Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi everyone,

What is the term for someone below a newbie?? Whatever it is, that is what describes me! I am a complete novice from the Sunny Coast and stumbled on the forum by accident I guess.

I was looking at a local Home Brew Shop and saw a very shiny and good looking Turbo 500! I went in and asked a few questions and was given the spiel and was very tempted to buy on the spot. "Hmmm, maybe I should find a bit more about it" I thought. So home I went and cranked up the inter web and off I went. Suffice to say, my wanderings (not completely directly I might add) led me here and to this forum. After a while I have learnt that the smartest thing I did that day at the HBS was not to buy anything!

So now I am thoroughly bamboozled, but still interested in learning a whole lot more about the dark arts of distilling.

I will be spending the next few weeks reading as much as I can and trying to decide on an appropriate starting point that will allow me to kick me off on a learning curve without knocking my 'spirits' down too much!!

At this point my manufacturing skills (in terms of building any sort of still) are non existent, so I will be considering the best way to go to buy something relatively "off the shelf" to start with.

Looking forward to learning a whole lot more and trying to shorten my list of completely ridiculous questions to an acceptable minimum.

Natjac.

Hi Natjac
Your in the right place mate
Take your time and ask away
Patients is the key to this fine art

Welcome mate! :greetings-waveyellow:
Sounds like you've made a very good decision not rushing in to buy the first shiny still you see, the one thing i prob would do differently if i did it all again.
Do plenty of reading and work out what direction you want to head before you buy. There is plenty of good advice on here and i wish you luck which ever way you head.

G'day mate and welcome.

Your a smart man, don't rush into anything. Spend some time in the newbies corner and then in the still sections and you'll soon work out which way you want to go :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Enjoy the ride

welcome mate, great hobby.
read, read and read some more.
i make rum and brought a mac built copper pot 6 years ago and still use it to this day with a 2400w keg boiler.
If i were to start today with what i know id buy a pot from 5 star for the sole purpose of adding tees as funds allow, which is something ill be doing very shortly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Welcome here mate, sounds like you will do well in this hobby :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Welcome Natjac.

Definitely a smart move to do some research before diving in that way you’ll start off with the right still for you.

Things you should consider are, what kind of spirits you want to make, how much room you have to run your still and what your budget is.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Wow, you’ve had, I think, about the best welcome posts from other members that I’ve ever seen.
Thinking that’s because how willing you are to learn first before diving in.
Not many of us did.
What do you want to make/ drink?
That’ll help you decide on what still you need.
Welcome to the forum btw :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thankyou all for your replies and words of encouragement!!

In reply (not sure how to do that with the quotes etc yet);

I would consider my self a bit of a alcoholic butterfly, with no hard core favourites!! I am keen on bourbons and spiced rums, however I have recently been finding myself down the vodka path with a developing interest in gin as well!! So at this stage I think I would be considering a reflux still and trying for a reasonably 'pure' and vodka/spirit and flavouring it accordingly. Hopefully after practise and patience I would be able to branch out into more flavoursome results as time went on.

I don't have a huge amount of room, but i have a shed and backyard that I think I will begin in. My first priorities would be to not blow up/burn down my, or my neighbours houses, then not to poison anyone and finally to generate something that would be considered firstly drinkable and then perhaps even palatable.

I don't really have a budget, but consider value for money and quality important so I will be keeping eye out on the classifieds section. (Not sure I will be able to keep that patient!! I expect I will find myself buying something new before too long).

Now for some dumbass questions!! Please advise if any of them would be considered inappropriate or ill advised and I will edit accordingly.

Has anyone had any experience in talking to/tackling the ATO in order to obtain a license for distilling for purely home and personal use?

Are there any equipment manufacturers/experts that offer testing/workshopping/courses or active displays of their products in order to gain hands on experience? I am referring to both the detailed physical process and also the opportunity to see and get advice on some less tangible aspects (i.e. the smell/taste/feel of forces/heads/tails etc).

Thanks,

Natjac.

woodduck wrote:

Natjac wrote:
Has anyone had any experience in talking to/tackling the ATO in order to obtain a license for distilling for purely home and personal use?
wouldn't be worth the bother I wouldn't imagine

Are there any equipment manufacturers/experts that offer testing/workshopping/courses or active displays of their products in order to gain hands on experience? I am referring to both the detailed physical process and also the opportunity to see and get advice on some less tangible aspects (i.e. the smell/taste/feel of forces/heads/tails etc).

try this thread viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11742


Thanks,

Natjac.

Ato licence you can forget as the cost to comply with their requirements to be licenced would be too much except for commercials mate. If it was cheap and easy and risk free we'd all be legit.

Professional courses might be interesting to do but they're expensive and not sure they would teach you what you need to know for hobby scale but good luck with that. Nobody would run courses for hobby scale (as its illegal activity) in oz. You can learn all you need to know to get started in regards to just about everything in the beginners section.
:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Once again thanks for the replies.

I thought as much, regarding the ATO etc but thought I'd have to straight up and ask to be sure!!

And I guess its a bit of shame that, due to a lot of the legality concerns, there aren't more opportunities for people of all levels of experience to get together and share some knowledge and techniques in a more face to face and tactile manner!! I'll have to brush up on my forum etiquette/technique and photo sharing abilities!!

Natjac.

We ain’t that big on etiquette mate :teasing-neener: