Pot stills are the present day descendant of the alembic still. They were one of the earliest still types utilized to create spirits. Pot still are comparatively inefficient which can be a good thing when crafting whiskey. For example, when making neutral spirit with no flavor and high alcohol yield you would use a reflux or column still. For whiskey one needs to produce a product which preserves the flavors of mash. In this situation the pot still is appropriate.
A pot still possesses four primary parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The shape of the pot is normally a cylinder that is wider at the top than the bottom. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or an inner heating apparatus. The majority of commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped through tubing that is coiled inside the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck permits the vaporized alcohol as well as some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck can often be slimmer at the topin comparison to the bottom making it possible for non-ethanol compounds to condense on the walls and fall down again into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will impact the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, while the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavor, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will pass back into the wash. This will provide you with a 'lighter' flavour and higher alcohol content in the finished product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and flow into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus providing the distillate a far more flavorful, 'fuller', taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature less than the boiling point of the ethanol. Consequently, it condenses the vapors to liquid. Condensers can be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, flowing air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cool water will be pumped through a coil or around the outside of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize different strategies. The key is to chill the vapors so they drip into a collection container rather than escaping into the surroundings.
Naturally, the distiller must try out various mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. In a nutshell, take notes, don't rush, enjoy yourself and experiment.
A pot still possesses four primary parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The shape of the pot is normally a cylinder that is wider at the top than the bottom. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or an inner heating apparatus. The majority of commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped through tubing that is coiled inside the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck permits the vaporized alcohol as well as some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck can often be slimmer at the topin comparison to the bottom making it possible for non-ethanol compounds to condense on the walls and fall down again into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will impact the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, while the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavor, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will pass back into the wash. This will provide you with a 'lighter' flavour and higher alcohol content in the finished product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and flow into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus providing the distillate a far more flavorful, 'fuller', taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature less than the boiling point of the ethanol. Consequently, it condenses the vapors to liquid. Condensers can be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, flowing air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cool water will be pumped through a coil or around the outside of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize different strategies. The key is to chill the vapors so they drip into a collection container rather than escaping into the surroundings.
Naturally, the distiller must try out various mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. In a nutshell, take notes, don't rush, enjoy yourself and experiment.
About the Author:
Get educated on making whiskey at home and how to distill by checking out your neighborhood craft distillery. While you are there, taste some whiskey.
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