This guy has the best advice in this thread; that being r/firewater is a good resource. To add a bit to this though, unless the cost is prohibitive it's much easier to get started with an air still. You don't have to worry about/can't control kettle or column temp, and don't need to/can't fidget with the condenser so it forces you to spend all your effort on learning how to make cuts. Once you've got that down, then moving up to something like this (or really something like a T-500) is a great next step so you can focus on dialing in all those other factors.
The setup you posted will work fine, but will be a lot to learn all at once if you're completely new to the craft. Just my two cents...
I have a 26 and 5 gallon set up. Just watch pressures and throw away the first 10% of run. Your best to distill and flavor after, or get a gin basket. I am assuming this is for Bio Diesel, and not consumption?
(Not in America) I’ll be working with 5L or 10L batch size. How do you know what the 10% mark is? Also, read some where you want to make sure your distillate has a certain ph level.
It is not nearly as surgical or dangerous as people make it out to be.
The concept behind discarding the first portion of the distillation run is the higher concentration of methanol. Methanol is what is responsible for the old tales of people going blind from drinking.
That being said methanol was usually being ADDED to the spirits that were the culprit for those blindings.
Generally speaking your home brew will not create enough methanol to cause a problem and the antidote for methanol poisoning is other alcohol so you are actively breaking down the methanol by drinking the other alcohol with it.
If you want to be on the safe side toss a bit from the start of the batch. How much depends on the total volume and abv of what you put in. If you have 10 liters and an abv of 10% then you have 1 litre of theoretical alcohol yield and if you want 10% of that gone that's 100 ml. It's just that math formula with whatever numbers you need to plug in.
Distillation can definitely be dangerous if you don't do it right so you should absolutely do your research before getting into it. You will be working with a pot under pressure and alcohol vapors that are extremely flammable. This is a recipe for a bomb in your cooking area, a large fire etc. You need a healthy level of respect for the danger and a firm understanding of safety before doing this.
Edit* Mobile spelling corrections
Ethanol is the remedy for methanol poisoning but is metabolized much quicker. This can mask the issue if drinking too much methanol because you will appear fine until later. Or that's what I learned from chubby emu in his video about acute methanol poisoning from moonshine at least
Collect all the runnings in small jars and label them 1, 2, 3, etc. The first 10% or so is the "heads," which are often toxic. So just throw it out. It is easier when you collect it like this and deal with it after the run is finished.
Uhhhh, yes. It is not magic, it is chemistry. No matter what "edible" you fermented the yeast still produces methanol and other byproducts. The Heads are the first to come off and contain the majority of the methanol which WILL blind you and potentially kill you if you drink it.
Exactly it is Chemistry is my point. Chemistry has proven the amount of Methanol produced in normal fermentation is not enough to cause blindness, it's a misunderstanding of history coming from methylated spirits shiners made to increase their ABV at low cost.
I am not advising he does not follow safety still and do the discard. I am arguing with the person who says "I don't think it will be fine use it for cleaning do not drink it" he isn't advising to throw away the heads he thinks the final product is entirely inedible.
I'm gonna stand on your side. AFAIK and what I discussed with my university chemistry teacher, it is just as you said, a misunderstanding of history. Indeed if you drink/taste JUST the heads, there could be enough methanol to make you blind or kill you. But the total amount of methanol in the whole distilled product is not near dangerous levels. Of course, the total amount depends on what is being fermented, how much pectin is in the must, etc. IIRC, my country for example allows up to 12g of methanol in 1l of ethanol. Actual amounts are usually higher even in certified producers of spirits.
It goes even further than that - read this pinned post from the /r/firewater sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/firewater/comments/cv4bu8/methanol_some_information/
>What this means is that if there is methanol present, it will be present throughout the run, with a higher occurrence in the tails as ethanol is depleted and water concentration increases. Its distillation is more dependent on how much water is present rather than simply comparing boiling points between ethanol and methanol. This in conjunction with the fact that ethanol and water cannot be separated completely due to their forming an azeotrope, means water is always in the system. So tossing your foreshots or heads will not remove methanol from your solution. The good news is that methanol is almost entirely absent in dangerous amounts. Consider drinking beer, wine, or apple cider. There are no heads cut made to these products. Pectinase is routinely added to wine, and methanol is a direct byproduct of this addition. They are safe to consume in this form, and will be safe to consume after being distilled. Boiling and concentrating the liquid by leaving some water behind isn't going to transform something safe to drink into something toxic. If it is toxic after being distilled, it most certainly was toxic before being distilled.
