This is SOOOO Stupid

[FatManDancing]

OK

Not enrirely sure this is my stupid or something else going on

A local store I buy from does all grain kits for stillers. I bought their rye whiskey kit and had them mill it. Unfortunately circumstance got in the way and it took me a few weeks before I finally got to mash it. I also did a lager beer that was pre milled and sat at homefor some time. I had never done the whiskey kit but I had done the beer before

The target gravity on the whiskey was 1068, I managed to get a whopping 1035, the beer had a target gravity of 1058, I got 1025.. :o :o :o

I know milled grains degrade and denature over time but these were stored correctly but by that much in such a short time??

I feel pretty confident around the whole mashing process, clearly to the point of hubris because after this I tried my hand at wheat neutral using unmalted

What a freaken disaster. Corn is simple compared. I have never had a mash stuck so hard

[FatManDancing]

I had my scariest moment today

The power cord on my element burned out. How could this possibly happen? I paid a fully licensed electrician to properly and securely wire my element and clearly I paid more than they were worth

A quick trip to the big green shed had me buying the wrong part but something that will allow me to continue to my run. I ordered hopefully something that will be an upgrade. I can not and do not advocate wiring an element yourself but clearly using an electrician does not guarantee they will do the job properly


I stripped my wheat neutral. My first attempts at mashing were a complete disiaster. I used rolled wheat and malted wheat. My first few mashes had terrible conversion and stuck mashes. They were basically porridge. I also had a lacto infection. While not a disaster I do not think that is desirable when trying to go for a neutral

Later mashes I used alpha and gluco amalyse which saw a massive increase in conversion. I also flamed out my mashes to prevent any infection

What came off the still yesterday smelled awesome and I will definitely do it again but will save some to do as white dog

I also drank an entire bottle of my malted corn. The only thing I have to say about that after the fact is I am glad I make my own and only drink hearts

[FatManDancing]

This will be my last post in this thread. Not because I have/ will stop being stupid, but because I actually have learned so much

After the power cord on my element burned out on my element I learned because this is not hard hired it is perfectly legal to do the wiring yourself. I did not trust myself enough to do it properly so I paid an electrician to do it. I have since learned how to wire plugs properly and when I think about the terrible job they did I am thankful I was actually at my still while it was running. I was sitting on a stool. Stools are great


I got into this hobby for what turned out to be the wrong reasons. I wanted to produce a huge amount of booze cheaply. It did not take long though, thanks in part to this forum and the wonderful teachers and knowledgable persons here who willingly share info that I realised the actual path I want to go down

I want to produce the best quality spirits I can using grains and mashing techniques to extract the best and most from them. That's me, that is what I want to do in this hobby. If whatever you want to do with stillin is different then that is perfectly OK

I have come to realise we, or at least I will always make mistakes. What matters though is how we respond and what we learn that can make us better


I have one last stupid miskae to share

I am not totally prepared to give up the fantasy of being a good ole boy and wanted a rocking chair, you know, the kind Uncle Jessee from Dukes of Hazzard sat in giving sage advice while sippin on moonshine

Modern rocking chairs are atrocious and good quality ones are expensive and not readily available in this country. So I bought a VidaXL rocking chair. Worst thing I could have done. I think the people involved in making this chair wanted to prove every racist stereotype about Chinese manufacturing is true

I got a splinter from unfinished and unpainted wood. The painting on this thing was done by a blind monkey motivated by the faint wiff of banana lollies who when denied clearly clawed out the eyes of their handler. There are massive drips in some places while others are bare wood

When I sat in the chair I heard wood crack and splinter and the rocking action is like stepping on lego barefoot. Plus there was a missing screw

I hope one day I can smash this cheap piece of crap across the smug faces of the owners of VidaXL

[Clickeral]

This will be my last post in this thread. Not because I have/ will stop being stupid, but because I actually have learned so much

After the power cord on my element burned out on my element I learned because this is not hard hired it is perfectly legal to do the wiring yourself. I did not trust myself enough to do it properly so I paid an electrician to do it. I have since learned how to wire plugs properly and when I think about the terrible job they did I am thankful I was actually at my still while it was running. I was sitting on a stool. Stools are great


