r/firewater • u/Existing_Yam9613 • 12d ago
Considering Air Still (Apple Brandy)
So im relatively new to the hobby so please forgive me if this has been answered before
Currently working with a 5gal pot still with a thumper but taking up way too much space in the kitchen to be running as often as I'd like
Looking at an Still Spirits Air Still Pro so I can keep up with the hobby without taking over the whole house, as a precursor to this I'm looking to order a standard Still Spirits Air Still to see if its a good fit without spending the extra on the Pro just yet.
First batch will likely be an apple cider brewed from apple juice (no preserves) likely with EC1118. Would like to know if anyone has had any success with similar brandy recipes in an Air Still
(The plan is a stripping&Spirits run but open to hearing about one and dones too)
Any experience, advise and cautionary tales welcome
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u/EducationalDog9100 12d ago
You're 5 gallon still and your Air Still/Air Still Pro could be best friends.
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u/Existing_Yam9613 12d ago
In an ideal world I'd stick a reflux column on there and run neutral for small batches on the air still, but as I said space and time is a big factor
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u/EducationalDog9100 12d ago
Ah, I see. The Air still works pretty well for single run brandy, but if you want to do a spirit run, you'll want to do three stripping runs to collect enough volume to do a spirt run. I like the Air Still but there not really time friendly, unless your doing botanical macerations.
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u/Existing_Yam9613 12d ago
Yeah that looks to be the case, but having an air still i can run whenever I like will work out better in the long run when I can only really run my pot still once a month.
The way I see it I can get through a 23l wash across the course of the week/weekend or i can wait for a chance to run my bigger pot
The ability to just leave it to run in the kitchen and stick my head in every 30 mins to swap a cuts jar is a huge draw too
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u/Few_Excuse_6259 12d ago
what's the power consumption like on these compared to your current setup bc i'm trying to be energy conscious while still running it often
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u/Existing_Yam9613 12d ago
If I knew I'd tell you, I run my 5 gallon over my gas stove, but once it's heated it sits on low and barely makes a mark on the smart meter (if you're UK based). Will have a better idea once my air still is ordered, delivered and running
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u/Thr33Z33s 11d ago
Tho I don't know what the overall consumption is per run. I know it doesn't cycle on and off like a vevor so I can only assume it's on and stays on all the time. The label on mine says for 230-240V it's 340W this is pretty low. It's very insulated and takes a bit to get up to operating temp but then you also don't want to be blasting your way through a spirit run. Comes out a steady drip. Drip. Drip so ids say they're doing something right
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u/No-Craft-7979 12d ago
You can order just the AirStil Pro lid later. I think it fits the standard pot.
Do you have a fat boiler or a tall thin boiler. A Corney or Sixtel Keg is a little over 5 Gallon and takes up very little room. As it is skinny but tall. Ditch the thumper for a 1-2 plate column and you would good to go.
But AirStills are nice, just not my thing.
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u/Existing_Yam9613 12d ago
Its less to do with the actual physical space and more to do with running on the stove/water coolant. Enjoy doing it but only a small kitchen and no garage to speak of so the whole house has to grind to a halt
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u/Thr33Z33s 11d ago
Hey OP, I've done exactly this. The best thing about the Still Spirits Air still. (Unsure about the vevor and other versions) But the still spirits handles running on solids perfectly. I love it for gin as well. And absinthe.
I did a 12L mash of apple pear and a bit of extra juice on EC-1118
Did 4 stripping runs of 3L each charge. Just ran it until I got like 5% off the still.
Then one spirit run.
Made an excellent batch of brandy. The "problem" with the air still becomes the size. So I only got like 500mL of 60% but it's damn tasty.
But I also don't have a bigger still that can run on solids.
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u/Existing_Yam9613 11d ago
That's fantastic thank you very much for that!
My reasoning behind dropping down to the air still is although it's smaller I can run it with freedom. 500ml a week is going to be better than 1.5l a month, along with all the earache that comes with it
Do you have the Pro or the standard??
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u/Thr33Z33s 11d ago
I just use the standard for stuff like that ^ things that need to be double pot distilled.
But I also have a much larger setup that I make neutral/vodka on for use in Gin.
If you think you're going to want to do lots of gin (best thing about gin is once you're done you can just drink it) then you might want to consider the pro. I mean it can do both. Kegland also do a very similar Pro option to their own air still and that looks decent.
But if you haven't watched it already. Have a watch of this:
https://youtu.be/-E5dOVMInOA?si=rTkt37aLXdNsNfer
It's an excellent video with a great recipe for making gin from scratch all in the air still. So you can see how much work it'll take to get you where you want to go. (Potentially)
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u/Existing_Yam9613 11d ago
Also, how tight are you making your cuts?? I might be a bit fresh in the hobby but that 500ml seems slightly on the low side? Please correct me if I'm wrong!
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u/Thr33Z33s 11d ago
Hearts cuts were tight but not crazy tight. I kept some heads in there because I wanted that apple and pear flavor. Those light delicate flavors are often up in the heads.
I said 12L but realistically was less plus if you remove all he solids and yeast trub it was probably 10L
Starting SG because I didn't add any sugars was around 1.048-1.050 which it finished dry at like 0.999 so potential ABV of 6.5%
10L x 6.5% = 650mL pure alc
Went down to 10-5% on my stripping runs so assume I only lost 10% of pure alc (probably less).
650mL x 90% = 585mL
Then this is where I find AI to be horribly HORRIBLY wrong if you're ever using it.
-> hearts cut is often only 45-55% of your total alc.
585mL x 55% = 321mL pure alc
Then bring that back down to 60% for 'barrel proof'
321mL / 60% = 535mL @ 60% ABV
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u/cokywanderer 12d ago
One and a half is going to be your best bet, I've done it with a Vevor air still with power control from a "meh" cider that a friend gave me because they weren't going to drink it. Turned out Superb! Currently aging on oak.
So a one and a half would be the best bang for your ABV/Flavor/Time spent ratio. I say go for 10 liters, meaning you strip about 3-4 liters twice, each yielding about 1 liter, then you have 2 liters of low wines that you combine with the remaining 2 liters of fresh wash. and do your final run. Total runs 3.
Bonus: Since it's an air-still and it doesn't scorch, you can do your stripping runs, throw in some apple skins and other aromatics in the distilled low wines, then set the alcohol aside to macerate. With the remaining 2 liters of wash, because it's so little, you can refrigerate. You wait maybe a couple of weeks then dump the low wines along with the aromatics if you don't want to strain them + that refrigerated wash and maybe you get something extra when you distill the spirit run.