Distilling Mead
- Thread starter bluestar
- Start date
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Please be careful discussing distillation in public areas on this forum, it's not legal in a lot of places (like hte good old US of A) and we don't want to cause gotmead.com any problems. And welcome!
Please be careful discussing distillation in public areas on this forum, it's not legal in a lot of places (like hte good old US of A) and we don't want to cause gotmead.com any problems. And welcome!
search for enlightenment
Only to aid you on your quest, I refer you to moonshine-still.com I would imagine that you would only want a pot still to save the nature of the mead. If you just want pure ethanol from a reflux still, sugar is .30 a pound if you buy in quantity and it would be stupid to waste mead.
Only to aid you on your quest, I refer you to moonshine-still.com I would imagine that you would only want a pot still to save the nature of the mead. If you just want pure ethanol from a reflux still, sugar is .30 a pound if you buy in quantity and it would be stupid to waste mead.
We are setting up a commercial craft distillery. Distilled mead will be a signature product and a base spirit for other products. There are very few distillers currently using mead as a wash, so we are interested in hearing about other experience, or even speculation. And of course we do not condone the illegal production of spirits without appropriate license and taxation.
Our plan is to use a pot still that we are having built by a Kentucky still manufacturer, to keep that essence of honey in the aroma and flavor profile. We would have no interest in diluting with sugar, but we might later consider blended washes or even using a base of melomel, metheglin, pyment, etc., for limited production special eau de vies. We would be interested in hearing from anyone who has knowledge of something along these lines.
Aah! You're licensed and will be appropriately taxed so it's all good! ;D
All I've ever done is freeze concentration of mead (legal here) which turned out quite nice when you start with something good and quite unremarkable when you start with something not so good... but I've used a fractional distillation setup in chem lab and I'm interested in the mechanics of larger-scale beverage distillation too (not that I'd run a still even if I knew how, for multiple reasons, I just wanna know how everything works and how people use them).
I think Rabbit's Foot Meadery has made a mead brandy in the past. Their shop is down for maintainence so I couldn't check to see if it's a current product. Mike Faul at Rabbit's Foot would be a good person to contact on this.
http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com/
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http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com/
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i would be interested to see the still design.
i'm looking at making a wood fired still for one of my projects (and yes its legal for hobbyist to use still over here <yay> )
I'm sorry to thread-jack, but I recommend that you don't use a fire as a heat source, tweak'e. An open flame is a potential source of ignition of the flammable vapors.
Also, you should consider operating your still outside to minimize the concentration of flammable vapors. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
I am envious of you both, I would love to have an opportunity to try my hand at distilling. Getting licensed is out of the question, though, and trying to explain a fine/jail time to my wife doesn't sound like much fun.
Also, you should consider operating your still outside to minimize the concentration of flammable vapors. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
I am envious of you both, I would love to have an opportunity to try my hand at distilling. Getting licensed is out of the question, though, and trying to explain a fine/jail time to my wife doesn't sound like much fun.
I'm sorry to thread-jack, but I recommend that you don't use a fire as a heat source, tweak'e. An open flame is a potential source of ignition of the flammable vapors.
Also, you should consider operating your still outside to minimize the concentration of flammable vapors. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
its a matter of cost. got heaps of free firewood (mostly old bee boxes) and doing this quantity the power bill would be big, especially as i have just over 160 gallons to be distilled.
I've been doing some poking around and saw it recommended to just use a longer lyne arm on a pot still to make sure any flammable vapours come out far away from the heat source.
If the still is designed properly fire won't be an issue, add in good ventilation or do it outside and you're extra fine.
Design it wrong in too contained of a space and you could blow yourself up obviously.
Design it wrong in too contained of a space and you could blow yourself up obviously.
there are quite a few good canadian based distilling forums out there. one of my favorite is home distiller. It's an interesting topic, but for a "home brewer" the cons out weigh the pros. i understand your going commercial though.
that being said. i thought that boiling the honey would make it loose it characteristics? with distilling your heating past boiling to evaporation. so following that theory would this not defeat what your trying to do?
that being said. i thought that boiling the honey would make it loose it characteristics? with distilling your heating past boiling to evaporation. so following that theory would this not defeat what your trying to do?