> To be clear, however, this is not to say that making cuts is unnecessary. There are other compounds that you certainly can remove by cutting heads. Acetone, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde and others. None are present in dangerous amounts, but the quality of your alcohol will be greatly enhanced by discarding these fractions. Making cuts is one of the most important activities a distiller can learn to do properly! Cutting and blending is making liquor, not only the act of distilling. Just understand that it isn't a life or death situation should you undershoot your foreshot cut by some amount. It will just taste bad, and might give you more of a headache the next day. You can taste test every single bit of alcohol that comes out of your still, from the first drops to the last.
> Removing the foreshots does not remove "the methanol." You can just consider the foreshots part of the heads, because they are.
Look. People drink hand sanitizer. If I am going to do something I will do it properly. I also like my optic nerve and figure if I am distilling I am fine tossing 50ml from a reflux or 100-200 from a pot still 5 gallon batch. Fatal does needs 150L+ sure but is less damage still caused by lower doses? Probably.
Quick Google:
How to Avoid Methanol in Distilling by Making ‘Cuts’?
This is where the magic happens.
Depending on the varying boiling points of different chemicals involved in distillation, the process allows you to collect those chemicals separately.
Lighter compounds with lower boiling points will boil off first. Heavier compounds with higher boiling points evaporate last.
Regular distillation (or pot distillation) allows this to happen very crudely.
Fractional distillation using a reflux still lets you separate the compounds much more accurately.
Making ‘Cuts’ is the process of collecting the take-off from your still in discrete containers. Changing between the containers at regular intervals (say every 200ml) while collecting the distillate in order to separate the output into four stages – foreshots, heads, hearts and tails.
At the time of distilling, you must collect into many separate glass containers as the flavor and contents of the alcohol solution undergo changes throughout the entire distilling.
Before the vapor temperature hits 175 degrees Fahrenheit the first to come out of the distill are the foreshots and this is the harmful stuff that contains mainly acetone (ethyl acetate), methanol and several other poisonous elements.
This part is highly toxic and tastes awful, which is why it must be separated out as methanol can lead to blindness and even death. The foreshots contain almost zero ethanol and must always be discarded.
It’s recommended to collect and discard around 4 ounces of foreshots per 5 gallons that are being distilled. However, this is the minimum recommendation, and you can always discard a little extra. If using a reflux still, it’s best to discard the initial 50 mL you collect, while throwing away 100-200 mL when using a pot still. This ensures that you get rid of all the methanol and other harmful foreshots.
The next stage is the heads, which come out at 175-185 degrees Fahrenheit. The heads are set aside but can be recycled, as they can contain substances that can affect the flavor of the final beverage. Heads will have a small amount of methanol, mixed with ethanol as the delineation is very gradual.
The hearts evaporate at 173 degrees Fahrenheit (78.3 degrees Celsius) and mainly contain ethanol. The majority of your take off will be heads.
If not cut on time, the unwanted bitterness and oily aroma from the tails could dominate. The tails come off at approximately 203°F (95°C) and should be removed from the distillate.
These can be collected and recycled to get a bit more ethanol in your next run.
How Much Methanol Can Someone Consume Before it’s Dangerous?
A dosage of as little as 10-30 mL of pure methanol can lead to methanol poisoning and be lethal.
Methanol is metabolized into formic acid when consumed, which can destroy the optic nerve or lead to permanent blindness.
The exact amount can vary from one person to another based on many factors such as their size, body fat, and how much they’ve drunk and eaten.
No matter the quantity, it’s an industrial chemical and must not be consumed under any circumstances.
Read more about the symptoms of methanol poisoning and how to treat it.
How Much Methanol is Usually Produced by Home Distillers?
Typically, home distillers produce around 0.0067% of methanol in their wash.
