The distilling Gods will keep you humble. Just when you think you’ve got it down pat, you get smacked with a fuck up. Been chasing the craft for twelve years, still learning, always striving to do better.
I cheated, I come from a distilling family, so I had to learn, one step at a time with Master distillers bopping the back of my head repeatedly until I got that step right. However, 64 years down the road I'm still learning new things that make the whisky better, smoother and I'm sure I will get it all perfect in my next life. Great lesson as usual Jessie.
I took the leap 4 months ago, not quite as head long as the "whiskey" story, bought a starter kit and challenged myself with a simple tpw. Regardless of 3 years of youtube insight from you, Jesse, Bearded and Bored, Barley and Hops etc, and being open minded that I needed to experience the process, I was still gobsmacked by the learning curve. It's been a really fun rabbit hole to dive down. Heck, I've been reading white papers on rum microbiology and yeast nutrition recently and am about to try a dive into single malts! Thank you so much Jesse for your inspiration :)
My very first spirit run went well under a mate who was showing me the ropes. Right up to the point I had cut it down to 40% and poured it all into the old double barrel, carbon cylinder filter and walked away. On my return I realised I had left the tap open and lost nearly all but 1 litre. Never done that again.
I started the hobby a little more than a year ago. Sugar wash (which I still do for neutral), LME, UJSSM, safety net and eventually all grain. Most of it has been good enough that I will share with friends. Some of it was so bad I wouldn't even drink it myself. I took notes every time. Gravity, PH, Temp, yeast and mash bill. Process, which still and aging. The really bad ones are the notes I look at first when trying something new. Your videos and those by others like B&B and George are very helpful. And who doesn't need some weed-killer or degreaser every once in a while?
I've gone from watching one of Still Its video in April 2020 to being an award winning commercial distiller running my own award winning distillery. I'm NOT an expert and never will be.
I did what every new distiller should do, I followed your direction word for word and adjusted as needed. Lets face it I'm lazy so why not let you do all the research I really haven,t had a failure. Some geat results some not so great , but all drinkable... thanks brother your an inspiration to us all!!!
The gift that experience gives me in various hobbies isn't making less screwups, it's mostly in avoiding the obvious screwups and knowing how to salvage the scenario before a new kind of screwup ruins the progress. I screw up just as much as I used to, but now I know enough to spot what is a minor inconvenience and what is game over...and as a result not spending time and resources trying to salvage a clearly ruined process. It really is hard to overstate the value of reps and "deja moo"; that glorious moment when you realize you've seen this bullshit before, and know how to shovel it this time.
Spot on, Jesse. The only thing I might add is that your Still It channel is also very entertaining. So, 100%, nothing beats doing it to gain any-- ANY expertise, but being introduced to ideas that confirm what we do, ideas that have never crossed our minds, or to correct what we imagined we knew, WHILE being entertained by you, is worth so very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Spot on content... " I have a thirst for Knowledge, This hobby help's both" this is me, Learning from My mistakes, And the Mistake's of others has Improved my skill's, Will I ever Make that perfect drop, We will just have to wait and see where everything goes just right, Untill then, I settle for smooth and good enough.... Thanks for the Years of Knowledge....
My first experience at making moonshine was at about 14 years of age. Yes, I was born in NC.and "Thunder Road" was filmed in my home town. Needless to say, I named my brew "Old Barbed Wire" Not my forte.. However in 1962-or 63 I was "recruited" to haul a load of whiskey to Aikin, SC. in my 1958 Ford. The load was delivered with paranoia over the max and never repeated. Today,I respect your videos and may take up the hobby.
I distilled my first horrible whiskey back in 2010. It was disheartening. But it made me want to get better and over the years I have come out with some really good stuff. Seeing people enjoy my stuff gives me the fizz to keep doing this.
It took a good while for me to become comfortable with making cuts during my run. Like most new distillers, I wanted to keep as much as possible from each run, so I ended up with lots of distillate that smelled and tasted like nail polish remover. Once I resolved that issue, the problem for me was finding a mash recipe that would provide a flavor profile I liked. Corn, wheat, barley, rye, sugar-wash... I tried a bunch of combinations, and some were not terrible, but none were really good. It was George Washington's recipe that finally won the day for me. Sixty percent rye, thirty-five percent corn, and five percent malted barley made the most delicious distillate that ever came from my small copper pot still. I think I have found what is perfect for me.
That mindset of wanting to get it all was a big one to overcome till I learnt about reflux and recycling the faints for a vodka! On that rye.... heard it's gloopy. I just fermented a instant breakfast oats and fresh apple juice. The oats are also gloopy, even after the amalyse. How did you handle that?
After a year ish of watching you and doing so much planning and research and everything possible, last week I made my first batch of a sugar wash “ sweet tea” vodka, and to be completely honest apart from the mild panic of how exactly to get it to start/ how long it’d take to start producing, I just followed your safety vid and your beginner playlist and it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be only thanks to having your channel to use as reference for pretty much every question I had🤙🏽👍🏽 thank y’all for all the time y’all put into this channel. It really does help a lot of people!!
Let’s break it down to something most people think they know how to do…. Driving! I started driving at six years old. (TEA Fergy on farm), after a further sixty years I’m ‘licenced’ to drive pretty much anything with wheels (except roller skates). Do I think I can drive…NO! I’m still learning new stuff. Same with stilling. I’m I comfortable with my processes, ingredients and outcomes, yes. Is there more to learn and improve??? HELL YES! Great video. 👍❤️
Thanks for the video. I wanted to get into distilling for years and would research things form time to time. I'm an engineer for NASA, and this hobby has al the things I love in a hobby, Chemistry, Physics, Cooking, and most importantly sharing with friends and family. In October last year after one of my new neighbor's, i found out, has been distilling for a few years. We did a batch of his bourbon and I was hooked. I distilled my first batch ( sweet feed whiskey) by the end of October and have been trying to perfect distilling ever since. I went from the cheap china still, which I modified to make better, and said screw that and purchased a conventional still and all the accessories to do most types of distillation. Since December 2022 I have been trying to prefect, as best as I can, distilling. I actually make at least one 13 gallon batch a month, mostly whiskeys. I realize that by the time you are done you will have a PHD in distilling. I think I'm semi competent at running my still, and now I'm onto how the different types of grains play into the final product. Example, using the same recipe and seeing what cracked corn does compared to flaked corn, and distillers barley to Golden Promise. I'm also really trying to get a handel on the maturing process, and what the affects of american oak and French oak have with a combo of each. I have 14 gallons of whiskey aging, some in one gallon gars and 4 in Badmotivator barrels and will start to see what the affects are in September. Constantly looking forward to your videos. I'm learning a lot.
