How Does A Continuous Still Work? With Still Austin
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ย. 2019
- As home-distillers we do not often get the chance to see a continuous still up close.
Josh from Still Austin was kind enough to give me a behind the seans look at a 50 ft continouos still. I had a bunch of questions for him, like how do you make cuts on a continuous still?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Get More From Still It & Chase The Craft :
www.chasethecraft.com
The Still Austin Website:
stillaustin.com/
The Texas Whiskey Trail:
texaswhiskeytrail.com/
Chase The Craft Hats:teespring.com/en-GB/stores/ch...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Still Its Patreon Page:
/ stillit
Still It Tee Shirts:
New Chase The Craft Designs available now!
teespring.com/stores/stillit
Sign Up To The Still It Mailing List Here:
stillitmaillist.gr8.com
Some Cool Distilling Stuff On Amazon:
www.amazon.com/shop/influence...
Subscribe Here:
th-cam.com/users/subscription_c...
----------------------------------------------------------------
#StillAustin #distilling #Texaswhiskey
Just in case you didn’t realize I often include affiliate links in my videos and descriptions.
This will not change the price for you at all, But the seller will buy my a cup of coffee if you purchase from one of the links. Choice eh? - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![[ไฮไลต์] "บิว" ภูริพล บุญสอน วิ่ง 100m ชาย รอบคัดเลือก | โอลิมปิก 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3kUSMfgtQ5s/mqdefault.jpg)
Josh, dude, remember to blink!!!
He actually blinks to the frame rate of the recording.
Hey Sir I have doubt in bubble cap tray
he doesnt need to, the lights in the background do it for him... Poor power grid cant handle it
he makes up for it at 8:30, he just likes to binge blink
I actually had to look for this comment! Couldn't unsee this and had to take a break to see if i was just overthinking it
This was one of your best videos and I’m one of the people that much rather see you chasing the craft.
awesome man. Glad you liked it.
Just like an oil refinery. The furture big money maker is craft oil refineries
So I was right! We spoke about this on messenger, continuous distillation is almost identical to fractional distillation in the petrochemical industry. They just use different terms (cuts = fractions)
Really interesting video, keep up the good work my man!!
Yup :)
So glad I got to go over this with Josh! Cheers mate.
This was a great video, very informative and inspiring.
Thanks to Jesse, Josh, and Still Austin for being generous with the details.
Love this channel, just distilled a whiskey this morning getting a bit better at making the cuts by watching you
Thanks, finally a continuous still explained in a way I got it... even if traditionally the analyser and rectifier are separate. Good job!
Wow impressive video! Complete and informative! Cheers!
I love the channel! Does anyone notice the guy giving the tour NEVER blinks. 😂 very cool video. That still is a monster.
Wow that is so awesome. Super cool functions.
Wow Jesse what a cool video, this sort of video is pushing the limits of what is possible, I’ve been checking out Grappa distilling with steam.
It’s something I’ve never thought about until recently.
There are so many possibilities with distilling !
Love your videos, keep them coming.
Thank you and your Patreons for this amazing video ;
Cheers mate :)
Awesome man. Everything I wanted to know in one video, thanks! Sporting a NNW pin as well. Respect!
Thank you, this was very informative!
Great review of a continuous still Jesse! As always Awesome stuff!
Thanks mare :)
Seriously cool! Thank you for making this!
Thanks for making it possible for me to make it!
This was a real fun video to watch.
This was great! I was having a hard time understanding the column still until this video.
Awesome as always Jesse
Very cool, I am a process engineer myself, and love to see these principals put in to use. Did you ask him what effectivity of the still is? -I am asking because I would imagine that it is less than that of batch destillation. Perhaps recirculating the 'spend grain' back in to the feed flow, would increase this, if they are not already doing it.
Great video, and great channel.
Jesse. I worked at an ethanol and food grade alcohol production plant for 10yrs. The spent sludge was sent to another process area and squeezed of as much liquid as possible and then on to the dried distillers grain plant for drying. Some is sold as high protein additive to bolster poor quality feed stock. And the brown liquid is sold by the tanker for the same but poured over feed tray at milking stations and long feeders.... Your mate gives it to farmers for free in its full form. But my tight-arsed mega millionaire company owner employer at the time preferred to sell it to farmers here struggling for feed during the drought. Cheers to Still Austin.
This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.
Really cool process! Amazing set up they have going:-)
Its a interesting one for sure!
Dude awesome video!!
Smashing description!
Great video, thank you
Awesome still setup! Welcome to the states Jesse! You're in my backyard (I'm in Houston). Will try their whiskey next time I'm in Austin.
Make sure to try ironroot, balcones and Andalusia as well ;)
Wow! Amazing vid dude!!!!!
At first I thought this was going to be one of those giant columns that's just turning out 170-190 proof flavorless stuff to age; then they got into the bit with the multi temperature valves and that was super cool.
