through my cabinets before the next season.
I put the fruit in a pressure cooker, add water as needed, then cook it at 15 lbs for 20 minutes. It breaks down the cell walls & in high seed density fruits, like bitter oranges or muscadines, I end up extracting more juice, since seeds get in the way of presses, & grinding up the seeds, could release more bad stuff contained inside the seeds, than the pressure cooker. Also, pressure cooking kills any microbes, leaving no competition or other interference for the yeast, instead turning the microbes carcasses into a "yeast feast".
I strain it through a filter bag, funnel it into a carboy or 5 gallon bucket, add sugar as needed, bloom some yeast, pour it in, & cap it with an airlock & carry on from there.
One year in the 80's after picking wild blackberries I decided to make homemade wine. After following a recipe from Mother Earth News I got a high alcohol thick Brandywine. Knock your socks off stuff. Of course it's because of mistakes. But one shot was yummy, silky and knock you out.
Sounds awesome!
Turned some of into a spread and the rest into wine or syrup for desserts syrup worked. Then wine. Great experience.
One year back in the 90s I had no idea what I was doing. I tried making wine directly in the bottle. Used a balloon over the bottle until fermentation was done. When I thought it was done I capped it. It was a Friday night about 2 in the morning and I was sitting in my underwear in the living room lights out playing PlayStation. I heard what sounded like a shotgun going off in the kitchen. I guess it wasn't through fermenting lol. It was inside my kitchen cabinet. It blew so hard it embedded glass into the wood.
Woowee, that's a fun lesson in fermentation. Shrapnel flying through the wall makes for a memorable experience!
@@BeardedBored I don't remember all of it. Here you go from memory from 1990. Picked wild blackberries for several days. After typical cleaning regiment removing debris and tiny bugs proceeded to separate and process jarred Jams, jarred presserves and syrup for pancakes. Ended up with left over intact and partially used berries. Humm🤔 So pulled out an old Mother Earth News story on wine. Took a 1 gallon glass milk jug, added must and other fresh berries, sugar, 1 packet of bread yeast and muddled it. Then added some water to muddle again. Filled jug about half full. Left it on brick fireplace hearth uncovered for several weeks. No fire in fireplace. Once bubbles started to go over top I inserted plastic hose into vessel and placed it into a lower glass gallon jug. Then waited for gravity. Couple weeks liquid began to flow from the main vessel into the lower one. Once it looked complete. Removed hose, added a little water to must and muddled again. Let it ferment couple days and repeated the siphon step. The end product was blackberry forward and sweet thick, similar to liquor but thicker. The end product was very high. In alcohol. Even a shot would give a buzz. It was so concentrated the amount made was just above 1 quart. If my memory is in tact. But it's not anymore. Too many years and too many experiments. Tasted delicious. Gave all of it away as gifts.
Now I know open direct air fermentation is dangerous and would not do it again. However, it was tasty strong liqueur.
For the Thumper you can use a 8mm compression coupling and a small 8mm copper pipe instead of the suggested quick hack - I have tried and it works.
Good tip!
I just did a big run of muscadine and scuppernong brandy. We have a small "vineyard" in western NC and we've been making wine and brandy for months now. My entire family gets either wine or brandy for Christmas presents.
You lucky dog!
Great video, as always! I started watching you, Jesse and George a while back....decided I really wanted to start "chasing the craft." Bought this exact Vevor a couple of months ago, made that same mod for the thumper too! Had a couple of great runs, then decided it was time to up my game a bit. Scowered the internet and pieced together a pretty nice setup for $350. Been really happy with the way things are turning out.
That's the upgrade dance that we who stick to the hobby all go through:-) To me, half the fun is coming up with new build ideas and trying them out.
I have this exact one but without the thumper and I felt the condenser flow and temp were hard to control, so I made a condenser with a 5 gallon pail and used all the fittings to connect it to the boiler pot and to the pond pump, it makes it a lot easier to run. This set up is totally worth the expense and I'm going to make a thumper from one of your previous video. Cheers man good review, and the brandy sounds great!
Yeah, the condenser flow rate is definitely fiddly. Took a few minutes to get it flowing high enough to hit the top coil and not so high that it overflowed. But I've had practice with my mini still condenser. I'm not a big fan of the worm condensers in general. Liebigs are so much easier to run.
