Howdý Fellow Distillers

[Outofsquare]

Gday all,

Well thought I would join this wonderful forum, always out to learn what I can from wherever I can!, as generally every time I think I know something I've got it wrong :violence-smack:

The fascination with distilling has been on my to do list for quite some time, I guess it all started with my brother in-law making his own drop & thinking its the best thing since slice bread ^:)^
I reckon Metho has more character than his drop, so now its the battle of brother in-laws!

Well now I''m committed, ordered a 50L keg & hopefully should have it sooner rather than later, thought the first thing I would do is design a nice sized opening so I can get in there to clean it all out really easy, big enough so I can stick my head in their if I wanted to, seems to be a lot of real-estate to work with.

Cheers, spirits & nuts!

Out of Square.

[Frothwizard]

Welcome mate,

You'll find everything you need here and more.

I get it wrong all the time too and need to keep reading.

Have you decided which path you're going to go down? Neutral washes or flavored washes? etc? That will heavily dictate what sort of still you should be aiming for.

Cheers,
FW

[Zak Griffin]

Welcome mate :)

Before you go cutting up the keg, you should tell us a bit about what you want to make/drink, and how handy you are on the tools/what materials you have available/what your budget is :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You'll find everything you need to know here, and it won't be long until your brother in law is wondering why his stuff tastes so bad compared to yours :)

[Outofsquare]

Well, I like drinking Scotch & Rum, I have read a lot about making mash & thought I would go down this path first, found some recipes I would like to give a go, I have a sugar mill just up the road & can get my hands on A grade Molasses for the rum wash, thought if I can get my hands on whatever they have why not try the A grade stuff, they have told me that the big boys simply purchase C grade from them for the Rum.

I'm actually a toolmaker by trade (pretty boring I know, my dad wanted me to be a dentist), and run my own machine shop, so pretty much should be right with tools side of things, although the cook still gets up me for continually always buying tools, she thinks I''m obsessive Lol, but I always reckon a man can never have enough tools at his disposal.

Just wanted a big enough opening in the keg so I can clean out every corner with ease & quickly.

Cheers

[Bushy]

Hey Outofsquare. Welcome to the wonderful world of home distillation. :greetings-waveyellow:
Outofsquare :-D
Onthepiss :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[1 2many]

Welcome to the party mate sounds like you a have the tools for the job

Just wanted a big enough opening in the keg so I can clean out every corner with ease & quickly.

I recon a 4" ferule is big enough for me, but you might squeeze a 6" on a Keg if you want real big :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[pulsetech]

Can't get my Arm in a 4 inch :(

[Woodsy71]

Welcome mate,


Enjoy your journey :smile:

[Outofsquare]

Thanks for the welcoming all, I might start a new thread in regards to bolier access for cleaning, and see what people have to say about there experinces, I was thinking of simply starting off with a Pot Still for my journey into this hobby.

Cheers

[Yummyrum]

Welcome Outofsquare :greetings-waveyellow:

Have you thought about what kind of still you might stick on that Keg ?

[Outofsquare]

Hi yummyrum, gonna go with a pot still, trying to get my boiler sorted out first

Cheers

[Yummyrum]

Good place to start ..you will learn so much with one of these .

I have to say that after years of listening to everyone that has a bubbler going on about how good the Rum is off it.I was always skeptical ...couldn't help but think that if you had spent a shit load of time and effort on one that you would say anything else ......but the other day I actually got to see one operating and taste the stuff straight off it and after it has been aged and I have to say it shits all over Pots stilled Rum ....well certainly anything I have ever made .

So if you have the ability and Budget , build a Bubbler ,I can guarantee that you will cream you BIL in the booze comp :happy-partydance:

[Outofsquare]

Exactly my thinking, start with a pot still to learn first, the bubbler intrests me heaps, but I need to crawl first I reckon, a pot still will be a good learning step

[Zak Griffin]

A pot is a good spot to start... Depending on how you go about it, building a pot could put you about 1/3rd of the way to building a bubbler ;-)

And trust me. You WILL build a bubbler.

[Outofsquare]

I must admit reading all the articles on bubblers sure seem to be the best way to get a high quality product by whats being said, and I agree with you that I willl be building more than one set up sooner rather than later.

[Cane Toad]

Exactly my thinking, start with a pot still to learn first, the bubbler intrests me heaps, but I need to crawl first I reckon, a pot still will be a good learning step

Welcome OOS :greetings-waveyellow: When I started the Distilling journey,I too thought about a pot still,but after a chat with Mac decided to go with a bubbler,straight off the bat.
Sure,it sounds good to learn on a pot still,but mate,these bubblers are so damn easy to run,and the quality of product compared to even a twice run pot distiller UJ isn't even comparable :snooty:
Do yourself a favour,read a few more of the bubbler build threads,I'm sure you can talk yourself into going that way :handgestures-thumbupleft: If parts are needed,contact Mac,he's got everything you'll need :handgestures-thumbupleft:
You'll thank me for it later :laughing-rolling:

[stretch69]

I bought a 4" beast from 5 star and I love it!. I had never ran any type of still before and still have found running this still pretty easy and straight forward, you just follow the guide in the plated column section. I've only got a could runs under my belt at the moment but im already feeling comfortable running it!.
You could prob make heaps of one yourself and get whatever bits n pieces you need from mac

[Frothwizard]

I bought a 4" beast from 5 star and I love it!. I had never ran any type of still before and still have found running this still pretty easy and straight forward, you just follow the guide in the plated column section. I've only got a could runs under my belt at the moment but im already feeling comfortable running it!.
You could prob make heaps of one yourself and get whatever bits n pieces you need from mac

Bang on! FSD stills are amazing. Whatever praise you read on this forum, it doesn't compare to actually owning one.

I started with a 2" copper pot still and went straight from that to a 4" bubbler. After 2 runs and a bit of troubleshooting with my cooling (not the stills fault, I didn't have enough cooling water) it was running like a pro and it hasn't faulted since.

[Outofsquare]

Sure does seem the bubblers are the flavour af all, will do heaps of reading before i make my decision on which way to start my distilling ventures, all I seem to be doing everynight is flicking through this awsome forum reading.

Looked through my metal racks this arvo and got heaps of left overs to at least build a pot still without spending a cent, I might start on this at least im doing somthing whilst trying to educate myself.

Thanks all for some fantastic advice

[Yummyrum]

A pot is a good spot to start... Depending on how you go about it, building a pot could put you about 1/3rd of the way to building a bubbler ;-)

What he said :handgestures-thumbupleft:

How hard is it to throw up a pic of the bits you have in your shed ?