http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ Home Distillation Made Easy! en Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:38:26 +0000 http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=333#post-3332 Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:20:57 +0000 ozibrewer 3332@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Thks Mr C. I&#39;ll be in the UK next month so will organise a few packs then. Cheers. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=324&page=2#post-3331 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:11:46 +0000 MrCat 3331@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Threw the turbo clear in on thursday, left it until today, siphoned it off into another fermenter and it&#39;s ready to go. The SG today is just over .990 and it doesn&#39;t taste sweet anymore.</p> <p>It&#39;s going through the reflux tomorrow, then getting cut back to 50% and going through the reflux again to see how clear and pure I can get it :) </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=289&page=2#post-3330 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:39:46 +0000 Ronbo 3330@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Thanks v4mpy, I just had a look at the fermenter barrel 9:30 pm -- the wash temp is now 34.5C<br /> The ambient is still 21C. The wash is very warm. There must be a lot going on in there. The bucket is singing loudly!<br /> It might not break any records, but it&#39;s certainly entertaining! </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=333#post-3329 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:27:45 +0000 MrCat 3329@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Can&#39;t help you with questions one or two but this may be the answer to question three</p> <p>These ones ??</p> <p><a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=220631320842">http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=220631320842</a> </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=333#post-3328 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:10:27 +0000 ozibrewer 3328@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all. Newbie question. </p> <p>I have done my first Easy Still distillations. I used one of the little carbon sachets that came with the kit. I used the same sachet for all 4 distillations, discarding the first 5 mls each time prior to beginning the filtering process.</p> <p>The Q&#39;s are: </p> <p>1. should I have used a new sachet for each distillation; </p> <p>2. if not, can I re-use it for the next wash; </p> <p>3. where can I get replacements when the kit sachets run out (my brewing supplies shop says they&#39;ve never seen these and the Easy Still site doesn&#39;t provide a contact link).</p> <p>4. if I can&#39;t get replacement, I would appreciate suggestions as to then what to do.</p> <p>Cheers. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=289&page=2#post-3327 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:49:16 +0000 v4mpy 3327@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>14% is about right for the 3 bathces I&#39;ve made so far.<br /> I haven&#39;t had any foam on any of the batches, which I was expecting to have.<br /> I have done a couple of batches using 6.5kg of sugar with no problems.<br /> I&#39;m mighty impressed with the Vodka Star. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3326 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:36:13 +0000 ozibrewer 3326@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just chking to see whether it worked. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3325 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:07:34 +0000 ozibrewer 3325@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Sorry about the PS - I&#39;ve just found the sticky - was getting ahead of myself posting without doing the due diligence!! </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3324 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:05:12 +0000 ozibrewer 3324@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Marc. It&#39;s not all bad. </p> <p>I got enough from the first 4 litres to get over two 700ml bottles at 37% ABV. So my 16 litres of wash is still (no pun intended) going to give me about 8 1/2 bottles which I&#39;m very pleased with for the first attempt. </p> <p>I&#39;m fairly certain it stopped after about 6-7 days because it got a bit cold. I had it wrapped in a sleeping bag but it&#39;s been pretty cold over in South West Oz this month. I bought a heating belt and did slap it around a bit before adding the second yeast but it didn&#39;t get up.</p> <p>The belt should sort out future batches I hope.</p> <p>The sun&#39;s just gone over the yard-arm over here so I&#39;m going to have a taste. :-)</p> <p>PS - how do you get an avatar up on this site?? </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=289&page=2#post-3323 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:47:39 +0000 Ronbo 3323@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just started my Vodka Star last night!<br /> This morning it is fizzing away nicely with a wash temp of 28.8C (ambient is 21C)<br /> Not much foam on top although it looks like it might have been about half an inch sometime in the night.<br /> The bucket is singing and the top is dome shaped, lots of CO2 in there! Which is where it&#39;s staying, I,m not touching the lid for at least 5 days.<br /> Reading this thread -- looks like I,m aiming for about 14% from the 6kG sugar, is that about right?<br /> Ciao. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3322 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:05:40 +0000 marc83 3322@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi ozibrewer,never had a stuck wash before,im quite strict trying to keep the washes at the correct condition,i think the Classic is by far the easiest,possibly fool-proof to make.What do you think happened?Did you have it covered(wrapped in a blanket) and on a heat pad or something??the classic can pretty much fully ferment without either,and even with our weather here at the mo,have done two in as many weeks,both uncovered and no heatpad.On the other hand if fermenting outside,did the temp drop too far and stick??A good stir up and some heat would have kick started it again...And how much sugar did you use??You will still get some drink out of it just not as much.Good learning experience to add to the back of the mind.Better luck for the next one,and post your results from this one. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3321 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:55:29 +0000 ozibrewer 3321@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all, just joined this forum and hit on this thread; which is very useful as my virgin batch was stuck on SG 1.018. Tried to fire it up wuth a champagne yeast which blinked, then died.</p> <p>Oh well, 4 litres into the Easy Still and lat&#39;s see what happens. But had I read Phantom&#39;s post above I would have been more cautious and gone for the 3 litres instead.</p> <p>Nevertheless by way of feedback, it&#39;s been happily distilling for an hour now and no signs of boilover. I used a capful of conditioner and a pack of ceramic beads.</p> <p>Cheers. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3320 Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:19:20 +0000 swill 3320@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Thanks for those ideas gents,</p> <p>I discarded about 50mls on the second run. Adding the tails to the next wash was pretty good, distillate came out at 65% this time. There was a very faint sweetish aroma to the distillate that I picked up even after I added the SS classic whiskey essence. Now I&#39;m gonna strip the rest of the wash (16L) and then double distil it, dilute to 40% and then filter it. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3319 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:21:28 +0000 Ronbo 3319@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Agree with Jimmy here, the 100mL discard quantity usually refers to a 25Litre run by those with column type stills.<br /> With an air-still, you probably only need to dump about 15 to 20 mL down the drain &#39;the Devil&#39;s share&#39;<br /> But you need to do it each time.<br /> Ciao. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3318 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:08:00 +0000 Jimmy 3318@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>You should be able to get away with discarding less, some say as little as 5ml but I tend to go around 50ml personally - experiment and see what you think! </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3317 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:56:24 +0000 swill 3317@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>I changed my mind this afternoon and ran off 4 litres as an experiment. I discarded the first 100mls and collected 700mls. It came out @ 60%. Clear as rainwater and no smell at all. I added 300mls to make a litre @ 40%, took out 300mls and added a Samuel Willard&#39;s Kafe express pre-mix. (Safe). Wow! So good. </p> <p>Then I took off another 700mls and added it into the next run. Distilling now. I&#39;m gonna make some SS classic premium whiskey. I&#39;m pretty fussy with scotch (no mixer, sometimes ice) so I&#39;ll let you all know how it goes. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3316 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:28:26 +0000 Jimmy 3316@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>No problem, ask as many as you like!</p> <p>The best way is to check here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/smartstill/how-do-i-make-alcohol-with-my-smartstill/" rel="nofollow">http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/smartstill/how-do-i-make-alcohol-with-my-smartstill/</a></p> <p>There is a link to the calculator but also the correct settings, about halfway down the page. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3315 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:12:14 +0000 swill 3315@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Righto, I&#39;ll do it that way for sure. When you say calculator is that an online one somewhere or just a hand held one with a formula? Forgive me for asking all these questions but what&#39;s the formula? </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=331#post-3314 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:16:08 +0000 marc83 3314@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>However i did have an essence bottle that wouldnt twist off also,had to cut each tab,but from memeory the drink it made was fine. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=332#post-3313 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:13:27 +0000 Ronbo 3313@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>I figure that for the price of one single bottle of &#39;Black Tot&#39; I could fill my shed with 1 ton of sugar -- delivered! </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=331#post-3312 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:16:09 +0000 foRUM warrior 3312@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>i dont know how old the bottle is/was, then again there is no best before date or date of manufacture on the bottle.</p> <p>on a side note i maybe should have twigged something wasnt right when the lid wouldnt twist off i had to cut the tabs to get it off </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3311 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:17:03 +0000 Jimmy 3311@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Yeah, if you measure the ABV before the second run then you can use the calculator to work out an exact yield and it tends to be pretty much accurate in my experience. If I triple distill I have got it up to 87% or so which isn&#39;t bad, obviously depends on what you put in at the beginning but 65 - 80% is reasonable for a cheapo tomato wash. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=332#post-3310 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:08:15 +0000 Jimmy 3310@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p><a href="http://www.blacktot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.blacktot.com/</a></p> <p>:) </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=331#post-3309 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:35:14 +0000 marc83 3309@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>never had one like that,they dont usually last too long in the drawer i keep them in,month or two at the most. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=331#post-3308 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:29:14 +0000 foRUM warrior 3308@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>just wondering has any one ever had a essence in off?</p> <p>I only ask as i made up some ss smokey single malt, tastes kinda funny (like perfume) and upsets my tummy ..... I have checked all my equiperment and other mixes and every things fine, so i am guessing its the essence. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326&page=2#post-3307 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:57:16 +0000 swill 3307@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>That sounds pretty cool Jimmy. I suppose your final spirit is running out at around 80%? </p> <p>I&#39;ve got 24L of wash sitting in the fermenter right now at around 20%. So when it clears in a week I&#39;ll do 6 runs, collect 6 litres in all, split it in two lots of 3 litres, add around a litre of H2O to each and run them through again, this time collecting (after removing 100mls heads), say 2 litres at around 80%. Sound about right? </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=324#post-3306 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:26:28 +0000 Ronbo 3306@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Interesting, I would have thought that a 20%+ yeast would have left it tasting as dry as a desert.<br /> Still -- 1.140 down to, say, 0.995 is still 19%<br /> Ciao. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=284&page=4#post-3305 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:04:36 +0000 swill 3305@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Thanks Phantom, that makes me feel better, I&#39;ll rig something up using my plastic hose and store it all in glass. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=319&page=2#post-3304 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:30:36 +0000 MrCat 3304@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve followed the SS FAQ and fermented a SS classic for 2 days with 6kg of sugar. I checked the SG of the new SS classic and it was .990 - it has totally fermented all the sugar in under 48 hours so I&#39;m not sure the yeast has got much left but we&#39;ll see what happens.</p> <p>Split the mix 50/50 with the new SS classic about an hour ago and already the airlock is bubbling showing there is some gas being produced so let&#39;s see what happens. If it finishes in 2 days I&#39;ll have 75 litres of wash sat here (with the alcotec)... </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=324#post-3303 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:25:49 +0000 MrCat 3303@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Ok - we are on day 9 - fermentation appears to have stopped. I pushed the lid down this morning before leaving for work, noted where the water was in the air lock and it was in the same place when I came home so no CO2 has been produced today.</p> <p>Taken the SG and it&#39;s just under 1.000 and the mix tastes a little sweet :( Mind you that is a lot of dextrose converted. I&#39;ve given it a good shake up and I&#39;ll leave it another day to see if the yeast has got anything left to give.</p> <p>In comparison a SS classic fermented 6kg of sugar down to .990 in under 48 hours. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326#post-3302 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:29:29 +0000 Jimmy 3302@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>That&#39;s what I do Swill - take about a litre in a stripping run. I collect each batch and put them into two glass demijohns - once the first runs are done, I top each up to 4 litres with water and run them again, this time taking off heads. This has two advantages - one, it&#39;s simple and improves quality, and two it allows me to use the spirit alcometer before the second runs to work out pretty accurately what I&#39;m putting in and therefore what I can expect to take out. You can do this by measuring the specific gravity before you ferment, then measuring again after it&#39;s done and doing the calculations but I&#39;m lazy so I skip that part as I know I&#39;m doing the stripping runs. </p> <p>A &#39;traditional&#39; stripping run would take a lot more than this, basically collecting as long as there is any ABV remaining. It&#39;s horses for courses - I waste more like this, but it gives me good quality results and it suits me. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326#post-3301 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:21:33 +0000 swill 3301@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All</p> <p>So I got myself an alcoholometer the other day (ta Phantom). The wash has been on 4 days and it&#39;s finished fermenting already! Couldn&#39;t believe my eyes when it checked it. (My beers often take around 2 weeks). Anyway I&#39;ll leave it to clear for a week or so before I distil it. </p> <p>Say Optic, how much of your 4L wash does the 2 1/4 hour &#39;stripping run&#39; yield? I was also thinking of double distilling if it means I get a better product. I guess you just take the heads cut out when you do your final spirit run.. right? </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=294&page=5#post-3300 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:33:30 +0000 BundyRed 3300@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>I only used it because I was too lazy to go shopping and it was in the pantry. All worked fine. I got my usual 3.6L @ 94% and smelt fine. </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=326#post-3299 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:54:31 +0000 optic 3299@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have in the past pre-heated the wash using an electric kettle to the temps that Phantom suggests and it does knock a fair bit of time off the warm up before the run starts,but as someone on here pointed out it works out cheaper to use the still from cold rather than the couple of minutes in the kettle,these days I run the still on a timer set for 2 1/4 hours to do the stripping run,I have had no problems doing it this way and you can get on with other things,and then I am with the still all the time doing the real fun bit-the spirit run.</p> <p>Optic </p> http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=294&page=5#post-3298 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:00:36 +0000 freelancement 3298@http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/ <p>brown sugar with the triple distill yeast isnt going to achieve much, it will ferement differently with much higher impurities as the sugars are more complex, the yeast wasnt designed to feed on brown sugar, but origanlly dextrose and still spirits turbo sugars.<br /> To memory brown sugar is white sugar sprayed with molasses<br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar</a> </p>