Although I am not big on these occasions myself, seeing as they are now so commercialised it always seems to be the thing to say.

I don't mean it.

I am just saying it to be polite. :)

I am a bit like that sometimes. But enough of the fake season cheerings........

I was looking through my computer and found something I had written about three years ago before the site even existed, and, I thought it may be of some interest for some to have a look at, so without further a do, here it is........

 Well, I finaly tracked down a version of the whole show. It was a really neat episode that had some intersting interpretation about NZ in there. Athough I though Jack and his team did a really great job.

You can see me in there with my still at aboiut the 27 minute mark. I am the bloke that says -fuck- alot :-) 

After much deliberation I decided to have a crack at an all grain run.
They key here is a set of liquid enzymes on which I have just got my Teddy paws.
Method:
2 kg of cracked feed corn (maize)  milled to a fine flour.
In a big pot  put 5 litres of COLD water  and 1.2ml of the amylase enzyme.
Slowly added the corn stirring to avoid lumps. pH was around 6.0
Normally this much corn would turn into a glue like porridge at about 60 C  however thanks to the enzyme it stayed nice and liquid right through

 Just a quick thanks to all the posters, new and old, on the messageboard. Its you guys that keep us going. And for those that have signed up but havent posted yet, dont be afraid :-) We're all here to help you out. There have been some great threads popping up lately. Loving the pics of everyones gear, and some great tutorials on bending copper.
 
Keep up the good posts guys,
Happy Stilling
 
TS

Hey, constant reader, thanks for coming back......
 
I am just copy and pasting a bunch of runs and my notes. It may be helpful to someone.
 
START C&P/
 
1.
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15:02 – clean gear, get ready for strip tonight.
 
16:28 – Finished Thermo in DOPS
 
16:51 - +19ltrs in boiler
 
17:15 - +19 ltrs in boiler, thumper charged with water.
 
18:32 – Flame on.
 
18:37 – Check condenser AOK.
 
Boiler temp = 20 Deg C
 

I haven't been doing much on the site lately, nor with the distilling. The messageboard stays busy as usual and there is plenty of good information there for people who have a spirit of adventure.

Supermarket Sourced Whisky Wash

Not everyone has access to a stockfood supplier or Home Brew Shop.
Here is a recipe for a whisky type wash using ingredients sourced only from the grocery supermarket.
It is a little more expensive but but does supply a nice drink - and beats those turbo washes hands down.

For those looking for a fast ferment, a little time spent during the preparation stage pays huge dividends in shortening the time for a ferment.
Here is my routine for a fast Vodka at very low cost wiith no carbon filtering or added clearing compounds.
Ingredients ( for a 23l wash)
4kg Sugar
250g wheat bran
1 Multivitamin tablet
Pinch Epsom salts
½ tsp DAP Di-Ammonium Phosphate (available at good HBS or dee the discussion for a couple of good mail-order sources)
Citric acid
50g bakers yeast

Well it has been a week of ups and downs, as far a distilling has gone. I managed to strip run and spirit run a few washes. Had some modifications done to the DOPS so I could do everything in one run, so no more stripping needed.

This is great because it means I use half the gas, so instead of costing $10 to get the spirit out of the wash it is more like $6. Good savings :)