BRANDY STILLS

External steam jackets are an ideal heating method. They provide excellent heat transfer and make cleaning easier. Internal steam coils, or steam plates, are less ideal when distilling brandy wash with fruits and solids.

Electric steam boilers can be used for pot stills up to 1000L. They are efficient and a good choice for distilleries that don't have natural gas service. The size of pot still allowable will be determined by the amount of electrical service in your distillery.

Pot stills, like other tanks, can take advantage of CIP systems for cleaning. Remember that copper vessels may require copper inhibitors in the cleaning agents. It is best to consult your chemical supply company when designing a cleaning routine for your still.

Pot stills can be made to suit the requirement of the customer. Choose from one of our standard designs or come to us with your ideas. All pot stills are custom in one way or another.

The shape of your spirit head can influence the character of your whiskey. A tall head will produce a lighter whiskey and a short head will produce a more full bodied whiskey. Elements such as expansion balls will cause velocity and pressure differences in the vapor which create varying amounts of reflux. A brandy onion, or alembic head, is commonly used for making brandy.

Some traditional brandy stills will have a large wine pre-heater between the pot still and condenser. The lyne arm passes through the wine pre-heater heating the wine and condensing some of the vapor before it reaches the spirit condenser. The pre-heated wine is then used to fill the pot still for the next distillation. Using a pre-heater will conserve energy and reduce the heat up time of your second run.

Lyne arm diameter and length will determine the amount of contact area and resonance time the vapor has with the copper. A larger diameter and longer lyne arm will create more reflux and remove more sulfur compounds from the spirit. The slope of the lyne arm will determine if the reflux within the lyne arm drains toward the condenser or the pot still. This will result in a lighter or more full bodies spirit depending on the slope and size.

Mixers are necessary for pot stills that distill on the grain. They not only help the heating rate but they help prevent scorching of the wash on the heating surfaces of the still. For clear spirits or lautered wort, it is not necessary to have a mixer but is at the discretion of the distiller. Most brandy stills have mixers.

Condensers can be made in either copper or stainless steel. The preference for one or the other will depend on the spirit being made. It is typical for brandy condensers to be made of copper. Copper coil condensers are very common on traditional alembic brandy stills.

Adding a column to a brandy still will result in a hybrid still. Using the column to rectify the spirit will allow you to create a higher proof spirit in a single distillation run. This is attractive to some distillers because of the time and energy savings it creates. Distilling brandy in this way may not be for everyone but it has become quite popular with craft distilleries.

Basic automation packages are available for brandy stills.

Refining lentils are used to create reflux and refine the spirit. These devices look like copper saucers that sit above the onion head of a traditional alembic still.