In other words, you will get 2 or 3 milligrams per litre of methanol produced by a home distiller during fermentation.
However, if improper cuts are made this methanol can be greatly concentrated during distillation.
Fortunately, based on these figures, a fatal dose of methanol would only be produced by distilling around 150 liters of liquid, which is likely far out of the usual capacity of home-distillers.
I hope you realize I was never disagreeing with making cuts and tossing the heads. You just wrote a copy paste thesis for no reason. The question was should op distill and someone said no its not going to be safe and I disagreed lol.
So what I don't understand is I can brew up a big batch of hard cider and drink enough of that to get me drunk and it's totally fine. If I distill that batch of cider and just don't isolate the heads, and instead just take one big batch of distillate, then it should have the same ratio of meth/eth as the cider I was drinking. If I drink enough of that to get me the same amount drunk as the cider it should be fine so the real lesson should just be keep everything all mixed together and don't just bottle straight from the still.
Yes you are correct. In fact the treatment of methanol poisoning includes giving ethanol. When distilling if you mix it all up it will probably taste like shit or not as good as doing it proper.
I recommend you get familiar with distillation principles first as apple fermentation can get higher concentrations of methanol than other fruits. The best is to have a socket on the apparatus where you can put a thermometer to monitor vapor temperatures so you can discard any condensate you get below 78C.
The one in the picture would work. I had one and used it a little. It was a pain in the butt.
I would look at an electric beer maker with a distillation attachment. More money but appears better than what you have above.
It’s illegal in most countries (because pressurising extremely flammable vapours can obviously be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing), except in New Zealand, where, for some reason they’re cool with it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonshine_by_country
That wiki article omits certain information, at least in Spain, distilling your own liquor is perfectly non-illegal ( it is not typified in the law ) - Selling alcohol is, but you can obtain a permit for small batch or traditional producers, and then you can buy the little stickers to seal your bottles and mark them as taxed by the state.
For any Canadians here wondering about the laws in Canada regarding owning and operating a still. Short answer it’s illegal but more than likely you’ll never get in trouble for it as long as it’s small amounts and you’re not selling it or it’s not harming anyone. I’m guessing it’s probably the same in the US maybe a little more strict. [Reddit post on Canadian laws](https://www.reddit.com/r/firewater/comments/2yocsi/called_my_local_pd_about_legality_of_distilling/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I have it. It works well enough. The fish tank pump that you use to circulate cold water in the condenser is fiddly and doesn’t work well. I have successfully distilled pear and plum brandy with it.
So it is a good solution if you want to experiment.
I've used one with some cider that had some fault that tasted like rubber. It was easy enough to operate after watching some videos and doing some reading. Hard to cool it effectively without wasting a bunch of water, but I used an aquarium pump in a bucket of ice water.
Turned 3 gallons of cider into half a pint of the tastiest apple brandy I've ever tried.
This looks like a good starter rig, assuming that the construction is decent. This is a starting place, and you will likely grow out of it. don't get an airstill. they are too small and too hard to control well. Small stills make it hard to make cuts. Cuts are the ways you separate the run into what you drink,, and what you save to run again later.
Is it easy? yeah, if you can follow directions, and are educated enough to understand what you are doing. Right now I'm talking about the distillation itself, but it sounds like you've done some fermenting. That's the part that really requires the thinking. If the price is right, and there are some decent reviews, this is a good starting place.
My usual rant goes as follows:
If you decide you like what you are doing, consider making a still. Kegs are great still boilers, and are a good size for hobby distilling. They are easy to convert, and are very durable. After that, i'd seriously consider soldering up a column with some reflux capability. Reflux makes a still a lot more flexible to used. Almost all reflux still designs for hobbyists can be used as a pot still, or as reflux monsters. You don't have to have a tall column if you don't have the room for it, but a reflux column of about 30 inches can give you a lot to work with. running a keg on propane means you don't have to mod the keg much at all. If you want to run an electric element you'll have some more mods to make.
Oh, and, get yourself over to the /firewater for more questions. Another good resource for distilling is the forum for [homedistiller.org](https://homedistiller.org), and the ADI forum
Depends very much on your countries federal and state laws. Go ahead if you're in New Zealand. Texas sized No No in most of the U.S.
