As someone who enjoys a good drink from time to time, I’ve always been curious about the term “proof” when it comes to measuring the alcohol content of various spirits. What does it mean? Why is it used instead of a straightforward percentage? In this blog post, we’ll take a deep dive into the history{…}
As a beginner home distiller, you might have come across the term low wines. It’s one of those terms advanced home distillers often throw around and skimp over, making it difficult for newbies to grasp some basics of the craft. Low wines are the result of the first distillation. They are produced from a fermented{…}
If you’re anything like me, the further you get into the distilling hobby, the more you whish you had a degree in chemical engineering.. When people start talking ‘Azeotropes’, ‘temperature gradients’, and ‘equilibirum points’.. its clear that temperature plays a crucial role in the distilling process – but what does this all mean!? In this{…}
Double pitching and co-pitching are two different techniques to alter the fermentation process of your beer, wine, or spirit wash. Double pitching involves adding more of the same yeast, while co-pitching is where two different yeast are mixed together to get a particular flavor, aroma, or fermentation characteristic. Both are somewhat controversial topics in the{…}
Flooding is frustration – throwing your still out of equilibrium and often ruining your product.. But, the good news is that you can fix it mid-distillation or prevent it from happening in the future. Flooding still is often a result of a higher than normal reflux rate. It could also mean there’s a high feed{…}
As a new distiller, one of the most dampening feelings is winding up with a puking still. Even more so, when you’ve excitedly set up your still and have it running and had it run for the whole run. So, what exactly caused it to boil over? A few common causes of a still boilover are increased heat,{…}
If you’ve experienced a puking still and are looking for a surefire way to prevent it, you’ve come to the right place. There are a lot of anti-foaming agents on the market, but we’ve included the ones we’ve found to effectively work best for extra starchy washes like all grain, potato, and molasses-based. They include both commercial{…}
Backset, as with other terms experienced home distillers throw around, can be a confusing concept for new distillers. But, it’s quite straightforward. Backset distilling is the process of adding liquid leftover (backset) from the previous distillation to a fresh wash. The liquid is acidic, so it lowers the pH of your wash. Bacteria thrive in{…}
Distilling with a alembic or column still is awesome, but you need a lot of expensive equipment, and it’s unfortunately still illegal in many parts of the world. So what can you do instead? Freeze distillation is the process of lowering the temperature of your liquor until the water component freezes but the alcohol stays{…}
Filtering of homemade spirits is about as polarising as politics. Some are adamant you have to, and others will tell you ‘it’s all a hoax‘. Even commercial spirits will advertise that they are “triple filtered” to bolster rapport. So should you filter alcohol? Is it an essential step to producing a smooth drink or does{…}
