Foreshots

After allowing the system to equalibriate, drops of totally clear distillate have begun coming over. They smell strongly, and a few drops on the back of a spoon burn with a clear, blue flame. This means they are relatively high proof. Once I have enough, I will measure it with my alcoholometer.

I will collect 50ml or so and toss them out, then begin the main collection run. These first 50ml have things in them we don't want in our main run.

Interestingly, the temp is showing as 78C. It took some fiddling with the heat to get it to stabilize, but it seems to be maintaining properly.

The holy work continues...

Pax Vobiscum

The modernized alembic is assembled, and the run has begun...

Pax Vobiscum

Re-Invigorated

Batch #2 is happy again, now that its over the system shock from having sugar dumped onto its head.

Batch #1 is still going.. like the energizer bunny ferment.

Today.. is equipment day....I shall assemble the perqueles, chamfoilis and hok, to evoke the spirts from their hiding places.

yes... . . Yes . . . YES!!!! MUHAHAHAHA!

...

*ahem*

Pax Vobiscum

Nightcap

Batch #1 is still bubbling at one burp per 10 seconds. I'll let those monks pray until there is no noticeable activity, then uncap and check it.

Batch #2 was measured at 1.020 SG, 20C, pH 3.8, producing gas at one burp every 3 seconds or so. Added 1.7kg of sugar directly, without inverting in four portions over about 10 minutes, along with DAP and yeast energizer. The yeast have had a "Oh brother, wtf?" moment, and are currently readjusting to their new environment, now at SG 1.032. The monks are still praying, but at a very low rate; hopefully they will be back to their happy selves by the morning.

Heater turned on to low, as 20C is a few degrees lower than I would like to see, at this point.

I will definitely be working on constant addition methods.. this stepped addition method shocks the monks too much.

Pax Vobiscum

Checkpoint

Batch #1 was checked, noticed that it was not as active as I would have liked, so added a bit of nutrients and a pinch of MgSO4, and stirred. It's back to one bubble every 3 seconds after equalibriating. pH 4.6 by the way, so no vinegar being produced, which is good. It was at SG 1.020, so it is only a few pips from dry (~.990). I am not going to open it again until activity ceases or becomes incredibly slow, as I definitely don't want O2 in there at this stage.

Batch #2 is bubbling away as before, if a bit slower. Did not open it up. Will check in the morning and add sugars if the SG is low enough.

Pax Vobiscum

Addition, not subtraction

Batch #2 has had its sugars enhanced by almost 3 points. I made an error and only used 1.4kg of inverted sugars this time, but thats alright.. I'l add the rest in the final addition. The monks will be glad for the feast. I also added the yeast nutrient portion.

It was at 1.010 and was enhanced to 1.032, this adding about 3% potential alcohol, bringing it to about 9.5 - 10% potential, from the start.

It is recovering from the addition now, but is showing signs of health. I am optimistic! After all, I did teach these monks their letters.

Both batches are holding steady at 25C. I won't have to call the roofing men to insulate their cells after all!

Pax Vobiscum

Caramelizing the cooktop

Well here we are friends, with our monks chugging happily along! Both Batch #1 and Batch #2 are still venting and burbling away. However, I have a warning for those less careful than I.

When preparing an invert sugar syrup, and after finishing the process, do NOT put in 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda all at once to bring the pH back up. You will caramelize your stovetop.. although I was fortunate enough only to lose about 50ml of syrup. :)

Rather, as I will venture to do in future, place the bicarbonate of soda into a minimal amount of water and drip or squirt it in, slowly, stirring all the while, and checking the pH every so often.

Now that that is out of the way, on to progress!

I added 1kg of inverted sugar + 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer (which I added to the syrup while still boiling.. slowly with stirring... and let it cool to 30C) to Batch #1. This brought the potential alcohol to 16%, so I am going to call it there and be happy with 16% or so on my first run, assuming it ferments out completely.

After addition, which took about 2 minutes with plenty of stirring, there was a 30 minute lag, and then gas started to be produced again. The oxygen that got in due to the stirring probably helped the yeast stabilize and grow a bit as well. It is now back to bubbling happily and I will let it go until it stops.

