Five Gallons Of Mash Fermenting Away!

[glycerine]

My step-daughter and I made up five gallons of mash on Saturday:

4 pounds crushed corn

4 pounds 6-row barley

6.6 pound malt extract

Cooked it all for 2 hours then into the fermenter with:

1 big packet of "turbo yeast"

3 "beano" enzyme packets

1T yeast nutrient

As of this morning it is bubbling away like crazy!

I'm going to be ordering my still today.

Of course, the alcohol will only be used to power my car! <grin> Home distilling IS illegal... But as an BATF agent said "we really don't care much about moonshiners these days...too busy catching folks making meth."

[Burp_Cup]

This sounds kind of interesting. Can't say that I've ever known anyone who has made this, and you seem like you know what you're doing with it.

Kind of funny though, that I keep visualizing some Broderick Crawford types rolling up to your place in '58 Chevy's, wearing rumpled suits and crooked fedoras, and armed with lots of questions and guns. (I've seen too many old movies, I think.)

Anyway, sounds kind of cool.

[Rani]

When do we all get invited over to help you remove this illegal substance? I still haven't managed to give myself a hangover, no matter how much I drink. Do you think this could finally do it?

Cheers

[square_duck]

Well, at least now we know where the party is!

[froggy]

Depends what kind of condenser he uses. I drink nothing run through old car radiators.

[glycerine]

Old car radiators give moonshine a sweet taste. Oh, wait... that's the lead in the solder that does that! (Did you know that the Romans used lead salts to sweeten their wine? Part of the reason Rome fell).

Here's the still I've decided on:

You want a hangover? I'll save the tail-end of the "heads" for you.

[LuvsGurl]

When do we all get invited over to help you remove this illegal substance? I still haven't managed to give myself a hangover, no matter how much I drink. Do you think this could finally do it?

Cheers

Actually, shine won't give you a hangover because it is pure alcohol. It's the "other stuff" in booze that gets you hung over. Shine will just flat out put you on your ass.

"Home distilling" was quite popular in the back woods of North Carolina where I was raised. We call the stuff jet fuel because, well, that's what it smells like.

However, if you bottle it with fruit (such as strawberries or peaches) it makes a lovely type of brandy.

[glycerine]

Actually, shine won't give you a hangover because it is pure alcohol. It's the "other stuff" in booze that gets you hung over. Shine will just flat out put you on your ass.....

This is true IF the 'shiner does what they are supposed to do and toss out the first 150ml (in a 5 gal run) of distillate. That stuff, the "heads", is where the methyl alcohol resides. And THAT is what gives you the headache. Same thing goes for the "tails". That has phenols in it that can make your head hurt.

A lot of folks don't know to chuck the "heads" and end up with a distillate that will make them feel bad and, at worst, kill them.

[Youngatheart252]

I thought there was two causes of hangovers: The "other stuff" as luvsgirl put it, and deydration from the alcohol. That's how I fend off hangovers is by not drinking cheap liquor and by drinking a large glass of water after I've stopped drinking. Was I incorrect or is there more to it?

[square_duck]

I thought there was two causes of hangovers: The "other stuff" as luvsgirl put it, and deydration from the alcohol. That's how I fend off hangovers is by not drinking cheap liquor and by drinking a large glass of water after I've stopped drinking. Was I incorrect or is there more to it?

Thats about it!

[glycerine]

Yes... water to hydrate will greatly help with eliminating the hangover.

Just go a notification from UPS: the still arrives Thursday afternoon! Woot! We're going to rack the "beer" this afternoon into the secondary so it clarifies a bit.

[glycerine]

First cleaning run done. Started with 80 Proof vodka (40% ABV) and distilled it out to around 150 proof. My step son is using that in his alcohol stove.

Second cleaning run done. Started with 10% ABV sugar mash. Distilled out to 100 proof. Down the drain.

Third cleaning run. Ran boiling water for 45 minutes without the cooling water to steam-clean the whole thing.

Fourth cleaning run in progress. Boiling water and distilling with cooling water on until distilled water coming out is tasteless.

When this is all done, the still will be cleaned and ready to make drinkable stuff.

Tomorrow I do a "stripping" run to turn 5 gallons of corn/barley "wine" into around 1 gallon of concentrate.

Then I do the final run and probably end up with around 2+ quarts of rough whisky/moonshine at around 120+ proof. That will age for a couple of weeks on charred oak and then thinned down to 90 proof and bottled.

[glycerine]

MOONSHINE!

WHooooo0oooooOOOEEEEEeeEEEE! That is some strong 'shine!

It'll be a lot more mellow after the 2nd distillation.

[glycerine]

After the second distillation...

Five pint jars. I've only tested the middle one, and that's at 80% ABV (160 proof!). I'll be toasting some oak in the oven this evening and putting the stuff up in quart jars at around 50% ABV (100 proof) with the toasted sticks. Hand made sticks, I might add. We just lost a 150 year old white oak and have a LOT of wood! Should be drinkable in about a month.

[square_duck]

After the second distillation...

Five pint jars. I've only tested the middle one, and that's at 80% ABV (160 proof!). I'll be toasting some oak in the oven this evening and putting the stuff up in quart jars at around 50% ABV (100 proof) with the toasted sticks. Hand made sticks, I might add. We just lost a 150 year old white oak and have a LOT of wood! Should be drinkable in about a month.

you don't like your liver very much do you!????

[glycerine]

you don't like your liver very much do you!????

Heh, heh... it WILL be diluted down...and mellowed over a couple of months on oak. Rum is bubbling away in the secondary fermenter now and corn mash is in the primary.

[pampywamp]

its called poteen here in Ireland i call it loopy juice done some crazy things after drinking cuoldnt remember a thing till people called to the house next day

[anned]

Are you running a thumper on your still or just running straight from your pot to your condenser.

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1245

http://homedistiller.org/designs.htm

I ran a small still using a old large stainless pressure cooker and the refrigeration unit from a drinking fountain as a condenser.

Oh you might try adding honey to your recipe. adding clover honey and a little licorice extract to your recipe makes for some good irish mist.

There is a large number of fruit mixes that make some real good brandys.

http://homedistiller.org/wash-fruit.htm

http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id28.html

[glycerine]

I ended up with 2 1/2 quarts of 140 proof rum.

1 quart has a handful of raisins and oak on it.

1 quart has just the oak.

1 pint is plain.

No... I don't run a thumper, though I've been thinking about it. After I get back from traveling to Europe in July I'll look into it.

[glycerine]

Had a small glass of the rum on raisins last night and after just 2 nights it is already getting mellow. Wow... I'm going to put in fresh raisins tonight.