900-pound equipment used in whiskey distilling research stolen from UC Davis campus

A 24-foot, copper distillation column was recently stolen from the winery building of UC Davis sometime over the weekend of March 19 to 20, according to a Wednesday campus news release.

The equipment had been in use for 50 years in distillation courses, and for whiskey and brandy research. It is the only distillation part of its kind in the U.S. and was going to be a part of a historical display.

Campus police speculate those responsible entered the Jess Jackson Sustainable Winery building through a window and moved parts of the already disassembled column into their vehicle. A previous break-in took place at the teaching facility a few weeks ago, according to Andy Fell, a university spokesman.

It weighs roughly 900 pounds overall, 100 to 200 pounds a piece.

The historic column, commissioned in 1949 by professor James Guymon for teaching purposes, had been in storage since the 1980s, Fell said.

“This is a historic item for the campus,” Fell said. “It would be a shame to have it broken up for scraps.”

No suspects have yet been identified, and police are continuing to investigate the crime. Anyone with more information on the incident is encouraged to contact the UC Davis police at 530-752-1727.

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 3:34 PM.