Alcohol Distillation in the Food Industry

Alcohol distillation is used extensively within the food industry to create an array of products, from alcoholic beverages and flavored milks, through flavorings and sauces, all requiring strict standards of hygiene and quality control in order to meet safety regulations.

Distillation is an integral component of food manufacturing processes, ensuring that finished products are free from substances which could contribute an unpleasant or harmful aroma or taste. Ethanol (C2H5OH), typically known as pure alcohol or grain alcohol, forms the core substance in any distillation, while other substances often found at its heads and tails are associated with foul odours or tastes, or pose health hazards to human beings.

At the heart of distillation lies fermentation: during “primary fermentation”, sugary mash is allowed to sit fermenting with yeast from anywhere between several hours and 14 days in a stage referred to as “primary fermentation”, using either ambient (ambient yeast) or cultured (cultured yeast) strains of bacteria present naturally or artificially introduced from culture. Once fermentation has completed, the mixture is transferred into either a pot still or column still for further heating up until boiling begins; during which ethanol-rich vapors rises through kettle and swan neck before they finally land into a condenser (generally made up of copper tubes connected by countercurrent heat exchanger/water jacket system) where they collect as cool liquid again for reuse later use.