I watched a few of your videos years ago and learned plenty. Found Good Old George and learned more. Now seeing your newer videos you should be complemented on how the look and sound have evolved for the better. Subscribed
Awesome timing! I just got the 9.6 gallon unit in last week. The main pot was almost worth the full price! I'm glad you made this video because I was a bit nervous about putting it together.
I am excited to put it to use (hypothetically), but honestly I decided to get it as an emergency water distiller too. It can clean up contaminated water quickly with any heat source.
Viva Vevor! Their stuff is amazing! They make a killer air still too.
Thanks again!
It's like I'm psychic😁
@@BeardedBored or... are you watching me?.....
Well, I didn't want to let on, but now that you mention it...you should get more ketchup. You're almost out;-)
That looked "hypothetically" really good!
Your gonna get that warm buttery flavor on every brandy you run, does for my copper still anyways, take some of the sweet tail ends and cut down the proof, then age it in a little barrel for about 30 to 40 days. I put mine in at around 100 proof due to the water I use to seal the barrel, itll soak up and mix inside the barrel dropping down the proof. Its heavenly on the finished product. Great video man, I just got some muskydynes so I'm gonna try it!
Muscadine makes a great drink. I got lucky this year and ended up with 15 gallons of finished wine with only muscadine for fruits. I use the left over skins for jam.
we have frost grapes in my area and they are so small and don't produce much and are hard to pick the grapes are 20-50ft in the trees but they make such great grappa if you get enough "hypothetically"
The grapes here grow crazy high too. I'm going to try to get some cuttings to propagate them in my yard and train them onto smooth wire fencing.
My 5 gallon just arrived, I'm thinking I made a mistake and should've gotten the 8, but all of that is moot until I get off my chair and run something!! Thanks for the slobber box/Thumper clarification and very simple suggestion!
No worries, just run 3.5 gallons at a time. You'll get more practice running the still this way...hypothetically:-)
On my 3 gallon Velor, i hypothetically change the fitting on the slosh box to a compression fitting along with a length copper tubing. I removed the top ball valve and replaced it with a brass nipple. During the run, I pack the thumper with 100% copper Chore Boy scratch pad to give more copper for the sulfur removal. I also take the thumper out of the mix when doing a stripping run. I hypothetically get between 170 to 178 proof from a sprint run with the thumper.
Nice hypothetical modifications!
I brought the same kit but I used the conical silicon piece to attach the down tube, same result different solution. I’ve also found the condenser is not big enough, small investment in a copper coil and 5gal bucket plus using the fitting from the original condenser and that problem was solved as well.
Oh, the little stopper looking piece? Nice. I had the same thought about the condenser that it may not keep up, but after some fiddling I was able to balance the water flow just right to keep the water luke warm temp the whole time....hypothetically of course.
Great video! I have this Vevor too, is very versatile. Something I will add to the pot is that the bottom is very thin. I suggest to put a plate of iron or alluminium between the flame and the pot.
I also made a bigger output from the ceiling to increase the steam output doubling the copper tube size. All home depo stuff that cost few bucks. Btw as you say, for the price and for the easyness of use is a very nice still ready to use out of the box.
Two great ideas, thanks!
:) In Latvia we have Muscadine grapes. They are adopted to our climate. We are in the North Europe. 2 month ago we where in grape yard and we drink Muscadine wine. Tasty, spicy, acidic. In our countryside we where Muscadines, but we destroy them, because of "wrong place"... Cheers! 🥂
The grow like weeds😉
@@BeardedBored Yes, they were planted 50? years ago at the front side of the house - the bush was so big and it gave a big shadow on the windows and this is it. No grapes. :)
That's how they can be here too. Huge vines and no grapes.
@@BeardedBored Yes. :)
Growing up in Grapevine Texas where muscadine grapes grow wild my stepmom made some Muscadine Champagne (sparkling wine) that was tasty. Was by mistake but good.
Ok now I have to try that:-)
When I was a kid and in Bremond Tx. Not to far away. The Old Timers use to make the Best Grape wine but That Stuff was AtLeast 20% Alcohol man it was Srong but it was Delicious! I Wish i could get my hands on their Old Recipe of that wine! Best wine i Ever Tasted!🍇😇🥰
great info!!! i bought a vevor just because the money to try the craft was reasonable, I tell you it's an awesome little still for someone just wanting to get their feet wet. Enjoying your videos.
