Pot stills are the modern descendant of the alembic still. They were the earliest still types utilized to make spirits. Pot still are in some ways inefficient which can be a good thing when making 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 make a product which preserves the flavors of mash. In this situation the pot still is most suitable.
A pot still has 4 main parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The shape of the pot is normally a cylinder that's wider on top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or an inner heating system. The majority of commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped via tubing which is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck lets the vaporized alcohol plus some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck is generally slimmer at the topin comparison to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol compounds to condense around the walls and fall back down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will change the amount of non-ethanol components that make it into the distillate. For example, as the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (water, flavor, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will run back into the wash. This will provide you with a 'lighter' flavour and higher alcohol content in the final product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and trickle 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 that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. Therefore, it condenses the vapors to liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, flowing air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cold water is pumped through a coil or around the exterior of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various approaches. The key is to cool the vapors so that they drip into a collection bucket versus escaping into the surroundings.
In the long run, the distiller must test out various mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. Ultimately, take notes, be patient, have fun and try new things out.
A pot still has 4 main parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The shape of the pot is normally a cylinder that's wider on top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated up with fire or an inner heating system. The majority of commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped via tubing which is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck lets the vaporized alcohol plus some water\flavor to rise up and enter into the lyne arm. The neck is generally slimmer at the topin comparison to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol compounds to condense around the walls and fall back down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will change the amount of non-ethanol components that make it into the distillate. For example, as the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler and the less volatile compounds (water, flavor, etc.) change from a gas into a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will run back into the wash. This will provide you with a 'lighter' flavour and higher alcohol content in the final product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile substances will condense and trickle 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 that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. Therefore, it condenses the vapors to liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, flowing air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cold water is pumped through a coil or around the exterior of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various approaches. The key is to cool the vapors so that they drip into a collection bucket versus escaping into the surroundings.
In the long run, the distiller must test out various mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. Ultimately, take notes, be patient, have fun and try new things out.
About the Author:
To find out more about making whiskey at home, the how to distill and information on the equipment and hardware utilized in distillation visit your local craft distillery.
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