Welcome fattima.
Your brewing skills will certainly come in handy with this hobby.
Using the Grainfather for your boiler will limit the size of still you can use. You probably won't be able to fit a 4" bubbler on it without it becoming dangerously unstable or more likely breaking the boiler due to weight.
You don't necessarily need to start off with a bubbler; something like a
2" modular pot still is a great place to start as it will give you a good foundation in stilling and can be expanded on with minimal waste of components should you decide to upgrade to a bubbler on a larger boiler later on. It will also fit nicely on the Grainfather boiler without making it unstable. This will get you making top notch whisky right away. Add a 2" boka to that a lttle bit further down the track (5 Star do one but don't have it on their web site) and you'll be set to satisfy the other half too.
Should you decide you really, really want to go with a bubbler, a 4" modular still like a
Neutraliser paired with a 50 litre keg or
milk can boiler is a great combo and will also serve you well for pretty much any spirit you want to make. Being modular, you can always start off with a
4" pot and a boiler and add the remaining components bit by bit if your budget doesn't stretch to getting it all at once.
Reasons for going with a modular 4" bubbler:
- Speed - they're much faster than 2" stills for the same quality of spirit you can do flavoured spirits in a single pass rather than a double distilliation (strip followed slow by spirit run)
- Verstility - You can vary the configuration to suit your needs.
- Stripping run - assemble it as a pot still.
- Whisky/rum - run with 4 plates.
- Vodka - 5 plates and a packed section.
Reasons for going the 2" pot/boka route:
- Less room required to run
- Cheaper
- Can run on smaller boilers
The route you chose will ultimately come down to a few basic criteria:
- What spirits you really want to make
- How much time you have to spend distilling
- How much room you have in which to run your still. (5 plates and packed section will hit at least 2.4 meters depending on the boiler upon which they sit)
- Budget
If you're at all handy then there are DIY options open to you too.
Hopefully this all helps you!
Cheers,
Prof. Green.