Thanks to you and George and Bearded I am very happy with my progress. Not without failures of course. You can't learn to detect the different smells of the alcohol without practice. You can't learn the power applications without practice. I think I have improved over time, but still working it out. I just tried flaked Corn, not a fan. Going back to actual Corn. Flaked Corn is easier but not better. It's an ongoing experiment with benefits.
Hey Jesse😎hope you're injoying the summer☀ Up here it's snow🌨☃ My biggest learning have been: if you want your product to always be the same.:: Write everything down (naa I can remember it 😥😭,,not) and control everything you can. Water, ingredients, fermentation temperature, time, distilling watts, cooling water etc. Ferment, distill, age, discuss and repeat. And if you make changes, remember to write it down in your logbook 👍 Happy Distilling 🥃
Good video. Great subject as well. I wrote about this on a blog involving my 45 page thesis, for lack of a better word, about discipline. The way I think of it is that knowledge from experience acts as the walls of a silo, to use a metaphor. The experience allows the knowledge from second hand sources to collect inside of it more effectively. The example of the reverse seared steak is spot on. No amount of second hand knowledge will ever replace experience based learning. I have a few different hobbies/pursuits that have really shown me this. Cooking, golfing, and strength training primarily. The one thing I would add to the thoughts in the video is what I have found pretty amusing about learning itself. This is especially true about strength training. I started with the basics, got further into the weeds/forrest/valley/other metaphor of choice, and have come back to the basics with a lot of success. I think the reason why is that getting into the weeds made me figure out what was useful knowledge and what wasn't in those specific moments. Turning knowledge into instinct is what training is all about.
The thing about a good TH-camr is when you follow them step by step and they show you absolutely the whole process you learn so much .. problem is most leave out a lot and edit videos .. but once you find one that is good you learn their process then you have to make it your own and that's where their knowledge becomes important
I like George's three legged stool analogy. I also like to keep things simple, seems to work very well for me. Without any measuring, any complications, I know I can take the apples from my trees, run them through a juicer machine, pitch yeast into plain apple juice, and get a nice apple wine with ~5% ABV, and then run that through my pot still, pull out foreshots, and a tad bit of heads, then collect until the run tastes watery, put what I collect all together, check ABV, temper with distilled water to my desired finish ABV, and get a plain and simple apple brandy that I like very well. Simple 3 legs, good mash, basic pot still, and a process that leaves no chance of scorch since I do not let any solids into my still. Nothing fancy, but it just works quite well, and I already know I'm gonna make a tad bit of a mess with condenser water, but that's what towels and mops are for.
Great video mate as you become older you become wiser but you never stop learning, some people just can’t except that but that’s their problem. One of your best videos mate.
Another awesome video mate! I 100% agree that research is important and has a key role (especially for safety), but research without practice or just doing the dang thing is worthless. At some point, you just have to get stuck in.
I'm using an airstill, and a bucket from mitre 10 for fermentation. I make sugar shine for specifically for other hobbies. I actually don't drink. But I love still it, it's helpful and has helped me work out where I went wrong. 20+ ferments done, but I still seek new information and make mistakes even just replicating the same process over and over. There is a science involved here with many variables and I love second of the rabbit hole, even the mistakes
I am not into the distilling part of making alcohol but I am into the fermentation part and I can say without a doubt a craft is a constant learning process.
Good vid Jesse. You can’t teach experience. You can’t buy it. You can’t learn it. Borrow plead borrow or scrape. You have to live it. That’s it. Goes with most things…!
i have been brewing apple cider for 8-10 years, but has gotten sick of drinking it (not litteraly). so for the last two years i have been trying to make some drinkable spirits out of it, so far no luck. but since i found your wonderful channel a month ago, i have a renewed interest in trying, and i will try to make some gin. thanks for inspiring me to continue.
Hi and thank you Jesse, I've been brewing for over 30 years now brewing with my son now. Started with beer out of a can, progressed to sugar wash, then with your help about 12 mths ago we did your no brainer bourbon "not quite bourbon" recipe with sugar as insurance, then placed it into an oak barrel checking it every couple of months, we were somewhat disappointed with the outcome 😢. Checked it this week WOW what a transformation, it's smooth, full of body, no wood, a little more whisky than expected I'm amazed!!!!! What a difference a little heat "summer" has made, we would not have dove deep into grains without your inspiration and posts on TH-cam. We're continuing to expand now doing full grain with similar passion just looking for recipes, a guidance would be appreciated on that as where to find a list or something of nature. Cheers mate.
Thankyou Jesse, this actually maks me feel alot better about my MANY MANY Failures. Don't get me wrong I've had a MANY successes too but never would hav get one without the other
seen a guy with a floppy hat use a pressure cooker, copper line, bucket and a cooler with some cornmeal, sugar and yeast on TH-cam. figured I can't do much worse with the same tools, Turns out,, I could do worse and did!! Now I make decent enough rum, well enough you can tell it's rum. This channel is my personal savior of all things that could have been worse. TYVM !!!
Great video Jesse and I totally agree! I have been into the hobby for a couple of years now and I recognize myself in all that you just said! And that is one of the things that I love about this hobby, you never stop learning. And this video made me love you even more :D You are definately one of the most humble youtubers out there! Keep up the great work :) Cheers from Sweden!
I'm in Missouri and we can distill here. I'm working on my fermenting skills starting with mead and wine. So far I've done an apple honey stinger and a pineapple, apple, and honey stinger. The first one I managed to fuck up somehow, the second tasted like vinegar for a while and I learned if you use pineapple you have to let it age a minimum of two months before you drink it or the pineapple will taste like vinegar. It turned out okay after aging. The flavors went well together but I wished I would have had more honey to it.
