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35-405: Spirits distilled in pot stills top out between 60 and 80 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) after multiple distillations. Because of this relatively low level of ABV concentration, spirits produced by a pot still retain more of the flavour from the wash than distillation practices that reach higher ethanol concentrations. Under European law and various trade agreements, cognac (a protected term for

70-400: A distillate with a higher concentration of alcohol than the original liquid. After one such stage of distillation, the resulting liquid, called "low wines", has a concentration of about 25–35% alcohol by volume. These low wines can be distilled again in a pot still to yield a distillate with a higher concentration of alcohol. In the case of many Irish whiskeys , the spirit is distilled for

105-720: A percentage of total mass . The alc/vol value of a beverage is always higher than the ABW. Because ABW measures the proportion of the drink's mass which is alcohol, while alc/vol is the proportion of the drink's volume which is alcohol, the two values are in the same proportion as the drink's density is with the density of alcohol. Therefore, one can use the following equation to convert between ABV and ABW: ABV = ABW × density of beverage density of alcohol {\displaystyle {\text{ABV}}={\text{ABW}}\times {\frac {\text{density of beverage}}{\text{density of alcohol}}}} At relatively low alc/vol,

140-487: A volume percent . It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) of pure ethanol present in 100 mL (3.5 imp fl oz; 3.4 US fl oz) of solution at 20 °C (68 °F). The number of millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20 °C (68 °F), which is 0.78945 g/mL (0.82353 oz/US fl oz; 0.79122 oz/imp fl oz; 0.45633 oz/cu in). The alc/vol standard

175-419: A change in volume. Mixing pure water with a solution less than 24% by mass causes a slight increase in total volume, whereas the mixing of two solutions above 24% causes a decrease in volume. The phenomenon of volume changes due to mixing dissimilar solutions is called " partial molar volume ". Water and ethanol are both polar solvents. When water is added to ethanol, the smaller water molecules are attracted to

210-457: A halt as the alcohol produced becomes too concentrated for the yeast to tolerate, defining an upper limit of alc/vol for non-distilled alcoholic drinks. The typical tolerance for beer yeasts is at 8–12%, while wine yeasts typically range from 14–18%, with speciality ones reaching 20% alc/vol. Any higher would require distillation, producing liquor . Details about typical amounts of alcohol contained in various beverages can be found in

245-457: A higher concentration of ethanol. The difference is not large, with the maximum difference being less than 2.5%, and less than 0.5% difference for concentrations under 20%. Some drinks have requirements of alcoholic content in order to be certified as a certain alcohol brand or label. Low-alcohol beers (<0.5) are considered in some countries such as Iran as permitted (or "halal" under Muslim vocabulary) despite alcohol being banned. However,

280-413: A lower boiling point, it is more volatile and evaporates at a higher rate than water. Hence the concentration of alcohol in the vapour phase above the liquid is higher than in the liquid itself. During distillation, this vapour travels up the swan neck at the top of the pot still and down the lyne arm , after which it travels through the condenser (also known as the worm ), where it is cooled to yield

315-401: A separate doubler would typically use a smaller still for the doubler (typically about half the capacity) than for the first distillation. An alternative way to reach an increased distillation purity without a full second stage of distillation is to put another pot (often a passive pot – i.e., without an external heat source) between the pot still and the cooling worm. Such a pot

350-494: A small amount of the near-centre heads and tails are often included in the final product for their effect on the flavour. The modern pot still is a descendant of the alembic , an earlier distillation device. The largest pot still ever used was in the Old Midleton Distillery , County Cork , Ireland. Constructed in 1825, it had a capacity of 143,740 litres (31,618 imp gal) and is no longer in use. As of 2014

385-464: A third time. However, cognac and most single malt Scotch whiskies are distilled only twice. A still used for the redistillation of already-distilled products (especially in the United States) is known as a doubler  – named after its approximate effect on the level of the distillation purity. Distillers from the early 1800s with sufficient resources to operate both a primary still and

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420-409: A variety of brandy produced in the region around Cognac, France ) and any Irish or Scotch whisky labelled as "pot still whisky" or " malt whisky " must be distilled using a pot still. During first distillation, the pot still (or "wash still") is filled about two-thirds full of a fermented liquid (or wash ) with an alcohol content of about 7–12%. In the case of whiskey distillation, the liquid used

455-441: Is 1.05 times that of water, it has a specific gravity of 1.05. In UK brewing usage, it is customary to regard the reference value for water to be 1000, so the specific gravity of the same example beer would be quoted as 1050. The formulas here assume that the former definition is used for specific gravity. During ethanol fermentation the yeast converts one mole of sugar into two moles of alcohol. A general formula for calculating

