How to Choose the Right Still for Your Needs: A Guide for Distillers

Choosing the right still is essential for your distillery, whether you are starting with hobby production or planning a serious business. The right choice can mean the difference between enjoying the craft and dealing with unnecessary costs and difficulties.

First of all, good planning is necessary. What do you want to produce, in what quantity, and do you have enough space? Once you have considered all of this, it is necessary to define the batch size you want to ferment, if you are producing a distillate from fermentation. Do not think that gin producers have it easier. What is saved on fermentation is often offset by longer distillation cycles due to the higher initial alcohol concentration. Once you have defined the batch quantity, you define the working day, 8 / 16 / 24 h. Only then can you determine what size of still you need.

Here is a practical example:
We want to produce plum brandy. We have enough space in our distillery for 10 t. We decide that we can work 16 h once fermentation stops. Now we begin to consider which still suits us best. If we can form fermentation batches with a day or two between them, we arrive at a mass of 1 t, that is, approximately 1000 L per day, which we need to process once fermentation is complete. If we are familiar with the distillation times for fermented mash, which can easily be seen on our website, we come to the conclusion that a 200 L still suits us best, because it can easily complete 5 cycles in that time. Since we also perform double distillation, we must take into account that 4 to 5 still charges of fermented mash are needed to obtain one still charge for double distillation. This means that in any given year, we should not process less than 800 to 1000 kg of fruit.

In this case, only if we predict production growth over the next 10 years should we consider purchasing one additional 120 L still, or starting immediately with a more expensive, larger still of 350 or even 500 L, with an adjustment of the batch size.

The type of still, traditional or modern column still, which also includes the option for traditional distillation, is determined by the range of distillates you intend to produce. Young distilleries often have several different distillates in their offer in order to strengthen their market presence. Such a range requires a versatile still that can produce distillates in a high-quality and efficient way.

Finally, there is the heating method. Today, energy prices vary, and our advice is to choose the energy source that is most accessible and favorable to you, while respecting environmental measures as much as possible. Fortunately, our traditional-type devices can be heated using multiple energy sources, and in some models even by combining two energy sources.