Our process

[Opus 27]

I\'ve had a few requests from forum members for a an explanation both for my Super Reflux Tweaks and my use of ALcotec 48. So here goes.

Firstly my reference to \"WE\" is referring to my son and myself, just to clarify we\'re not a business or other manufacturing organisation.

I\'ll start logically with the wash. We use Alcotec 48 which is capable of fermenting 8 Kilos of sugar to 20% ABV. At 20% ABV the alcohol kills off the yeast and as you pass the 14-15% mark fermentation slows down, hence the two different times given on the packet. We dilute 8 Kilos of Sugar with 28 Litres of water giving us a 34 Litre wash of the same SG as the suggested 6 Kilos to 21 Litres. As we also do whole grain brewing we have a Brichmann Conical Fermenter with a 10 Gall (US) capacity. The shape of the fermenter ensures a full fermentation this we found takes about two and half days. We leave it a further day before adding finings and then leave for a further three days and then we rack it off into two 16+ Litre batches. SG always finishes at 0.984.

Distillation is with the Still Spirits Super Reflux. First we replaced the packing with three stainless steel pan scrubbers. Next we connected the power supply through a pulse power regulator giving us a range from 500 Watts to 1400 Watts. The final adjustment is the quantity of wash. We only put the 16 Litres in meaning the still is only two thirds full. This last factor we found made a big difference. The effect is probably that there is a large vapour space at the top of the boiler and allows a certain amount of refluxing at the top of the boiler.

The still starts on the full 1400 Watts and runs at that for about an hour. As soon as there is a rapid rise in temperature the power is turned down to around 550 Watts. The temperature then settles at about 50 c before starting to drop off. We then progressively bring the power up to achieve a temperature in the low to mid 70s. At this point we\'re producing \"Heads\" and the temperature bounces around quite a bit, this is when the reflux is sorting out it\'s stacking. As temperature settles down ( about 45 - 60minutes) we increase power until the still is running at 79c (usually Between 700 and 750 Watts) and we start collecting the good stuff \"Middles\". We continue to collect until we reach 82c. Collection rate is 500ML per hour, quite slow but we\'re after quality not speed. ABV is a consistent 93% throughout and yield from 16 Litres is 2250 ML. Once the 82c point is reached we stop and we throw the remaining wash.

The spirit is then cut with RO water to 45% ABV and carbon filtered. After filtering we cut again to 40% ABV ready for mixing with our preferred essence.

Final yield from our 34 Litre is 10+ Litres at 40% ABV.

A final word on time. I read on some posts about the speed that the T500 can produce 93%. My concern is, that first period, of allowing the column to achieve full reflux, you cannot rush this if you do some of the distillate will still contain some of the heads and although it\'s 93% your losing some quality and quality is always our ultimate aim.

Hopefully I\'ve managed to paste a couple of images of our kit.
Opus 27

[Jimmy]

Looks like a great setup, I only wish I had that kind of space! Thanks for sharing, as ever!

[Andy]

I thought porn was not allowed on site

That second pic is pure porn.

[pjm]

Soooo much stainless steel, must hold on..... to late.