Dark arts on dark nights

The first look into the mysteries of the distilling process

Mysterious rights are being performed in sheds and cellars in the dark evenings as the autumn mists swirl around the village. Fires are lit under cauldrons, pungent fluids bubble, steam swirls and liquids drip and splatter. This is the season when 40 litres of mushed pears can be turned into one litre of pure alcohol – schnapps.

Schnapps brennen, or distilling, has all the hallmarks of alchemy, a dark art where the results remain a mystery until completion of the process. Our village postman is nervous.  He is no warlock, but busies himself with preparations in his distillery, lighting the wood fire under his still and giving the brown mash a final stir with a huge wooden spoon, looking for all the world as if he is about to cast a spell.

 

Loading the 40 litres of fermented pear mash 

After the harvest of fruits and berries, the fermented mash is prepared. An average pear tree produced the 40 litres of brown liquid that is now poured through the porthole into the still. The door, like that on a submarine, is closed and sealed with a spinning handle.

 

The fire is lit and the brew is sealed into the copper cauldron

Tension mounts as the mash warms and begins to shift uneasily in its copper cauldron. Through the portholes above, the first signs of steam are beginning to appear. Clear liquids drip and splutter. More wood goes into the fire, the temperature rises, the mash bubbles and froths. Alcohol turns into steam before water, so the steam rising into the condensers above is pure alcohol. Here it cools and before long the first drops plink into the bottom of a glass.

At first the liquid has a faint smell of glue, but as the process continues, the alcohol content rises and the fruity smell comes to the fore. The early results drop into numbered glasses, one, two, three … by the time we reach glass seven, we have the best quality schnapps. The results still have to be monitored to stop the collecting before the last final flow that again lacks the fruity nose of the best schnapps.

Shifting uneasily and beginning to foam, the mash is warming up

40 litres into one litre of pure undrinkable alcohol: watered down the pear tree has rendered two litres of quality schnapps. The postman relaxes, tastes, approves, labels his bottles and prepares for more distilling next day.

Pure alcohol steam condensing into purest schnapps

This is no moonshine, it is legal, controlled and limited. No doubt, the dark art has many forms and has been practised for centuries. It is likely that each family distilling in the village prides themselves on producing the best. The results will be ready to drink by the time of the next dark tradition at the end of this month….

Testing the first drop

Catching the flow of the real stuff