I make wine, I bought one of those air stills off amazon because I hate it when I make a weird/odd smelling/unpalatable wine that "seemed like a good ides at the time" so I could at least make some kind of beverage from the remnants. Some of it now gets used to light the fire when it really goes wrong! 18 years at it and still learning and adapting...
I'm new to the hobby, but have made lots of different washes. Started in the summer, and the ferments went really well. Realised early on that I need to have consistent heat for winter, and got that sorted, keeps the room at a steady 20C. Recently on my third kale wash (which is my favourite so far), it stalled out (never had a problem with the first two). I wasted a month trying various things, then remembered that I'd bought pH papers ages ago. Tested it, right at the borderline of too acidic. Dumped water in, and it fermented dry in 3 days! Why oh why didn't I do that first? Lesson learned....just because it didn't happen before, doesn't mean it cannot happen.
O Yah!! 5 -6 runs before I got something that was half way decent and didn’t screw something up ( puking,melting solder joints running out of fuel halfway through)It’s all a learning process ( as in surfing… been surfing for 46 years, I went through the learning phase, competing phase, bigger wave phase and Teaching phase. Now there’s nothing like a 2’-4’ day with friends sharing goofing around and I’m still learning new stuff!) keep at it the journey is the whole game.
So many directions to go in the beginning, being a fabricator, retired one that is, I had to build a still,weeks later I had one,reading, video's, so many notes,first three mashes and frustration down the drain,the fourth I distilled,the pure wet dog and his ass,now two years later,thanks to you,George, bearded,I have turned the corner,I have learned something everyday ,it takes 110% to make a good product, harder being retired,
I've caught 3 lawns on fire, I've made it blue,orange, and Grey. I've quit so many times, but never really and I've been insulted more than usual. None of this compared to the first time I made money on a run, and the money doesn't compare to that feeling you get when someone sucks their teeth and makes that "ahh" sound.
Good stuff, Jesse. Yes, I have sucked at lots of things, from competitions to businesses to marriages to hobbies. Persistence and putting in the work needed to get better makes all the difference. Stay humble and learn from your mistakes.
I've only made mead one time, using our homegrown blueberries & raspberries with local, tree of heaven honey. That is my entire experience in making alcohol of any sort. I have no desire to get into distilling. That being said, your videos are a trip and very interesting in the process of making spirits. We all learn more through experience than any books or videos can ever teach us.
So adjacent story. My wife and I went to a woodworking class to make a bowl and charcuterie board. In the back of the woodshed we were working in was an amazing sign: "Don't Worry, I Watched a Video." And not going to lie I laughed cause boy is it true. You can't just watch video or 100 and be a master. It's the practice of the movement, and the hard lessons learned.
I'm new to distilling... 1 run type of new. I went into my first run eyes wide and very unsure if I was about to become New Zealands first astronaut. In the end I produced a drinkable product. Videos like this are awesome. It's nice to know things don't always go right, even with those of you who have been distilling for years and years. Unfortunately we have water restrictions on at the moment, so I'll have to wait a few more months before I can re-enter the space race.
Thank you for your content Jessie! I’m brand new to the craft, and am just learning by taste where to make cuts. I had no idea the flavor differences would be as subtle as they are when starting out.
My first try the shine was worse than paint thinner. That was almost 6 years ago. Last year I sold over 100 gallon and got a glowing professional review from a legend in our community. Don't give up, just keep trying you will get there. Great video Jesse ❤
@@Miata822 a bill to make home distilling legal in my state just passed the house of delegates and is expected to pass into law. The sheriff of our town has a keg still. There is no call or need for any deletions.
Здравствуй дорогой друг, я подписан на твой канал, и он мне очень нравится, я пишу тебе из далекой России, не думай про нас что мы злые и у нас холодно, я также дома делаю дистилляты и виски, мне нравится делать виски из кукурузы, мне нравится американский стиль вкуса, а еще мы делаем выпивку из пшеницы, ржи и гречки, гречка это наш особый стиль, яблоки и виноград я тоже люблю Больше выкладывай видео мне очень нравится, И на самом деле мы такие же как и вы, еще раз привет и спасибо❤ Я плохо знаю английский язык, но благодаря нейросети и интернету я могу тебя слушать на своем родном языке Твой труд невозможно оценить, то что ты делаешь это бесценно 😊
You should try to get your hands on black walnut syrup. It's made like Maple but from the sap of a black walnut tree. It's expensive because the yield is much lower on the syrup but you can get granulated black walnut sugar as well. I think it would be interesting to mix it into your corn and molasses mix.
I’ve made 100s of batches of all grain beer but f&cked up my first simple sugar wash (ph dropped to low) everything is a learning process. Progression is what makes any hobby fun.
I struggled with the heads to hearts cut for a long while - sometimes I still miss the point but its nowhere near as much as it was when I started. One of the bits I still struggle with is oak-ing, I am forever over-oaking my new make
Great video!! I sucked really bad for 2 years ( tasted like dirty socks) with mild occasional success, now i just suck less but have learned quite a bit . My issue was with my water , would get band-aid/medicinal taste, found out it was the chlorine and bought an inexpensive rv water filter and BINGO, now i suck less and my products turn out waaaaaaaay better. Keep Chasing and learning.
Popcorn said that at least one thing will go wrong everytime you make a run of likky. My mate micky reckons that if you have to experiment, just change one thing per run. Funny how often they are the same things. You learn from your f-ups.
You have a great channel, keep up the great work. Keep in mind the majority of us are newbies using stove top pot stills. Would like to see more rye or wheat mashes. Everyone has vids on corn. Using Alpha Amylase and Glucoamylase Enzyme. If you are using a flaked grain do you need them? If you are using malted barley with your grain do you need them? As a newbie I did a 70/30 flaked rye/2 row and didnt use any but spent days trying to find if I needed to or not. Never did find a real answer. Things like that keep in mind for future content. And thanks bro for being there for us new brewers.
