Hahaha, another great and enjoyable piece of content you brought to us. Very informative and to the point. If I may, can I make some suggestions? 1 boil the sugar + some kind of vinegar for 45 min. 2 if you're on a budget... put just one pack of yeast in a jar with sugar water and stir vigorous for a day or two. Yeast do 2 things. 1 in proximity to oxygen they reproduce. Hence the vigorous stirring at the beginning at the process. Later when the oxygen is gone from the solution, they switch to making alcohol and co2. It would be even better to combine things. If you are a homesteader, you could put the fermenting vessels in your greenhouse. Co2 is heavier than o2. So it would help your crops to grow faster, as they consume c02 for their growth.
I get mine at a local family owned farmer's co-op. They're used and we're for shipping food stuffs. I'm really glad you're liking the videos. I'll keep putting them out.
That's what I'm talking about brother man. I been waiting for ya to step that sugar amount up. I usually do 14 lbs sugar and a jar of molasses in a 5 gallon batch it puts me about the same I have about 20 gallon done just gotta run. Thanks for another video. Stay frosty
I always forget to talk about the temps in videos, lol. I really don't pay that much attention to run temps. I raise and lower my based on the speed of the drip, not the temp in the still.
I'm trying to find a base line to hold my temperature at and when I can expect the drip, if I'm running it too cold or too hot. About all I've found from different places is between 175° -- 195°. The latter seems too hot but I don't know! First-time doing this. (SaulZain SaulZain)
@@saulzain1957 if your thermometer is in the pot then 190 ish this will vary depending on abv of the wash. If your thermometer is in the vapor path then 170 ish.
Off topic question: I see your two liebeg condensers behind you. Which do you prefer? Mine is built like the one on the left but I wonder if I would benefit from having the upstream side shorter like the one on the right On topic question: did you "clear" your was before running your stripping run or did you just throw everything in yeast and all?
They both work equally well. One I made to go with the keg still. The other came with the Mile Hi still. To your second question, I don't clear the wash. There's really no need.
Hay I did a couple of mashes last night, and trying to use the hydrometer ,I'm a bit dyslexic the numbers and stuff just doesn't work in my head I know how it's supposed to work but it just doesn't......... couple questions ,what's a better pH generaly rain water or spring water.
@@StillnTheClear cool, all our water for the house is rain water ,I usually use that . Anyway Nice video I have been thinking about this sort of thing especially with my grain mashes I did I wanted to have all the sugar they could get for fermentation, I think reading the hydrometer I have a potential for 14% alcohol,but I could be rong ....but doing is learning 👍 so I'm getting there , have a good one 🥃 chears
@@PoppaLongroach yeah it sucks doesn't it , what I'm doing seems to be working but I just wonder if I focused more on the numbers it might turn out better.....but hell I got my old-schools soured corn mash in and it seems to be pumping away so I'm happy ,I'll run it and save the back wash and spent grains at end of week
Spring water tends to be less acidic and have a bigger buffer against dropping to far towards the acidic level. If you've got a lot of lime stone in your area you are golden. If not... Try googling the ph for your area. Check if its treated And how or with what. Best thing is to find a spring or stream that is not f'd up by any company's
No, DAP is just for raising pH. I used North Mountain for the yeast nutrient amzn.to/3Nnxc3g and I used crushed oyster shell for the pH buffer amzn.to/3N4sYw8
Love the channel. I’m a home brewer looking to expand the hobby. One question that I can’t find the answer to is about sanitation. Is sanitation not really needed when distilling because the last step is heat? Will a funky wash make a funky whiskey? The oyster shells made me cringe but I think I need to change my mentality.
Sanitation is a really big deal when brewing beer or making wine, but when distilling it's not a big deal. In fact, some of the things brewers are terrified of distillers will welcome, like a lacto infection in beer is catastrophic, but in whiskey it can ad a creamy flavor. It is important to keep your equipment clean, but it's not necessary to keep it bacteria free and completely sanitary. I typically wash my equipment with soap and water with a heavy rinse before using it.
Why not just use red star aka (dady). It's good to 20%. ??? please someone answer this for me. I use it for all grain. Corn/sugar mash and all moonshine mashed. Never had an issue. So why not use dady?
