How to Monitor Temperature – The temperature of your still varies in different spots. There are three key places on your still where you should monitor the temperature – the pot boiler, the top of the column, and the condenser coil. The temperature inside the pot boiler will tell you about the boiling liquid in the mash.
- Eep it increasing, maintaining a range of 175 – 195 degrees Fahrenheit for as long as possible.
- Turn off the heat when it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The temperature at the top of the column will tell you about your alcohol vapor as it begins to condense.
- Monitor this temperature, watching for an excess of 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
If it becomes overheated, turn down your heat. 
It is especially important to use a built-in thermometer at the top of the column in a large column still Keep an eye on the touch-temperature of your condenser coil. The coil should be kept cool to the touch, with cold running water or ice packs. If it reaches room temperature, decrease the heat on your still and pack more ice on the coil.
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What temperature should moonshine be kept at?
1. Keep it at Room Temperature – Thanks to their high alcohol content, most distilled spirits — including whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, and tequila — do not require refrigeration. However, if the temperature gets too high, the alcohol will expand and evaporate.
- And while it won’t make the liquor “go bad,” heat — especially from direct sunlight — can increase oxidation rates, causing a change in flavors and loss of color.
- What about freezing? Of course, some people prefer to chill clear liquors in their freezers before serving, but this might be a mistake, according to some experts,
While there’s no risk of your spirit turning to ice (the alcohol content is too high to allow that to happen), storing spirits in lower temperatures can mute flavors that you would otherwise enjoy, like floral essences and other botanicals. In fact, many cocktails are enhanced by the room-temperature liquor melting the ice cubes in the glass,
What temp do tails start?
Tails – Tails are the last part of your distillate, constituting anything that comes out once your vapor temp reaches 203°F (95°C) – 207°F/208°F (97°C/98°C). Although some people choose to use some of their tails for blending, Rick doesn’t recommend using tails “as-is” for drinkable alcohol due to their combination of reduced alcohol content and increased congener content. 
What proof should I stop distilling?
Second distillation – It is very common in pot distilling to redistill your spirit to obtain a more refined product. The advantage to multiple distillations is that it improves the removal of congeners and increases alcohol content. However, with each distillation you will remove more of the flavor and aroma compounds (remember, these are congeners), resulting in a product closer and closer to neutral spirits (vodka) with each run.
- If you are going to redistill your spirit, you should plan to do so in advance to make the most effective and efficient use of your time.
- One option is simply to collect your heads, hearts, and tails from multiple batches and combine the like types together (e.g., combine only the heads from each batch) and redistill each when you have enough to reasonably run in your boiler.
The advantage to this method is that you will get the most from each collection stage, and your hearts will become more refined and smoother. The disadvantage, of course, is that you must make multiple batches before you will have any finished, drinkable spirits.
Another method is to make your cuts somewhat less precise, starting your middle-run collection just slightly into the heads and continuing it slightly into the tails. You can then dilute the distillate that you have collected in the middle run to reduce the proof to below 80 (below 40%abv) and increase the volume to fill your boiler to at least 50 percent of its capacity.
Never try to distill a product that is over 40%abv (80 proof)! The higher the alcohol percentage, the greater the risk of fire. If there is space in the boiler, add additional water to further reduce the proof while still leaving 20 percent open space in the kettle for expansion.
How much liquor from 5 gallons of mash?
How Much Alcohol Will a Still Produce? – Before we get started, a reminder: Distilling alcohol is illegal without a federal fuel alcohol or distilled spirit plant permit as well as relevant state permits. Our distillation equipment is designed for legal uses only and the information in this article is for educational purposes only.
A 1 gallon run will yield 3-6 cups of alcohol A 5 gallon run will yield 1-2 gallons of alcohol A 8 gallon run will yield 1.5-3 gallons of alcohol A 10 gallon run will yield 2-4 gallons of alcohol
For the researchers, science nerds, alchemists, and truth seekers, here’s why:
How fast does moonshine kick in?
You might be surprised at just how fast alcohol begins to take effect. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol enters your bloodstream as soon as you take that first sip. The effects kick in within about 10 minutes.
How fast can moonshine ferment?
How Quickly Can You Make Moonshine? – The quickest you can properly make moonshine is about two weeks. However, you really should let mash ferment for at least a week itself, so the best moonshine will usually take closer to a month to complete. Moonshine recipes all have their own timelines, so this may vary depending on what you want to make.
