finally getting to the potcheen

[scotty]

this is the 8 gallon boiler. i'm showing this photo because it is not a copper rig. there is a1 foot section(prox 300 mm i think) that i added to the pot tower. the added section is filled with copper mesh. copper is necessary in distilling because it reduces the amount of sulfur carried to the finished product




this next picture shows the 6 gallon( prox 23 liters) jug into which i will run the first run from all 3 6 gallon( prox 23 liters) washes. The dual thermometers are remote reading types. the one attached to the base of the tower warns me when the boiler is coming upto producing temperature.. the one at the top of the tower is my guide telling me whether i'm producing FORESHOTS, HEADS, HEARST OR TAILS.
thisbatch will be distilled 3 times as irish moonshine is usually distilled.





ill start the first run tomorrow and possibly add more photos

[scotty]

the first run was a disaster-- I posted an account on a distillers website if anyone cares to read about it.

http://www.brewhausforum.com/showthread.php?t=1950

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

That's a pity, it's taken you a long time to get this far ... hopefully it will be worth it in the end

[scotty]

That's a pity, it's taken you a long time to get this far ... hopefully it will be worth it in the end

Well Adrian the second run was perfect but the third batch was also a failure- one of my thermometers mal functioned and the heat went way too high before i accidently found it.

Any hooo- i will just dump all the distilate pluse some feints from other runs((pure alcohol) Then i have 2 pints of infused vodka and a little bit of wash un distilled. I will run this later today after physical therapy. Who knows maybe real irish moonshine was made by dumping lots of ods and ends into the still.

The real positive point is that i still have 50 pounds (22.68) kilos of malted barly for my attempt at irish style whiskey.

I WILL BE EXTRA CAREFULL WITH THAT JOB.

[scotty]

Im running tfor the last time. Since my potcheen was not successfull then ill just treat this batch as some sort of whiskey. Iendedup with about 1.75 gallons and i havent checked the alcohol level or diluted it to 80 proof yet((6615 ml. Ill be more accurate after i test the proof and dilute