Batch #2 will get a 1.7kg invert addition just before bed tonite, and I will report on it in the morning.

Temps are good.. in the 25C range. So all is well in the monastery!

Pax Vobiscum

The morning after

Batch #2: Temp 25C, pH 3.02, bubbling nicely

I neutralized gently to 3.7 with bicarbonate of soda and stirred well. SG was 1.030.. those monks are very industrious! I'll likely need to add more sugar by evening. It started with about 6.5 - 7% alcohol potential and is now at 4 - 4.5% potential.

Batch #1: Slowing down..one bubble per 4 - 5 seconds. temp is ok at 25C. Added a pinch of yeast energizer, stirred well, and recapped. SG is 1.020 so we are over the 10% barrier with about 4% potential alcohol left, and it hasn't stuck, strictly speaking. We'll see how it looks this evening, and if it looks as if it is too sluggish, I'll do something else (which has yet to be decided :)

So far, the prayerful meditations are yielding delicious fruit! I will be finishing up my evocation setup for distilling in the next 2 days, and I am hopeful that I will be able to perform the evocation at the end of that time.

Pax Vobiscum

Addendum: Batch #1 has reinvigorated a bit! Perhaps it took a bit of time for the new nutrients to become active, or perhaps the stirring helped the monks throw off their slumber. Either way, it is bubbling at one per 2 seconds now and steady.

Flurry: Note #2

Batch #1 is still producing gas at a good rate..an encouraging sign. If the SG is low enough in the morning, I will add some invert sugar syrup to bring it to a total alcohol potential of ~18%. Essentially that means I'll need to add enough invert syrup to raise the SG by .03, since we started at 1.100, and 1.130 is about 18%. I'll also add a pinch of nutrients and epsom salts along with.

Batch #2 is bubbling! This is happening much faster than the last batch. The conditions are obviously more favorable this time around, and the additional time allowed for in startup before pitching., as well as temperature shock being eliminated by the long wait for the starter to get going, and to cool down to 25C or so. I would bet that the monks like the lower sugar concentration much more, as well.

Batch #2 readings: Temp 27C. pH: 3.5, SG: 1.050 @ 27C which, as it turns out, means I have about 6.5% potential alcohol in there. Still a good prayerful level. The pH is very low, however I am not going to buffer it this time. I am concerned more about infections from bacteria in this run considering I am using baking yeast. I will check it in the morning, and keep it above 3.4 if necessary, by adding bicarbonate of soda in small portions.

We want to end up with a total potential SG of 1.105, which is 14%. So, we'll need to add invert syrup each time to increase the SG by a factor of about .028 or just under .030 This should be exactly equal to our 1.7kg x 2, however it always pays to watch the reading (Oh, St Thomas.. you would be proud!)

Now, gentle readers.. you are probably saying to yourself "MY HEAD HURTS". Yes yes.. I understand.. but the Lord's work is hard, and I am attempting to decipher this such that procedures and amounts can be given without all of the readings, tools and other bits. In other words, in future, you could just follow the numbers that I will sum up at the end of each run and need do (almost) no math at all! That, of course, means you will earn no indulgence from our illustrious St Thomas, but you will, at least, have communed with The Blessed Spirit, and I will be on your side.

Pax Vobiscum

Flurry: Note

Baking yeast is much less active when rehydrating than EC-1118. I am guessing the culture doesn't include any nutrients.

After sanctifying the culture for 15 minutes in 100F spring water (500ml), with very little noticeable activity, I added 100ml of solution from the fermenter, which is now being aerated. 5 minutes later, foam and cookie smell were evident.. the yeasty monks seem to be very grateful for their daily bread.

I added a second 100ml infusion and measured the temperature. 30C. In the fermenter, it is a balmy 27C. I'll let the monks have their bread for another 30 minutes, then pitch them into their cells, aerating overnight.

Measurement: 5.5% solids in the fermenter after stabilization. Right on, brothers.

Pax Vobiscum

A flurry of Blessed activity

Tonite, I am going to begin a second wash with a different intention. I am going to try two things:

(1) Do a lower sugar content wash, using ordinary baking yeast as the live culture
(2) Do a stepped addition

So, this means I will not bring the alcohol content over 14%, as baking yeast can only tolerate 12 - 14% alcohol. Given that they are more fragile, I am also going to do the sugar addition in 3 parts, to keep the concentration lower.