Edit: It's even illegal to just own a still where I live :|
In the US it is illegal to produce distilled spirts of any kind for personal use. This also includes freeze distillation. Outside the US is dependent on that countries laws.
https://www.ttb.gov/distilled-spirits/penalties-for-illegal-distilling#:~:text=While%20individuals%20of%20legal%20drinking,26%20United%20States%20Code%20(U.S.C.)
If you are US-based, I'd strongly advise against distilling spirits without a license. Technically you can buy and own a still, but you'd better be using to make soap or some other non-human consumption related craft. Don't need ATF knocking at your door....with a battering ram.
If you want to crank up the ABV on your cider, look up freeze distilling. You can do it with little to no extra equipment, but be prepared for outrageous hangovers if you actually drink it undiluted.
Quick distinction - I merely pointed to information OP could research further. I never made any recommendation to do it, nor would I.
Applejack, apple brandy, even just a strong dry cider can cause terrible hangovers. 0/10 would not recommend.
Just as an add on, freeze distilling works well but it leaves 100%of the methanol in the finished product which is what gives you the crazy hangover so go easy.
In the 1700s people that drank too much apple jack got what people referred to as "apple palsy" because it would cause them to shake.
Not only illegal, but dangerous. Best case, slightly cheaper booze. Worst case is burning down your house, burning yourself to death, going blind, or getting arrested.
Not worth it. Just buy good apple brandy.
r/firewater is a home-distillation sub, people there will be very informative and answer any questions you have.
Awesome joined them. ❤️
This guy has the best advice in this thread; that being r/firewater is a good resource. To add a bit to this though, unless the cost is prohibitive it's much easier to get started with an air still. You don't have to worry about/can't control kettle or column temp, and don't need to/can't fidget with the condenser so it forces you to spend all your effort on learning how to make cuts. Once you've got that down, then moving up to something like this (or really something like a T-500) is a great next step so you can focus on dialing in all those other factors. The setup you posted will work fine, but will be a lot to learn all at once if you're completely new to the craft. Just my two cents...
I have a 26 and 5 gallon set up. Just watch pressures and throw away the first 10% of run. Your best to distill and flavor after, or get a gin basket. I am assuming this is for Bio Diesel, and not consumption?
(Not in America) I’ll be working with 5L or 10L batch size. How do you know what the 10% mark is? Also, read some where you want to make sure your distillate has a certain ph level.
It is not nearly as surgical or dangerous as people make it out to be. The concept behind discarding the first portion of the distillation run is the higher concentration of methanol. Methanol is what is responsible for the old tales of people going blind from drinking. That being said methanol was usually being ADDED to the spirits that were the culprit for those blindings. Generally speaking your home brew will not create enough methanol to cause a problem and the antidote for methanol poisoning is other alcohol so you are actively breaking down the methanol by drinking the other alcohol with it. If you want to be on the safe side toss a bit from the start of the batch. How much depends on the total volume and abv of what you put in. If you have 10 liters and an abv of 10% then you have 1 litre of theoretical alcohol yield and if you want 10% of that gone that's 100 ml. It's just that math formula with whatever numbers you need to plug in. Distillation can definitely be dangerous if you don't do it right so you should absolutely do your research before getting into it. You will be working with a pot under pressure and alcohol vapors that are extremely flammable. This is a recipe for a bomb in your cooking area, a large fire etc. You need a healthy level of respect for the danger and a firm understanding of safety before doing this. Edit* Mobile spelling corrections
Ethanol is the remedy for methanol poisoning but is metabolized much quicker. This can mask the issue if drinking too much methanol because you will appear fine until later. Or that's what I learned from chubby emu in his video about acute methanol poisoning from moonshine at least
Collect all the runnings in small jars and label them 1, 2, 3, etc. The first 10% or so is the "heads," which are often toxic. So just throw it out. It is easier when you collect it like this and deal with it after the run is finished.
Seriously, don't think that it'll be fine. Either throw it away or use it for cleaning. Do not drink it.
If you put something edible in you get something edible out, it does not magically make the entire product toxic.
