Thumper for adding flavor?

[Thatguy1307]

Hey ya'll
Im planning my new still and will probably run a CCVM to pull neutral spirits. One of my favorite things about the CCVM is the ability to pull the RC, cap it, and run it as a pot still. My question is has anyone used a thumper to add flavor to a neutral spirit?
My idea would be to charge the thumper with flavoring and run the neutral spirit through it. So fill the boiler with neutral, charge the thumper with apple juice, and hopefully get an apple flavored liquor. Would enough flavor carry over? I know I could just cut the neutral with the apple juice but im interested to know if this works.

[MooseMan]

I use a thumper to add flavour to brandy. Yes I know that's not how brandy is traditionally made.

For example I made an apple wine, stripped it, then ran the low wines through a thumper full of chopped apples in an attempt to extract the flavour from the skins and flesh.

Doing what you suggest is in a roundabout way, how gin is made.

You'd be better off making apple brandy in my opinion, rather than going to all the effort to make a neutral and then trying to get apple flavour into it.

[PalCabral]

I'm no expert on thumpers, to be honest, they scare me a bit, but my understanding is that they add flavor but aren't there to provide all of the flavor. If you'd run a sugar wash in the main boiler and add apple cider or crushed apples to the thumper, you'd get an apple flavored moonshine, but not an apple brandy. So if you're using neutral spirit in the boiler and apple in the thumper, yes, you'd get an apple flavor to your product. Maybe not a lot though, because apple is a discrete flavor provider. You might actually get more apple flavor by adding dried apple slices in the thumper as they will have more concentrated apple flavor.

I know distillers that add apple pomace or apple brandy feints to the thumper when they are distilling apple mash, just to boost the apple flavor from the main mash.

[Yonder]

Adding fruit or flavorings to the thumper is very common. As noted, you get a richly flavored liquor with a higher proof, as you are essentially distilling a second time. I do it quite often and find it far superior to adding some flavoring after the fact.
On another note, when you say you want charge your boiler with neutral spirits, i hope to god you mean to proof them down below 40 abv rather than create an alcohol bomb in your shed.

[MooseMan]

Good catch Yonder, I didn't pick up on that.

[Thatguy1307]

Absolutely Yonder! Ive been out of the game for a while but I remember that!
When i used to run neutral, I would try to flavor it after the fact by cutting it with juice or try a panty dropper style syrup or even store bought flavorings but I was never super happy with the results. I read somewhere about somebody using mashed up fruit in a thumper to add flavor and thought it sounded like a good idea. Ive never run a thumper before, though and wanted to see if anyone else had experience doing something similar before going through all the trouble of making my still modular enough to switch between ccvm and pot with thumper.
On that note, im thinking a tri clamp after the takeoff before the PC. Then I could switch between going straight to the PC or adding a thumper between the takeoff and the PC. I need to sit down and actually draw up some plans. Anything I should keep in mind?

[Novice]

A 3 way valve to bypass the thumper.

[Thatguy1307]

Novice, why would I want to bypass the thumper? If I just want to run it as a pot still, id leave it in ccvm setup with the RC raised completely above the takeoff.

[30xs]

When flavoring you can send the heads around the thumper, and switch to the thumper once in hearts.

[MooseMan]

When I built my first keg boiler still, I blatantly copied Kimbodius' build, because it's so simple and so easy to swap out, see if you can find it in the forum Thatguy?

It's a CCVM, but when you want to run in pot mode, you take the column off, and basically flip the tee and cap it, and you have a pot riser.
I'd look at that concept before you decide on your build.

I wouldn't choose to run a big tall column as a pot still, and definitely not with a thumper. If that's your intention I'd build accordingly.

[BlackStrap]

Mooseman is this the post you were referring too?
viewtopic.php?t=62101

When I built my first keg boiler still, I blatantly copied Kimbodius' build, because it's so simple and so easy to swap out, see if you can find it in the forum Thatguy?

It's a CCVM, but when you want to run in pot mode, you take the column off, and basically flip the tee and cap it, and you have a pot riser.
I'd look at that concept before you decide on your build.

I wouldn't choose to run a big tall column as a pot still, and definitely not with a thumper. If that's your intention I'd build accordingly.

[Thatguy1307]

Is there a detriment to a taller column when running in pot still mode? I would just take the RC out and put a cap on the top of the T.

[Novice]

You'll get a thinner distillate,with less flavor, a a little higher abv.

[Bolverk]

More passive reflux

[MooseMan]

I could have sworn I already replied to say thanks for digging the thread up BlackStrap!?

But anyway, thanks!