We call that "confidence to knowledge" ratio the Dunning-Kruger scale. You start off knowing absolutely nothing. But, you're confident that you can do it all! Until you "fuck up" and Ave come crashing down from the peek of Mount Stupid. Then, you take the extremely slow and steady path back up the mountain. But, never reach the summit like you did before. Those of us who have scaled Mount Stupid in the past, and actually learned from it, now insist on taking the slow and steady course from the onset. Knowing full well that we're going to fall on our ass at some point.
Hey Jess, well said mate. not anymore but I did this distilling gig for over 10 years and was still learning, to say I suck, absolutely, but the suck up moment's got less and less as time went on. As you mentioned even the best brewers, distillers, mead makers all still get it wrong and I know, but boy I make some great stuff now. Well, done Jess.
Same as any hobby, we don't do it because it's easy, we do it because we thought it was easy and now refuse to give in. At least with this hobby, you get to drink your mistakes. The only tip I can give is to fact check advice given, don't believe its gospel.
An important thing to remember is that if there was only one correct answer there would only be one distilled drink, and there would be no other distilleries whereas in Scotland there are hundreds just making their own whisky. Once you have a product that you like and that compares with the commercial product then you can chose what it's like. BUT still remember that every commercial run of drink is made from blends of cuts, partly at least to make sure that the blend sold in 2024 is the same as those of 2023, 2022 etc.
Jesse Thanks for the info. As inspiring as you are, I enjoy your work. I've been following for about 4 years. Keep up the great work and thanks. From north east Missouri. If we don't screw up once in a while how can we measure our progress. Thanks again. Blick
My first still and ever still since has been freaking amazing, and its thanks to you, I fall in that 3rd category of peeps that super saturate in all the info before doing anything. plus a really strong background in the science and physics of how the still works helps a lot. T-500 pot plus a fully custom AliExpress column and still setup. Modular for both stripping run and second distillation. My vodka brings all the boys to the yard lol. the brewing and Fermenting side though, humble pie all day every day, every wash is dif.
My first three runs I didn't know that my water flow was wrong. I was completely vaporizing the head and hearts while only condensing the tails. Took me a long time to figure that one out
I my own experience if you enjoy trying new mixes to make something different than your used to making it’s easier to make a mistake . When making small batch after small batch of the same recipe it so much easier for my to avoid problems .
To be honest I skipped this vid because of its clickbaity title, I guess I'm just pretty allergic to that. Since I watched it now, I thought I'd give my view on the subject of sucking at everything anyway. Well, to me it's quite simple: most people seem to be exceptionally well trained in disappointing themselves, blaming everything and everyone in the process for ones own failings, but when it comes to learning any craft (guilded or not) it will take tons of experience in general before one would want to be called an expert. In the pursuit of happiness one can only strive perfection and epic fails will definitely happen on the way, so doesn't it all start with the tiniest bit of self-reflection? Keep up the good work, Jesse, and thank you: this disarming stuff is needed dearly.
That story struck home for me and many others I'm sure. I only recently (4 months ago) got into distilling. However, I have a background of about 10 years making wine and meads. That story threw me back to when I made my first wine. It was supposed to be a strawberry wine, but through a series of very unfortunate events I ended up with a sour mess that didn't ferment out properly. It was an odd sugary vinegar concoction that ended up dumped out for the wildlife to pick at. 😂 Nostalgic to say the least.
I was taking to a fellow distiller and wanted to get your opinion on something.... have you or anyone else ever used liquid smoke as an "rapid" aging or additive while making a finished product or mash??? He sold me this huge success story that left me thinking.. FUCK.. why didn't I think of trying that before!? But then logic kicks in and I think to myself that it can't be all that great! Looking for a friend here
yup. And the more different stuff I try, helps me feel relaxed when I go back to more common things. I'm only new to the game, and I have stuffed up mashing, accidentally having 2 bottom plates in the mash basket, or not having to basket rest for the mash out/sparge clipped in properly. I have started the still too fast, forgetting I am doing the spirit run. I have tried ingredients that added bad flavours, and even botched cuts, but probably the worst is nailing every step , and then giving the results the wrong wood, (my pineapple/mango mead spirit) lol. Teaches you fast to check that the ageing is going the right direction early on, 🤣 A year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of running the still for 3 stripping runs, and a spirit run, followed by a reflux run, and making 2 new batches in a weekend. Now I just try not to forget any ingredients when I am at the brew shop. 😂 But one thing I did do right, was get involved with this incredibly rewarding hobby.
I can tell you that home destillers are way better after the internet. preinternet moonshine was made by recipe/steps and charcoal filtering and you got something you might be able to stomach and get drunk on. After some internet research and tinkering and some more research and tinkering, Im able to make vodka I can use to refill old vodka bottles and people dont even notice they re drinking homemade vodka. Those that knows even prefer the homemade.
The distilling Gods will keep you humble. Just when you think you’ve got it down pat, you get smacked with a fuck up. Been chasing the craft for twelve years, still learning, always striving to do better.
I think it'd just be GOOD to make something that _DOESN'T_ do organ damage (is drinkable)
.... and ALSO, can fuel your car
I cheated, I come from a distilling family, so I had to learn, one step at a time with Master distillers bopping the back of my head repeatedly until I got that step right. However, 64 years down the road I'm still learning new things that make the whisky better, smoother and I'm sure I will get it all perfect in my next life. Great lesson as usual Jessie.
"Failure is not an option. It's an essential part of the process."
To summarise "a man who has never made a mistake, has never done anything!"
A person that has not erred is dangerous
I took the leap 4 months ago, not quite as head long as the "whiskey" story, bought a starter kit and challenged myself with a simple tpw. Regardless of 3 years of youtube insight from you, Jesse, Bearded and Bored, Barley and Hops etc, and being open minded that I needed to experience the process, I was still gobsmacked by the learning curve. It's been a really fun rabbit hole to dive down. Heck, I've been reading white papers on rum microbiology and yeast nutrition recently and am about to try a dive into single malts!
Thank you so much Jesse for your inspiration :)
My very first spirit run went well under a mate who was showing me the ropes. Right up to the point I had cut it down to 40% and poured it all into the old double barrel, carbon cylinder filter and walked away. On my return I realised I had left the tap open and lost nearly all but 1 litre. Never done that again.