I mean they CAN do that with it haha. I hear you!
So the the beer with the grain goes into still and basically takes a slide down the boil plate and then out to the silo so essentially no holding boiler tank. That’s crazy. And super cool thanks Jesse for the killer content
Yep. Steam is pumped in the bottom to heat it. So yeah, no pot at the bottom.
Awesome piece of equipment congratulations on the success and thanks for the knowledge. Sure is a long way from a pot thumper still that I have.
That’s awesome info. I thought something g like that had to exist in the spirits world for efficiency like an oil refinery. Going to have to get one of their tours to check that out closer.
The tubes which feed the wash in and the spent grain out must be no more than 1”. How on earth do they push the grain around? Is it milled to a very fine powder? Great video btw! Cheers.
This is way cool. I always wondered how these work.
Its interesting aye? Last time I was in Austin these guys showed me how it worked. I was kicking myself for not making a video on it.
Absolutely. The guy who invented that thing was a genius.
this was very interesting
Very cool
Not any grain in the column, but just fermented grain wash or beer? Very cool setup. I've seen small gravity wash feed still. Great video!
They pump the solids in as well.
He's got that Austin look in his eyes
This is really cool. I have been reading and dreaming of buying some new still parts today. Is there any way that us home distillers can build a system with the rectification setup like shown in this video?
It would be amazing and cool to be able to distill a product and set the output valves and get what you want from it, or is it just silly to think it would work for a small home distiller?
I can see the continuous side of it is impractical for us home distillers.
thank you
I just toured a facility using a similar still continuous steam column with doubler. It was massive! Cant wait till holladay bourbon comes out from aging gotta try still Austin too
Impressive bits of equipment right?
@@StillIt very much so just wish I could of got pictures! They wouldn't let us film photograph in the mash/still house or the bonded warehouses I got their grain bill tho on their 4 grain
Nice, who was it?
@@StillIt holladay distillery in Weston mo. They call themselves McCormicks premium side...we will see in less than 6 months when they hit the shelf
Awesome video! Just curious how they handle the methanol production? Do they preheat the beer to 68 C before pumping it in, do they restill that at 68 C or do they know what plate picks up the most methanol and are able to pump it out? Or do they simply not care about the methanol production?
(Edit): nvm i just noticed the top pipes at 5:08. So basically they can just run it, separate methanol out and also fine tune their spirits. Thats pretty neat!
Great video Jesse but I don't think that it's going to fit in my shed without a major rebuild
Hmmmm that is a problem . . .
Cool Jessie. Like a big ethanol plant. Thanks for the report.
Bring it to SF...I'd like to try it.
Hey dude, worked in a brewery production facility for a few years, very interested in distilling but no experience. When you are talking about spent grain near the end there you aren't actually talking about spent grain, are you? You are referring to Trub, correct? Also, what's the deal with compounds such as Biofine in the process, do you use them or is that a no go, if so why?
That is cool as heck, Question,,,Not many large producers use such creations do they?
Oh yeah, there are a ton of these types of stills being used for the big guys. The efficiency is great as they dont need to shut down / heat up again.
I wonder if it would be a better idea to use gate valves at each level to have better control than ball valves? Or does it even matter?
awsome i want 1
Right?
Jesse wanted to let you know how the sugar syrup with the potassium sorbate in it worked out after cutting it down to the right gravity ponit I made a a started with my yeast corn sugar and three gallons of highly oxygenated water once it took off I added it into my drum of syrup two hours later it blew the airlock off so hard it shattered. So if you make a good starter it will work just fine
Looks like a few brass fittings were used on that column
Hi jesse does this column have a condenser ontop to control reflux?
Jessie, Josh said that they donate the spent grain to local farmers. I assume it’s for animal feed. If so. Something l learned from a ‘cattle farmer’ friend of mine. Is that, if any of the grains have been germinated. The germinated grain will cause the animal to become sterile. Please pass the information along, just in case.
Cool as, I’ve always wondered how they seperate the heads tails etc. Now I’m wondering how I can do a scale version!
seriously, is it possible to do a scale version?
@@RandyBeasley_lovejusticepax I think I saw a design on home distiller being used for striping runs.
How do you keep the all of the vapor from exiting the lower valves on the column? I would think it would travel the path of least resistance since this is a closed system?
Good question! The valves are pulling the liquid sitting on the plates rather than the the vapor. (as I understand it anyway!).
@@StillIt I see, I love the idea of having the column make the cuts, I wonder if this could be scaled for a home set up... perhaps a large column with several valves at different heights along the column leading to thumper kegs to force the vapor through at different proofs? keeping it a closed system.. but I don't know if the math works for how much pressure would you'd need..
So if you re distill the heads you get more product or more whisky out of your mash?
So it has 12 rectification plates and 12 stripping plates?
What diameter is the column? Neat video and love the still but looking at it with the video cuts it's almost impossible to figure out what's going on.