@@StillnTheClear I totally gotcha there. Yeah from what I've learned about redstar from when I called the company last year they said it handle up to 20% no problem. Anything past that and yeah, you'll be needing to add nutrients and some oyster shells(good touch btw). But yeah, I've made close to or possibly over 1000 runs and only had a few bad batches due to weird things that happened.
I place yeasts in 2 categories (according to what I've read from manufacturer descriptions): - For Washes (fruit, sugar) basically advertised as for wine/champagne, like 1118. - For Mashes (grain) advertised for beer or whiskey aka "Distiller". This doesn't mean that they are not interchangeable. Even within each category you have alcohol tolerances and such. I guess the main difference and why I prefer to categorise them this way would be the taste you get in the end, because of what the yeast is sitting next to in the barrel. Is it grain or fruit? does it like one more than the other? Does it matter? Maybe... That's at least how I think about it.
I’ve only went up to 1.090. I ran into a stall on day 3. I tried everything except checking PH. Found out I was at a 3. Couple handfuls of bicarbonate and my 50 gallons finished off in 5 days. I haven’t used oysters but now I’m going to put that in my pocket. Thank you sir
Slaked lime, or pickling lime , calcium hydroxide available at hardware stores that sell pickling stuff worksgreat for raising ph. I used 3 big teaspoons mixed with some warm mash water, brought mine 15 gallon from 3.5 to 5.4. I like it better than calcium carbonate.
I've seen some recipes that say NOT to add all the sugar at the beginning. Come back on day 3 and add the rest of the sugar and a bit more nutrient. Reason being that if your yeast has problems with osmotic pressure from lots of sugar, by day 3 some of that initial sugar you added at the start is already consumed so you can add more. This is also when you check your PH and add a booster if needed. Only apparent downside is that your gravity readings won't tell the whole story if you add sugar after the fact, but this is easily tested if you scale everything down proportionally to make a mini-wash in a jar with the final sugar % you want and just test that jar.
It doesn't matter what type of water you use, but you have to be aware of the pH level of the water you're using in case you need to adjust it for the yeast
@@ToastedSynapseGaming the real purpose of crushed oyster shells for farmers is as a calcium supplement for chickens. You can get it on Amazon amzn.to/3X0mV1V
@@StillnTheClear I've seen the equivalent of that. It's 96% Calcium Carbonate and 4% vitamins used for the same purpose (add a bit to regular feed to strengthen bones). I guess it's sort of the same, chemically speaking. I'm only worried about the fact that at the start of fermentation, the PH is fine and maybe (I don't know) Calcium Carbonate will raise it without me wanting that. Maybe waiting a few days as the PH lowers and adding it after would work better. And heck, it also has vitamins, those are good for the yeast. Thank you for the reply and the link.
Are you going for a clean spirit that you add flavors to..that's what I been doing,but when switching to doing grain mashes I found I like the taste more than a sugar wash, especially when I accidentally kinda made a sour mash,it smelled like silage but arfter a few days sitting with activated carbon in it it smelled and tasted really good.and then even better with a few weeks on oak. Like I don't know that's just my experience so far I'm definitely a beginner and no expert, I have to sort out my recipes and oak ageing alot more ,I'm doing a few experiments to see how it goes
@@StillnTheClear definitely .it took me experimenting with different woods to learn why we use oak ....it's not about color or tannins .it's about flavors so when choosing woods for ageing you want something that had a good flavor and that when you burn it has a sweet and nice smelling smoke ,it's completely different to what I am used to with manuka smoking hear in NZ,now I have to find the right amounts of oak to add and for how long
I have one for ya. We also have bees at our property and in such I buy a lot of what is called pro sweet. It is a super concentrated sugar syrup we feedbthe bees. Since I have to buy this anyway I am almost positive I can use it instead of buying granulated sugar. . I buy the super sweet by the tote. If you can find it around your area. You should check it out
@Still'n The Clear I will know more tomorrow as this evening I will be creating my sacrificial run with it. But I can almost say without a doubt it will ferment lol. It is super thick and sugary
Great video. Except that the wash ABV has nothing to do with the finished proof. High finished proof is determined by the still design and a bit by the skill of the distiller.
Why are you so insular? I`m in the U.K.and enjoy both the presentation and content there are plenty of people here who would no doubt subscribe to your channel if were not for the difference in U.S. measurements -drives me crazy get bigger gallons!😅
![How to make bourbon at home [The Easy Way]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yjRVO5f4Iak/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to make bourbon at home [The Easy Way]](/img/tr.png)
Great videos from you. As far as stirring, I have found putting a 5 gallon paint mixer in the drill works pretty good!!! Saves your back!!!
