Pot stills are the current descendant of the alembic still. They were one of the earliest still types designed to produce spirits. Pot still are in some ways inefficient which can be beneficial 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 you will need to make a product which retains the flavors of mash. In this case the pot still is most effective.
A pot still possesses four key parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The body of the pot is typically a cylinder that's wider at the top than the base. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated with fire or an internal heating mechanism. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped via tubing that is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck allows 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 making it possible for non-ethanol compounds to condense on the walls and fall down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will alter 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 (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a 45 degree angle those compounds will run back into the wash. This gives you a 'lighter' flavor and higher alcohol content in the final product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and trickle down into the condenser combined with the ethanol vapors thus supplying the distillate a more flavorful, 'fuller', taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. As a result, it condenses the vapors back to liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving 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 contains the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various approaches. The key is to cool the vapors so they drip into a collection vessel instead of escaping into the atmosphere.
Simply, the distiller must experiment with various mash recipes, still shapes and designs to create the end product that the distiller set out to create. Bottom line, take notes, be patient, enjoy yourself and experiment.
A pot still possesses four key parts: We will look at each one in more depth.
Pot: The body of the pot is typically a cylinder that's wider at the top than the base. The pot is loaded with the fermented mash and heated with fire or an internal heating mechanism. Nearly all commercial distilleries heat up the wort (aka wash) with 400 degree steam pumped via tubing that is coiled inside of the pot.
Swan Neck: The neck allows 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 making it possible for non-ethanol compounds to condense on the walls and fall down into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will alter 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 (h2o, flavour, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a 45 degree angle those compounds will run back into the wash. This gives you a 'lighter' flavor and higher alcohol content in the final product. Alternatively if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and trickle down into the condenser combined with the ethanol vapors thus supplying the distillate a more flavorful, 'fuller', taste.
Condenser: The condenser cools the ethanol vapors to a temperature that is less than the boiling point of the ethanol. As a result, it condenses the vapors back to liquid. Condensers might be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving 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 contains the ethanol vapors. Different designs will utilize various approaches. The key is to cool the vapors so they drip into a collection vessel instead of escaping into the atmosphere.
Simply, the distiller must experiment with various mash recipes, still shapes and designs to create the end product that the distiller set out to create. Bottom line, take notes, be patient, enjoy yourself and experiment.
About the Author:
To learn more about making whiskey at home, the how to of distillation and information on the equipment and hardware used in distillation stop by your local craft distillery.
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