I started the hobby a little more than a year ago. Sugar wash (which I still do for neutral), LME, UJSSM, safety net and eventually all grain. Most of it has been good enough that I will share with friends. Some of it was so bad I wouldn't even drink it myself. I took notes every time. Gravity, PH, Temp, yeast and mash bill. Process, which still and aging. The really bad ones are the notes I look at first when trying something new. Your videos and those by others like B&B and George are very helpful. And who doesn't need some weed-killer or degreaser every once in a while?
I've gone from watching one of Still Its video in April 2020 to being an award winning commercial distiller running my own award winning distillery. I'm NOT an expert and never will be.
I did what every new distiller should do, I followed your direction word for word and adjusted as needed. Lets face it I'm lazy so why not let you do all the research I really haven,t had a failure. Some geat results some not so great , but all drinkable... thanks brother your an inspiration to us all!!!
The gift that experience gives me in various hobbies isn't making less screwups, it's mostly in avoiding the obvious screwups and knowing how to salvage the scenario before a new kind of screwup ruins the progress. I screw up just as much as I used to, but now I know enough to spot what is a minor inconvenience and what is game over...and as a result not spending time and resources trying to salvage a clearly ruined process. It really is hard to overstate the value of reps and "deja moo"; that glorious moment when you realize you've seen this bullshit before, and know how to shovel it this time.
Spot on, Jesse. The only thing I might add is that your Still It channel is also very entertaining. So, 100%, nothing beats doing it to gain any-- ANY expertise, but being introduced to ideas that confirm what we do, ideas that have never crossed our minds, or to correct what we imagined we knew, WHILE being entertained by you, is worth so very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Spot on content... " I have a thirst for Knowledge, This hobby help's both" this is me, Learning from My mistakes, And the Mistake's of others has Improved my skill's, Will I ever Make that perfect drop, We will just have to wait and see where everything goes just right, Untill then, I settle for smooth and good enough.... Thanks for the Years of Knowledge....
My first experience at making moonshine was at about 14 years of age. Yes, I was born in NC.and "Thunder Road" was filmed in my home town. Needless to say, I named my brew "Old Barbed Wire" Not my forte.. However in 1962-or 63 I was "recruited" to haul a load of whiskey to Aikin, SC. in my 1958 Ford.
The load was delivered with paranoia over the max and never repeated. Today,I respect your videos and may take up the hobby.
I distilled my first horrible whiskey back in 2010. It was disheartening. But it made me want to get better and over the years I have come out with some really good stuff. Seeing people enjoy my stuff gives me the fizz to keep doing this.
It took a good while for me to become comfortable with making cuts during my run. Like most new distillers, I wanted to keep as much as possible from each run, so I ended up with lots of distillate that smelled and tasted like nail polish remover. Once I resolved that issue, the problem for me was finding a mash recipe that would provide a flavor profile I liked. Corn, wheat, barley, rye, sugar-wash... I tried a bunch of combinations, and some were not terrible, but none were really good. It was George Washington's recipe that finally won the day for me. Sixty percent rye, thirty-five percent corn, and five percent malted barley made the most delicious distillate that ever came from my small copper pot still. I think I have found what is perfect for me.
That mindset of wanting to get it all was a big one to overcome till I learnt about reflux and recycling the faints for a vodka!
On that rye.... heard it's gloopy.
I just fermented a instant breakfast oats and fresh apple juice. The oats are also gloopy, even after the amalyse.
How did you handle that?
After a year ish of watching you and doing so much planning and research and everything possible, last week I made my first batch of a sugar wash “ sweet tea” vodka, and to be completely honest apart from the mild panic of how exactly to get it to start/ how long it’d take to start producing, I just followed your safety vid and your beginner playlist and it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be only thanks to having your channel to use as reference for pretty much every question I had🤙🏽👍🏽 thank y’all for all the time y’all put into this channel. It really does help a lot of people!!
Let’s break it down to something most people think they know how to do….
Driving!
I started driving at six years old. (TEA Fergy on farm), after a further sixty years I’m ‘licenced’ to drive pretty much anything with wheels (except roller skates). Do I think I can drive…NO! I’m still learning new stuff.
Same with stilling. I’m I comfortable with my processes, ingredients and outcomes, yes.
Is there more to learn and improve??? HELL YES!
Great video. 👍❤️
As Jake the Dog from Adventure Time said, "Dude, suckin' at something is the first step to being sorta good at somethin'."
Thanks for the video. I wanted to get into distilling for years and would research things form time to time. I'm an engineer for NASA, and this hobby has al the things I love in a hobby, Chemistry, Physics, Cooking, and most importantly sharing with friends and family. In October last year after one of my new neighbor's, i found out, has been distilling for a few years. We did a batch of his bourbon and I was hooked. I distilled my first batch ( sweet feed whiskey) by the end of October and have been trying to perfect distilling ever since. I went from the cheap china still, which I modified to make better, and said screw that and purchased a conventional still and all the accessories to do most types of distillation. Since December 2022 I have been trying to prefect, as best as I can, distilling. I actually make at least one 13 gallon batch a month, mostly whiskeys. I realize that by the time you are done you will have a PHD in distilling. I think I'm semi competent at running my still, and now I'm onto how the different types of grains play into the final product. Example, using the same recipe and seeing what cracked corn does compared to flaked corn, and distillers barley to Golden Promise. I'm also really trying to get a handel on the maturing process, and what the affects of american oak and French oak have with a combo of each. I have 14 gallons of whiskey aging, some in one gallon gars and 4 in Badmotivator barrels and will start to see what the affects are in September. Constantly looking forward to your videos. I'm learning a lot.
Thanks to you and George and Bearded I am very happy with my progress. Not without failures of course. You can't learn to detect the different smells of the alcohol without practice. You can't learn the power applications without practice. I think I have improved over time, but still working it out. I just tried flaked Corn, not a fan. Going back to actual Corn. Flaked Corn is easier but not better. It's an ongoing experiment with benefits.
