Back in the day moonshiners would add a small amount of moonshine to the thumper keg, although this may give you a distilled spirit that is a bit too strong for your liking.Īs the wash boils in the potstill, heated vapors are drawn into the thumper keg via a swan neck. It is designed to help the distiller avoid the necessity of repeat distillations.Īt the start of the distillation, the thumper keg is filled with a small amount of spirit tails from a previous batch (ideal), some wash from the current batch (good), or water (better than nothing). While the process of multiple distillation is a tried-and-true technique, performing two or three distillations can be time consuming and costly.Ī thumper keg is a metal or wooden vessel which sits between stillpot and condenser. Some distilleries will distill their spirits a third time to create a very strong spirit with a pure flavor. Most distilleries will use a beer stripper (a very basic still) to turn the wash into low wines, then a separate spirit still which turns the low wines into a high-proof spirit. The low wines must be distilled again to create a distillate with a higher ABV. The collected vapors yield a solution called the low wines, which are typically 25 to 35% alcohol by volume (ABV). Related: How to Proof Moonshine How Does A Thumper Keg Work?Ī normal still heats the wash (fermented solution) to a high temperature in order to release alcohol vapors which are captured by a condenser. Moonshiners interested in making potent spirits would sometimes place additional alcohol into the thumper, which would be distilled again to create a very powerful spirit. Contrary to popular belief, the thumping sound is not caused by mash falling into the container. It is called a Thumper Keg because of the thumping sound that the vapor and condensed low wine make when the still is in operation. However, it is thought that the thumper keg was invented in Europe many years earlier and came to America with the first settlers. This creates a high-proof spirit without the need for double distillation (more on how a keg thumper works, below).Īlso known as a Thump Barrel, Thump Chest, or Doubler, the thumper keg was very popular amongst Prohibition-era distillers and moonshiners in the Appalachians. It receives low wine from the stillpot and heats it again, sending highly purified alcohol vapors to the condenser. The thumper Keg is a small copper, steel, or wooden vessel which is placed between the stillpot and condenser.
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