So lets do some math (St Thomas, hear me roar!):

to get a 14% sugar concentration in 20L of wash, you need 4.76kg of sugar. So I will use 4.5kg of white sugar and 450g of sweet molasses.

I will cut my DAP addition and increase my yeast hull inclusion.

So, the recipe will be as follows:

White Sugar - 4.5kg
Sweet Molasses - 450g
DAP - 15g
Yeast hulls -40g
MgSO4 - 6g
CaCl2 - 3g (added as a trace.. not really needed)
One A day vitamin, powdered - 1
water (well) - 20L

Live Yeast - Red Star baking yeast. Pitching 15g. Rehydrated by putting in 38C water, stirring, and letting rest for 15 minutes. Then adding a "starter" with a small amount of nutrients and sugars to the colony in small amounts, until the temperature of the yeast is at 25C or so. Letting rest for one hour, then pitching into the fermenter.

I am also going to do something recommended by many and Invert the sugars. This is simply adding acid to the sugar and boiling it for awhile. It breaks it down a bit, and it is said this makes a ferment come out cleaner.

Here is a process for it:

For 2 lbs of sugar (1 kg.), 1 pint of water (500 ml.), add 1/4 tsp. (1 g.) acid (or juice of 1/2 lemon). Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool.

There is a relationship between pH, temperature and time. At 100C, and a pH of 3.6 (6g acid/litre) you need to simmer for 15 minutes.

So, normal acidification to 3.6 and boiling for 15 minutes should take care of that. Then I can add the nutrients and boil for a few more minutes, and then add it to the fermenter, neutralizing to 4.5 with bicarbonate of soda.

My sugar additions will be as follows:

1) 1.7kg of sugar, 450g of molasses
2) after measuring that half or more of the sugars have been converted, 1.7kg of invert syrup will be added in small parts, stirring well
3) final 1.7kg of invert syrup will be added after another 24 hours, or when sugars are back to below 5%.

DAP and yeast energizer will be added in three portions. MgSO4 is added in one portion. 3g of CaCl2 is added in one portion. Yeast hulls are added in one portion. Additions of nutrients are done after the sugars are inverted, and while the starter is still on a low boil. CAUTION: Adding yeast energizer or yeast hulls to a boiling mixture will cause foam off. Add in small portions stirring until foam has subsided.

pH will be monitored to ensure it is between 3.2 and 4.8 (preferably below 4.0)at all times, once the ferment has begun. Temperature will be checked each time and heat applied or removed as needed.

The wash water + sugars will be aerated overnight after the yeast has been pitched.

So.. lets get to it, shall we?

Pax Vobiscum

Quickie

Temp - 28C+

SG - 1.042 = 7.5% alcohol, so added a baggie of holy water disgused in solid form as ice

pH - 3.46. I am certainly gratified I added that bicarbonate of soda back when this all started! Though, it is said you should use calcium carbonate (aka, limestone) instead. I'll try that sometime, in a future invocation.

Lets hope we get over the 10% hump.

If I add no sugar, this should go to about 16%. I may add some once it is at 14% or so just to see if it keeps it going to the tolerance level of 18%.

And, it smells like beer. Not a good beer.. but beer, nonetheless.

It appears The Great Work continues.

Signs and portents

24+ hours after the wash "kicked in":

Temp - 28C
SG - 1.052

With a starting SG of 1.102, that means I have 6.5% alcohol in there, in one day and a bit :)

The spirits, they do seem to be shining down upon me! But, the temperature is a bit too high.. as the spirits express themselves, they become more and more dangerous to the monks doing their work as a function of temperature. So, I turned off the heater.

Some people whom ferment large amounts actually use counter current chillers in their ferments to make certain the temp is regulated well. I don't need to do that with a 6 gallon pail, though. At worst I can toss in a bottle that has frozen water inside it :)

Pax Vobiscum.