Absolutely, I finally built one. Thanks for the comment.
Another great video Cyrus! Another recipe of yours added to my list of "I gotta try this!"
Hope you enjoy
Hahaha, another great and enjoyable piece of content you brought to us.
Very informative and to the point.
If I may, can I make some suggestions?
1 boil the sugar + some kind of vinegar for 45 min.
2 if you're on a budget... put just one pack of yeast in a jar with sugar water and stir vigorous for a day or two.
Yeast do 2 things.
1 in proximity to oxygen they reproduce. Hence the vigorous stirring at the beginning at the process.
Later when the oxygen is gone from the solution, they switch to making alcohol and co2.
It would be even better to combine things. If you are a homesteader, you could put the fermenting vessels in your greenhouse. Co2 is heavier than o2. So it would help your crops to grow faster, as they consume c02 for their growth.
Excellent tips, thank you for sharing.
Nice video learning something new. About a cup full would be nice right now. Happy distilling
Thanks 👍
Cyrus where did you get your blue jugs for fermenting. I live in Canada. look like mighty fine jugs. I really enjoy your videos
I get mine at a local family owned farmer's co-op. They're used and we're for shipping food stuffs. I'm really glad you're liking the videos. I'll keep putting them out.
I'm a huge fan! I love how you actually test the theories discussed in our forums! How did it turn out taste-wise?
Thank you, the high gravity neutral spirit turned out really good for post flavor drinks. Windsong made a cherry amaretto with that was delicious.
Hey @Still'nTheClear so the shells need to be washed and baked first if finding them on beach?
@@flickmybic911 to be honest, I don't know. I've always just bought them. amzn.to/4dD6EFQ
comfy brewing :D like the music
Hey Cyrus never been past 1.095 cheers my Friend
Woohoo
Shine On
After you get ride of the four shots do we keep all the rest of do you make cuts?
Great video bro. Easy way to quickly make a nice drink with a sucker-punch as long as you can keep the yeasties happy. Rock on!
Thank you, brother. It went better than I expected. I really thought I was going to have to fight it to get it to finish.
hi my friend,
it would benefit to stir the sugar solution during fermentation?
That's what I'm talking about brother man. I been waiting for ya to step that sugar amount up. I usually do 14 lbs sugar and a jar of molasses in a 5 gallon batch it puts me about the same I have about 20 gallon done just gotta run. Thanks for another video. Stay frosty
Curious why you didn't invert THE wash? Everyone have a preference so I'm just curious. Love the video enjoy the channel!
I've not found much advantage to invert sugar, in my experience.
Isn't this DIStilli'n The Clear 🤣Great video Cyrus!
🤣 thanks, brother.
Cyrus, where did you find that cool fermenter?
Thanks for the time and effort Cy. I don't have any EC1118, but have DADY. Will that do OK?
DADY isn't as tolerant of high ABV. I think you will have problems with it stalling.
@@StillnTheClear Gotcha, thanks! I'll get some EC1118.
Great video! Did you mention the temperature that you ran the mash at?
I always forget to talk about the temps in videos, lol. I really don't pay that much attention to run temps. I raise and lower my based on the speed of the drip, not the temp in the still.
I'm trying to find a base line to hold my temperature at and when I can expect the drip, if I'm running it too cold or too hot. About all I've found from different places is between 175° -- 195°. The latter seems too hot but I don't know! First-time doing this.
(SaulZain SaulZain)
@@saulzain1957 if your thermometer is in the pot then 190 ish this will vary depending on abv of the wash. If your thermometer is in the vapor path then 170 ish.
Off topic question: I see your two liebeg condensers behind you. Which do you prefer? Mine is built like the one on the left but I wonder if I would benefit from having the upstream side shorter like the one on the right
On topic question: did you "clear" your was before running your stripping run or did you just throw everything in yeast and all?
They both work equally well. One I made to go with the keg still. The other came with the Mile Hi still. To your second question, I don't clear the wash. There's really no need.
Hay I did a couple of mashes last night, and trying to use the hydrometer ,I'm a bit dyslexic the numbers and stuff just doesn't work in my head I know how it's supposed to work but it just doesn't......... couple questions ,what's a better pH generaly rain water or spring water.
