Distillation does not discriminate. People make hard alcohol in obscure corners and rundown sheds all around the world. These pioneering drinkers vary widely in their distilling techniques, materials, and intentions, but all are united in the great tradition of thrifty distillation. Some use old oil barrels and others use gleaming stainless steel. Some produce sophisticated, botanical gins, others pump out rotgut moonshine. I figured that if so many others could distill with virtually no money, information, or materials, I could try my own hand at it. I had some money. I had the knowledge of the internet. I had a Home Depot down the street. I was well-equipped, relatively speaking! So, I set to building my own backyard distiller—but it took longer and cost more than I expected.
Building a still is doable for everyone, but not everyone should build the same kind of still in the same way. Needs, wants, skills, and resources will all influence the type of still you end up with at the end of the day. This was something I learned slowly as I began to assemble my own still, and I hope to impart a few of the lessons I learned along the way. First, I will discuss the most important step to getting your still off the ground, research. Then, we will talk cash. And lastly, I’ll give some pointers on assembling the still and getting started on your first distillation.
Before going to the store or starting a fermentation, sit down and do your research. This may put a damper on the newfound excitement you have imaging yourself sipping moonshine from the copper tube of a backwoods still, but it will save time, frustration, and money. Distilling is a simple process, but building your own distiller has its complexities. Firstly, the legality of distillation and owning distilling equipment varies by state. The legality of selling home-distilled liquor does not—it is illegal. Find out what kind of trouble you may be getting yourself into before you begin. My state of Massachusetts, although notoriously conservative on alcohol related laws, does not explicitly prohibit the manufacture of hard spirits at home. It is still very illegal for me to sell anything that comes dripping out of my still.
Distilling also has its dangers, and it is important to consider the explosiveness of ethanol vapours in your design. Because of the factor of flammability, consider where the still will be set up. Make sure you have access to a fire extinguisher. Another danger of any distillation is the concentration of poisonous elements created during your fermentation, namely methanol. When ingested, methanol will dissolve your optic nerve, blinding you before it kills you. Make sure you do your research about the science behind distillation and how you can make sure you have separated the bad stuff, which will boil first, from the good stuff.
Another consideration, albeit less scary, is that there are many kinds of stills. Figure out what kind of still you think you can build with your god-given abilities and resources. If you can weld, you can make pretty much anything. If you can solder, you can piece together a still as well. If you can’t do either of these things, call a friend who can. Consider, as well, what kind of alcohol you want to produce. Vodka? Make a reflux still. Gin? Maybe stick to a pot still. Once you have your still and begin to experiment with different techniques and fermentations, you will appreciate the research you put into your still.
Design. Design your still and your distillation process. Think about the space you have. Where is your water source for condensation? Does this space need to be discrete? Is this space ventilated? Do I have enough space? Do not go to the hardware store without a solid blueprint of your dream still. It’s fine and necessary to adapt your design along the way, but a solid design will be a great guide to success. Your design should account for your financial resources, the space in which you will distill, and your own abilities to construct a still. Map out lengths, diameters, connections, and all of the parts you will need. This will save you time and money, and money matters. Building a still is expensive as I will outline in the next part of this series.
Once you know what you’re getting yourself into, and you have a detailed image of a still that will work for you, it’s time to go to the store, whether online or in person, and acquire the necessary parts. Open up a new line of credit, check the balance of your bank account, or cash that birthday check, because this can get pricey. Start by buying what you absolutely know you will need to get started. There will be more incidental expenses down the road. This is an upfront investment that will continue producing alcohol for a long time, but the materials are not cheap and some are difficult to find.
A still, whether it’s a pot still or a reflux column, will have the same basic parts. The pot itself may be one of the trickier items to source. Any large stainless steel or copper vessel will do, but the connection to the rest of your still will need to be strong and air-tight. Luckily, I know a couple of welders, so I bought a basic beer brewing kettle and some stainless steel latches. My friend welded the latches to the pot so that the lid could be clamped down tightly. He also cut perfect holes in the lid for the still column and a thermometer. He mentioned he had done some similar alterations to a normal beer keg, which I have also read are fairly easy to turn into a pot for your distiller. Best of all, he did it for free. I had my pot for around $90.