I totally agree!
I've just got this exact still here in 🇦🇺 , can't wait for my sugar wash to be done. Thx to your video I did it as an inverted wash 👍
We had Muscadine and Concord grapes growing in the back pasture when I was a kid. My mom would make jam from a mix of the two.
What I'd give to have those in the backyard here to brew with 😂
Wow, living on the edge -- so glad.
😉
Muscadine and scuppernongs….love em. Reminds me of my childhood living in North Carolina. Randomly found a batch at a grocery store here in Chicago. Only regret was not buying all they had because they never restocked em.
My grandfather always said the mustang grapes as they called them in Tennessee back woods were so peppery that the old timers would boil them down with baking soda to clean it up. I guess what they were doing without really knowing was to use baking soda to de-acidify them.
Wow, never heard of doing that. I'll look it up for next year. Might be an interesting side project. Also, we have 2 distinct species around here. Mustang (fuzzy leaf) and muscadine(smooth leaf). The seasons overlap by a week or two but I couldn't find any fruiting mustang vines. I always thought they were the same until I started picking this summer.
@@BeardedBored I was just guessing when he said old timers and Tennessee that it was an old trial and error thing they figured out back in the day. :) I mean these are the same old timer family members from the Cumberland Gap area who bathed in lye soap made from their left over fry grease. Lol.
Hey don't knock that old lye soap, LoL. Now that stuff will get you _squeaky_ clean😂
Baking soda is an alkaline substance?
I make it - Muscadine & Scuppernong Brandy every year - grow my own - good raisins too
I've looked around here for muscadine grapes, never found enough to make anything. I DID stumble on some Paw Paws tho, made some tasty wine ! Not enough to distill, but maybe next year.
Yeah, I had trouble finding fruiting vines this year. The neighborhood was dirty with vines, but only about 1 in 50 had fruit. Hoping to catch it earlier next year. I'm jealous of your paw paws. I don't think we have them down here. Good luck next season:-)
I have one vevor still just like that only the over flow condenser i have a problem with on you teach me something about the thumper key i was planning well copper tub
Thanks for this video. It’s the most helpful one I have found for the vevor yet. I will be doing the thumper mod.
Glad I could help:-)
I just got the vevor..... Thanks for the code... Cant wait for it to get here
Awesome video!! That sounds really good!!
Thanks!
Hi thanks for your video ! Two quick related questions :
1) Are the gaskets silicone ?
2) Aren't you worried of putting silicone in contact of the alcohol vapor ? (hoses + gaskets?)
Yes, the gaskets are silicone. No I'm not worried about it, but I understand your concerns. Silicone is rated as "good" for chemical resistance to ethanol, but not "excellent" like ptfe and epdm. I am toying with the idea of doing an "upgrade your vevor" video to swap out the silicone with epdm or ptfe for folks that want to make the change.
I make muscadine cider from muscadines and muscadine cider from Lane. It needs to sit for a good six months before its drinkable
Thanks for the tip.
Also my 8 gal Vevor thump has a jump to a 3.5 gal Stainless bucket with clamps for an extra flavor basket Then to the condenser but it’s a attachments and doesn’t have to be used
I may get one and try to make my own Rum. Never done this before. Thnx for good tips. Hands up from a happy Swedish
Thanks for the video just purchased same one and wasn’t sure how it was all put together and used etc… brand new to the hobby
Couple questions
1. Do you lose any distilled liquid because of the corrugated flexible pipe, liquid taped in the tube, would you swap those hose's out for copper?
2. How much heads, methanol, did you get from your recipe?
Haven't tried it, but I bet one of those plastic tools for getting a bike tire on and off the wheel would work great for that grommet.
I have one love it first run was a banana rum with a bit of Carolina reaper pepper
Can you test to see if a magnet sticks to the bottom? I'd like to use it with an induction hot plate.
Not recommended. With (most) inductions, they'll heat up to the programmed temp, then shut off, then back on.....not great when you want a constant energy in the boiler. I have this setup and was thinking about installing a heating element.
It's stainless and not magnetic.