Hey Jesse😎hope you're injoying the summer☀ Up here it's snow🌨☃ My biggest learning have been: if you want your product to always be the same.:: Write everything down (naa I can remember it 😥😭,,not) and control everything you can. Water, ingredients, fermentation temperature, time, distilling watts, cooling water etc. Ferment, distill, age, discuss and repeat. And if you make changes, remember to write it down in your logbook 👍 Happy Distilling 🥃
Good video. Great subject as well. I wrote about this on a blog involving my 45 page thesis, for lack of a better word, about discipline. The way I think of it is that knowledge from experience acts as the walls of a silo, to use a metaphor. The experience allows the knowledge from second hand sources to collect inside of it more effectively. The example of the reverse seared steak is spot on. No amount of second hand knowledge will ever replace experience based learning. I have a few different hobbies/pursuits that have really shown me this. Cooking, golfing, and strength training primarily.
The one thing I would add to the thoughts in the video is what I have found pretty amusing about learning itself. This is especially true about strength training. I started with the basics, got further into the weeds/forrest/valley/other metaphor of choice, and have come back to the basics with a lot of success. I think the reason why is that getting into the weeds made me figure out what was useful knowledge and what wasn't in those specific moments. Turning knowledge into instinct is what training is all about.
The thing about a good TH-camr is when you follow them step by step and they show you absolutely the whole process you learn so much .. problem is most leave out a lot and edit videos .. but once you find one that is good you learn their process then you have to make it your own and that's where their knowledge becomes important
I like George's three legged stool analogy. I also like to keep things simple, seems to work very well for me. Without any measuring, any complications, I know I can take the apples from my trees, run them through a juicer machine, pitch yeast into plain apple juice, and get a nice apple wine with ~5% ABV, and then run that through my pot still, pull out foreshots, and a tad bit of heads, then collect until the run tastes watery, put what I collect all together, check ABV, temper with distilled water to my desired finish ABV, and get a plain and simple apple brandy that I like very well.
Simple 3 legs, good mash, basic pot still, and a process that leaves no chance of scorch since I do not let any solids into my still. Nothing fancy, but it just works quite well, and I already know I'm gonna make a tad bit of a mess with condenser water, but that's what towels and mops are for.
I just love the mad science and engineering of it all. Having fun keeps me going.
GOD DAMN Jesse. That was heavy but so so so true!! Thank you for being YOU.
Great video mate as you become older you become wiser but you never stop learning, some people just can’t except that but that’s their problem.
One of your best videos mate.
Absolutely agree man. Get in there and do the thing. Failure is always an option.
New to distilling, and only on my 9th batch. I suck big time, but slowly learning,. Very much appreciate the video!
Another awesome video mate! I 100% agree that research is important and has a key role (especially for safety), but research without practice or just doing the dang thing is worthless. At some point, you just have to get stuck in.
I'm using an airstill, and a bucket from mitre 10 for fermentation. I make sugar shine for specifically for other hobbies. I actually don't drink. But I love still it, it's helpful and has helped me work out where I went wrong. 20+ ferments done, but I still seek new information and make mistakes even just replicating the same process over and over. There is a science involved here with many variables and I love second of the rabbit hole, even the mistakes
Good video. After 20 years i still suck at brewing
I am not into the distilling part of making alcohol but I am into the fermentation part and I can say without a doubt a craft is a constant learning process.
Good vid Jesse. You can’t teach experience. You can’t buy it. You can’t learn it. Borrow plead borrow or scrape. You have to live it. That’s it. Goes with most things…!
i have been brewing apple cider for 8-10 years, but has gotten sick of drinking it (not litteraly). so for the last two years i have been trying to make some drinkable spirits out of it, so far no luck. but since i found your wonderful channel a month ago, i have a renewed interest in trying, and i will try to make some gin.
thanks for inspiring me to continue.
I have been chasing the craft for about a year now and I approach it with the attitude that I know nothing and I am about to prove it.
Sucking is the first step to being sorta good at something though.
How very true. This was me through and through, watching bubbles etc , corn starch set every where even days after. Keep at it and smile on.
Hi and thank you Jesse, I've been brewing for over 30 years now brewing with my son now. Started with beer out of a can, progressed to sugar wash, then with your help about 12 mths ago we did your no brainer bourbon "not quite bourbon" recipe with sugar as insurance, then placed it into an oak barrel checking it every couple of months, we were somewhat disappointed with the outcome 😢. Checked it this week WOW what a transformation, it's smooth, full of body, no wood, a little more whisky than expected I'm amazed!!!!! What a difference a little heat "summer" has made, we would not have dove deep into grains without your inspiration and posts on TH-cam. We're continuing to expand now doing full grain with similar passion just looking for recipes, a guidance would be appreciated on that as where to find a list or something of nature. Cheers mate.
"Fail faster, fail better, and learn why you failed. You only truly fail when you give up" Best piece of advice I have ever gotten.
I love failing, it helps me rule things out
Thankyou Jesse, this actually maks me feel alot better about my MANY MANY Failures.
Don't get me wrong I've had a MANY successes too but never would hav get one without the other
seen a guy with a floppy hat use a pressure cooker, copper line, bucket and a cooler with some cornmeal, sugar and yeast on TH-cam. figured I can't do much worse with the same tools, Turns out,, I could do worse and did!! Now I make decent enough rum, well enough you can tell it's rum. This channel is my personal savior of all things that could have been worse. TYVM !!!
Great video Jesse and I totally agree! I have been into the hobby for a couple of years now and I recognize myself in all that you just said! And that is one of the things that I love about this hobby, you never stop learning.
And this video made me love you even more :D You are definately one of the most humble youtubers out there! Keep up the great work :)
Cheers from Sweden!
Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for the boost in motivation.
I'm in Missouri and we can distill here. I'm working on my fermenting skills starting with mead and wine. So far I've done an apple honey stinger and a pineapple, apple, and honey stinger. The first one I managed to fuck up somehow, the second tasted like vinegar for a while and I learned if you use pineapple you have to let it age a minimum of two months before you drink it or the pineapple will taste like vinegar. It turned out okay after aging. The flavors went well together but I wished I would have had more honey to it.
I make wine, I bought one of those air stills off amazon because I hate it when I make a weird/odd smelling/unpalatable wine that "seemed like a good ides at the time" so I could at least make some kind of beverage from the remnants. Some of it now gets used to light the fire when it really goes wrong! 18 years at it and still learning and adapting...