490-477: Is a beer, while in the case of brandy production, it is a base wine . The pot still is then heated so that the liquid boils. The liquid being distilled is a mixture of mainly water and alcohol, along with smaller amounts of other by-products of fermentation (called congeners ), such as aldehydes and esters. At sea level , alcohol ( ethanol ) has a normal boiling point of 78.4 °C (173.1 °F) while pure water boils at 100 °C (212 °F). As alcohol has

525-525: Is a bottle or flask. For later chemists it denoted various parts of crude distillation devices. Alembic drawings appear in works of Cleopatra the Alchemist (3rd century C.E.), Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 C.E.), and Synesius (c. 373 – c. 414 C.E.). There were alembics with two (dibikos) and three (tribikos) receivers. According to Zosimos of Panopolis, the alembic was invented by Mary the Jewess . The anbik

560-457: Is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids. The complete distilling apparatus consists of three parts: In the case of another distilling vessel, the retort , the "cap" and the "cucurbit" have been combined to form a single vessel. The anbik is also called the raʾs (the Arabic word raʾs means "head") of the cucurbit. The liquid in

595-591: Is described by Ibn al-Awwam in his Kitab al-Filaha ( Book of Agriculture ), where he explains how rose-water is distilled. Amongst others, it is mentioned in the Mafatih al-Ulum ( Key of Sciences ) of Khwarizmi and the Kitab al-Asrar ( Book of Secrets ) of al-Razi . Some illustrations occur in the Latin translations of works which are attributed to Geber . The Unicode character set specifies three symbols for alembics:

630-399: Is known as a thumper  – named after the sound made by the vapour as it bubbles through a pool of liquid in the thumper. The distinction between a thumper and a doubler is that a thumper receives its input as a vapour prior to cooling, while the intake of a doubler is an already-condensed liquid. During distillation, the initial and final portions of spirit which condense (with

665-636: Is sugar by weight and SG is relative density. SG can be measured using an hydrometer and Brix can be calculated from SG. One of the accurate formulas for calculating Brix from SG is: By substituting Brix in the SBV formula above, we get a formula for calculating SBV from SG only: The general calculation steps involves calculation of SBV at the start and the end of fermentation: Advanced formula derived from Carl Balling empirical formulas. The formula compensates for changes in SG with changes in alcohol concentration and for

700-1225: Is the specific gravity when fermentation ends, Plato start is the sugar by weight when fermentation begins, Plato final is the sugar by weight when fermentation ends. Brix can be used insted of Plato as they are nearly identical. The simplest method for wine has been described by English author Cyril Berry : ABV ≈ 136 × ( Starting SG − Final SG ) {\displaystyle {\text{ABV}}\approx 136\times \left({\text{Starting SG}}-{\text{Final SG}}\right)} One calculation for beer is: ABV ≈ 131 × ( Starting SG − Final SG ) {\displaystyle {\text{ABV}}\approx 131\times \left({\text{Starting SG}}-{\text{Final SG}}\right)} For higher ABV above 6% many brewers use this formula: alc/vol ≈ 105 0.79 × ( Starting SG − Final SG Final SG ) {\displaystyle {\text{alc/vol}}\approx {\frac {105}{0.79}}\times \left({\frac {{\text{Starting SG}}-{\text{Final SG}}}{\text{Final SG}}}\right)} Another way of specifying

735-400: Is used to measure the change in specific gravity (SG) of the solution before and after fermentation. The volume of alcohol in the solution can then be estimated. There are a number of empirical formulae which brewers and winemakers use to estimate the alcohol content of the liquor made. Specific gravity is the density of a liquid relative to that of water, i.e., if the density of the liquid

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770-732: Is used worldwide. The International Organization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of water–ethanol mixtures at different concentrations and temperatures. In some countries, e.g. France , alcohol by volume is often referred to as degrees Gay-Lussac (after the French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac ), although there is a slight difference since the Gay-Lussac convention uses the International Standard Atmosphere value for temperature, 15 °C (59 °F). Mixing two solutions of alcohol of different strengths usually causes

805-710: The United Kingdom , proof is 1.75 times the number (expressed as a percentage). For example, 40% alc/vol is 80 proof in the US and 70 proof in the UK. However, since 1980, alcohol proof in the UK has been replaced by alc/vol as a measure of alcohol content, avoiding confusion between the UK and US proof standards. In the United States, Arkansas , Kansas , Mississippi , South Carolina , and Tennessee regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight ( ABW ), expressed as

