Distilling FAQ​

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced home distiller, we hope to provide helpful information to enhance your distilling experience.

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Distilling FAQ

Distilling can be an exciting and rewarding hobby, but it also requires knowledge and caution to ensure safety and legality. What will be helpful is a distiller’s glossary to understand the terms used.

In this distilling FAQ section, we aim to answer some of the most common questions about distilling, from the process of making alcohol to the use of different types of stills and the legality of home distillation.

Indeed it is! People have been making spirits for centuries, and distilled alcoholic beverages were first produced in Europe in the 12th century. Using a controlled process of fermentation and distillation produces smooth-tasting spirits from natural nutrients like sugar and yeast, which are then purified with activated carbon to remove any unwanted flavours.

Yes and no. Making your own spirits is similar to fermenting wine or home-brewing beer and, by following the instructions, you can produce pure and clean alcohol with less by-products and impurities than those produced commercially. In some countries, such as South Africa, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, it is legal to home-distill for personal use.

However, in most countries, it is illegal for an individual to use a still for the purpose of making their own pure alcohol. But don’t fret, it is legal to own a water distillation unit or simple air-still (under 5L in Australia), and many people use these devices to distil water or make essential oils. If you are in a country where amateur distillation is not permitted, then you will need to purchase the base alcohol from a store to create your own liqueur, spirit, or schnapps. Always best to research the local laws first.

This varies depending on your still, type of yeast, and nutrients you use, but generally, based on the EZ Filter carbon process, you can be drinking your own home-made spirits within 7 days.

The choice of still depends on your preference and the desired outcome. Reflux stills collect less alcohol by volume, but the alcohol is much higher in strength and has fewer impurities. On the other hand, pot stills collect all the ‘condensate’ from boiling and condense it, producing a larger quantity of spirits with a lower alcohol concentration.

Possibly, but adding too much sugar may result in unfermented sugar remaining in the wash, causing the sugar wash to froth during distilling. Yeast varieties are made and selected for different properties, and adding too much sugar may affect the taste and quality of the final product. Therefore, it is essential to use a yeast variety that best suits your needs, and to follow the recommended recipe and instructions.

Ah, the age-old question. Well, fear not, my friends. When using Still Spirits Turbo products, you need not worry about producing harmful amounts of methanol. Our tried and true method of fermenting sugar with a known yeast and nutrient mix ensures that only extremely small quantities of by-products like methanol are produced.

We hate to break it to you, but adding salt to the wash before distillation will not raise the boiling point. Making alcohol is a whole different ballgame than boiling water with your heat source. The amount of energy applied to the wash will determine the amount of steam that is boiled off. So instead of adding salt to your wash, focus on using high-quality ingredients and equipment to ensure the best possible outcome.

Ah, the allure of shiny, new equipment. While using a new and technically advanced still like the Super Reflex can produce a more polished and refined result, the final yield will be lower. During the purifying process, more impurities are removed, leaving more pure alcohol. However, the spirit collected from the latest Super Reflux Still will be considerably more pure, even if it is diluted with clean water to the same strength as previous generations of stills.

Fear not, my fellow alchemists. All you need is an alcoholmeter, which is a wee float with a scale in it. The more alcohol that is present, the lighter the density of the liquid, so the alchometer sinks a bit lower. After this, you can then read off the scale how much alcohol is present and dilute accordingly. Voila! You now have the power to measure the strength of your magical potion.

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