cowdery Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 If they thought in terms of batches, that would be the way to do it. That's when they change parameters if they are going to for any reason. In other words, if you're going to do a run of bourbon, followed by a run of rye, you will shut down in between, clean the still, and start over with the different mash.They do have to be stopped down and cleaned periodically, though I don't know the interval. If you think about what the column stills look like, you'll remember that there are removable panels from top to bottom. Mash can built up at various places throughout the still, not just as the bottom, and has to be cleaned out.One time I was at Jim Beam's Boston plant and they were running an experiment, operating the still much longer than was normal, to see if it made a difference. I was there when they opened it up and huge chunks of black gunt were everywhere. It was a mess. I asked the plant superintendent what they learned from that experiment. "Not to do it again," was his reply.<A target="_blank" HREF=http://cowdery.home.netcom.com>--Chuck Cowdery</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Bleee! That's funny Chuck. That's also something that can't happen with a pot still. They are usually of a size to hold one fermenter's worth of mash and must be cleaned out after each run. Hence the "One Fermenter. One Batch." mantra.We'll just have to wait and see what Lincoln Henderson and the boys have whipped up for us at Labrot & Graham. I hope it's the best bourbon the world has ever tasted, but we'll just have to wait and see.Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Labrot and Graham is the perfect example. When they call their stills "modified" pot stills, that's what they modified. They modified them so they can be run continuously.<A target="_blank" HREF=http://cowdery.home.netcom.com>--Chuck Cowdery</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurphyDawg Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Okay, I don't anything about stills, but that sounds like it would compleatly defeat the purpose! I mean I would figure that pot stills aren't continuous stills for a reason. . . . . . . . .is this true????TomC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Lets go into that in a little more detail Chuck. For anyone that's never visited L&G you might want to check out the virtual tour at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.l-g.com>http://www.l-g.com</A>.At first glance the pot stills at L&G look like any other Forsyths still. I checked all of my photos and I have no photographic evidence that the stills have been modified in anyway. Also the tour guide makes no mention of any modifications. However, on page 164 of Classic Bourbon; Tennessee & Rye Whiskey, Jim Murray writes "What made life difficult was the unusual, indeed truly unique method of passing beer complete with solids into the first pot still."Underneath the still viewing platform is a tremendous amount of pipework. Steampipes; waterpipes, drainpipes, and pipes that go from the fermenters to the primary still. I had no idea that this was anything special.As of my last visit to L&G they stated that they were running one fermenter a day. Our special visit in September (thanks to Omar) will prove to be very educational.Pants Away!Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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