My Vevor still worked fine with an induction hotplate. Some stainless steel does work
Thanks Bearded!!
Any time!
Good shit my brotha. Yeah it all started with the Vevor. Then I seen it didn’t have the down tube for the thump and the condenser was WAY TOO SMALL. So I ended up spending a shot ton of money and converting it to be a 8 gal thump for my 16 gal boiler and a 5 gal bucket with 10ft of copper coil for the condenser. I use the same hose and in/outlets for the water in my bucket and I pump from a 15 gal Home Depot bucket full of water and ice… lot of money and lot of time because I can’t afford all this at once. Also I re engineered my drawing 4 times so yeah but it’s bad ass and you and Jesse from Still it and George all inspired me bro. I never would have taken this road but im glad I found this community because I love projects and in Oregon you can build and own a still legally. Since I have no intention of using it for anything but water im safe 😜
If you get the 13.3 gallon it comes with the down spout for the thumper
Interesting Question since I'm the kind of guy that likes experimenting: Can you, in theory, use JUST the Thumper and the Condenser to distill 1/2 or 1/3 of a gallon of alcohol? So you put the boiler away and you get a simple stopper screw for the inlet of the Tumper and you just use the outlet+tube+condenser as they are normally hooked up. I'm just thinking of simple Gin-like experiments where I do just a single bottle + some herbals to see what I get. Then if I'm happy I can scale up. What do you think?
when i did down tube for thumper the copper line fit really loose so i used part of the piece you tossed and used part of that pushed into the other size tube you used to make a tighter fit any comments on this would be nice and thanks for the video
Thanks for your time explaining Sir. Good stuff in your channel :)
Stupid question but what if you had added wine instead of grapejuice? (If you'd really want to avoid the "Welchness" ??) BTW, great video and really nice to see you again!!
Wine would hamper the fermentation of the grapes. Better to ferment the grapes all the way separately, then mix that with the wine.
I've been looking for a long time. Looking to move past apple cider and wine. Best video I've seen on a review. I went ahead and bought this same one tonight. Used your code and hope it helps you. Great video and thanks for all that you do.
After reading through the comments I guess my Vevor is the only one that came with the tube for the thumper. It just screws on to the bottom of the lid.
Hmm, maybe I got an older model before the upgrade. Good to know they have a fix.
Thanks mate, awesome
Great video! I’ve been playing with persimmon wine today.
Yum!
My grandmother here in Central Texas used to make a few cases of awesome Muscedine jelly, while grandpa made a couple of cases of wine instead. Bummer I lost track of their recipes.
I put the fruit in a pressure cooker, add water as needed, then cook it at 15 lbs for 20 minutes. It breaks down the cell walls & in high seed density fruits, like bitter oranges or muscadines, I end up extracting more juice, since seeds get in the way of presses, & grinding up the seeds, could release more bad stuff contained inside the seeds, than the pressure cooker. Also, pressure cooking kills any microbes, leaving no competition or other interference for the yeast, instead turning the microbes carcasses into a "yeast feast".
I strain it through a filter bag, funnel it into a carboy or 5 gallon bucket, add sugar as needed, bloom some yeast, pour it in, & cap it with an airlock & carry on from there.
Great video!! Thank you . I learned something this day and that's always good.
just saw this video like the way you explain everything thanks
Thanks brother!
Did the Fairies leave similar sized jars of both starters and ends with the middle keepers 🤔
👍🏼🇦🇺
200mls in pint jars all the way down the line;-) A few tablespoons of heads for flavor.
Question, I have heard that these stainless stills produce a different .. almost off.. taste as compared to copper. Couldnt one use copper pipe and tubing along with some copper wool to clean that up?
If the fermentation is clean, then the spirit will be fine in a stainless still. But yes, you can absolutely use copper scrubbies or tubing somewhere in the vapor path to clean up sulfur compounds.
Now I want some seeds to put in the wooded area next to my house.
I'm going to start transplanting some vines in more areas around here while they're dormant to see if I can get some better production over the next few years.
I've heard that muscadine grape juice is so acidic it will strip paint off a car! But the flavor is unlike anything else. Kind of like sand hill plums. Small, powerfully acidic and sour, but a flavor more delicious than any other in jelly, jam or wine. Gonna have to get some together and send them to you, and see what you can make from them! Thanks again for another great vid. brother. God bless. Rev. D.
