Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Lashed out and bought my SS T500 reflex condenser and boiler as advertised from the HBS. First wash was the standard turbo that came with the kit - reasonable but not entirely happy (bit smelly).
Second wash is the triple distilled turbo and has been happily and slowly bubbling away at 18 degrees for 12 days and now hit SG 0.990 and ready to go. Next wash will be TPW after much research on this site - my better half seems to think I am a little obsessive compulsive!!
Some things I am trying to figure out by myself through some dedicated practical research (happy to do the 'hard' yards there) or online research:
1. Do cuts make a big difference to the T500 reflex setup? The video from the manufacturer claims only the first 50ml will smell bad and it has been designed to provide an even flow - therefore don't worry about cuts, tails and all those other things I am learning about? But this site seems to differ.
2. Will the still operating closer to 50-55 degrees produce better quality than running at 60-65 degrees? Happy if it takes longer if quality is better.
3. Is there a minimum temperature to ferment the TPW at? It seems that 25-30 degrees is recommended and I can achieve that in our cold climate by placing a heater pad under to maintain 25 degrees. The triple distilled turbo was quite happy at 18-20 degrees I was able to keep up over the last couple of weeks.
4. Essences and woodchips!! What is preferred or is that a very individual taste? Better brands? Ones to avoid? Will chips in a flagon for 3 months be enough to produce a good bourbon or whisky?

Ah, so many questions. The more I read the more I seem to get differing opinions!!!

Welcome to the forum, mate :)

First step is to forget everything that you've been told at the HBS...

Done? Good.

I can't comment on the intricacies of the T500, having never run one...

What I do know is that cuts are absolutely vital, with ANY still, if you want to make a quality drop. A TPW, using Lowan's bakers yeast, is quite happy around 25-30°c...

And I've never used any essences or flavoured chips, but there are guys here who can advise on their use :)

You've only just begun! You'll find answers to questions you didn't know you needed to ask here.

Welcome Dodger :handgestures-thumbupleft:

A few tips from a fellow T500 owner.

Yes, the TPW is the wash that will give you best results for your neutral spirit. It will make your plastic carbon filter thingy redundant.

I run my still at 55degs. Results in a cleaner spirit.

Yes, cuts make a big difference. I kept the empties from a slab of stubbies and use them as collection vessels.

All this results in less product than you'd get if you followed the HBS guide book, but, the resulting spirit is head and shoulders above anything they could produce.

Enjoy your journey mate :D

Welcome Roger

Zak Griffin wrote:What I do know is that cuts are absolutely vital, with ANY still

:text-+1:

I found a huge difference between the essences.
I didn't mind the SS Classic American Bourbon. I have now moved on to bigger and better things :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Also from Canberra, Welcome Mate to the very best site the net has to offer to the hobby distiller.

All the Guys here are helpful and friendly so make sure you read heaps and before you know it you'll understand things a whole lot better.

Great to see the numbers start to pickup in ACT, Again Welcome.

Newbrew :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Another Canberran!! Welcome mate, read and re-read everything.

Thanks all. Putting down my first TPW tonight. Will use heater pad to keep up at 25 degrees. And no carbon!! Excellent

G'day Roger! Welcome! Canberra eh, nice place. I lived in Gordon for a couple of years myself.

TPW is a good wash, Weetbix wash is also good for neutral.

Re wash temp, that comes down to what the type of yeast your using prefers. Lower than 22 and I personally find the ferment takes to long and practically stalls with Lowans in a TPW. Canberra would be mighty chilly this time of year so insulate your fermenter with a microfibre blanket or something. Another good option for heating a wash is an aquarium heater. There thermostat controlled so you won't cook your wash.

As for the T500, you'll initially start getting product at around 45 deg and I like to run the foreshots off at that temp. However it is a good idea to let column sit in full reflux for a bit a little below this temp to get the fractions built up and dispersed in the column properly. After that I run at low 50's. Low and slow with good cuts is the go.

Use your sniffer to weed out the heads. I have a spare clean jar that i use to put a few drops of distilate in every 100ml or so to give a sniff and see where things are at, and if in doubt switch to a new cut jar. Remember to rinse out your sniffer jar :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't forget to number your jars or thing could get frustrating lol.

When your deciding which of your jars to keep for drink and what to turf into feints, watering a sample down to approx drinking strength will help separate the good from the bad. I take a teaspoon from a jar and mix that with a teaspoon of water in a shot glass, give it a good sniff and a taste to detect heads or tails. Trace amounts of heads or tails can be undetectable in high abv distillate and only become apparent once watered down.

Anyway welcome to the forums again.