I'm new to the hobby, but have made lots of different washes. Started in the summer, and the ferments went really well. Realised early on that I need to have consistent heat for winter, and got that sorted, keeps the room at a steady 20C. Recently on my third kale wash (which is my favourite so far), it stalled out (never had a problem with the first two). I wasted a month trying various things, then remembered that I'd bought pH papers ages ago. Tested it, right at the borderline of too acidic. Dumped water in, and it fermented dry in 3 days!
Why oh why didn't I do that first? Lesson learned....just because it didn't happen before, doesn't mean it cannot happen.
O Yah!! 5 -6 runs before I got something that was half way decent and didn’t screw something up ( puking,melting solder joints running out of fuel halfway through)It’s all a learning process ( as in surfing… been surfing for 46 years, I went through the learning phase, competing phase, bigger wave phase and Teaching phase. Now there’s nothing like a 2’-4’ day with friends sharing goofing around and I’m still learning new stuff!) keep at it the journey is the whole game.
Really enjoyed this video Jesse, it's about more then just distilling.
So many directions to go in the beginning, being a fabricator, retired one that is, I had to build a still,weeks later I had one,reading, video's, so many notes,first three mashes and frustration down the drain,the fourth I distilled,the pure wet dog and his ass,now two years later,thanks to you,George, bearded,I have turned the corner,I have learned something everyday ,it takes 110% to make a good product, harder being retired,
I've caught 3 lawns on fire, I've made it blue,orange, and Grey. I've quit so many times, but never really and I've been insulted more than usual. None of this compared to the first time I made money on a run, and the money doesn't compare to that feeling you get when someone sucks their teeth and makes that "ahh" sound.
Good stuff, Jesse. Yes, I have sucked at lots of things, from competitions to businesses to marriages to hobbies. Persistence and putting in the work needed to get better makes all the difference. Stay humble and learn from your mistakes.
I've only made mead one time, using our homegrown blueberries & raspberries with local, tree of heaven honey. That is my entire experience in making alcohol of any sort. I have no desire to get into distilling. That being said, your videos are a trip and very interesting in the process of making spirits. We all learn more through experience than any books or videos can ever teach us.
Best whisky spelt RUM just cracked me up LOL still laughign over that one.
Screwing up is the greatest teacher!
True ignorance is not the [absinthe] of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it. - Karl R. Popper
So adjacent story. My wife and I went to a woodworking class to make a bowl and charcuterie board. In the back of the woodshed we were working in was an amazing sign: "Don't Worry, I Watched a Video." And not going to lie I laughed cause boy is it true. You can't just watch video or 100 and be a master. It's the practice of the movement, and the hard lessons learned.
I only saw the thumbnail of Jesse pointing at me and saying YOU SUCK, and I thought "yeah, I guess I knew this day was coming".
I'm new to distilling... 1 run type of new. I went into my first run eyes wide and very unsure if I was about to become New Zealands first astronaut. In the end I produced a drinkable product. Videos like this are awesome. It's nice to know things don't always go right, even with those of you who have been distilling for years and years. Unfortunately we have water restrictions on at the moment, so I'll have to wait a few more months before I can re-enter the space race.
Thank you for your content Jessie! I’m brand new to the craft, and am just learning by taste where to make cuts. I had no idea the flavor differences would be as subtle as they are when starting out.
Thanks for yet again another fine video.
Truer words have never been spoken.
My first try the shine was worse than paint thinner. That was almost 6 years ago. Last year I sold over 100 gallon and got a glowing professional review from a legend in our community.
Don't give up, just keep trying you will get there. Great video Jesse ❤
@@Miata822 a bill to make home distilling legal in my state just passed the house of delegates and is expected to pass into law. The sheriff of our town has a keg still. There is no call or need for any deletions.
Здравствуй дорогой друг, я подписан на твой канал, и он мне очень нравится, я пишу тебе из далекой России, не думай про нас что мы злые и у нас холодно, я также дома делаю дистилляты и виски, мне нравится делать виски из кукурузы, мне нравится американский стиль вкуса, а еще мы делаем выпивку из пшеницы, ржи и гречки, гречка это наш особый стиль, яблоки и виноград я тоже люблю
Больше выкладывай видео мне очень нравится, И на самом деле мы такие же как и вы, еще раз привет и спасибо❤
Я плохо знаю английский язык, но благодаря нейросети и интернету я могу тебя слушать на своем родном языке
Твой труд невозможно оценить, то что ты делаешь это бесценно 😊
The master has failed more times than the novice has tried. 👍😁👍
You should try to get your hands on black walnut syrup. It's made like Maple but from the sap of a black walnut tree. It's expensive because the yield is much lower on the syrup but you can get granulated black walnut sugar as well. I think it would be interesting to mix it into your corn and molasses mix.
I’ve made 100s of batches of all grain beer but f&cked up my first simple sugar wash (ph dropped to low) everything is a learning process. Progression is what makes any hobby fun.
Jesse's life advice on cognitive loading and "doing" is an important part of learning. 🎉
I struggled with the heads to hearts cut for a long while - sometimes I still miss the point but its nowhere near as much as it was when I started. One of the bits I still struggle with is oak-ing, I am forever over-oaking my new make
Great video!! I sucked really bad for 2 years ( tasted like dirty socks) with mild occasional success, now i just suck less but have learned quite a bit . My issue was with my water , would get band-aid/medicinal taste, found out it was the chlorine and bought an inexpensive rv water filter and BINGO, now i suck less and my products turn out waaaaaaaay better. Keep Chasing and learning.
Yeah, I had the same issue making mead. Chlorinated water is a no-go.
Even a grilled cheese sandwich takes practice to get that perfect balance between a soggy mess and cheese filled carbon.
frisbee golf is awesome!!
Popcorn said that at least one thing will go wrong everytime you make a run of likky. My mate micky reckons that if you have to experiment, just change one thing per run. Funny how often they are the same things. You learn from your f-ups.