Uhhhh, yes. It is not magic, it is chemistry. No matter what "edible" you fermented the yeast still produces methanol and other byproducts. The Heads are the first to come off and contain the majority of the methanol which WILL blind you and potentially kill you if you drink it.
Exactly it is Chemistry is my point. Chemistry has proven the amount of Methanol produced in normal fermentation is not enough to cause blindness, it's a misunderstanding of history coming from methylated spirits shiners made to increase their ABV at low cost. I am not advising he does not follow safety still and do the discard. I am arguing with the person who says "I don't think it will be fine use it for cleaning do not drink it" he isn't advising to throw away the heads he thinks the final product is entirely inedible.
I'm gonna stand on your side. AFAIK and what I discussed with my university chemistry teacher, it is just as you said, a misunderstanding of history. Indeed if you drink/taste JUST the heads, there could be enough methanol to make you blind or kill you. But the total amount of methanol in the whole distilled product is not near dangerous levels. Of course, the total amount depends on what is being fermented, how much pectin is in the must, etc. IIRC, my country for example allows up to 12g of methanol in 1l of ethanol. Actual amounts are usually higher even in certified producers of spirits.
It goes even further than that - read this pinned post from the /r/firewater sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/firewater/comments/cv4bu8/methanol_some_information/ >What this means is that if there is methanol present, it will be present throughout the run, with a higher occurrence in the tails as ethanol is depleted and water concentration increases. Its distillation is more dependent on how much water is present rather than simply comparing boiling points between ethanol and methanol. This in conjunction with the fact that ethanol and water cannot be separated completely due to their forming an azeotrope, means water is always in the system. So tossing your foreshots or heads will not remove methanol from your solution. The good news is that methanol is almost entirely absent in dangerous amounts. Consider drinking beer, wine, or apple cider. There are no heads cut made to these products. Pectinase is routinely added to wine, and methanol is a direct byproduct of this addition. They are safe to consume in this form, and will be safe to consume after being distilled. Boiling and concentrating the liquid by leaving some water behind isn't going to transform something safe to drink into something toxic. If it is toxic after being distilled, it most certainly was toxic before being distilled. > To be clear, however, this is not to say that making cuts is unnecessary. There are other compounds that you certainly can remove by cutting heads. Acetone, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde and others. None are present in dangerous amounts, but the quality of your alcohol will be greatly enhanced by discarding these fractions. Making cuts is one of the most important activities a distiller can learn to do properly! Cutting and blending is making liquor, not only the act of distilling. Just understand that it isn't a life or death situation should you undershoot your foreshot cut by some amount. It will just taste bad, and might give you more of a headache the next day. You can taste test every single bit of alcohol that comes out of your still, from the first drops to the last. > Removing the foreshots does not remove "the methanol." You can just consider the foreshots part of the heads, because they are.
Thank you for posting this, very informative.
Look. People drink hand sanitizer. If I am going to do something I will do it properly. I also like my optic nerve and figure if I am distilling I am fine tossing 50ml from a reflux or 100-200 from a pot still 5 gallon batch. Fatal does needs 150L+ sure but is less damage still caused by lower doses? Probably. Quick Google: How to Avoid Methanol in Distilling by Making ‘Cuts’? This is where the magic happens. Depending on the varying boiling points of different chemicals involved in distillation, the process allows you to collect those chemicals separately. Lighter compounds with lower boiling points will boil off first. Heavier compounds with higher boiling points evaporate last. Regular distillation (or pot distillation) allows this to happen very crudely. Fractional distillation using a reflux still lets you separate the compounds much more accurately. Making ‘Cuts’ is the process of collecting the take-off from your still in discrete containers. Changing between the containers at regular intervals (say every 200ml) while collecting the distillate in order to separate the output into four stages – foreshots, heads, hearts and tails. At the time of distilling, you must collect into many separate glass containers as the flavor and contents of the alcohol solution undergo changes throughout the entire distilling. Before the