Mark & Digger steam still

The steam goes from the boiler through a pipe into a barrel of mash with the end of the pipe in the mash. This heats the mash and the resulting vapor goes from the goes into another barrel of mash with the end of the pipe in the mash. That's repeated again but into a thump barrel with the pipe out of that going to a coil.

I'm no expert in chemistry or thermodynamics, but isn't it counter-productive and inefficient to run steam into the first barrel of mash and thus diluting mash that you're trying to get alcohol out of? Wouldn't it be better to directly boil mash instead of water? They keep talking about scorching the mash, which apparently isn't possible when not boiling mash directly, but that's easily avoidable by fermenting in a separate container and filtering the mash as it's transferred to the distilling apparatus.

If you're going to use steam to boil mash then run it through a coil submerged in mash to transfer the heat but not the water vapor. The end of the coil could be run into a tub of water to condense any surviving water vapor and preheat the water to put back into the boiler.



(this signature was absent on picture day)