840-440: The alcohol percentage by weight is about 4/5 of the alc/vol (e.g., 3.2% ABW is about 4% alc/vol). However, because of the miscibility of alcohol and water, the conversion factor is not constant but rather depends upon the concentration of alcohol. Alembic An alembic (from Arabic : الإنبيق , romanized :  al-inbīq , originating from Ancient Greek : ἄμβιξ , romanized :  ambix , 'cup, beaker')

875-525: The amount of alcohol content is alcohol proof , which in the United States is twice the alcohol-by-volume (alc/vol) number. This may lead to confusion over similar products bought in varying regions that have different names on country-specific labels. For example, Stroh rum that is 80% ABV is advertised and labeled as Stroh 80 when sold in Europe, but is named Stroh 160 when sold in the United States. In

910-538: The articles about them. (most juices do not have alcohol but orange or grape [the highest here] may have some from early fermentation) Under 2.5% in Finland, and 2.25% in Sweden, however. During the production of wine and beer, yeast is added to a sugary solution. During fermentation, the yeasts consume the sugars and produce alcohol. The density of sugar in water is greater than the density of alcohol in water. A hydrometer

945-430: The cucurbit is heated or boiled; the vapour rises into the anbik , where it cools by contact with the walls and condenses, running down the spout into the receiver. A modern descendant of the alembic is the pot still , used to produce distilled beverages . Dioscorides 's ambix, described in his De materia medica (c. 50 C.E.), is a helmet-shaped lid for gathering condensed mercury. For Athenaeus (c. 225 C.E.) it

980-408: The ethanol's hydroxyl group, and each molecule alters the polarity field of the other. The attraction allows closer spacing between molecules than is usually found in non-polar mixtures. Thus, alc/vol is not the same as volume fraction expressed as a percentage. Volume fraction, which is widely used in chemistry (commonly denoted as v/v), is defined as the volume of a particular component divided by

1015-584: The fact that not all sugar is converted into alcohol. All values are measured at 20 degree C. A B V = − 118772 × SG final × ( Plato start − Plato final ) ( Plato start − 193.765 ) × ( Plato start + 1220 ) {\displaystyle ABV={\frac {-118772\times {\text{SG final}}\times ({\text{Plato start}}-{\text{Plato final}})}{({\text{Plato start}}-193.765)\times ({\text{Plato start}}+1220)}}} where SG final

1050-425: The first portions termed the foreshots and heads and the final parts called the tails and feints ) may be captured separately from that in the centre or "heart" of the distillation and may be discarded. This is because these portions of the distillate may contain high concentrations of congeners (which it may be desirable to keep out of the final distillate for reasons of style, taste and toxicity). For example,

1085-415: The largest pot stills in use are in the neighbouring New Midleton Distillery , County Cork, Ireland, and have a capacity of 75,000 L (16,000 imp gal). Components of a traditional pot still: Alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV ) is a standard measure of the volume of alcohol contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage , expressed as

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1120-653: The level of alcohol-free beers is typically the lowest commercially sold 0.05. It is near impossible for a healthy person to become intoxicated drinking low-alcohol drinks. The low concentration severely limits the rate of intake, which is easily dispatched by human metabolism. Quickly drinking 1.5 L of 0.4% alc/vol beer in an hour resulted in a maximum of 0.0056% BAC in a study of German volunteers. Healthy human kidneys can only excrete 0.8–1.0 L of water per hour, making water intoxication likely to set in before any alcoholic intoxication. The process of ethanol fermentation will slow down and eventually come to

1155-417: The presence of pectin in the wash (e.g., due to using a mash made from fruit) may result in the production of methanol (a.k.a. wood alcohol), which has a lower boiling point than ethanol and thus would be more concentrated in the foreshots. Methanol is toxic and at sufficient concentrations, it can cause blindness and fatal kidney failure. It is especially important to discard the initial foreshots, while

1190-423: The resulting alcohol concentration by volume can be written: where SBV fermented is sugar by volume (g/dL) converted to alcohol during fermentation and GECF is the glucose-ethanol conversion factor: where 46.069 is the molar mass of ethanol and 180.156 is the molar mass of glucose and fructose . Sugar by volume is calculated at the beginning (start) and at the end (final) of the fermentation: where Brix

1225-442: The sum of all components in the mixture when they are measured separately. For example, to make 100 mL of 50% alc/vol ethanol solution, water would be added to 50 mL of ethanol to make up exactly 100 mL. Whereas to make a 50% v/v ethanol solution, 50 mL of ethanol and 50 mL of water could be mixed but the resulting volume of solution will measure less than 100 mL due to the change of volume on mixing, and will contain

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