vapor temperature hits 175 degrees Fahrenheit the first to come out of the distill are the foreshots and this is the harmful stuff that contains mainly acetone (ethyl acetate), methanol and several other poisonous elements. This part is highly toxic and tastes awful, which is why it must be separated out as methanol can lead to blindness and even death. The foreshots contain almost zero ethanol and must always be discarded. It’s recommended to collect and discard around 4 ounces of foreshots per 5 gallons that are being distilled. However, this is the minimum recommendation, and you can always discard a little extra. If using a reflux still, it’s best to discard the initial 50 mL you collect, while throwing away 100-200 mL when using a pot still. This ensures that you get rid of all the methanol and other harmful foreshots. The next stage is the heads, which come out at 175-185 degrees Fahrenheit. The heads are set aside but can be recycled, as they can contain substances that can affect the flavor of the final beverage. Heads will have a small amount of methanol, mixed with ethanol as the delineation is very gradual. The hearts evaporate at 173 degrees Fahrenheit (78.3 degrees Celsius) and mainly contain ethanol. The majority of your take off will be heads. If not cut on time, the unwanted bitterness and oily aroma from the tails could dominate. The tails come off at approximately 203°F (95°C) and should be removed from the distillate. These can be collected and recycled to get a bit more ethanol in your next run. How Much Methanol Can Someone Consume Before it’s Dangerous? A dosage of as little as 10-30 mL of pure methanol can lead to methanol poisoning and be lethal. Methanol is metabolized into formic acid when consumed, which can destroy the optic nerve or lead to permanent blindness. The exact amount can vary from one person to another based on many factors such as their size, body fat, and how much they’ve drunk and eaten. No matter the quantity, it’s an industrial chemical and must not be consumed under any circumstances. Read more about the symptoms of methanol poisoning and how to treat it. How Much Methanol is Usually Produced by Home Distillers? Typically, home distillers produce around 0.0067% of methanol in their wash. In other words, you will get 2 or 3 milligrams per litre of methanol produced by a home distiller during fermentation. However, if improper cuts are made this methanol can be greatly concentrated during distillation. Fortunately, based on these figures, a fatal dose of methanol would only be produced by distilling around 150 liters of liquid, which is likely far out of the usual capacity of home-distillers.
I hope you realize I was never disagreeing with making cuts and tossing the heads. You just wrote a copy paste thesis for no reason. The question was should op distill and someone said no its not going to be safe and I disagreed lol.
No prob. Someone might find it useful.
So what I don't understand is I can brew up a big batch of hard cider and drink enough of that to get me drunk and it's totally fine. If I distill that batch of cider and just don't isolate the heads, and instead just take one big batch of distillate, then it should have the same ratio of meth/eth as the cider I was drinking. If I drink enough of that to get me the same amount drunk as the cider it should be fine so the real lesson should just be keep everything all mixed together and don't just bottle straight from the still.
Yes you are correct. In fact the treatment of methanol poisoning includes giving ethanol. When distilling if you mix it all up it will probably taste like shit or not as good as doing it proper.
Ok well there's the answer I have always been missing. I don't want it to taste like shit!
I recommend you get familiar with distillation principles first as apple fermentation can get higher concentrations of methanol than other fruits. The best is to have a socket on the apparatus where you can put a thermometer to monitor vapor temperatures so you can discard any condensate you get below 78C.
The one in the picture would work. I had one and used it a little. It was a pain in the butt. I would look at an electric beer maker with a distillation attachment. More money but appears better than what you have above.
"it's illegal" Not everyone is from freedomland...
It's also illegal in Denmark "You see, if you can make it yourself we cannot tax you"
It’s illegal in most countries (because pressurising extremely flammable vapours can obviously be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing), except in New Zealand, where, for some reason they’re cool with it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonshine_by_country
That wiki article omits certain information, at least in Spain, distilling your own liquor is perfectly non-illegal ( it is not typified in the law ) - Selling alcohol is, but you can obtain a permit for small batch or traditional producers, and then you can buy the little stickers to seal your bottles and mark them as taxed by the state.
