Basement still

[Alpine_Sapper]

Ever wanted to make your own distilled alcohol? Beer, mead, and wine or nice, but hey, a little liquor is nice too:

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/moon1.html

[canid]

i'll try to find the document i build my old reflux still from and post it if you like.
it's a nice small unit and rather cheap.

i am still putting off work on the reflux column for my old pressure cooker.

[Alpine_Sapper]

i'll try to find the document i build my old reflux still from and post it if you like.
it's a nice small unit and rather cheap.

i am still putting off work on the reflux column for my old pressure cooker.

I'd love to see it. Always interested to see if I can improve on a current situation. Incidentally, I archive all the pages like that that I use, and he's changed his. The original included this at the bottom:

Use Rye or Potatoes For Vodka
Use Molasses or Sugar Cane For Rum
Use Corn For Moonshine
Use Wheat or Rye For Whiskey
Use Barley or Rice For Beer
Use Grapes For Wine
Use Apple Juice For Hard Cider

[rebel]

Some states allow beer and wine production but not hard liquor.

[Ole WV Coot]

Not that I would have any first hand knowledge myself but corn is used for home consumption, medicinal only ! We have a lot of Drs in this area and they highly recommend some nice new flexible copper tubing for what they call the worm. I don't know for a fact but I believe anything can be used. Use a washtub to mix your middlings(pig feed), sugar, water, dead cat, whatever falls in or better yet use a good recipe. CAUTION: Don't lay under the worm with your mouth open, that stuff has to cool a bit. Age it to perfection(3 days at most) and don't be cheap and use a car radiator for a worm the lead could kill you. I'm sorry I have no personal experience with it but if done right you can be tied down and one(1) drop placed on your forehead will cause your tongue to beat your brains out trying to get to it. That's a fact, with my hand in the air.

[rebel]

Not that I would have any first hand knowledge myself but corn is used for home consumption, medicinal only ! We have a lot of Drs in this area and they highly recommend some nice new flexible copper tubing for what they call the worm. I don't know for a fact but I believe anything can be used. Use a washtub to mix your middlings(pig feed), sugar, water, dead cat, whatever falls in or better yet use a good recipe. CAUTION: Don't lay under the worm with your mouth open, that stuff has to cool a bit. Age it to perfection(3 days at most) and don't be cheap and use a car radiator for a worm the lead could kill you. I'm sorry I have no personal experience with it but if done right you can be tied down and one(1) drop placed on your forehead will cause your tongue to beat your brains out trying to get to it. That's a fact, with my hand in the air.

Pure poetry. A beautiful Cootizm that's sure to make you grin.

[Rick]

Rebel - I think you've just coined an excellent phrase. Cootizms should be painstakingly transcribed and taught in school. Well, some of them taught in school.

[bulrush]

Good link. The author did mention removing the "foreshots", that is, the first 10% of the batch. Each time you add mash to the teakettle, discard the first 10% of alcohol that comes out. That means you have to estimate how much alcohol you would get from this batch, and multiply by 10%. If you toss out 1/2 to 1 cup, you should be safe. Also do not use the last 10% of alcohol, or "tailshots". I have heard it called the "tail" also. This also contains poisonous compounds.

Unscrupulous distillers would not discard these parts, thus making what is called "skull whomper" shine. Low quality alcohol like this tends to give one hangovers.

[Rick]

So that's my problem. Every distiller in the world must use the bad stuff 'cause it all gives me a hangover.

[crashdive123]

Good link. The author did mention removing the "foreshots", that is, the first 10% of the batch. Each time you add mash to the teakettle, discard the first 10% of alcohol that comes out. That means you have to estimate how much alcohol you would get from this batch, and multiply by 10%. If you toss out 1/2 to 1 cup, you should be safe. Also do not use the last 10% of alcohol, or "tailshots". I have heard it called the "tail" also. This also contains poisonous compounds.

Unscrupulous distillers would not discard these parts, thus making what is called "skull whomper" shine. Low quality alcohol like this tends to give one hangovers.

Skull whomper.......hmmmm. I always thought it was just the MD 20/20.

[trax]

Not that I would have any first hand knowledge myself but corn is used for home consumption, medicinal only ! We have a lot of Drs in this area and they highly recommend some nice new flexible copper tubing for what they call the worm. I don't know for a fact but I believe anything can be used. Use a washtub to mix your middlings(pig feed), sugar, water, dead cat, whatever falls in or better yet use a good recipe. CAUTION: Don't lay under the worm with your mouth open, that stuff has to cool a bit. Age it to perfection(3 days at most) and don't be cheap and use a car radiator for a worm the lead could kill you. I'm sorry I have no personal experience with it but if done right you can be tied down and one(1) drop placed on your forehead will cause your tongue to beat your brains out trying to get to it. That's a fact, with my hand in the air.

this, people, is why a few months back I asked this man to adopt me if y'all can recall it....I wanna be just like Coot when (if) I grow up.

[canid]

rice beer is nasty, nasty stuff. just bout every one i've ever had.

btw: wheat makes a great beer aswell.

[hoosierarcher]

If you think rice makes nasty bear try banana or rye bread as they do in polynesia/africa and russia respectively. Russian is called kvas and you'd only drink it if you lived in that dismal place that requires innebriation to tolerate. In other words if you REALLY NEEDED to be drunk. Banana beer in Polynesia is better than in Africa but not much.

[Tahyo]

I think the acception to anything made with rice is Japanese saki. I love that stuff.

[SGTD00m]

rice beer is nasty, nasty stuff. just bout every one i've ever had.

btw: wheat makes a great beer aswell.

I am going 2 bet u have never been to Korea or Japan they have some great rice beers there that they don't export. The ones u get in the states are like fosters to an Australian a sh**** export beer. I have been 2 Australia 2 they don't drink Foster they drink VB Victoria Bitter which is owned by Fosters but an independent brewery.

[canid]

lol; fosters, australian for canadian...

but hey, i qualified it with a 'just 'bout every'. i'm not completely hating.

[tacmedic]

I have read in several places that you shouldn't use baking yeast for brewing, and in several other places that it is ok to use for brewing but you don't get quite as high of a yield of alcohol. Anyone have any first hand experience with this? Is baker's yeast safe to use for brewing?

[Alpine_Sapper]

I have read in several places that you shouldn't use baking yeast for brewing, and in several other places that it is ok to use for brewing but you don't get quite as high of a yield of alcohol. Anyone have any first hand experience with this? Is baker's yeast safe to use for brewing?

While I suggest stickign with brewers yeast, isn't yeast yeast?

[Rick]

Apparently yes......and no.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=515013