Time, Temp, Bubbles

As of this time, 12 hours into the ferment, the airlock is venting twice a second and the wash temperature is a balmy 27C. I will measure the density in the morning. The little back warmer heating pad is on "low", and the ambient temperature is 18C.

Very encouraging signs!! I do believe the monks are well at their prayers.

Mind you, I did overdo the yeast a bit... but rehydrating monks isn't a bother.

To recap: 2 packets rehydrated in blood warm water (40C) then put in a 6 gallon wash, acidified with lactic acid to 4.5, aerated overnight with no activity noticed in the morning. Then checked pH again..3.5!!..had overshot. basified to pH 4.5 with bicarbonate of soda (two teaspoons, added by halves), and diluted to SG 1.100 by removing some of the wash and replacing it with pure water to constant volume, then added 1 packet directly to the wash sprinkled lightly over the top, and aerated again for 2 hours. Stirring was applied at each step except after the final yeast addition.

My thought is that perhaps the monks had, in fact, been slowly at work but the acidity of the wash meant that the CO2 was being entrained and slowed them down considerably. I did notice quite a bit of fizzing when I stirred the wash in the morning before I rechecked the pH, and yet no production gases. Once neutralized, the wash gave up another load of gases and then a bit later, it started bubbling away just as it should.

Here's my fingers crossed, and a genuflection at the altar for a good outcome.

Pax Vobiscum.

The excitement mounts

I won't normally post this much about an ongoing ferment, but since ths is the first, I will be overly judicious in my commentary.

In other words, I am going to be annoying :)

===================

The fermenter is going along very well now, more than 4 hours since the repair. It is belching about once every few seconds, expelling many bubbles. I do believe the monks are happy in their work.

One of my cats was closely watching the airlock, probably thinking it might move at any moment, thus giving him a target. Alas, he has bee thwarted by reality, and a tin of soft food.

To answer some questions before they are asked

I realized, during my morning meditation, that perhaps I have been too quick and fast with my descriptions, and I have not revealed any mysteries regarding ingredients, methods and sources.

Well, wait no longer, my children. I will endeavor to repeat some of the advice I have garnered from the community of spiritual extraction, those brothers and sisters who make it their avocation to learn the mysteries of the spirit world. I will give few references to sites or sources specifically,, those with a quick eye will ind out quickly where I have studied the illustrated manuscripts on this most holy of topics. But I will leave it to you, the lay person, to discover and lay in awe at the knowledge in the world regarding this beautiful avocation.

In other words, you have to do a LITTLE work.

A Sugar Wash

Why a sugar wash for the first trial? It is because I have yet to break in my still, the blessed device which will allow me to commune with the spirit world. You see, the first run through a still cannot be drunk!

Yea, verily. It cannot!

Why? The spirits needs to prime the still for prayer. Metals and chuff inside the still need to be tempered, and during the first run, these things come off into the liquor produced to make in UnHoly. The spirits need to come into contact and make holy the still, so that on subsequent runs, the spirit runs true, sound, and drinkable.

Secondly, it is because a sugar wash is both harder and easier than other washes (though not as hard as a true mash). It is easier and cheaper to experiment with white sugar than with other things. It is harder as you need to add nutrients to get the intercessor yeast to do its job.

So what shall I do with the initial, unholy spirits? Well, I shall distill them to absolute purity, and store them in glass bottles. I shall use them to clean the equipment and other things. Even unblessed, powerful spirits are an excellent solvent.

Now, on to the ingredients...

Ingredients

Sugar

This is ordinary, white sugar. This is the chief nutrient and will be converted to spirits, and its unholy brother, CO2, which shall be vented to the air and dispersed to the four winds. There are rum recipes that use other types of sugar, however in this one, it is the kind you can obtain at your local grocery.

Molasses

This is also a sugar source, however it is provided in this recipe for the vitamins and acids it contains, to provide trace nutrients and B group vitamins to the intercessors so that they may be more joyful, and have more vigor in their task

DAP

Di Ammonium Phosphate. A favorite of monks everywhere, this is an additional source of assimilable nitrogen and phosphorus and is very important for a sugar wash, as it is nutrient poor. Many advise that in any wash, you should add DAP. A substitute is Ammonium sulfate, but mainly in rum recipes where there is a surfeit of molasses to provide phosphorus.. Ammonium sulfate is a fertilizer, and a taxidermy supply. It is commonly called 20-0-0 in dry form. I will try an invocation using this substance in a sugar wash in future, to see how it performs during the long meditation.

