Still'n The Clear
By Cyrus Mason
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Still'n The ClearJul 12, 2021
What equipment do I need to make moonshine
In this episode, I discuss the equipment and tools you will need to get started in home distilling.
Understanding yeast for better ferments
In this episode, I go over the 3 variables that are important to watch in order to maintain a health environment for your yeast.
I also announce the creation of a unique online learning platform for home distillers called Moonshiners Academy. If you're interested in helping us choose the direction of the academy and would like to give your input on what kind of courses you would like to see us create just click Moonshiners Academy to be included in our survey.
Interview with Wayne Ferriera
Today I'm talking with my buddy Wayne Ferriera. Wayne is an admin in the 'Moonshine For Beginners' group on MeWe and is also owner of our sister group 'Moonshine: Intermediate to Advanced'. Wayne is champion of the moonshiner community. He is always willing to share his knowledge and experience with others wanting to learn.
Buy a raffle ticket to win a new copper still from CopperStillCo
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Top 4 tips if you want to become a moonshiner
I've helped a lot of folks become moonshiners and I've noticed a few simple things that will really help you get that first batch of shine made.
Top Vevor Still https://amzn.to/3O8uw7T
Come join our Moonshine For Beginners Space on Volley
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"The Beginners Guide to Making Moonshine Start to finish" eBook
The Super Simple Beginners Recipe Kit https://stillntheclear.com/super-simple-beginner-recipe-kit/
Check out the Still'n The Clear website https://stillntheclear.com/
The MYTH About Methanol
Can you go blind from moonshine? Will the methanol in moonshine kill you? Can you remove methanol from moonshine? Let's talk about the truth. Inthis episode, I am going to leave out the superstitions around methanol.
How PPG helps you build recipes
In this episode, I go over PPG or Points per Pound per Gallon, what is it, why it's useful, and how to use it.
Check out the Typical PPG Chart
Check out our brand new Volley space Moonshine For Beginner's
Join our Moonshine For Beginners group on MeWe
Women Of Moonshine History
For Women's history month, I thought we would do an episode about the women outlaws of moonshines history. Women bootleggers were a much more common thing than most people realize and I found many legends around the female moonshiner. SIt back and listen. I think you'll find it interesting.
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The Easy All-Grain Beginner Mash Recipe
The Easy Beginners All-Grain Mash recipe is a base-level recipe designed to help the beginner take the step from sugar mash to All grain Mash. There are so many things to learn in home distilling that it’s best to take small steps. This is my attempt to help new moonshiners take a small step. Let me know what you think.
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The Bootlegger Origins of NASCAR
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How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
Understanding Diastatic Power and Degree Linter
How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Check out our stilln-the-clear.captivate.fm/youtube (YouTube Channel)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
A Simple Intermediate Corn Mash Recipe
Alpha-Amylase amzn.to/3yPSEE5 (https://amzn.to/3yPSEE5)
Glucoamylase amzn.to/3keQqKn (https://amzn.to/3keQqKn)
How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Check out our stilln-the-clear.captivate.fm/youtube (YouTube Channel)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
Why Do We Mash Grains
How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
Check out our stilln-the-clear.captivate.fm/youtube (YouTube Channel )
The Proofing Parrot
What does a proofing parrot do?
What are the pros and cons of using a proofing parrot?
When to use a proofing parrot?
How to make a proofing parrot?
Where to buy a proofing parrot?
Watch my YouTube tutorial on youtu.be/n8PZhiXEgTU (how to make a copper-proofing parrot.)
Watch the www.youtube.com/watch?v=E75rEcijWjQandt=637s (food coloring smearing experiment.)
Check out this great copper parrot kit on amzn.to/3d6VKLx (Amazon)
How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
How To Make Invert Sugar
How to stillntheclear.com/support/ (support the Podcast)
The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
Leave us a review at www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stilln-the-clear-1805506 (Podchaser.com) It will help us grow the podcast.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
The American Whiskey Rebellion
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Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
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Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
Making Cuts and Blending Moonshine
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Specific gravity for home distilling
The saccharometer is one of the best tools for the home distiller and it may seem complicated at first glance, but it is easy to use and extremely helpful for troubleshooting problems and making sure things are going smoothly during the fermentation process.
Here is a very affordable amzn.to/3eLbrcF (saccharometer) I recommend.
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Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine-related stuff.
Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Ph adjustment
One very simple and effective thing to do is adjust the ph level of your mash to make it most favorable for the yeast.
In this episode, I tell you the simplest method I've learned to do this.
I also make a recommendation for an affordable Ph meter you can get on Amazon for around
$20. Here's the link. amzn.to/2PoVNtC (https://amzn.to/2PoVNtC)
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Making a Keg Still w/Tom Kat
Making a still from a keg is a great option. Keg stills are like the tanks of the still world. They're durable and dependable.
We also wrote a step-by-step blog post with pictures. stillntheclear.com/2021/04/20/how-to-build-a-keg-still/ (Check it out here.)
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Interview w/Jayson Barker From Mile Hi Distilling
Check it out here:
milehidistilling.com/product/8-gallon-with-copper-2-inch-diameter-dual-purpose-pro/ (8 Gallon w/ copper 2" diameter duel purpose pro).
Also you can get their milehidistilling.com/ (FREE Distilling 101 Ebook)
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Moonshine Fermentation w/ Brandon Rose
Brandon is one of the very helpful experienced members of our MeWe group Moonshine For Beginners. So, come join us and say hi.
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Basics: How To Run A Pot Still
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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 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 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...
Super Simple Beginner Mash Recipe
offgridmaker.com/moonshine-resources/how-to-make-the-smoothest-mash-recipe-for-moonshine/ (Super Simple Beginner recipe from Offgridmaker.com)
Here we walk through a 10-gal batch size but in the article at offgridmaker.com, there's a chart that gives you the measurements for batch sizes from 5 gallons up to 30 gallons. Follow along with the episode this week and by next week be ready to start making shine.
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Basic equipment needed for home distillation
There are all kinds of cool gadgets, gear, and toys that you'll want as you get going, but you really only need a couple of items to start making your own moonshine at home.
This week's Shiner Speak:
Hydrometer
amzn.to/2NUqNB3 (Fermenters) on Amazon.
amzn.to/3kKZ5Cq (Beginner Stills) on Amazon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRscYMsMmlc (How I made a 25-gal still for under $300)
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player.captivate.fm/show/9fd26c44-b443-4280-bd37-1c72f7e96e06/latest/
Show concept & Distilling Basics
This week's Shiner Speak: What's the difference between mash and wash.
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Trailer: Still'n The Clear
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