Using reflux still for an all grain mash theory

[PaulyD]

Hi all, looking for some feed back to a theory I have, I have been using a reflux still for about a year now and only been making the typical sugar shin, and only just started looking into all grain mashes to make more flavoured whiskey, I have been reading up as much as I can trying to get a good understanding of how to go about it, so after doing plenty of reading I have realised that if I run an all grain mash through my reflux still I will loose most of the flavour that comes will the all grain mashes, so before I go out and buy a pot still of some sort, I’d like to run a theory I had about using a reflux still for all grain mashes, I hope my theory is not too much jiberish and you can understand a little about my theory, so here goes, a pot still is run at about 85-90 degrees Celsius so not sure wat that is in Fahrenheit, and that will produce about 80% alcohol which is ideal for getting good flavour, so if I ran a reflux still at 78 degrees again sorry not sure the Fahrenheit but that will produce 96% pure alcohol, if I then leave it going, as the alcohol drops in the boiler the temperature will start to rise and I will start to loose that purity and start running into the tails, and if I keep running it up until about 90 degrees Celsius that will start bringing up all those flavours that a pot still would be doing , correct? Or is that not the case, that was a theory that I might be able to use my reflux still to produce an all grain flavoured whisky, so could my theory be worth a try or do you think it will not get the same flavours as to just using a pot still, hope my theory was understandable and any feed back would be good thanks.

[still_stirrin]

I think you’ve got one hell of a run on sentence. Use punctuation to make it easier to read, especially for those reading on a smart phone.

But, to answer your question....if you want flavored spirits, then get the right equipment to do it. A potstill is best suited for making whiskey and rum. You should strip and then do a spirit run through the potstill. It’ll keep the grain flavors from your mash intact in the spirit. Reflux cleans the flavors and produces higher purity/proof.

I think you can make a potstill head for your boiler easy enough. Search through the construction forum for ideas on how to do it.

Besides, you hypothesis of running your reflux at lower temperatures to mimic potstill operation is disjointed...it won’t work that way.

Read up and learn.
ss

[The Baker]

My phone is smart enough.

Not so much the operator.

Geoff

[PaulyD]

Ah ok thanks still_stirrin for the feed back, I guess I’ll go buy an Alembic copper dome or if you can recommend another still head that might be a better buy, don’t think Im handy enough to be making one
Thanks

[shadylane]

@ PaulyD
Just guessing
I'd say the vast majority of grain spirits are run through a reflux still
Every still is different, so temperature and proof is irrelevant to the flavor.

[Odin]

An LM packed column, packed with for instance SSP, is de-facto a potstill, if you fully open the needle valve. The packing is 90% open space. It gives a run like a potstill with some reflux. But then again, a copper potstill gives passive reflux too. Pretty comparable, especially when your packed column is insulated. It is not the design that makes the whiskey. It is what the design does to your distilled spirit.

The advantage of the LM packed column as a potstill is that you can now start to combine tricks (maybe not on the first run, but as you learn along). Like this: first stabilize your column, to compact heads. Or: slowly close the needle-valve towards the end of the run for more reflux, more redisitillation-cycles and push tails away. Or like this: do a single run on a mash and manipulate your valve in such a way that the reflux adds like 0.5 to 1 redistillation-cycle and turn your (chemically and organically active) ferment into new make spirit in one go. The less you have to take out (like boiler charges after a stripping run), the more flavor will come over. And don't aim for 80%, but for 60-65% as your hearts cut. Why try make flavor, only to then dilute it with water?

Regards, Odin.

[PaulyD]

Ah ok thank Odin, so if I take the packing out of the column that will also bring the vapour purity down reaching the condenser, then I can play around with the valve to manage how much reflux is happening, if I have to much purity and high alcohol percentage I will open the needle up a little till I get around the 65 - 80%. I’ll give it a try
Thanks

[Odin]

Just leave the packing in. Well, at least when it is of the open kind like I mentioned. Or DO take it out and follow me on this thought experiment ...

Envision a potstill. Boiler, riser, bridge, downer, cooler. Imagine riser, bridge and downer and cooler all being 3 inch in diameter (or 2 inch, whatever). Now, in your head, keep the boiler and riser in place, but slowly let your mind's eye move the cooler up. See how the downer and bridge follow? Now some more, and then some more, until the cooler is exactly above the boiler and riser. All you now need is slanted plates to get the new make out of your ultra-steep potstill design ...

Odin.

[Saltbush Bill]

Odin and shady are on it here, what you are wanting to know about has been done many times before, there are whole threads on the subject, you might just have to search around the forums a bit to find what you need to know. If not here try Artisan Distiller. As stated , temp is the last thing you need to be looking at , it has nothing to do with it. ABV is also pretty irrelevant, what really matters is whats in the cuts jars and what that smells / tastes like.
There are a few ways to skin this cat, (1) take the packing out of your reflux and run it wide open as a pot still, using the heat under the boiler to adjust takeoff speed.
(2) leave the packing where it is , use reflux to remove all of the fores and most of the heads, then open it right up and use it as a pot by using heat under boiler to adjust take off speed.