Yeast Energizer

A commercial fermenting aid, it contains primarily more DAP, some yeast hulls, and a few vitamins and nutrients that the yeast like. Not necessary in this recipe (most likely), but it is added here, in the first wash, as a safety measure.

Yeast Hulls

This is ordinary baking yeast, which has been added to the boiling nutrient brew to render it inactive. The canonized intercessors supply additional nutrients, and it is possible to replace most of the products here with just this supply, used in a large enough quantity. It can be purchased in bulk at a cheap price. Get 3 lbs at least, 5 lbs if your prayer is more intensive.

MgSO4

Epsom Salts! The intercessors need lots of magnesium for their prayers, but not too much. These are supplied to help the intercessors build good, strong robes and to allow them to tolerate the harsh conditions of their prayer.

One A Day Vitamin

Some use women's, some say either works fine. I used an organic, one a day vitamin and crushed it to a fine powder before adding it to the swirling, boiling nutrient brew and stirred well. This provides trace nutrients to the intercessors and amino acids. Make sure they have folic and pantothenic acid in them.

Water

Ah water.. the crucial solvent in which the intercessors shall do their work. I used well water, from an actual well. It is very important that you use water that does not have any chlorine or chloramine in it! Rain water can be used as well. If you do wish to use water from the tap, make sure you research a bit on using activated carbon to remove these impurities.

The Yeast

I am using Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast for my sugar wash. It has been recommended by many, and is far less expensive than using a turbo yeast, even given the cost of my added nutrients. This yeast is actually designed to be added to an alcoholic must to impart additional alcohol and carbonation to the mix, so it is very resilient to alcohol. This also means that it, when used to ferment a wash solely, will probably produce flavors that are unpleasant, and so should only be used to produce high proof, well distilled spirits. This sword is too sharp for subtle work!

Equipment

Here, I shall deal with a few things which I may have given short shrift.. I pray you will forgive an old, formerly dead monk!

Aeration Equipment

The aquarium shoppe provides! This equipment is not a must, but it certainly helps get the yeasties happy in their intercessory chores. You will need 1 air stone (Glass or wood ONLY) for each fermenter, perhaps more if you have a large fermenter. You will need the tubing, and you will need an air pump. If you use a wooden air stone, make sure you boil it for 15 minutes afterwards to keep the demons at bay and resanctify it.

This is used during the first fragile hours, to help th intercessors reproduce their multitude. They need oxygen to reproduce well and bud, and we want a healthy colony so that when we shut them into their meditations, they will begin in earnest, and not be too lonely!

Mortar and pestle

Crucial for any monk, and looks good on a mantle, the mortar and pestle are used to crush dry ingredients in small amounts to add to the brew. If you've recently used it to pulverize pepper, make sure you clean it out first!

Heating pad(s)

Small heating pads, normally used to ease pain in the lower back, seem excellent to use for smaller fermenters, to keep them in their optimal temperature range of 25 - 30C. Don't place the fermenter on top of the pad.. attach the pad to one side of the fermenter.

Another option is using an aquarium immersion heater, but you must be sure to immerse it only up to the top of the glass, taking care not to allow the cord to touch the liquid.

Personally, I would rather heat the wash from outside, as it would probably be a more even heat, and will avoid the possibility of contamination.

Airlocks

There are many of these, but I am using the S shaped kind, which is filled with water and place into the lid of the font, through a flexible grommet to make an airtight seal. It is designed to let out the intercessors CO2 breath, and to prevent them from being disturbed by outside influences during their meditations.

=============================

There you have it! Please feel free to send an emissary with your queries and I will be happy to correspond with you privately about the details of this holy work.

Pax Vobiscum.

The morning after

Brothers and sisters, what has the night wrought?

NADA.

But, the Lllllllord works in mysterious ways....

I diluted the wash down to below 1.100 SG, and realized the pH was too low.. neutralized it a bit with bicarbonate of soda, down to around 4.5.

