2nd time round - still learning (t500)

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2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Stillhereguys » Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:16 am

Hey guys

So after doing a little bit of distilling 5-6 years ago i decided to get back in the mix and have another go. I bought myself a T500 Reflux kit with fermenter/Filter and some flavours, and have currently completed 2 full runs using turbo yeasts and dextrose.

Then i found this site.....

I really want to make nice Whiskey/Boubons and Scotches and I have only scratched the surface of this site (There's so much info here). In time i would like to make these from scratch but am happy to make the best versions of it i can with my current set up and until i get more experience. I have read about the TPW washes and i plan to make my next wash using that method as i have seen some reviews claiming it's quite good. The first batch i made i did not use cuts, the second batch i just completed i did cut into roughly 150mm jars and have aired them out for a couple of days. I plan to taste the cuts, dilute, filter and flavour them today.

If anyone has some advice on making great whiskeys/bourbons and scotches i'd love to hear it. Tips on set up's, Cleaning, Fermenting techniques, Filtering and ageing would be great and even how to break into making it from scratch would be awesome.

Cheers
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby woodduck » Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:00 pm

Hi there, welcome :greetings-waveyellow:

Unfortunately your T500 won't be able to make brown spirits like whiskey and rum because it's a reflux still designed to strip all flavors. You can use essences from the hbs if you like but if you want to make real whiskey you'll have to find a pot still head for your boiler. Have a look through the pot still section for some ideas.

It would be great if you posted your results on your cut vs uncut turbo. It would be great info to show how important cuts are.

Best of luck :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Stillhereguys » Tue Aug 28, 2018 3:48 pm

Woodduck

I should have stated i was using essence to make my Whiskey/Bourbons at the moment as i am fully aware i can't use it to create genuine products. I will let you know once i have selected my cuts and mixed in the flavours.
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Maximus_Moonshine » Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:41 pm

I am quite new at this myself, but, as you have observe, there is a wealth of knowledge here and my results have improved rapidly after reading the content here. Some real experts contribute and they are very helpful. As a T500 owner (like me) you must read "How to run a T500 the proper way" https://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=10483 if you haven't already. Your reflux still will make good neutrals if you run it right. Definitely move to TPW - way better (and cheaper) than Turbo Yeast. While we probably all want to graduate to a bubbler, Still Spirits do make a Pot Still head that goes right on to the T500 boiler, https://stillspirits.com/products/the-alchemist-series-alembic-pot-still which might be a lower cost way for you to get a pot still for making whiskies / rums etc. I have one and it seems to work fine doing stripping runs, but I haven't finished any rum or whisky runs yet (got some ferments happening now - McRum and CFW). Good Luck!
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Professor Green » Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:48 am

I wouldn't recommend the Still Spirits alembic pot still, it's overpriced for what it does and I found the condenser to be totally inadequate. You'd be better off knocking one up out of copper pipe yourself or looking at the 5 Star 2" pot which may be more expensive but it works very well and will last you forever.

Just my 2c.
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Stillhereguys » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:28 am

I have read how to run the t500 in the article you suggested before and it was great. As much i want to run out and grab a pit still now i want to really nail the basics before going all grain. I plan to do a lot of researching for now so when the day comes ill know how to make more informed decisions
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Maximus_Moonshine » Sun Sep 02, 2018 10:40 am

He He - I was thinking as I was writing my reply re the T500 Pot that I was probably sticking my Noob head out a bit and that it would attract recommendations for better solutions. :)) Stillhereguys, I'd go with Professor Green's suggestions as I've read a lot of the Prof's posts and there is certainly a lot of knowledge and experience there! I'm looking forward to seeing the 5-Star online store re-open as I have not seen the products there yet.

Professor Green, I'm interested to read that you think the T500 Alembic condenser is insufficient. Do you mean it doesn't have the necessary cooling capacity? Mine seems to run OK, but maybe I just don't know the difference yet as I have nothing else to compare with. I am perhaps fortunate that I live at altitude (760m) and it is quite cold here relatively speaking. My water tank is underground and the water stays very cool, which perhaps helps maintain cooling capacity in the condenser. When running the pot still hard on a strip run, I can still have cool water exiting the cooling jacket, though the distillate can be luke-warm to touch. How big an issue is it for pot still distillate to be luke-warm?

Cheers
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Professor Green » Sun Sep 02, 2018 10:57 am

I found I could not get enough water through mine to knock down all of the vapour. It's probably not such an issue if you are using a power controller as you can dial it down. I just think there are better options out there for the money.

On warm distillate, look up flash point of ethanol.
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Re: 2nd time round - still learning (t500)

Postby Maximus_Moonshine » Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:25 am

Yes, understood. I did try dialing down on a rum strip, but noted that when I took it to far, I started losing much of the desired flavour. I assume this is why the recipes call for a hard run on stripping. Flash point wise, yes, we all need to be constantly very mindful of the flammability of Ethanol. Even at luke-warm, at the ABVs we are talking, there will be plenty of vapour available just needing an ignition source.

Cheers and appreciate the input.
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