Sounds interesting. I'll have to look them up. Thanks Preacher!
Thanks for the info, Good Video.... However I'd like to know what temperature was set on the pot on the stove ?
When you have a thumper in line in your distilling rig, temperature in the boiler is no longer relevant because of the redistillation in the thumper. Go by the flow rate, not the temperature.
@@BeardedBored Thanks
Awesome video brother, never heard of those grapes wonder if they are are in South Africa
They are a native grape to the southern part of North America
If not, I can send you some seeds next year when I start picking them. Do you have other wild grapes?
@@BeardedBored We have a small vine with Glipertjie, will check if I can get my hands on some seeds.
@@copewy22 Sweet, thanks hopefully will be able to get some seeds locally as the flavours sound crazy
Awesome!
watch for merlot wine kits to go on sale and use those for brandy.
Great idea!
Could you proof it down with the original ~8% wine? Would that affect/ruin the distilled flavor?
I've been "hypothetically" considering getting into this and your video are great for answering the stray thoughts that sometimes pop up
Better idea, proof up your wine. That's what they do with port. Make the wine, then add enough brandy to get it up to 25-ish% I think. Have not researched it, but now I have to or it'll drive me nuts. Thanks for the idea👍👍👍
That short pipe in the package converts the slobber box into a thumper, that is the point of it.
Best way to find muscadine grapes? They are here in GA and I love them. Would be fun to do
I find them when I'm driving. During the season you'll see them scattered in the road under trees that overhang, or along fence rows. Google best times and locations for your specific area to see if anybody has put together the info. Usually universities have some info.
I have a question whats the difference in running your wine as soon as it's done with primary and letting it sit and age of clear then running it?
If you're distilling you want it as clean as possible to prevent scorching in the boiler. You don't need do a true long term aging for wine destined for the still.
Ok awesome I just hear people say distill as soon as primary is done so I was curious on the difference if any thank you for always answers my questions
Great content. Thank you for the information
Glad it was helpful!
In fact, I have one and I did not use the beater, but I faced many problems, including the condenser, its size is very small, and I made one from a bucket, and another thing, there was a lot of steam leakage, so I replaced all the pipes with copper pipes. I think it is not worth this price. I hope the manufacturer will think about attaching stainless pipes or tubes. Copper even if it costs more
Hey B&B. Would there be any benefit to packing copper mesh in the tube right where it connects to the boiler pot? Thank you and the fairy! 😁
Would constant stirring harm the yeast action? Oh and I saw another review of this set and it did come with a down tube. Yours may have been left out by mistake or they started adding them in later shipments.
The stirring doesn't hurt the yeast, and in fact helps it by releasing the CO2 trapped under the fruit cap.
Have you tried Chitosan and Kieselsol for clearing up your wash/must? It is amazing stuff!
Yes I have. Love it! Makes washes clear as water in a day.
Hey Brother. So glad to see you back making videos again. Hope all is good with you and the Family. Will drop you an email at some point. -- den in NH.
Thanks Den:-)
Just a thought. Would it be better to use cheese cloth to really squeeze everything out? Strainer just your preference?
i cannot recall the proper name of it off the top of my head, but french grape farmers would make a low abv (we're talking about 6%) "session" (for lack of a better term) wine from the leftover pomace. might be fun to try.
also, have to say, I tried Vevor's air still and it was absolute shite
Piquette! Yeah I didn't know about it until a few days ago and had already dumped my pomace in the compost bin. Next year though:-) I haven't tried an air still. Built my own 1 gallon mini still instead.
@@BeardedBored yep, that's it - thanks for reminding me of the name.
if you live near any wineries, they might be willing to give you some for free, or low cost since they typically just use it for compost as well.
Jesse seems to be ok with his air still, but I just can't seem to manage to get it to work properly.
and with the most of materials now, building a still will cost as much if not more as a commercial introductory still.
so to clarify, you only got 600 mLs final product from a 5 gal wash? eeesh
Yeah, but I only got about 3 gallons back out of the must (no squeezing) and the initial abv was only 8.5%, so I didn't expect a good yield.
Can you use feed corn for making Whiskey?
Yes.
Also how's the blackberry brandy or wine coming along
The wine got oxidized due to a bucket failure, but I was able to save it. Hypothetically...it makes good brandy. Video will be up in a few more weeks. Tepache Rum is next:-)
Sorry it oxidized but I'm sure the brandy is top shelf
i love mine i have a 3 gallon and just got me a 13 1/2 gallon
Excellent video. New to this do i need to release pressure after finishing a run and if yes how can i do it? Please
Awesome video about to try my first time. Question tho when the liquor ferry begins its work what temperature should the pot be maintained at on the stove top? Thanks
I retrofitted my still by swapping out the flat lid to a 12" SS salad bowl.
Nice!
Hello great video! So I just got a new Vevor 5 gal still I plan on cleaning with citric acid and doing a vinegar run, but really don't want to run a sacrifical run since I'll have to use a mash feels wasteful and I'm being lazy, do I have to?
If you're doing vinegar, you can skip the citric acid since they do the same thing. I still recommend sac run when you're new to the hobby and on your first still. It'll help you learn how this still works and keeps you double safe. You can just get a box of wine and do a short one. 15 minutes from first drips. Doesn't have to be a full run, just enough to blast some potent solvents through the pipes. Do it or don't. Up to you.
Ok will do! I appreciate your help. That's a good idea just using a box wine or something. I'll do it. Your right, it'll help me get an idea of how the still runs. Thanks
The inner threads on the top if the thump keg are 3/8"
Use a threaded 3/8" coupler and a brass pipe to reach down to the bottom of the thumper. Problem solved.
(It's safe, just pickle it first. This still already has multiple brass fittings)
I have the same still but considering building an all copper boiler to help get rid of sulfur in the wash. I've noticed that with this boiler you get a strong sulfur smell after running. This normally evaporates after 12 hours but I want it completely removed. I've thought about copper pieces in the pot to help. What are your thoughts?
Yeah, copper in the pot helps. Also, if your fermentations are producing a lot of sulfur, make sure the yeast isn't stressed by temperature, pH, or nutrient deficiency. Those can really create a lot of sulfur. If you do get a stinker, you can whisk it up vigorously once fermentation is complete to help it off gas, then let it sit for a week or so to clean it up.
I just got the same unit from Vevor recently. Mine has a down tube that attaches in the thumper... they must have just missed putting one in your unit.
Does it come with anything to cover the airlock hole when distilling?
Just bought the 8 gal. Vevor still after watching your video. I used your advice for using the included parts for the thumper box. Should I be concerned about that the size of the thumper compared to the 8 gal. boil pot?
It's a bit smaller than most size recommendations, including my own from my build video, but it works just fine. The liquor fairy is very impressed after several runs with it. Gives an abv bump of about 8-10% and infuses more flavor.
The tricky part of this still, as with most worm style condensers, is getting the flow rate correct for the cooling water. Make sure the outlet tube has no dips or bellies in it so the water can flow out easily. Outlet valve fully open, inlet valve about 1/4 open and you'll need to make tiny incremental adjustment to the inlet valve to adjust the flow until it stabilizes. Take a few minutes of fiddling and waiting to see if it wants to overflow, but once you get it balanced, you won't really have to mess with it much after that.
@@BeardedBored I have leaned that is the case for the water flow that is “just right” when using it.
@@BeardedBoredThe little pump that comes with it also has an adjustment. It does help with the flow control.
ships to ca hypotheyically , i got the football style, tip put your worm in the sink so flow ok if let her rip
Excellent video. I'm too poor to get a good still, but I'm really wanting to start distilling.
Isn't the "Thumper" also too small for an 8 gal pot? Shouldn't it be at least 2 1/2 gallons to 3 gallons?
You get a better bump in abv with a larger thumper, but after several runs, the liquor fairy has not had any problems with it. It's not over filling, but the abv boost is only about 5-8 percent, instead of 10-15.
I have always been leery about cheap stills including parts that are not stainless and dubious gaskets. Has your liquor fairy noticed any degradation of the tubes and gaskets after six runs? C’è or says that they use “Food grade silicone”. Great video! My uncle’s farm near Fort Worth had “mustang” grapes growing wild along the Brazos river when I was a kid. They were highly acidic!