I also put the electric heater setting to "medium" since the temp was below 25C in the fermenter.

5 minutes later.. BUBBLES.

Lots of bubbles

I was concerned that it might just be latent air coming out so I rehydrated another packet of EC-1118 and put it in.

Plenty of bubbles.

I am going to let it bubble for a few hours before I cap it off.. I don't know how much the yeast worked over the night with the kind of stress on it that it had, but 3 hours from now, I'm going to cap it off.. and we'll be off and running.

And, appropriately, the US will have a new President, which will happen during my first wash.

Appropriate.

Pax Vobiscum.

The first blessing, a sugar wash

Let us pray.. "Oh Holy Father, bless our carbohydrates and nutrients, that they may yield a great bounty of mind altering substances, so that we may worship in your name, forever and ever. Amen."



That out of the way, here is my first wash experiment! I am using a blessed 8 gallon (30L) fermenting bucket lined with a food grade poly bag for this first prayer of thanks. Let us hope that we do not end up with sour wine in our cups!

By the way.. if you use tap water for this.. let it rest for a few hours with agitation (go to an aquarium store and get an air pump and a glass or wood airstone). If you are unfortunate enough to have chloramine instead of chlorine in your water (as are most folks in the U S of A) then you need to run it through activated carbon in a serious way to get rid of it. I don't know that I would trust the chemicals they give for fish tanks. You need to get it out of there or it could kill your yeast.

So, lets commence with thee recipeee...

This is ingredients per fermenter, or about 6kg of sugar per 25L of water

Sugar - 6kg
Molasses - 550g
DAP - 38g
Yeast Energizer - 10g
Yeast hulls (bakers yeast) - 6g
MgSO4 - 6g
One A Day vitamin, crushed to a powder - 1
water - 25L

Yeast - 2 packets of EC-1118 ( you can use 1/4 cup baker's yeast here if you like, but cut back on the sugar by 1 kg)

DAP is Di Ammonium Phosphate, and is available online. If you dont want to use this, then substitute in a bunch more baker's yeast (like, 50g or more) that you boil in the starting brew.

MgSO4 is epsom salt.

Yeast energizer is a commercial product you can get from a brew shop. Again, you dont -need- this. Add an extra one a day vitamin if you don't use it and more baker's yeast.

EC-1118 is a champagne yeast that tolerates up to 18% alcohol. You can use live baking yeast as well, but it will only go to 12% alcohol, so you'll want to drop the sugar content of this recipe by 6/18 of each ingredient. Use your hydrometer to figure out how much sugar you have in your mix.

Water - Basement well (ice cold and clear.. some sediment)

Add all ingredients except the live yeast, and add only 1kg of sugar to 4L of water. Boil for 15 minutes. Stir it up really well.

While this is boiling, add the remaining sugar to the remaining water, in the fermenter, and stir it up very very well. Make sure it is all dissolved in there. If you have a hydrometer, take a reading. If it is over 1.090 or so, thats a bit high. When you add the contents of your pot it will go over 1.100 so you'll want to dilute it a bit. At the end, have it at 1.090 (regardless of the above, good advice.. I commenced at 1.110 just to give it a try and see what would happen. I can always dilute it down if it hates me)

Let your 4L of brew cool to 25 - 30C. Rehydrate your yeast per manufacturers instructions (50ml per packet/5g of yeast at temp 40C for 15 minutes)

Add your nutrient and sugar/molasses brew to the main fermenter. Check pH. Adjust to 4.5 or so using whatever acid you have at hand, but NOT VINEGAR. Use lemon juice if you don't have a brew shop nearby.. brewer's like using lactic acid. Let rest. Stir it again. Stir it some more. If you don't have a pH meter, skip this.

Stir up the now puffy yeast ball in your water glass so it suspends in the water, and then toss it into your fermenter.

Every hour, for 3 hours, agitate the mix well until your arm is tired. :) Or, use the above aquarium pump and stir once every 3 hours. If you want to do this overnight, just give it a good stir in the morning.

After 9 hours have passed, cap and airlock the mixture and let ferment. Check each day with hydrometer and record measurements, including pH.