Once you build your pot and figure out what kind of connection you will have to your column (I used bulkhead clamps), you can start on the column and condenser. I used copper pipe for everything and some of the pieces were very difficult to source. I waited outside of my local plumbing wholesaler for an hour, only to find that even they did not have the 2”-1” copper reducing couplings I needed to build my condensing jacket. Start with big hardware stores for the easy parts: lengths of pipe, joints, solder, tubing, and heating element. Try brewing and wine shops for thermometers and column packing material. For the pieces you just can’t find anywhere else, plumbing wholesalers may fit the bill, or you could try online. I used a combination of all of these to find what I needed.
Here is a breakdown of the prices and places I bought the thinks I needed:
Propane Burner, Hardware store: $70
Brew Pot, Brew shop: $55
Stainless steel latches, Online: $35
Bulkhead joint, Online: $60
Silver solder, Hardware store-$35
2” Copper pipe x 10’, Hardware store: $70
1” copper pipe x 10’, Hardware store– $35
1”-2” copper pipe couplings, Online: $80
T joints and corners, Hardware store– $25
Hose joints, Hardware store-$15
Tubing, Hardware store-$20
Copper mesh, Brew shop-$30
Thermometer, Brew shop-$80
Mason jars, Craft store-$15
You can put away your calculator. That adds up to $625. I could have bought an uber fancy bottle of whiskey with that (or I could have bought a readymade still online), but the process of building it was fun, informative, and rewarding. I also had many other incidental expenses that I have forgotten or did not represent materials directly used in my still. There are many other expenses associated with running a still on top of this (e.g. fuel, water, alcometer.) Additionally, I had many of the tools I needed at home such as a blow torch, pipe cutter, flux, propane tank, and drill.
This is not a cheap undertaking, but building your own still is memorable, rewarding, and will give you membership into the global tradition of backyard booze-makers. Once your still is done, make sure to clean it thoroughly. It will be a good idea to do a cleaning run with vinegar as I will discuss next.
When you’ve paid the money-lender and collected all your pieces, take it slow and start from the bottom up. I had a welder friend help to fabricate the pot for my still. This was a high-quality and cheap option for me to get a start on my still. Make sure that the connection between your pot and your column will be sturdy and air tight. I found out that my condenser was too heavy and threw off the balance of my whole still. I later had to build a support frame to hold the column vertical. This is very avoidable if you have sturdy materials, a good design, and a reasonable amount of foresight.
Once you have your pot, work on the column separately. Solder pieces sequentially and make sure everything has been added to the existing column before moving on. Make drawings to imagine each section and consider things like whether you need to solder in a water intake before or after you connect the piece with the column. This is especially important if you have chosen to use a jacket for your condenser. Remember that mistakes can be expensive and that quality workmanship will translate into a safer, better still.
Solder with care. All of these joints need to be air and water tight. I found out that one of the water intakes had a leak on my condensing jacket during my first run. It is better to solder strong connections before you have a fire under your still. Solder with silver. Do not use lead solder.
When the structure is complete, you can add all of the fixings to see how it looks. Screw in thermometers and connect plastic tubing. Stuff your column and fix it to your pot. Before you siphon a fermentation into this and light a fire beneath it, it needs to be cleaned. I spent some time with soap and water cleaning my still inside and out. I also did my first run with a couple gallons of white vinegar which can be purchased at most grocery stores. The vinegar will help to test your new still and will clean out the inside. I cranked my propane burner and let the vinegar fumes pump through the still without any water flow at first. Later, I turned on the water to see how the condenser worked.
After your still is constructed and cleaned, the only thing left to do is distill. Siphon whatever fermentation you have going into the pot and fire it up. I would suggest starting with a simple cane sugar wash before moving on to anything more complicated and expensive. The first couple of runs will involve a lot of learning, adjusting, and failure. I did not drink a single drop of my first run.
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