You have a great channel, keep up the great work. Keep in mind the majority of us are newbies using stove top pot stills. Would like to see more rye or wheat mashes. Everyone has vids on corn. Using Alpha Amylase and Glucoamylase Enzyme. If you are using a flaked grain do you need them? If you are using malted barley with your grain do you need them? As a newbie I did a 70/30 flaked rye/2 row and didnt use any but spent days trying to find if I needed to or not. Never did find a real answer. Things like that keep in mind for future content. And thanks bro for being there for us new brewers.
We call that "confidence to knowledge" ratio the Dunning-Kruger scale.
You start off knowing absolutely nothing. But, you're confident that you can do it all!
Until you "fuck up" and Ave come crashing down from the peek of Mount Stupid.
Then, you take the extremely slow and steady path back up the mountain. But, never reach the summit like you did before.
Those of us who have scaled Mount Stupid in the past, and actually learned from it, now insist on taking the slow and steady course from the onset. Knowing full well that we're going to fall on our ass at some point.
Hey Jess, well said mate. not anymore but I did this distilling gig for over 10 years and was still learning, to say I suck, absolutely, but the suck up moment's got less and less as time went on. As you mentioned even the best brewers, distillers, mead makers all still get it wrong and I know, but boy I make some great stuff now. Well, done Jess.
Even when you get lucky every time with perfect results, the urge to be better still persist the same! Keep chasing crafters!
Same as any hobby, we don't do it because it's easy, we do it because we thought it was easy and now refuse to give in.
At least with this hobby, you get to drink your mistakes.
The only tip I can give is to fact check advice given, don't believe its gospel.
Shit , all this time I thought it was just me 🤣😂🤣! Great advice, keep experimenting , just don’t blow the shed up 😃🥃🥃🥃
8:35 you are talking about the transition from thoughtful purpose to intuitive mastery
This one is your best. I suck at it but I’m never going to give up.
An important thing to remember is that if there was only one correct answer there would only be one distilled drink, and there would be no other distilleries whereas in Scotland there are hundreds just making their own whisky.
Once you have a product that you like and that compares with the commercial product then you can chose what it's like. BUT still remember that every commercial run of drink is made from blends of cuts, partly at least to make sure that the blend sold in 2024 is the same as those of 2023, 2022 etc.
Jesse
Thanks for the info.
As inspiring as you are, I enjoy your work.
I've been following for about 4 years. Keep up the great work and thanks.
From north east Missouri.
If we don't screw up once in a while how can we measure our progress.
Thanks again.
Blick
I suck really really good. But, before watching hundreds of your videos I was just shit! 😂
I ended up with grain mash on the ceiling which dropped down onto my head from a massive puke on my first all grain "experience".
6 hours sounds a little long for sous vide steak 😂 Great talk - thanks
My first still and ever still since has been freaking amazing, and its thanks to you, I fall in that 3rd category of peeps that super saturate in all the info before doing anything. plus a really strong background in the science and physics of how the still works helps a lot. T-500 pot plus a fully custom AliExpress column and still setup. Modular for both stripping run and second distillation. My vodka brings all the boys to the yard lol. the brewing and Fermenting side though, humble pie all day every day, every wash is dif.
My first three runs I didn't know that my water flow was wrong. I was completely vaporizing the head and hearts while only condensing the tails. Took me a long time to figure that one out
The words of wisdom which where never said better , always keep learning
Great words of wisdom! cheers
I my own experience if you enjoy trying new mixes to make something different than your used to making it’s easier to make a mistake . When making small batch after small batch of the same recipe it so much easier for my to avoid problems .
To be honest I skipped this vid because of its clickbaity title, I guess I'm just pretty allergic to that.
Since I watched it now, I thought I'd give my view on the subject of sucking at everything anyway.
Well, to me it's quite simple: most people seem to be exceptionally well trained in disappointing themselves, blaming everything and everyone in the process for ones own failings, but when it comes to learning any craft (guilded or not) it will take tons of experience in general before one would want to be called an expert.
In the pursuit of happiness one can only strive perfection and epic fails will definitely happen on the way, so doesn't it all start with the tiniest bit of self-reflection?
Keep up the good work, Jesse, and thank you: this disarming stuff is needed dearly.
I'm glad you reminded me just how much I suck, not that my wife ever hesitates to say the same, and worse!
Of course I suck at distilling. I'd imagine I suck at everything I've never tried before.
That story struck home for me and many others I'm sure. I only recently (4 months ago) got into distilling. However, I have a background of about 10 years making wine and meads. That story threw me back to when I made my first wine. It was supposed to be a strawberry wine, but through a series of very unfortunate events I ended up with a sour mess that didn't ferment out properly. It was an odd sugary vinegar concoction that ended up dumped out for the wildlife to pick at. 😂 Nostalgic to say the least.
I was taking to a fellow distiller and wanted to get your opinion on something.... have you or anyone else ever used liquid smoke as an "rapid" aging or additive while making a finished product or mash??? He sold me this huge success story that left me thinking.. FUCK.. why didn't I think of trying that before!? But then logic kicks in and I think to myself that it can't be all that great! Looking for a friend here
Great words bro! From Tauranga 😊
yup. And the more different stuff I try, helps me feel relaxed when I go back to more common things. I'm only new to the game, and I have stuffed up mashing, accidentally having 2 bottom plates in the mash basket, or not having to basket rest for the mash out/sparge clipped in properly. I have started the still too fast, forgetting I am doing the spirit run. I have tried ingredients that added bad flavours, and even botched cuts, but probably the worst is nailing every step , and then giving the results the wrong wood, (my pineapple/mango mead spirit) lol. Teaches you fast to check that the ageing is going the right direction early on, 🤣 A year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of running the still for 3 stripping runs, and a spirit run, followed by a reflux run, and making 2 new batches in a weekend. Now I just try not to forget any ingredients when I am at the brew shop. 😂 But one thing I did do right, was get involved with this incredibly rewarding hobby.
I can tell you that home destillers are way better after the internet. preinternet moonshine was made by recipe/steps and charcoal filtering and you got something you might be able to stomach and get drunk on. After some internet research and tinkering and some more research and tinkering, Im able to make vodka I can use to refill old vodka bottles and people dont even notice they re drinking homemade vodka. Those that knows even prefer the homemade.