=======================

As I said above, I got a little overzealous with the sugars and it came out a bit high. We'll see what effect that has on the wash.. I expect to have trouble because of it, but that is all a part of the learning process!

I also placed an electric heating pad on the fermenter on low, as its temperature was a bit chilly. I have read that this yeast likes slightly higher temperatures, so I'll try leaving it on overnight and see what happens.

Pax Vobiscum.

Tools for the invocation

"And there they go!"

You're probably wondering what it, in fact, takes in the way of equipment to make spirits, wines, beers and such. Well, the answer is "not much".

Of course, as in all things, the better the tools, the better the result.

To start with, you have to decide what sort of spirit you're going to begin with! And you have to decide what sort of still you're going to use to distill out that precious spirit. And all the tools of the trade that go along with the invocation of spirits.

Distilling

There are any number of excellent treatises out there on distiling spirits.. I'd suggest you go out and find them to get a better idea of how this all works. To sum up: Spirits boil at a lower temperature than water and other liquids, so if you carefully heat a mixture of water and alcohol, then condense the vapor, it comes out of your still at a higher percentage of alcohol than you started with. Typically, a wash (a wash is a ferment made using SUGAR of any kind, a mash is using STARCH, which is turned into sugars, and fermented) finishest at 6% - 20% alcohol, depending on your preference and skill, the yeast you choose, and so on.  Once distilled, obviously the percentage can go much higher.

Stills

There are many kinds of stills, but the old timers use a Pot Still, which is basically a pot with a copper out arm (the Lyne arm), connected to a worm (a coiled copper tube in cold water) out of which condenses your spirt. The Lyne arm usually has a short upwards rising part (from the still) and then a downwards part (towards the worm). A Pot still can get something like 80 proof liquor, assuming you cut off the stream at the right time.

Pot stills can also run REALLY fast compared to other types, and so they are also used by the more sophisicated saints as "strippers". You do a "stripping run" on the wash, getting everything out, making no cuts until the liquor coming out is at something like 20% alcohol, and your total alcohol content should be around 40%. Don't drink the stripped wash..it will taste like fuel since you didn't make any "cuts" while distilling.

Then there are fractionating stills, that are more sophisicated and do more and different things.. and there are VM/CM etc reflux stills that do even more. Look around on the magical InterWeb for more information about stills then you can imagine.

As for me, I am starting with a small VM Fractionating reflux still, but I am going to pray for, and build, a pot still in future, so I can do fast stripping runs.

YES you need copper in the path. It's good enough to have it in the still head. Better is the entire still made from it.

NO don't have any plastic in the path, regardless of how many people say "it works for me". NO don't use a plastic tube of any kind (except maybe PTFE) to guide your condensed spirits to a collection vessel.

Thermometers

Do I really have to go into this? Well, alcohol (red) thermometers are probably all you have access to. They work just fine for measuring various temperatures. Get a long one (over a foot) for measuring temperatures. Get three, they're cheap.

Fish tank thermometers that you stick on the side of things are handy to have on your fermenting bucket/jar/whatever since you don't have to open the thing to see what temperature it is at

Mercury thermometers are the best (aside from those infernal digital thermocouple types you can get for pennies at your local home store) as they react quickly at all ranges. Alcohol thermometers tend to be sluggish, especially at colder temperatures. If you get a mercury thermometer, don't chew on it or break it into your wash, and you'll be fine.

pH testing

Litmus paper is great for this, and will give you a rough idea of the acidity of your mixtures. If you are a bit more interested in accuracy, get an inexpensive digital model and a few bottles of buffer (you put the thing in the 7.0 buffer and adjust it to 7.0.. 4.0 to adjust to 4.0. Store a digital pH meter in a mildly acidic solution, or your 4.0 buffer).

Scale

a +/- 1g, kg capacity or so capacity digital kitchen scale works well for this. They are inexpensive and easy to use.

Spoon

Get a big stainless spoon. a 2 footer.

