Copper stills for making Rakija

[shadylane]

There's an interpreter and CC in english.
The process is start to finish.

[Wildcats]

Another good one Shady thank you sir.

[zach]

Here is a Romanian copper still construction video for a wood fired boiler with a scraper.

[shadylane]

[shadylane]

Here's a different design, that's common in Spain and Portugal.
It looks similar to some the stills used to make mezcal.

[shadylane]

For the folks that are scratching their heads wondering how it works here's a drawing.

[Saltbush Bill]

Love that fermenter tank......wish I could walk around in mine in my work boots.
Bet he gave the whole thing a thorough scrub with starsan before he fermented in it.

[shadylane]

I'd bet good money he doesn't even know what starsan is.
Why, because he never needed it.

[tommysb]

Hey Saltbush -

That fermenter is known as a 'Lagare' - it's really common here in Portugal (where the video was filmed) - particularly in Douro valley and it's kind of a feature of Douro wines and Port Wines that this is used in grape crushing. They are wide and shallow as they are used for foot-stomping the grapes so we can just throw all the grapes in in, get the family round, and march and dance around inside. Starsan not required

[Saltbush Bill]

Thank you for that info Tommy, I've seen similar fermenters here in Au, in old wine grape growing areas.
The ones I've seen were a little smaller and in the backyard of quite old homes.
Quite possibly those houses were originally owned or built by Portuguese immigrants many years ago.

[shadylane]

[shadylane]

[shadylane]

These boys screwed up and let the must scorch.

[zach]

Thanks Shady for the videos.

I really admire the Croatian grandma's still cart, with the wood fired tilting copper boiler. The wheels on the cart are made of something that can take the heat, maybe steel? They just dig a hole and dump the slop after a run. There is a perforated plate to prevent scorching.

Some may think these folks look backward, but there are generations of ingenuity in the design.

[zach]

[Wildcats]

That's a hell of a set up!! Thanks for sharing this Zach.

[Haurly]

Nice stuff! Love seeing the good ole girls and boys doing their thing the way they have for generations!

My family overseas have an old wood fired French still they still use to this day, has to be over 50 years old and going strong. It has a tilting mechanism on the boiler for speedy dumping. I remember it capturing my attention as a kid many, many years ago. They built their own barrels back then, too. Now they use stainless vats (cheaper and easier for the volume of wine they produce) and the rakija shop is loaded with full bottles from way back (they used to sell it but not near as much interest now).

Thanks for sharing and prompting these good memories.

[Setsumi]

For the folks that are scratching their heads wondering how it works here's a drawing.

Now pray tell me that is not where Alex Bokakop got his insparation?.... I bet the Bokakop even goes further, al the way back to Mary the Jewess. Simple things stick around.

[shadylane]

For the folks that are scratching their heads wondering how it works here's a drawing.

Now pray tell me that is not where Alex Bokakop got his insparation?.... I bet the Bokakop even goes further, al the way back to Mary the Jewess. Simple things stick around.

I can't say who gets credit for that type of LM still head.
Most likely it predates written language and was made out of clay....

[The Baker]

For the folks that are scratching their heads wondering how it works here's a drawing.

Now pray tell me that is not where Alex Bokakop got his insparation?.... I bet the Bokakop even goes further, al the way back to Mary the Jewess. Simple things stick around.

Not that far. I was on the forums when he introduced it.

Geoff

[shadylane]

Big ass liebig.

[Wildcats]

Another good one Shadylane!! Looks like that condenser is easily set up and knocking down plenty. Wonder what the outside water jacket is made of.....nice

[zach]

Here's the extended version from the Albanian family. Includes cooking a fish dinner with the same fire used for the boiler. Interesting how they use the creek to provide water flow through the condenser. Both plum and grape rakija are made. What a nice family tradition.

[shadylane]

[shadylane]

[Wildcats]

These guys ain't messing around. Another good one Shadylane thank you Sir.

[Yummyrum]

Grief

Buggered if I’d be doing that .

[zach]

Get your order in today!

[samwell]

Rakija, Slivovitz, Śliwowica, Šljivovica, however you'd like to call it is such an interesting and traditional drink for many eastern, central, and southern europeans. As I'm half polish, I've heard about the polish version, Śliwowica, and saw a couple videos about their process in Poland. Here's one cool video from 1994:



Clip with the still starts at 1:08

Cheers.

Edit: Looks like you have to watch it directly on YouTube and not through the forum as the poster doesn't allow watching on external sites.

[Beerswimmer]

Just an FYI for those that are interested. I sent an email to DES Subotica, a maker of those type stills in Romania, asking about getting them to the USA or North America.

"Yes we ship word wide.

Please let us know your nearest port so we can come up with a transportation cost.



Thank you in advance.



S postovanjem, / Kind regards,"

So no different than ordering from China. I really think that these type stills would become popular here due to their versatility and ease of use. Distill bourbon on the grain, and if you have fruit you wouldn't even need a wine press. Wood, propane or electric. If you are only interested in flavored spirits, this is about as close as it gets to a "one still to do it all". They come with a smaller worm now, so it needs less room. They make stills small enough to distill rakija on the pulp on your kitchen counter if room is an issue.

https://www.despotstills.eu/