I wish I could give you a straight answer, but it's going to depend on the spring. Best bet is to test your local spring.
@@StillnTheClear cool, all our water for the house is rain water ,I usually use that . Anyway Nice video I have been thinking about this sort of thing especially with my grain mashes I did I wanted to have all the sugar they could get for fermentation, I think reading the hydrometer I have a potential for 14% alcohol,but I could be rong ....but doing is learning 👍 so I'm getting there , have a good one 🥃 chears
Same here man. Being dyslexic makes keeping up with the numbers to confusing. I get something wrong every time 😕
@@PoppaLongroach yeah it sucks doesn't it , what I'm doing seems to be working but I just wonder if I focused more on the numbers it might turn out better.....but hell I got my old-schools soured corn mash in and it seems to be pumping away so I'm happy ,I'll run it and save the back wash and spent grains at end of week
Spring water tends to be less acidic and have a bigger buffer against dropping to far towards the acidic level. If you've got a lot of lime stone in your area you are golden. If not...
Try googling the ph for your area.
Check if its treated
And how or with what.
Best thing is to find a spring or stream that is not f'd up by any company's
Youre legendary. I tried to make a 10% and it stalled. That yeast nutrient, about 1 table spoon per 5 liter. Is that DAP? Cheer!
No, DAP is just for raising pH. I used North Mountain for the yeast nutrient amzn.to/3Nnxc3g and I used crushed oyster shell for the pH buffer amzn.to/3N4sYw8
I have some K1-V1116 yeast. Would that be good for a sugar wash?
It should work. It has an alcohol tolerance of around 16%.
Is this mix ,properly refined, capable of powering a gas engine?
Love the channel. I’m a home brewer looking to expand the hobby. One question that I can’t find the answer to is about sanitation. Is sanitation not really needed when distilling because the last step is heat? Will a funky wash make a funky whiskey? The oyster shells made me cringe but I think I need to change my mentality.
Sanitation is a really big deal when brewing beer or making wine, but when distilling it's not a big deal. In fact, some of the things brewers are terrified of distillers will welcome, like a lacto infection in beer is catastrophic, but in whiskey it can ad a creamy flavor. It is important to keep your equipment clean, but it's not necessary to keep it bacteria free and completely sanitary. I typically wash my equipment with soap and water with a heavy rinse before using it.
Excellent thank you!
Why not just use red star aka (dady). It's good to 20%. ??? please someone answer this for me. I use it for all grain. Corn/sugar mash and all moonshine mashed. Never had an issue. So why not use dady?
It's not been my experience that DADY will finish a ferment at 20%. But, I certainly think you should stick with what works for you.
@@StillnTheClear I totally gotcha there. Yeah from what I've learned about redstar from when I called the company last year they said it handle up to 20% no problem. Anything past that and yeah, you'll be needing to add nutrients and some oyster shells(good touch btw). But yeah, I've made close to or possibly over 1000 runs and only had a few bad batches due to weird things that happened.
I place yeasts in 2 categories (according to what I've read from manufacturer descriptions):
- For Washes (fruit, sugar) basically advertised as for wine/champagne, like 1118.
- For Mashes (grain) advertised for beer or whiskey aka "Distiller".
This doesn't mean that they are not interchangeable. Even within each category you have alcohol tolerances and such. I guess the main difference and why I prefer to categorise them this way would be the taste you get in the end, because of what the yeast is sitting next to in the barrel. Is it grain or fruit? does it like one more than the other? Does it matter? Maybe... That's at least how I think about it.
Did you pot still the stripping run and reflux still the spirit run?
Yes, exactly.
I’ve only went up to 1.090. I ran into a stall on day 3. I tried everything except checking PH. Found out I was at a 3. Couple handfuls of bicarbonate and my 50 gallons finished off in 5 days. I haven’t used oysters but now I’m going to put that in my pocket. Thank you sir
Yes, sir. Just remember, oyster shells are a buffer. They work to keep pH stable. They don't work to bump pH quickly like bicarbonate.
@@StillnTheClear more knowledge that I truly appreciate sir. I will have to jump on the open mic night with you and Phil one day soon.
@@EpicValleysStill for sure, jump in there with us.
Slaked lime, or pickling lime , calcium hydroxide available at hardware stores that sell pickling stuff worksgreat for raising ph. I used 3 big teaspoons mixed with some warm mash water, brought mine 15 gallon from 3.5 to 5.4. I like it better than calcium carbonate.