I spoke to a guy at North Shore Distillery about distilling mead before. I don't think they have done distilled mead commerially, but I know he has tried it.
tweak'e-I had envisioned you cooking your wash over an open flame for some reason. Using a wood-fired stove or some such would help mitigate the danger there.
Chevette Girl-while I agree that a longer arm will help transport the flammable vapors away from the heat source, you still need a way to open the pot for cleaning. That will be a potential spot for leaks.
AToE-I disagree that having a properly designed still means that fire won't be an issue. I'll certainly acknowledge that you can greatly reduce the fire hazard, but I'm not convinced you can completely eliminate it. In theory you can have a completely sealed system, but it is difficult in practice. Additionally, equipment failure must be accounted for.
Back on topic, I'm afraid that I have nothing to add, bluestar. I have never consumed honey based spirits, but would like to try it at some point. If I'm ever in Chicago after you're up and running, then I'll be sure to buy some. Unless of course your distribution network extends to Alaska...hint, hint.
This discussion has reminded me that a local distiller has set up shop in a community just north of Anchorage, the aptly (if somewhat uncreative) named Alaska Distiller. I think I'll send them an email and see if they sell honey-based spirits.
Chevette Girl-while I agree that a longer arm will help transport the flammable vapors away from the heat source, you still need a way to open the pot for cleaning. That will be a potential spot for leaks.
AToE-I disagree that having a properly designed still means that fire won't be an issue. I'll certainly acknowledge that you can greatly reduce the fire hazard, but I'm not convinced you can completely eliminate it. In theory you can have a completely sealed system, but it is difficult in practice. Additionally, equipment failure must be accounted for.
Back on topic, I'm afraid that I have nothing to add, bluestar. I have never consumed honey based spirits, but would like to try it at some point. If I'm ever in Chicago after you're up and running, then I'll be sure to buy some. Unless of course your distribution network extends to Alaska...hint, hint.
This discussion has reminded me that a local distiller has set up shop in a community just north of Anchorage, the aptly (if somewhat uncreative) named Alaska Distiller. I think I'll send them an email and see if they sell honey-based spirits.
Good points definitely, it's certainly not something to practice without due care! I just know some folks who do it outside over wood fires, with the system they have set up it's seriously probably much more likely that their still be hit by lightning than catch on fire.
But they're very experienced and all experts at building the gear, it's not something I'd recommend for the hobby distiller (in places where legal of course...).
There are very few honey distillers in the world. I have tried to talk a few into it, but honey is a very expensive sugar!
I found a honey based liquor in a store in the Chicago area a few years ago. It came in glass barrel shaped bottle. It has a flip top with the label on a string. I lost the label. :-( Never saw it again. It is very good. I am convinced it has honey added back since it has good honey flavor. Sorry, I am still hunting for the manufacturer. I only have a little left in the bottle.
Agreed pot still would leave the most flavor behind. I would love to help you perfect a final product if you need taste testers along the way. ;-)
I found a honey based liquor in a store in the Chicago area a few years ago. It came in glass barrel shaped bottle. It has a flip top with the label on a string. I lost the label. :-( Never saw it again. It is very good. I am convinced it has honey added back since it has good honey flavor. Sorry, I am still hunting for the manufacturer. I only have a little left in the bottle.
Agreed pot still would leave the most flavor behind. I would love to help you perfect a final product if you need taste testers along the way. ;-)
Well, wood fires (or turf fires) have been the traditional way to make the stuff, and the photos I've seen of old time stills seemed to have that long arm leading away from the distillation source, but a wood fire doesn't give you the kind of control you need to really be sure your product is safe. Those old timers in the hills and mountains knew what they were doing (mostly), but there was the occasional bad source that could have serious effects.
Maybe another possibility is to look into brandy production (distilled mead would be a brandy, the way grape wine is used to make brandy) to see how flavor is created and maintained. You could also backsweeten the distilled product with honey to add just a touch of honey flavor, then age in brandy casks.
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Maybe another possibility is to look into brandy production (distilled mead would be a brandy, the way grape wine is used to make brandy) to see how flavor is created and maintained. You could also backsweeten the distilled product with honey to add just a touch of honey flavor, then age in brandy casks.
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