I got into this hobby for what turned out to be the wrong reasons. I wanted to produce a huge amount of booze cheaply. It did not take long though, thanks in part to this forum and the wonderful teachers and knowledgable persons here who willingly share info that I realised the actual path I want to go down

I want to produce the best quality spirits I can using grains and mashing techniques to extract the best and most from them. That's me, that is what I want to do in this hobby. If whatever you want to do with stillin is different then that is perfectly OK

I have come to realise we, or at least I will always make mistakes. What matters though is how we respond and what we learn that can make us better


I have one last stupid miskae to share

I am not totally prepared to give up the fantasy of being a good ole boy and wanted a rocking chair, you know, the kind Uncle Jessee from Dukes of Hazzard sat in giving sage advice while sippin on moonshine

Modern rocking chairs are atrocious and good quality ones are expensive and not readily available in this country. So I bought a VidaXL rocking chair. Worst thing I could have done. I think the people involved in making this chair wanted to prove every racist stereotype about Chinese manufacturing is true

I got a splinter from unfinished and unpainted wood. The painting on this thing was done by a blind monkey motivated by the faint wiff of banana lollies who when denied clearly clawed out the eyes of their handler. There are massive drips in some places while others are bare wood

When I sat in the chair I heard wood crack and splinter and the rocking action is like stepping on lego barefoot. Plus there was a missing screw

I hope one day I can smash this cheap piece of crap across the smug faces of the owners of VidaXL

I wired up both elements on my milkcan back in 2014, no issues over many many runs. I just redid it over the weekend with a cutup 15amp extension cable and plugs etc as I wanted to tidy it up. Along with have heavier guage wiring due to the distance from my sockets, I am also out west if you ever need a hand/ a demo day both on the Brewing or the stilling side flick me a PM and we can tee something up. Not much I havent brewed/made these days, not saying I know everything but I have plenty of knowledge I am willing to share :)

[Clickeral]

I had my scariest moment today

The power cord on my element burned out. How could this possibly happen? I paid a fully licensed electrician to properly and securely wire my element and clearly I paid more than they were worth

A quick trip to the big green shed had me buying the wrong part but something that will allow me to continue to my run. I ordered hopefully something that will be an upgrade. I can not and do not advocate wiring an element yourself but clearly using an electrician does not guarantee they will do the job properly


I stripped my wheat neutral. My first attempts at mashing were a complete disiaster. I used rolled wheat and malted wheat. My first few mashes had terrible conversion and stuck mashes. They were basically porridge. I also had a lacto infection. While not a disaster I do not think that is desirable when trying to go for a neutral

Later mashes I used alpha and gluco amalyse which saw a massive increase in conversion. I also flamed out my mashes to prevent any infection

What came off the still yesterday smelled awesome and I will definitely do it again but will save some to do as white dog

I also drank an entire bottle of my malted corn. The only thing I have to say about that after the fact is I am glad I make my own and only drink hearts

If your not making beer don't stress to much about getting an infection, some of the best spirit I have made has been infected (rum infected with live dunder) (bourbon infected with Lacto etc)

If you have to much flavour for vodka/neutral either run it again or add more reflux/plates etc and run slower

Also if you kill another element let me know ive got a few spares I am happy to loan until a replacement arrives

[Clickeral]

OK

Not enrirely sure this is my stupid or something else going on

A local store I buy from does all grain kits for stillers. I bought their rye whiskey kit and had them mill it. Unfortunately circumstance got in the way and it took me a few weeks before I finally got to mash it. I also did a lager beer that was pre milled and sat at homefor some time. I had never done the whiskey kit but I had done the beer before

The target gravity on the whiskey was 1068, I managed to get a whopping 1035, the beer had a target gravity of 1058, I got 1025.. :o :o :o

I know milled grains degrade and denature over time but these were stored correctly but by that much in such a short time??

I feel pretty confident around the whole mashing process, clearly to the point of hubris because after this I tried my hand at wheat neutral using unmalted

What a freaken disaster. Corn is simple compared. I have never had a mash stuck so hard

I know the store your speaking off and personally I haven't bothered to get any of the still supply kits as I find they work out to be more then I am willing to pay (I however buy alot of grain in bulk etc ) I would be looking at your process as typically crushed ingredients don't lose potential gravity points and older stuff generally just can loose some flavor