So far everything is working great. I'm about to do a cleaning run with vinegar to keep the worm and lyne arm clean, but other than that, everything is holding up well with just a good rinsing.
Anyone do a lead test on those fittings? Mine turned grey after the cleaning run
Dandelion wine run through a still?
Good idea 👍👍👍
Next time don’t kill off the wild microbs. Pitch your yeast and make them compete. You might find that the yeast on the grapes digest it the best. Natural selection.
I want to try that next year. I hope I have a better harvest so I can do 100% muscadine with wild yeast.
Could you do this with the jacking process instead of distilling it ?
@@jonathanhatch7033 I’m not sure I’m familiar with the “jacking process”. Can you give me some more details?
@@capOlllllOable it’s freezing the juice then collecting the alcohol didn’t freeze in a separate container recollecting it putting it back in the containment putting it back in the freezer and repeating the process still all that’s left is pure alcohol. Bearded made a video doing this process with apple jack. I was just curious if you could repeat the process doing it with wine base vs a cider base
@@jonathanhatch7033 I’m familiar with the process. You can do it with any low wine however, unlike with distillation you don’t separate the unwanted byproducts like acetone, methanol, isopropyl and ethyl acetate. With the freezing method you simply concentrate instead of separate. You’ll find if you concentrate low wines to many times the flavors can become very harsh and give you nasty hangovers from small amounts. In my book it’s not recommended. Bearded may have a different outlook.
I got into this with one of their 3 gal ones. It's not bad for the price, like you said just the stainless kettle and bits pretty easily justifies the cost. The condenser annoyed the hell out of me because I had to constantly watch for over/underflow so I pretty quickly replaced that with a helix of copper fridge tubing in a fully-enclosed PVC pipe water jacket, basically ending up like a Graham condenser. Did the same mod you did to the not-thumper with that stub tube and a bit of silicone, also messed around with a short reflux column made from a boro glass tube, a couple silicone plugs, stuffed with copper scrubbers. It doesn't improve the recovery all that much because the tubes I had on hand were only 15 in or so long, but it does make the temperature transitions a lot more clear.
Sounds like fun though.
👍🏼🇦🇺
The condenser does require some fiddling to balance it, but I've had a lot of practice with the mini still that I built. Worms are way more fiddly than liebig condensers.
I bought the distillery, but their are no instructions for assembly
I'm finding the pump is too strong and won't return fast enough to my ice water. Any suggestions without having to worry about the condenser pot overflowing?
It takes a little finesse. Make sure the outflow hose is not dipping anywhere and trapping or slowing down water in the return to the ice water and that the valve is fully open. The inlet valve requires tiny movements to get the flow just slow enough to not overfill the pot. About 1/4 open or less is probably enough, then adjust in tiny amounts as needed until it stabilizes. Once it stabilizes and sits at the same level for 5-10 minutes, then you probably won't have to touch it for the rest of the run. My advice is to get the cooling water fiddling done before the still heats up in case it's being stubborn and you need to slow down the heat to give yourself more time to adjust it.
I just did plum jam but saved a letter to add to other jam's to make brandy , quick question do you need pectin enzymes if you have boiled the fruit?
I did jamy brandy ,plum jam, blackberry jam, apple sauce,5 kg sugar and some wild yeast and apple tree blossoms
One question I have always had but never found a video topic on, is the use of artificial sugar for sweetening wines, liqueurs etc after distilling and flavoring. I always make vodka or rum and by column distilling and I flavor afterwards with a lot of the flavors that are out there. I make wine too. Most of them call for sweetening with sugar but I’m Diabetic so have to be careful. Have you tried this?
I haven't tried it, but I know a lot of folks use erythritol for backsweetening hard cider. Give it a test on some samples👍
@@BeardedBored great to hear from you! I have already tried it on some samples and it tastes just as good! Especially Peach Schnapps or Apple Pie! I’m surprised there’s no videos out there on it!
ruclips.net/video/3M5Up696Ivc/видео.html this might be helpful
Oooh, great suggestion. I forgot about that video!
Great vid Sir Bearded...
Might have missed it....rationale for the two yeasts?
I've read a few articles on co-pitching yeasts to bring out different flavors. I need to test it more to see if it's worth the effort.