Huffy2k

Kindred, we are located in Washington PA, about 45 minutes south of Pittsburgh 

Thanks, it works great and was a real timesaver for us when we installed it in 2019.

I should have listed that for sale too! 🤣

EDIT 4/24/2023 - UNDER CONTRACT

We are in the process of upsizing our distillery and will soon have our current 600 gallon cooker and fermenters as well as our boiler and chiller available for sale.  We installed the cooker and fermenters in May of 2019 and the boiler and chiller were put into production in June of 2016.

Available:

• 600 Gallon Mash Vessel - 2 low pressure steam panels (1 on side, 1 on bottom), cone top w/180 degree turn down for venting. Top manway, overboil ring, top mash/hydration inlet, low shear mash agitator, level gauge glass, mash outlet w/butterfly valve, internal vessel light, CIP, thermowell, dial thermometer, 1.5" insulation and clad in #4 stainless steel. Thermal load: 275,000 - 550, BTU/hr ($26,000 FOB from western PA)
• Control Panel - Stainless steel U.L. listed panel, includes VFD's (Single phase VFD to convert single phase power input into 3 phase power output), on/off switches, indicator lights, digital temperature controllers w/LED display and disconnect, designed for either wall mount or on platform. ($2,400 FOB)
• Fermenters (3) - Chinese manufactured 600 gallon unitank/fermenter with CIP, dished bottom, 3" drain line with butterfly valve, 3 cooling jackets, hinged lid, thermowell for temperature monitoring. ($10,000 each FOB)
• Rite Temp RTS-501 - 5 Ton chiller @ 45 deg F, 2 HP pump upgrade (1,000 gallon chilled water reservoir also available) ($8,000 FOB)
• Rite boiler model 105 - 1.05 mm BTU/Hr gas fired low pressure steam boiler, stack thermometer, 2 spring loaded feed water check valves, Automatic Stack Damper mounted to the boiler, Rite CR-50 Condensate Return / Boiler Feed Unit, Rite BDT LPS 1860 ASME Blow-Down Tank ($20,000 FOB)
• Stainless Steel brew deck ($6,000 FOB)

On 1/6/2022 at 3:47 PM, Thatch said:

Separated is a YES, Enclosed is a NO.  You must have a floor to ceiling wall separating the two.

I can't say though that I haven't seen violations of this in the wild. 

Yep, just got in this morning.

Haven't been able to access the COLA page for the last 2 days yet don't see any scheduled downtime or messages?  The main ttbonline.com site is working but can't get into the COLA site to submit a new label.  Anyone able to log in?

Anybody out there have any leads on available Jimmy Lee bottles (or anything similar)?

I've always assumed some distillers just choose to not submit labels to COLA. 

http://www.tetondistillery.com/distillery-equipment/hybrid-pot-still-with-short-copper-column

Thoroughbred Spirits Group

https://www.tbspirits.com/

Considering that they do it themselves in the FWGS stores I'm guessing it's OK with PLCB!🤔😉

Anyone besides me having trouble accessing the virtual conference? I registered last week but can't seem to set up an account to log in...😧

I can only speak from our experience but we've been using Hoochware for 4 years and have no desire or intention to look at anything else.  We are very happy with the product and the support team!

+1 for Hoochware

Two thumbs up for Hoochware! They are very responsive to any issues or questions we have had.  These guys imo really created the pricing model that allowed smaller distillers to be able to afford a distillery management system.  

We're expecting to get around 140 gallons off the still this week.  The local hospital will take whatever size containers we give them.  We're thinking maybe a drum and some 5 gallon buckets or 1 gallon jugs. 

You said stripping run right?  The goal of a stripping run is to strip all of the recoverable alcohol from your beer, tails included.  The haze will not be present after your spirit run (assuming you make proper tails cuts).

Hi,  I'm Jim from Liberty Pole Spirits near Pittsburgh,  we've worked with Geoff extensively over the past several years. He is a great resource and has a well thought out program to help businesses grow.  We highly recommend him. Geoff has worked hard to learn the business side of distilling.  Besides working with us I know he's also sat down with prominent figures in the Kentucky distilling landscape. 

They passed a one year extension.  

We've been using this little pump for years!

https://www.tcwequipment.com/products/flojet-g70-explosion-proof-air-diaphragm-pump

We were approached by a local group that is interested in pursuing a DSP down the road a bit.  In the meantime they are looking to find a partner to produce a whiskey to their specs.  Not that we have much excess capacity but we would be able to carve out a week every couple of months to this project.

Has anyone done this and if so, how do you price it?  Time and materials are the obvious factors but how do you factor current cash inflow versus losing the future retail potential of those weeks we're not producing for our own products?  Any help/guidelines would be appreciated so we can make a proposal to these guys.

Sounds like you've got it covered Karl.  Best of luck, good to see you have local/community support - that's definitely a key component to success!

Cheers!

I think it's pretty doubtful that folks would be willing to share their actual 1st year sales with you but the real issue is, as others have pointed out, they would be pretty meaningless anyways.  So many variables that would have to line up perfectly for the numbers to be remotely meaningful.

Thoughtful, carefully crafted projections based on your product mix, SRP's, production capacity, population/tourism potential, etc will work for a bank but in the end, the bank is not lending just because your projections look amazing, they are betting on you and your team and how much confidence you can instill in them. Your entire business plan is the key to getting a bank to listen to you. Don't discount your story, your branding, your marketing, your team; they are as important as your projections to your lender.

Regarding your SBDC Advisor's idea to get meaningful data, you could refer to the Craft Spirits Data Project or any of the various market research services on craft spirits to demonstrate the growth and expected continued growth of the craft spirits market.

Been running our 600 gallon system from Specific since July.  Absolutely zero complaints, great company,  great equipment! 

Sorry, I don't know of any courses in Canada.  Have heard good things about the various offerings at Moonshine University in Louisville although courses there are pretty pricey.  There are also a lot of classes offered by distilleries themselves which tend to be less costly.  Keep track of the education section in this forum for available classes!