Still'n The Clear

Another brief history in the realm of moonshine. This week I talk about the origins of NASCAR and how they tie directly to moonshine and specifically bootleggers.
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The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
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Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com

Understanding diastatic power is an important step to understanding the all grain mash and creating your own all grain mash recipes. In this episode, I go over what diastatic power is, how it's measured and How this knowledge benefits us as home distillers. Remember to check out the links below for other great stuff.
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The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
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In this episode, I walk you through the super simple intermediate-level corn mash recipe that uses powdered amylase to convert starches in the corn into fermentable sugars. This is the natural next step in the home-distillation journey from sugar wash recipes to true mash recipes.
Alpha-Amylase amzn.to/3yPSEE5 (https://amzn.to/3yPSEE5)
Glucoamylase amzn.to/3keQqKn (https://amzn.to/3keQqKn)
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The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
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Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com

This episode begins a series of episodes dedicated to the mashing process and the conversion of starches into 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.
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Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com
Check out our stilln-the-clear.captivate.fm/youtube (YouTube Channel )

In this video, I talk about 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)
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The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
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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)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com

Let's talk about invert sugar or inverted sugar. What is it? Why does it help fermentation? And, How to make it?
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The totally AWESOME stillntheclear.com/product/stilln-the-clear-vintage-cotton-twill-cap/ (STill'n The Clear vintage cap)
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Join our MeWe group mewe.com/join/moonshineforbeginners (Moonshine For Beginners)
Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com

Today I change things up a bit and talk a little moonshine history. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1793 is one of the great American moonshine stories from a time in our past when people stood up for what they believed in.
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Email Cyrus at stillntheclear@gmail.com

Learning to make cuts and blending the final product when making your own moonshine can seem tricky to the beginner, but in this episode of Still'n The Clear, I lay it all out with a simple straightforward method to take out all the mystery.
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This Episode is a beginner's primer for how and why we use specific gravity in home distillation.
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.
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The next step after learning all the critical parts of making your own moonshine at home is to start improving your process.
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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Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
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This week Tom Kat joins us to discuss his keg to still conversion build. How he did it, what he learned, and what he might have done differently.
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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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)

Jayson and I talk a little about the Mile Hi Distilling origin story, what he does at Mile Hi, and we highlight the still that I believe is one of there best products for the beginning moonshiner.
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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This is a great interview with Brandon Rose, an experienced home-distiller. I searched out the most commonly asked questions about fermentation on Google and Brandon gives us his experience on each.
Brandon is one of the very helpful experienced members of our MeWe group Moonshine For Beginners. So, come join us and say hi.
Subscribe to stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash), a FREE bi-weekly newsletter with all kinds of awesome moonshine related stuff.
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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)
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...

Walking you through the mashing process for the
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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Let's go over the basic equipment needed to start your journey in home distilling.
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)
Buy your supplies at Amazon and support Still'n The Clear at the same time. Find out how stillntheclear.com/distilling-products-on-amazon/ (here).
Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter stillntheclear.com/newsletter/ (The Mash).
Help promote Still'n The Clear. Copy this link and share it on social media. This will show the latest episode in your post.
player.captivate.fm/show/9fd26c44-b443-4280-bd37-1c72f7e96e06/latest/

In episode one, I talk about what I plan for the podcast to be. I also talk about what exactly moonshine is and a little bit about some moonshine mythology. Also included is the very basics of moonshine.
This week's Shiner Speak: What's the difference between mash and wash.
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And so, I begin the journey of sharing my passion for home-distilling. Join me as I talk about all things DIY Distillation. Every week I'll publish a new episode about some part of home distilling. Making your own moonshine is fun and satisfying. So, subscribe to this podcast and look forward to tutorial episodes, interviews, recipes, and product reviews.
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