Pot stills are the modern descendant of the alembic still. They were the earliest still types designed to produce spirits. Pot still are somewhat 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 one needs to create a product that maintains the flavors of mash. In this case the pot still is most suitable.
A pot still will have four primary parts: We will look at each one in more detail.
Pot: The body of the pot is generally a cylinder that is wider at the top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated with fire or perhaps an internal heating apparatus. Most commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped through tubing that is coiled inside 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 making it possible for non-ethanol components to condense around the walls and fall back into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will change the amount of non-ethanol components that make it into the distillate. For example, when the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler while the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavor, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will run back down into the wash. This gives you a 'lighter' flavor and increased alcohol content in the final product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and flow down 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 can be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving 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 models will utilize various methods. The key is to cool the vapors so they drip into a collection container versus escaping into the surroundings.
Ultimately, the distiller must test out numerous mash recipes, still shapes and designs to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. Ultimately, take notes, take your time, enjoy yourself and try new things out.
A pot still will have four primary parts: We will look at each one in more detail.
Pot: The body of the pot is generally a cylinder that is wider at the top than the base. The pot is filled with the fermented mash and heated with fire or perhaps an internal heating apparatus. Most commercial distilleries heat the wort (aka wash) with four hundred degree steam pumped through tubing that is coiled inside 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 making it possible for non-ethanol components to condense around the walls and fall back into the wash.
Lyne Arm: The lyne arm will change the amount of non-ethanol components that make it into the distillate. For example, when the vapors rise up the neck and into the lyne arm the temperature becomes cooler while the less volatile compounds (h2o, flavor, etc.) change from a gas to a liquid. If the lyne arm is ascending at a forty-five degree angle those compounds will run back down into the wash. This gives you a 'lighter' flavor and increased alcohol content in the final product. On the other hand if the lyne neck was angled down at a forty-five degree angle the less volatile compounds will condense and flow down 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 can be cooled by the ambient air temperature, moving 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 models will utilize various methods. The key is to cool the vapors so they drip into a collection container versus escaping into the surroundings.
Ultimately, the distiller must test out numerous mash recipes, still shapes and designs to develop the end product that the distiller set out to produce. Ultimately, take notes, take your time, enjoy yourself and try new things out.
About the Author:
Get educated on making whiskey at home and how to distill by visiting your local craft distillery. While you are there, try some whiskey.
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