Why do you need to boil your brew while you are making vodka?

Vodka is a neutral spirit that is without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color[1]. These properties are developed during the distillation process or by treating crudely distilled spirits with activated carbon or other materials. Finely distilled vodka may also be further purified and refined by treatment with activated carbon and other materials. Vodka is usually not aged and can be made from grains, potatoes, sugars, fruits, and just about anything else that can be fermented to produce alcohol. This makes vodka an economical spirit that can be made easily in a short amount of time from readily available materials.

Steps

1

Relatively small, multi-purpose copper commercial still with short reflux column (area with small portholes) at Rogue distillery

Relatively small, multi-purpose copper commercial still with short reflux column (area with small portholes) at Rogue distillery

Get or make a still. Vodka is a distilled, highly refined product. It is usually distilled with a column (reflux) still, but pot stills can also be used. Column stills produce purer alcohol because they essentially redistill the alcohol in a single pass, and therefore further purification with a carbon filter (activated carbon) may not be needed. The distilled vodka can be redistilled additional times to produce a very pure product. Pot stills produce a crude product that contains flavor and aroma compounds that will need to be removed by treatment with a carbon filter and/or by additional distillations.

Column still used for vodka production

Column still used for vodka production

Column stills are more complex and sophisticated than pot stills. They can can be purchased or, depending on the still design, built using readily available materials. However, column stills and pot stills work in a relatively similar manner. It is important to understand that cooling water is usually circulated through a sealed compartment in the distillation column, causing the vaporized alcohol and other substances to condense in the column. This means that such a still must be attached directly to a faucet or a mechanical pump to move water from a supply into the still must be used. If not recirculating water from a single supply, thousands of gallons of water may be used to make a small batch of vodka. If water is recirculated from a central reservoir using a pump, about fifty gallons of water can be used, but the water will heat up and become less effective. See Sources and Citations below for detailed, high quality instructions for the construction and use of column stills.

Pot still with coiled tubing in cooling tank

Pot still with coiled tubing in cooling tank

Simple pot stills are akin to pressure cookers that are attached to piping or tubing. They can be constructed very easily and cheaply. Unlike column stills that are essentially vertical columns, pot stills may utilize bent or coiled tubing or piping that can be submersed in a vessel of cooling water. Pumps and large volumes of cooling water are not required, but can be used. See Sources and Citations below for detailed, high-quality instructions for the construction of pot stills.

2

Choose the medium to be fermented and distilled. Vodka is commonly made from wheat, rye, barley, corn, and potatoes. Sugar and molasses can also be used alone or added to other ingredients. Rogue distilling makes an innovative vodka from Pinot Noir red wine. Whatever you choose, it must be (or have been) fermented by yeast so that alcohol is ultimately produced. When making vodka from grains and potatoes, a mash must be made that contains active enzymes that break down the starches from the grains or potatoes and makes fermentable sugars. Fruit juice already contains sugars so starch-degrading enzymes are not needed. As with fruit juice, vodka made from store-bought sugars need only be fermented, thus bypassing the need for a mash. When already fermented mediums such as wine are used, the medium can be distilled right away into vodka.

3

Formulate a mash. A mash is necessary when using grains or other sources of starch such as potatoes that need to be converted into fermentable sugars. There are some basic principles to consider: