iStillNews

Okay a verdict on the iStill and after that: a decision. But first things first. How did the tests turn out? In a summarized form: good. Now, let's zoom in on the details. I will try to be as extensive as I can, so it will be a long read. Long, but interesting, I think.

By the way, it is great to see that we now even have people from Saudie-Arabia and Estonia following this Blog. Personally I am very curious as to how distilling is done in Saudie-Arabia. Anyone out there who wishes to share?

Back to the iStill now!

On packing and shipping:

The distiller comes in two boxes. One holds the column, the other holds the boiler and additional parts. Both are very well packed: protected against rain and rough treatment. It surpassed my expectations. Packed like this, it will surely survive a trip to anywhere on the globe. Btw, shipments outside Western-Europe will be in three smaller boxes.

Setting up the still:

Setting the still up takes some time. About 2 1/2 hours. Two people can do the job easily. And the 2 1/2 hour is taking it leasurely. You have to install the heating and management system to the boiler first. Then you mount the column, cooler and filter, and the column cooler. Connecting the thermometers etc. is easy because plugs have designated colours. All in all, setting this baby up didn't cause any problems. The explanations and build instructions are clear and you have to be a complete moron to assemble it wrongly. I know, because building wise, I am a moron. And even I succeeded in putting it together!

Build quality:

This is one major plus. The rig is build to last. Very strong, with an eye for detail. This is the best build quality I have ever seen on a distilling device. "Over engineered" is what comes to mind. "High tech" is another expression that does justice to its appearance. There is nothing amateuristic about the still. It is build to satisfy professional users.

Build structure:

It is set up as a fractionating still and has all the additions to make it live up to its expectations and more. The SPP does a great job at getting a low HETP, the needle valve is able to maintain azeotropic take-off at all times, cooling is more than sufficient, and so on.

My personal favorite? The hose connection just above the packing; it makes for very easy cleaning.

The selonoid valves work very well in letting cooling water in, in dividging various fractions.

The filter takes a first 1 liter of booz from you, but seems to work flawlessly after that, even filtering 95%+ down to neutral.

Automation:

That's the real trick this still has up its sleeves: the automated controls. Heat up at 4,000 watts, cooling water automatically tunes in, lower energy input when boiling, automated stabilization, automated fores removal, etc, etc.

Safeguards against cooling problems and column flooding, together with distilling electrically, make its operation fool proof.

Programming:

The programming allows you to select various programs and parameters. You can use the iStill as a potstill or a water distiller. Or you can set her up for fractionating at azeotropic temperatures. In that case you can choose for a filtered or non filtered product.

Parameters to dial in are the column stabilization time (23 minutes will do the job), fores withdrawel (78.5 degrees is a good setting), end temperature of collection (98.5 degrees at the bottom of the column seems like a good compromise for take off speeds), tolerance of draw off temperatures related to azeotropic boiling temperature (0.3 degrees gives you a better collection rate and a slightly higher ABV than 0.2 or 0.1 degrees), etc.

Is there enough for the professional distiller to play with? Yes. Can it be ran fool proof by somebody just starting with the noble art of distilling? Yes, it can do that too.

Heads can be drawn off together with fores, if a higher temperature setting is choosen for fores removal. I personally do it differently. I let the column heat up, then collect the fores and throw them out. Now a 30 minutes stabilization program starts. You see the temps drop for 22 to 23 minutes, which means lower boiling point molecules are well stacked. The first "batch" the iStill draws off are well concentrated heads. Next "take" will probably be clean already. You can just continue collecting hearts or push "stop", push "menu", push "stabilization time" and choose "10 minutes". Push "start" again, and the rig will draw off some more fores (into the heads container for redistillation) and stabilize for 10 minutes before true hearts will be collected. Reading it takes longer than dialing it in.

If you run the rig too hot, it automatically shuts down. It does not flood, but has a pressure measurement device to make 200% sure. Auto shut down, if such a situation were to occur.

