StillSmart

This distilling hobby has really opened my eyes to brewing at home. I love everything that I have read or been advised so far, but at times its a struggle. Don't get me wrong, my reading and writing skills are fine but I seem to be skipping all over the web looking for answers to all sorts of thoughts.

Is there a 'bible' as far as distilling is concerned. I'm looking for something that will start me right from the beginning, the still builds, what each one does and why. Different washes, how to make them, the distilling process itself, the whole caboodle.

I will always used the web and forums as there is nothing better than advice and help from others, but what I'm really looking for is a book which can be read on the bog, or with earplugs when the wife is snoring like a pig in bed.

Any good reads out there gents.

Thanks

Depends if you wanted a "full" or a "complete" guide. For a moment there I thought I had been drinking☺

I don't know to a "Bible", I think sometimes we want to run before we can walk...it just ain't so....you have to take it slow..read and re-read everything.

It will drop into place after a while...you'll read something and you'll think I understand that this time.

The adage...patience is a virtue is used a lot in home brewing...it's the same with this hobby.

There are books, but there are a lot of facets to this hobby and you will find someone on some forum to disagree with almost every word written. And not all books will cover all still designs as the state of the art is constantly being advanced. As for washes... don't expect there is any sort of agreement there any more than you can find the best chilli recipe.

All that said, these are worth looking at:
http://www.home-distilling.com/store/pc ... 2p1346.htm
http://www.home-distilling.com/store/pc ... 42p327.htm
http://www.home-distilling.com/store/pc ... 42p328.htm
http://www.home-distilling.com/store/pc ... 42p691.htm

I have all but the first.

Chuck

Thanks gents.

Like I said, my main source of into will always hopefully come from you guys, the ones that have been in my position of knowing very little.

Thanks for the links Chill. The Compleat Distiller book looks a good read. I found a pdf online and am just having a flick through. It looks like the one I might buy unless anybody has a copy they want to sell.

Cheers

@Still Brewing: Let me give you my 2 cents worth.

When I first took an interest in distilling, I read screeds and screeds and got more and more confused. There are a million ways of going about it. The next problem I was facing was access to what was needed to ferment, distill, etc.

One day I decided to just run with what I had. I live on a tropical island. The same latitude as Jamaica where rum is as common as water. They have heat and humidity and were making rum way before anybody sterilized a container.

To this day I keep things clean, but I don't sterilize. I let airborne yeast get in my wash. I don't add stuff to do what ever. Puking is not an issue so I don't use defoamers or oil.

Don't get hung up on all the ideas and input. Start out with something easy to make like rum. Learn the process and your still. Then you can move onto the more complicated grain mashes and/or neutral spirit. I have stopped making neutral, because to do it properly takes so much more time per liter, its more volatile and a pain in the arse - for me. However, I made it so pure I did not need to carbon filter it.

Jump in and get it going. Don't worry about a mistake. Don't try and fix a mistake. Learn from it and run another batch.

Get good and sufficient equipment. Buy hydrometers two at a time. They break on occasion.
And that is a Full Guide For Newcomers

Icefever wrote:I don't know to a "Bible", I think sometimes we want to run before we can walk...it just ain't so....you have to take it slow..read and re-read everything.

It will drop into place after a while...you'll read something and you'll think I understand that this time.

The adage...patience is a virtue is used a lot in home brewing...it's the same with this hobby.

100% agree! look at me a few months ago asking basic beginners questions over and over again... Lol
3 months on I'm making lentil washes, building a copper still and planning on building a SS "Bubble Cap" whilst honing my skills on an Airstill.....

Brill, love it more than brewing beer.......

Thx guys!!!!

Excellent post John.

Just get stuck in. You learn more by doing. And discovering along the way what you want. Nothing ever needs to be thrown away either as you always have a use for it - just might not be drinking ☺

IMHO, its KISS and IYAOAGTSTI that are of constant companion......
Failing that, write said 'bible' yourself,
(then watch others tear it apart )

Thanks John, that's what I really wanted to hear . Getting stuck in seems the way you guys learn, so here we go.

Frank wrote:IMHO, its KISS and IYAOAGTSTI that are of constant companion......
Failing that, write said 'bible' yourself,
(then watch others tear it apart )

I googgled IYAOAGTSTI - came back as Yoga-tastic not sure that what you meant !

While I agree that doing is a great way to learn, you can learn things from books that you might not otherwise think of doing.

@ Chill: I agree. I would like to see a lot of the people here asking questions to have done some reading first, and/or spend some time on youtube. People like AM and Robert, alond with several others, spend a huge portion of their time answering the same questions over and over again.

However, there is so much information out there, and its not all directed in the same way, that it can be confusing at the beginning.

I encourage all beginners to start out with something simple like rum. You have a lot of leeway with rum. With neutral you have practically none. Otherwise you need heaps of carbon.

Much of the basics are covered in the various booklets here on our own forum at viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3436 for beginners. Coupled with our own recipe thread I think almost everything is there for the newcomers The only thing missing is a booklet on Fermenting Basic and All Grain washes. Any volunteers?

It may be a bit of an in-joke,that AM and I don't often agree,but this is an instance where we do.
Sorry that the information may not be available here in printed format,but this site,I believe contains ALL the information a newbie stiller needs.
Before I joined this site and started stilling again,I read every post on here,and have read every post since-(I'll never own a T500 but have read those posts too).
I am not claiming that it is the fount of all distilling knowledge.
And you may have to read all sorts of posts,in various threads,to assimilate it.
Please feel free to collate them,and re-publish them into a single booklet.
There are other sites out there that also have valuable knowledge,but much of it is the same stuff with different words or methods.
Asking for a definitive piece of work,I think,to anyone already walking this path,is I believe rather like asking for the moon.
As we constantly strive for better,faster or whatever.
I think that may be 3 penorth,I rambled on a bit

Robert.