Welcome aboard Roger... another member in the territory. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
re:4 - HBS Woodchips -> IMO charge exorbitant prices for woodchips.
For bourbon/whisky, many here use oak dominos.
Get in on any group buy of oak dominos in the future. I could give you a handful to get going if interested.
BTW, Monaro Timber in Queanbeyan carries raw American oak.

Welcome to the forum... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Roger wrote:The more I read the more I seem to get differing opinions!!!

Mate, take the all the info you can from here then decide what YOU want to do because at the end of the day the variances in all the proceses are up to what the individual can and wants to do. As long as at the end of the day YOU are happy with your product then that is all that matters ;-)

Thanks again all for your informative posts.

Results from last Fridays triple turbo SS wash.
Much clearer and less smelly than their Classic turbo. Siphoned out the wash and managed to leave all the carbon and yeast behind. Ended up with a good 3L at 90% which I was happy with. Discarded first 75ml and then did 500ml jars for rest. To my mind, they had little acetone smell - certainly much better than the Classic product. I have watered down, filtered and put some with oak chips and others with essences. Will try first taste test this weekend, but early indications are good.

Interesting that the smell and taste of my first batch with Classic turbo has improved with age and some airing!

My tomato paste wash is happily bubbling away at 26 degrees on top of my heater plate. My SG is now down to about 0.996 after 5 days so thinking that it will be all done in the next day. No bad odours at all. Any thoughts on how long I should let it sit once I get to 0.990 which it looks to be on track for? I used 5kg no-name white sugar, 200g leggos tomato paste, 80g Lowans bakers yeast and a quarter of a teaspoon of citric acid. Have high hopes for this wash!!

I recon thats just about done mate, turn off the heat tomorrow let it sit for a day or 2 to clear then run :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Did you collect in 500ml jars and then oak or essence them all?

I miss driving to work looking at the Brindabella's, but those crispy mornings are bullshit. :handgestures-thumbdown:

I actually sold a still to a member who's parents owned the last house I rented in Canberra before moving west for the first time, his parents would've shit bricks if they seen what was going on in there shed :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

I oaked 2x2 litre flagons and essences in the rest. Looking forward to Friday night taste test!

Does anyone in Canberra region know good supply for cheap demijohns? Or flagons for that matter. Also keen on some oak staves. Is brand new oak going to give a different taste? What about using old wine barrels?

The brindabellas are stunning. Snow down to 800m tonight I've been told brrrrr

Might want to give this thread another read through mate... viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2859

There's no point collecting in seperate jars if you are going to drink it all anyway, is there? ;-)

Don't expect great things on Friday night - Saturday morning will be worse.

Roger wrote:I oaked 2x2 litre flagons and essences in the rest. Looking forward to Friday night taste test!

Does anyone in Canberra region know good supply for cheap demijohns? Or flagons for that matter. Also keen on some oak staves. Is brand new oak going to give a different taste? What about using old wine barrels?

The brindabellas are stunning. Snow down to 800m tonight I've been told brrrrr

Try "The Spirit Guy" in Queanbeyan, he sells them on Ebay.

I think old matey "the Spirit Guy", sells them for about $20 each.
Another good place to try is the tobacco & homebrew shop, at the Kaleen shops, they normally have a few, plus they have bigger ones (up to 80L).

djfrestyla wrote:Another good place to try is the tobacco & homebrew shop, at the Kaleen shops, they normally have a few

Yes they sell them, I've bought a 5L from them. Typical HBS, they are not "cheap", but convenient.

Hi to all the Canberra brigade - we should have a tasting night. Dan Murphy are doing a whisky tasting next month I shall purchase tickets for - 40 whisky's to try...... And 2 hours to sample

Batch 2 of my SS triple distilled came up much better and tastes better. Just finished off my first TPW and after much misgiving as I put the pink coloured wash into the boiler, was very surprised by the output and quality. I got about 2.5 litres of 91% which had no smell and no discernible tails or heads from the T500. So mixed it all together and will have a taste test tonight. Nearly succumbed to thirsty Thursday yesterday, but thought I would have a wee taste tonight. Have my next wash of TPW down with same recipe but will think of a different one next. Even scored some old demijohns online and after a hearty scrub and lengthy sterilising soak, came up looking great. Some guy had them in his shed for many a moon and they are quite old with no lids - so if anyone knows where to get older style lids (large screw tops I think - no holes for swing tops), would be greatly appreciated.

No carbon mess or filtering with the TPW either which was a bonus. Am playing around with oak chips and essences to see if I can come up with something close to my favourite spirits.

My TPW had lots of bubbles that didn't disappear - my current wash has no bubbles. Same method, interesting.

So, any suggestions for another good sugar wash to try?

Enjoy your weekend everyone - I certainly will be.