I've seen some recipes that say NOT to add all the sugar at the beginning. Come back on day 3 and add the rest of the sugar and a bit more nutrient. Reason being that if your yeast has problems with osmotic pressure from lots of sugar, by day 3 some of that initial sugar you added at the start is already consumed so you can add more. This is also when you check your PH and add a booster if needed.
Only apparent downside is that your gravity readings won't tell the whole story if you add sugar after the fact, but this is easily tested if you scale everything down proportionally to make a mini-wash in a jar with the final sugar % you want and just test that jar.
When doing this do you use distilled water? Or just regular water?
It doesn't matter what type of water you use, but you have to be aware of the pH level of the water you're using in case you need to adjust it for the yeast
I haven't seen oyster shells at farm supplies near me. Can you tell me what the real purpose of the feed is for farmers?
@@ToastedSynapseGaming the real purpose of crushed oyster shells for farmers is as a calcium supplement for chickens. You can get it on Amazon amzn.to/3X0mV1V
@@StillnTheClear I've seen the equivalent of that. It's 96% Calcium Carbonate and 4% vitamins used for the same purpose (add a bit to regular feed to strengthen bones). I guess it's sort of the same, chemically speaking. I'm only worried about the fact that at the start of fermentation, the PH is fine and maybe (I don't know) Calcium Carbonate will raise it without me wanting that. Maybe waiting a few days as the PH lowers and adding it after would work better. And heck, it also has vitamins, those are good for the yeast.
Thank you for the reply and the link.
It obviously worked for you, but curious why you didn’t clear the wash? I think it helps clean up the taste.
I don't find that it makes a difference.
Are you going for a clean spirit that you add flavors to..that's what I been doing,but when switching to doing grain mashes I found I like the taste more than a sugar wash, especially when I accidentally kinda made a sour mash,it smelled like silage but arfter a few days sitting with activated carbon in it it smelled and tasted really good.and then even better with a few weeks on oak.
Like I don't know that's just my experience so far I'm definitely a beginner and no expert, I have to sort out my recipes and oak ageing alot more ,I'm doing a few experiments to see how it goes
@@kiwiprouddavids724 that's awesome. Experimentation is the key to this hobby.
@@StillnTheClear definitely .it took me experimenting with different woods to learn why we use oak ....it's not about color or tannins .it's about flavors so when choosing woods for ageing you want something that had a good flavor and that when you burn it has a sweet and nice smelling smoke ,it's completely different to what I am used to with manuka smoking hear in NZ,now I have to find the right amounts of oak to add and for how long
@transplantinnz2716 how would you clear the wash ? Thanks
I live on an island; oysters are everywhere. Can I crush my own shells?
I have one for ya. We also have bees at our property and in such I buy a lot of what is called pro sweet. It is a super concentrated sugar syrup we feedbthe bees. Since I have to buy this anyway I am almost positive I can use it instead of buying granulated sugar. . I buy the super sweet by the tote. If you can find it around your area. You should check it out
That's interesting. Do you know if it is already a fermentable sugar ?
@Still'n The Clear I will know more tomorrow as this evening I will be creating my sacrificial run with it. But I can almost say without a doubt it will ferment lol. It is super thick and sugary
@@tomchristensen2914 cool, let us know how it goes.
Whay you don't show to us the pack whit the east it's much better for us to see
Great video.
Except that the wash ABV has nothing to do with the finished proof. High finished proof is determined by the still design and a bit by the skill of the distiller.
But it directly relates to yield.
C- Confirming you ran this in Reflux to get that 180 hearts ?
Yes, I ran in full reflux for about 15 min to compress the heads then I ran in a light reflux for the rest of the run.
you mean fuel?!?
Specific gravity not starting gravity.
For what
For fun... I think, lol.
Why are you so insular? I`m in the U.K.and enjoy both the presentation and content there are plenty of people here who would no doubt subscribe to your channel if were not for the difference in U.S. measurements -drives me crazy get bigger gallons!😅
That's so funny. I agree, I need to do better at converting to metric.
@@StillnTheClear Beg pardon not metric but imperial!
@@mustavertwang I'll see what I can do.
Anyone else notice the fly
🤣 I did!
Sir,,,,,wit,,,is,,,,sot,,,,,,,shot,,,,,men