Ive wanted to build one but they are unstable unless your in constent production
Hi guys, I've got a question. Josh said that at the bottom it collects some sort of concentrated sludge. Assuming they work with a 10% abv beer , and assuming they collect an everage 70 75% abv product, where does the big mass of separeted water go?
I would love to know what the feed rate of wash/grain and the takeoff of spirits is.
Also why on earth did they use manual valves and a ladder, and not electronically controlled valves?
I get the feeling a lot of the design decisions on this still were made by someone without a lot of experience building/operating one, it has a very prototype feel to it.
Do you have any background on its design? was it made by a company that specializes in continuous stills or was it designed by someone at the distillery?
Yeah not sure sorry mate.
I've taken the tour - they had the still designed, meaning it wasn't clapped together. It was built by Forsyths of Scotland. And it works very well - I like their bourbon more than a lot of other "Texas" bourbons.
@@degmar This still was designed by Michael Delavante and built by Forsyths Scotland (I've spoken to both) but the control system was devised by some other US company. So blame the manual take-off valves on the control company. Delavante was a rum guru, worked long in the rum biz as distiller,, and has written books on distilling. Forsyths will do what the customer wants and has a great design team. This still has a lot in common with other Forsyth columns, including huge huge height (and relatively high cost). IIRC the feed rate is 19liter/minute, ~5gpm. Not exactly a whiskey still, but a very flexible unit than can make low wines to vodka. I *fear* it's a jack of all trades, master of none - but that's purely speculation.
I''m sure the hand valves were done as a low cost option to be upgraded later on.
@@puddingwar5110 I'm sure you are wrong. Simple on/off valved would cost ~1% of the cost of the still.
6:30 - they were pulling from 1, 10, and 12. What happens to the spirit accumulating at all the other plates?
Its not accumulating. Its a plated column so any time a plate is over loaded the liquid is sent back down to the plate below it.
@@StillIt Well, if plates 2-9 are sent back to 10 for collection, what's the point of having all those plates or collecting from different points.
Do a video on how plated columns work.
Josh is not human... I tried staring the same about of time he did and couldn't do it
Why are they distilling on the grain tho , it feels like a higher chance of cloging
They don't have much trouble in the still. But did last time I was there Harry mentioned they wish they used larger copper to pump it around.
It's just more efficient, many would say it adds flavour too.
@@StillIt yeah id prefer to use a mash tun and drain the surgery water and ferment off grain
I remember watching that movie as a kid in the 60's. When Nancy met Harry Harry didn't fare to well.
I dont know if anyone fared that well haha
50 ft ! holy smoke!
So your from New Zealand and come to Texas to tour a distillery and George who is from Texas goes to Scotland to tour a distillery where is Bearded and Bored going to go.
haha I know right! I definitely need to get to some of the NZ places
Laphroaig is where bearded should go! I know id love to
this seems really complicated. I knew alcohol production was, but this is much more than I thought
Just wondering how the methanol is pulled when it’s constantly running.
He must have ponied up for all of that engineering.
It's a GENIUS still, yet! I don't trust it... If it were sooo simple as he said (wink, wink), why don't I see some valves halfway closed or something... Single pot still and fractions (I DARE you to make a "test run" from the same mash vs. Nancy), get a taste, mix 'em, I BET, you'll make a far more superior destilate than "her".
Seriously cool!
Seems like their end product would contain the methanol and other headache stuff. I don't see a way to remove that on a continuous still...
Wow, I always thought a continuous still was essentially just a series of thumpers (all be it with elements in them, which most commercial size thumpers have anyway).
the grain?
So is there a guy there tasting and then climbing 50ft to turn taps on and off?
Yep, about every 30 minutes.
does Josh ever blink??
Seems so expensive to have that many sight glasses. Why are that many required?
Any samples? 🔥🤔 😂
haha, I had a gin and tonic & a old fashioned. Both were awesome.
I was hoping he would address where the methanol was taken off.
They actually vent a lot of the heads/fores/whatever out into the atmosphere.
@@StillIt That's surprising. Surely they could burn it to heat the steam.
@@StillIt do you know what the temperature is of the foreshots vapor that they are venting off? Is there a deflegmator or something to regulate that temperature?
Did he mention how they remove the methanol?
Well this is a very complicated system. Whoever thought it up im sure had test models.
FUck, Idk you were in town!! piss
"Still Austin" "The Six Million Dollar Distillery"...
Does he blink?
Continuous Still porn is now a thing.
Hahaha 🥵
Jesus Christ!!!! Liquor porn!!!!
With it being movember you need to go clean skin bro
My man, please tell me why your special guest does not blink is he reptilian like seriously? His eyes have not blinked once in the whole entire first part of the interview is really creepy as fuck. 😮😂 as weird and as funny as this is, I’m dead serious man. Why is he not blinking? It’s freaking me out!.
Im completly lost , please speak dummy so i can even get this.