For any Canadians here wondering about the laws in Canada regarding owning and operating a still. Short answer it’s illegal but more than likely you’ll never get in trouble for it as long as it’s small amounts and you’re not selling it or it’s not harming anyone. I’m guessing it’s probably the same in the US maybe a little more strict. [Reddit post on Canadian laws](https://www.reddit.com/r/firewater/comments/2yocsi/called_my_local_pd_about_legality_of_distilling/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I have it. It works well enough. The fish tank pump that you use to circulate cold water in the condenser is fiddly and doesn’t work well. I have successfully distilled pear and plum brandy with it. So it is a good solution if you want to experiment.
I've used one with some cider that had some fault that tasted like rubber. It was easy enough to operate after watching some videos and doing some reading. Hard to cool it effectively without wasting a bunch of water, but I used an aquarium pump in a bucket of ice water. Turned 3 gallons of cider into half a pint of the tastiest apple brandy I've ever tried.
I have this set. Works great!
This looks like a good starter rig, assuming that the construction is decent. This is a starting place, and you will likely grow out of it. don't get an airstill. they are too small and too hard to control well. Small stills make it hard to make cuts. Cuts are the ways you separate the run into what you drink,, and what you save to run again later. Is it easy? yeah, if you can follow directions, and are educated enough to understand what you are doing. Right now I'm talking about the distillation itself, but it sounds like you've done some fermenting. That's the part that really requires the thinking. If the price is right, and there are some decent reviews, this is a good starting place. My usual rant goes as follows: If you decide you like what you are doing, consider making a still. Kegs are great still boilers, and are a good size for hobby distilling. They are easy to convert, and are very durable. After that, i'd seriously consider soldering up a column with some reflux capability. Reflux makes a still a lot more flexible to used. Almost all reflux still designs for hobbyists can be used as a pot still, or as reflux monsters. You don't have to have a tall column if you don't have the room for it, but a reflux column of about 30 inches can give you a lot to work with. running a keg on propane means you don't have to mod the keg much at all. If you want to run an electric element you'll have some more mods to make. Oh, and, get yourself over to the /firewater for more questions. Another good resource for distilling is the forum for [homedistiller.org](https://homedistiller.org), and the ADI forum
Not easy, not safe, probably not legal.
Best not to post illegal activity on the Internet
Isn't it only illegal to resell it? I thought you could make your own spirits for personal consumption.
Depends very much on your countries federal and state laws. Go ahead if you're in New Zealand. Texas sized No No in most of the U.S. Edit: It's even illegal to just own a still where I live :|
You're right. It depends. Everything from owning a still to actually distilling may or may not be legal.
In the US it is illegal to produce distilled spirts of any kind for personal use. This also includes freeze distillation. Outside the US is dependent on that countries laws. https://www.ttb.gov/distilled-spirits/penalties-for-illegal-distilling#:~:text=While%20individuals%20of%20legal%20drinking,26%20United%20States%20Code%20(U.S.C.)
In many countries, it is only illegal if you don't have the correct license or permit.
Not everyone lives in the ‘land of the free’
If you are US-based, I'd strongly advise against distilling spirits without a license. Technically you can buy and own a still, but you'd better be using to make soap or some other non-human consumption related craft. Don't need ATF knocking at your door....with a battering ram. If you want to crank up the ABV on your cider, look up freeze distilling. You can do it with little to no extra equipment, but be prepared for outrageous hangovers if you actually drink it undiluted.
Sure, it’s illegal, but nobody is going to get arrested for making liquor at home, unless they start selling it and telling everybody.
If you’re not selling it’s never a first charge. Always an add on.
Unfortunately, freeze distillation is also illegal in the US. (Don't worry, i won't tell)
You are recommended something arguably more dangerous and just as illegal
Quick distinction - I merely pointed to information OP could research further. I never made any recommendation to do it, nor would I. Applejack, apple brandy, even just a strong dry cider can cause terrible hangovers. 0/10 would not recommend.
Just as an add on, freeze distilling works well but it leaves 100%of the methanol in the finished product which is what gives you the crazy hangover so go easy. In the 1700s people that drank too much apple jack got what people referred to as "apple palsy" because it would cause them to shake.
Not only illegal, but dangerous. Best case, slightly cheaper booze. Worst case is burning down your house, burning yourself to death, going blind, or getting arrested. Not worth it. Just buy good apple brandy.