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We (Blue Star Distillery) have a location already planned near the lake shore in southwest Michigan south of Holland, and would be happy to partner with others. We have been looking at setting up for the past 7 years. We already are operating a distillery for 5 years in Illinois. Let's discuss.

Ive had wonderful results with Fermaid K (no affiliation, just a happy customer) Bitterness can be caused by scorching and some bacterial infections. pH is inportant to keep in check - sugar washes will crash due to the lack of buffers, but it may also indicate a contamination if pH starts creeping up again. Try caustic (koh or pbw) for the pot and citric acid (food grade) on your copper plates - unless you have scorching up the column Welcome to the game btw

So, based on your formula, Southernhighlander. I've got the following: 264 gallon Hoga still 211 gallon actual fill capacity 4 hour run (probably would be longer, but I'll stick with you number) 422 gallons of condensing water flow rate of 1.76 gallons a minute That sound correct?

I'm sorry James, your calcs. are wrong for immersion heaters Alex, using immersion heaters directly in the mash 44kW will get the 1000 liter still up to operating temp in a little over 2hrs. 44kW at 240vac 3 phase only draws 106 amps. 88kW would bring it up to temp in a little over 1hr and it would only draw 106amps at 480vac 3phase. 44kW single phase 230vac will bring it up to operating temp in a little over 2 hrs and it will draw 191 amps, so all of these are do able. We have built electric heating systems for several stills over 200 gallons. The price for the heating system and programmable digital controller is way way less than 1/2 the price of a low pressure steam boiler. The service to my business here is a 800 amp 230vac single phase service and I built a 60hp rotory phase converter to convert 100 amps to 240vac 3 phase for my 3 phase welder. We run mostly single phase welders and equipment. Alex, let me know what voltage and phase that you have available and the capacity in amps of your service and I will let you know if an electrical heating system is doable. Our heating systems and programmable digital controllers are built using all UL listed parts. The enclosures are NEMA4x listed and we can supply explosion proof enclosures if needed. We can build heating systems and controllers in all voltages 208vac to 600vac in single phase and 3 phase. I also sell natural gas and propane fired Rite low pressure steam boilers, so if you need a steam boiler let me know and I will send you a quote. 1000 BTUS of boiler output is needed for each gallon of mash to get you to your operating temp in 1 hr. James is correct that a 15hp boiler is what you need.

I lease space in my building to a brewery that operates next to my DSP. Our spaces are separated by a wall and we each have our own production equipment so no product ever moves between the two spaces. They use my steam boiler to fire their kettle and I will be using their glycol chiller. Physical separation of the spaces is needed. I believe there is also an option to "share" some of the space/production equipment by using an alternating premises, but it sounds complicated. Previous threads on this topic include some info on the alternating premises option: http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=3851 http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=2072 http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=882 http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=86

Chuck: While we do not have this approval yet, I'm assured by a DC attorney whose practice largely centers around the TTB that you can circumvent this restriction through the regulations allowing for Alternating Premises - essentially the same structure can be the distillery then can cease to be the distillery when it is functioning as the Winery, etc...See 27 CFR 25.81 Steve

That sounds right, about 15hp. The Sussman's mentioned in links above are too small for that size still, unless you are willing to wait a very long time to get up to temperature. 60 lbs/hr (couple hp) might be enough to keep the still running at a trickle once at temperature, maybe.

Hi Direct fired versus waterbath/steambath has been a discussion in this industry for a while. In Europe, the waterbaths developed because of the high amount of fruit mashes distilled there. Even with agitation it is very hard to avoid sticking to the pot and the heat stress to the mash can be quite significant. Just think of melting chocolate in a waterbath versus over a direct flame - same principle. However, this problem is not limited to fruit mashes. Grain mashes are just a bit more liquid and still prone to sticking. If you are only putting stripped runs through it (and now my question would be - where is this other still with the waterbath and why not just have it for both runs?) or NGS you won't have the sticking but honestly I wouldn't want to be around that still. Bottom line is, direct firing is a technique of the past. If you want to produce high quality spirits you either have a steambath or a waterbath. All the best, Robert Kothe Distilling Technologies Inc. 5121 N. Ravenswood Ave Chicago, IL 60640 http://www.kothe-distilling.com http://www.kotheconsulting.com info@kothe-distilling.com (312) 878 7766

Hello Jeff, You can do this now with some paperwork. Our setup is as follows: One area is designated as the DSP. The balance of the bonded area is an alternating premises that can be either the winery or DSP. We can also designate one tank in the alternating area (for example) as being used for the DSP then later re-designate it as being in the winery. The alternating area and the DSP are seperated only by a painted line. A detailed log is kept of any switches instead filing forms with the TTB in advance. This required writing a letter and getting a waiver. Cheers, Keith Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery backrivergin.com