Potstill:

Even as a potstil,l it will equalize. This allows you to take out fores, or fores and heads in a very compact way, leaving you with a better quality middle cut. In potstill mode the iStill pisses out about 3 liters per hour. By dialing in starting temps and end of program temperature, you can automate your potstill runs with perfect cuts for heads, hearts and tails. You can also just use various smaller collection vessels for receiving and blending. Whatever runs your engine.

Fractionating still:

In this mode, it delivers 3 liters per hour when charged with 35% to 40% low wines. The collection rate of (say) a turbo wash of between 20% and 10% will be around 2.5 liters per hour. If the ABV in the boiler is between 10% and 5%, she still will give 1.5 liters of azeotropic alcohol per hour. When boiler charge is under 5%, output slows to about 0.8 liter per hour.

Heads and fores are well compressed. I calculated these fractions to be 6% of total azeotropic collectable, which is better than any other device I ever read or heared about. Equalization and stacking of lower boiling point alcohols takes 22 to 23 minutes, which is very fast.

The rig heats boiler contents up to a boil in about 50 minutes. Heating up the column and packing takes another 25 minutes.

It can take a neutral wash and turn it into a vodka by potstill mode or by means of the fractionating programs. Filtering is not needed. It can make a whiskey or brandy in potstill mode. It can turn a taste rich wash (for whiskey for example) into a vodka with character by using the fractionating programs. If you want to turn it into a neutral, choose the carbon filtration option. Tests I took earlier this week showed that the rig is perfectly set up to make a Pure Whiskey: a whiskey made by fractionating a taste rich wash at 96% with added feints. All the taste is there, all the hangovers are gone.

Since I am not much of a rum kinda guy, I didn't attempt to make a rum with the iStill. But with the potstill function for sure you can. I expect the fractionating program will give a light rum. But with added dunder and/or feints, a heavy rum can be made distilling at 96%, I expect. Just as in making a Pure Whiskey.

Apart from the build quality and the automation and its performances ... do I like the still? Yes, I do! At first I was affraid the automation might take some of the fun away, but it doesn't. If anything, the automation adds a dimension.

I will try to explain it via a metaphore.

"Old school" stilling is like driving one of those old style sports cars. Say a 1980's Porsche 911. They are fast and entertaining, but good at one thing only and tiring after some time. The last generation of sports cars - say the newest model Porsche 911 - can be tuned in to do different things. You can choose sports settings and go faster then ever before. Or you can select a more comfortable damper setting and cruise home after a long day at the office. Do you want to shift gears? Please go ahead and do so! Do you want the car to do it for you? No problem. More steering feel? Just dial in the setting of your choice ...

My verdict:

This is a great and versatile rig that exceeded my expectations.

My decision:

We will bring this (and more!) to the international market place. More information will follow on short notice!

The poll outcomes show that about 80% of you think that making a whiskey with a rig like this, in full 96% attack mode, is not possible.

But I can now tell you it is.

The trick? How to do it? Ian Smiley's book tells about it and tests now show that, with an LM rig, it can be done. The trick is collecting heads & tails from a previous run. Ad those heads & tails to a next batch you want to distill. This way you increase the total amounts of heads & tails with a factor 2.

On run 2, proceed as normal. Heat up, stabilize, draw off heads, collect hearts, collect tails. Because the amount of heads & tails are doubled, they can be compressed much tighter (with less ethanol and water in the heads and tails solution). The tighter compression of both heads and tails makes that taste components associated with those fractions bleed into your hearts.

Bottom line: you will end up with a very tasty whiskey that hardly needs ageing. Actually, it does not even need wood. It is good as is. And some more good news: since it is a fractionated, pure whiskey, with careful cuts taken, you can drink it without getting a hangover. The taste of whiskey combined with the purity of vodka.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Back to http://istillblog.wordpress.com/

Sunday, April 28, 2013

New iStill Website is in the air!

SPP

About shipping and transportation

iStill prices

iStill 50: final test results are in!

Making Pure Whiskey