Basics: How To Run A Pot Still

from Still'n The Clear · host Cyrus Mason

Subscribe to https://stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff. Join our MeWe group https://mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners) https://stillntheclear.com/2021/03/28/making-cuts-for-beginners/ (Cut Chart for Beginners) You made a sugar mash for the first time. You patiently let it sit and do its thing. Well, sort of, If you’re like me when I made my first batch you patiently let it do its thing by checking on it about every 4 hours for about a week. But now it’s time to make the magic. Okay, starting off this episode I’m going to assume You have run a cleaning run and/or a sacrificial run with your still if it’s new. I probably should have mentioned it in last week’s episode, but I forgot. This week we’re going to talk through running a simple pot still for the beginner. I suggest a slow single run for your first run. In later episodes, we’ll talk about stripping runs and spirit runs. Last week's episode we talked about The super-simple beginner's recipe found at https://offgridmaker.com/moonshine-resources/how-to-make-the-smoothest-mash-recipe-for-moonshine/ (offgridmaker) or some other sugar wash or sugar mash recipe of your choice. It has fermented. You’ve separated the sediment and the grains. Now it’s time to distill it. The first thing you want to do is make sure you have everything you need set and ready to go before you get started. The last thing you want is to have to go figure out where you left that box of mason jars once the still starts dripp’n Make sure you’ve got your hydrometer (if you’re using one). Make sure you’ve got your cooling water all set up. Test your pump if you're using one for your condenser. You certainly don’t want to find out there’s something wrong with the pump when it’s time to turn it on. If you're using propane, make sure you have plenty so you don’t run out in the middle of a run. Get your boiler pot set and put your wash in. Don’t fill your pot to the top. Leave some headroom for the steam. If there is too much wash in the pot you increase the risk of your still puking during the run. THIS WEEK'S SHINER SPEAK “What is puking” Most commonly puking is caused by boiling the wash up into the column and then into the coil, and this can happen more easily if there’s no headspace in the pot and this makes your liquor cloudy. This isn’t that common on a slow and low run like we’re running today. Now you’ve got to get the lid on the pot and attach all your pieces and line everything up, put just enough liquid in your thumper to cover the lower end inlet(if you’re using a thumper) and prop things up and clamp things down and all that stuff. You’ve got to get your cooling lines hooked up and run your pump to check for water leaks. You don’t want to be trying to fix a leaky connection during the run. Make sure all your connections on the column are tight and paste the joints if that’s necessary on your still. Pasting joints is usually only necessary on older copper stills. Pasting is just mixing up a paste of flour and water then dabbing it on joints to prevent vapor from escaping the vapor path. Once the still is set up and ready to go and I’ve tested my water pump and checked for cooling leaks I turn the heat up high to get the still up to temperature. Some people will disagree with this and say to bring your still temp up slowly, But I get mine to about 160 then I back off the heat and go the rest of the way slowly. As the temp approaches 175f you want to start looking for the drip I turn my condenser pump on when I see the first drip. This is when we start paying close attention to the relationship between temps and cuts. I have provided a basic cut chart at https://stillntheclear.com/2021/03/28/making-cuts-for-beginners/ (stillntheclear.com) and I’ll put a link to that page in the show notes. Keep in mind that every still is different, every wash is a little...

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