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Distillation Alcohol Yield Calculator

Work out distillation alcohol yield instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Distillation Alcohol Yield Calculator

Pure alcohol in the wash is volume times its ABV; the still recovers a fraction of that, and dividing the recovered alcohol by the bottling strength gives the finished volume. Alcohol is conserved, not created, so recovery efficiency and wash strength set the ceiling on yield no matter how the run is managed.

Formulas

Recovered alcohol

litres of pure alcohol = wash litres x wash ABV x recovery efficiency

Bottled volume

bottled litres = recovered pure alcohol / bottling ABV

Worked example

With the default values below, Distillation Alcohol Yield Calculator returns Pure alcohol recovered of 1.700. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Wash volumeminimum 1 L
25 L
Wash strengthaccepts 1–25 %
8 %
Still recovery efficiencyaccepts 20–100 %
85 %
Bottling strengthaccepts 20–96 %
40 %

Results

Pure alcohol recovered
1.700 L
Spirit at bottling strength
4.25 L
Pure alcohol in the wash
2.000 L
700 ml bottles filled
6.07

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Recovered alcohol
  3. 3Bottled volume
  4. 4Pure alcohol recovered= 1.700 L
  5. 5Spirit at bottling strength= 4.25 L
  6. 6Pure alcohol in the wash= 2.000 L
  7. 7700 ml bottles filled= 6.07

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Distillation Alcohol Yield figure worked out?

litres of pure alcohol = wash litres x wash ABV x recovery efficiency. Pure alcohol in the wash is volume times its ABV; the still recovers a fraction of that, and dividing the recovered alcohol by the bottling strength gives the finished volume.

Why does this matter?

Alcohol is conserved, not created, so recovery efficiency and wash strength set the ceiling on yield no matter how the run is managed.

What do I need to enter?

Enter wash volume, wash strength, still recovery efficiency, bottling strength. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.

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