Pot stills are the current descendant of the alembic still. They were the earliest still types used to make 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 make a product which preserves the flavors of mash. In this situation the pot still is best suited.
A pot still has four main parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The body of the pot is normally a cylinder which is wider at the top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated with fire or perhaps an inner heating apparatus. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped via tubing which is coiled in 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 commonly narrower at the topcompared to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol components to condense around the walls and fall down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will alter the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, as the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler while the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will flow back into the wash. This will give you a 'lighter' flavor and increased alcohol content in the finished product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and drip into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus supplying 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. As a result, it condenses the vapors into liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, moving air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cool water is pumped through a coil or around the exterior of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different models will utilize different methods. The key is to chill the vapors so that they drip into a collection jar instead of escaping into the surroundings.
In the long run, the distiller must test out different mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to produce 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 has four main parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The body of the pot is normally a cylinder which is wider at the top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated with fire or perhaps an inner heating apparatus. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped via tubing which is coiled in 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 commonly narrower at the topcompared to the bottom allowing for non-ethanol components to condense around the walls and fall down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will alter the amount of non-ethanol compounds that make it into the distillate. For instance, as the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler while the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will flow back into the wash. This will give you a 'lighter' flavor and increased alcohol content in the finished product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a 45 degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and drip into the condenser together with the ethanol vapors thus supplying 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. As a result, it condenses the vapors into liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the surrounding air temperature, moving air (a fan) or water. With a water cooled condenser the cool water is pumped through a coil or around the exterior of the tube that carries the ethanol vapors. Different models will utilize different methods. The key is to chill the vapors so that they drip into a collection jar instead of escaping into the surroundings.
In the long run, the distiller must test out different mash recipes, still shapes and configuration to produce 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:
To learn more about making moonshine at home, the how to distill and info on the equipment and tools used in distillation visit your local craft distillery.
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