Fermenters

5 gallon buckets will work, but you really want food grade materials. Brew shops will have these, in 6 gallon+ sizes. Or, you can get food grade poly bags (NOT trash bags) and line anything you like with them. Obviously, stainless is best. In fact, if you only want to do one batch at a time, you could fit out a big stainless kettle or beer keg and use it as both a fermenter and a boiler for the still (though, you will get some flavor problems with this, since you're leaving the solids in the mix. It's a personal thing, and a taste profile issue) If you use stainless, wrap a blanket around it if you are in temperatures colder than 20C (7oF) or so.

You can get very creative with fermenters.. just remember the fermenting spirits will get angry if you put them in steel, non food grade plastic, or even wood (wood will hold the sugars and flavors, as opposed to aging finished spirits.. in which case wood is a GOOD thing. You could do it like the old monks, and run the wash in a beeswax lined wooden barrel...this is one area where progress is a good thing) One way is to reuse large containers used for vegetable oils.. ask around restaurants and they may have them. They won't hold 5 gallons, but 2 or three per, for the price of free, and I wouldn't complain.

Top of the line for washes is 20L+ glass carboys. They are a pain to clean though. I am using brew buckets lined with food grade poly bags (so flavors dont linger in the plastic). I am getting these bags for $0.06US each.

Funnels

Get some. Some big some small. Some fat some tall. Get a copper one if you can.

Air Locks

Some swear by em, others could care less about em. Basically, this is a water filled thingie that keeps air out of the fermenter when it is jumping. Some folks say its not necessary for a fast ferment since you are generating so much positive pressure. Air locks are very cheap, and all you have to do is drill a hole in your lid and put a rubber grommet in it, so you decide if you'd like to use one. I am going to use one unless it is somehow a pain in the blessed rear.

Hydrometer

Very important.. measures the density of liquids. Get TWO kinds.

#1 for low alcohol concentrations.. 0 - 20% or so

#2 for high alcohol concentrations. Sometimes called an alcoholometer.

You float one of these #1 babies in your wash and it tells you how dense it is. This tells you how much sugar is in there, and how the ferment is going . The density will go down as sugar is converted to CO2 and alcohol.

You float your alcoholometer in your distillate from time to time as you collect it to see what its alcohol content is. You can also use it for blending.

Glass Jars

To collect your distillate and for storing ingredients. Use pyrex to collect, or put your mason jar inside a Stainless steel pot in case it breaks.

Summary

Believe it or not, thats about it!

Now in reality, you can invoke spirits with a simple pot still made from copper pipe and a stainless steel pot, working solely on top of your stove. Just remember that the spirits ignite in the presence of naked flame, so make sure you collect well away from the pot, and you have a fan GENTLY blowing away the fumes (AWAY from the flame). You don't really need the hydrometers if you have a stock recipet. You dont really need thermometers, as you can make distilling cuts based on taste.

But, I would say that getting thermometers and hydrometers will save you a lot of trouble as you learn how to speak to the spirits. They are like translators, and nowadays many recipes say things like "bring the sugars to 1.090" instead of giving exact quantities. This is because water in different areas will have different properties.

pH is important too, and you can get away with only using litmus paper (lots of people actually just go by taste), but you'll have a better invocation with a pH meter.

It has been a long time

Oh, the years that we trod down.. we watch from outside, wondering "what in the *hell* have they been doing?"

Hello all. I'm Brother Vincent, Patron saint of Vino (aka "Wine"). These days, there are so many wineries, I don't think they need me anymore (especially those wierdos in napa), so I've decided to take up the other side of the aisle. SPIRITS.

Oh, the abuse piled upon "The Demon Drink"! I take offense to this, knowing that this spirit brings us truly closer in brotherhood, especially during a hotly contested sports game! Yea, verily, the spirit truly allows us to be brothers in arms...

Wow. Has it really been that long? Ok I'll dispense with the faux "old timey" talk and get right to brass tacks: This portal is about the making of DISTILLED alcoholic beverages. It is in particular about my entry into that wild world, using nothing but my wits, a few bits of gold, a stove, and the InterWebs. The vatican won't give me any shekels to do this (cheapskates) so I seem to be on my own.

But THAT is the adventure!!!

Following, there will be accounts of various experiements, trials, successes, failures, and all around fun as I navigate my way through the world of spirits. There is so much out there waiting to be discovered... will you join me?

...if not, piss off. I'm doing it anyway!

 :-P