CJS

Thanks for the responses everyone, some great ideas are being passed. Dehner Distillery - I want to say thank you for your candid points. I understood the idea of bigger still = bigger money, and I agree with your guys' point. My approach isn't to go big just for to do it, I'm planning on a larger combination for cost effectiveness in production, time, and in regards to the remainder of my plan and needs for equipment sharing. To be honest, I wish there were more studies available on the economics of this business such as economies of scale, size vs profitability, and recommended location characteristics for the distilling business. That being said the majority of my equipment will be bought and paid off by the time I open, and I'm in the process of another project currently that will help give me some 'floating' capital each month. TetonVodka - I agree with your thoughts that it takes a lot more than just product to be successful! I'd love to find some write-ups on failed distillery businesses. Not that I'm wishing for the worst for anyone though. I would just like to find some factual info on any that have failed. Shindig and 3dOg - Thanks for the points. I'd love to see some used quality used equipment come available! lol. Also, I hadn't even thought of export of products. I imagine that will require additional licensing... but it could be another revenue source that I need to look into. Anyone have thought on market research, determining market viability, and building sales projections? Thanks again for your thoughts guys! As a newbie just starting on this it's great to hear perspectives from guys already in the business. Happy Holidays, C.J.

souschefdude, sounds like you have a pretty good system marked out already! Have you picked out a manufacturer for your still and equipment? Skaalvenn.. Thanks for the response! And also thank you for your service! It's great seeing a military guy in business. As for me, I'm trying to research and build my sales forecasts and make sure they are accurate!.... at least within reason. lol. Mash and Skaalvenn have a great point. With this in mind I've been contacting distributors and stores, working on getting a better idea of the market. I'm a little limited since I can't physically go around to ask questions since my work has me out of the country currently. If you have any advice on building sales projections or resources for building them feel free to send me a note! My production plan is to stick to minimal runs per week so I can dedicate more time to the business building side of the business. This is why I'm looking at a little larger still set-up to begin with. The extra production level is also going to help me in the way that I am also planning on investing in product that will be hanging out for a year or two in barrels. From what I can absorb from those that have been in business for a while it seems like a good way to go on sizing. I'm trying to put together a plan for the equipment so I can start purchasing most of it in cash over the next 2 or 3 years. I don't have really deep pockets, so my plan is to limit overhead in the execution of distillery part of my plan. One complication that I'm having in planning is trying to include and combine the two other future sides of the business, ie winery and micro-brewery. I'm trying to determine which equipment can be shared, and then scale the size appropriately so as to limit the interference between the different productions. Some of my initial equipment will be purchased at a higher cost because of the additional load and sizing requirements but it will allow an easier transition in later business growth phases. As always comments, ideas, and thoughts are always appreciated! Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to say thank you all for your input! It's a work in progress souschefdude - After looking at countless posts it seems that's pretty much what I keep coming up with also. Good luck with your project! If you ever feel like throwing ideas back and forth let me know. Mash - you have some great points man! I'm going to dig into the sale plan. Grand Teton/James - I took your conversation to heart when I was looking at my numbers! I'm trying to insure that I can do a limited number of runs each week to produce enough product that it makes sense so I can free up time to focus on marketing and building the business side. Another aspect is that I'm trying to build in some sharing of fermentation and storage for the later stages of my plan. Happy Holidays!

New guy here... After reading through most of the posts on here as well as talking and pricing equipment with a couple vendors it seems that it's best to go with 2 stills for efficiency in production. I posted a couple sizes earlier on another thread and got a contradictory response to what I thought I understood for sizing, so I figured I'd ask to get clarification from those of you have been doing this for a while. First question: If you were to start again, would you start with two stills? If so what sizes would you get if you had the chance? Second question: Can you shoot some holes in my two concept scenarios and give me some insight as to why or why not I'm on the right track? (my understanding is sizing of the finishing still should be 1/3 the size of the stripping still if distilling with wort, and 1/4 if using grain-in distilling.) scenario #1 150 gal finishing still / 600 gal stripping still 4800 gallons of tank space (6x600gal, 4x300gal). scenario#2 200 gal finishing still / 800gal stripping still 6400 gallons of tank capacity (6x800gal, 4x400gal) Thank you all for your input. It seems every time I find an answer I stumble across a handful more. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Regards, C.J.

Hello all, I don't mean to hijack rtshfd's post, just had a question on figuring out production. Like rtshfd I'm planning on doing a stripping run then distilling and I'm trying to forecast time and yield. My question is this, does anyone know a good reference book that has formulas for figuring out production levels for various scenarios? ie.. starting with a certain type of grain, weight of grain, using grain-in mashing vs wort after lauter, then grain-in distilling vs just wort, ect? Regards, C.J.

Pano, Great points! I came across that in the forum, and asked Steve at Artisan Stills, it seems that their stills are rated to the charge. He seems pretty reasonable as well as pretty patient with my non-stop questions...I actually feel pretty guilty about how many I do ask. lol. I'll be checking around just in case before finalizing the equipment manufacturer of course, but so far Artisan Stills has some awesome customer service! I hope you're having a great weekend. Regards, C.J.

Hey Pano, I was thinking a 20bbl (roughly 620 gal) would match up well with a 1200L (317.01 gal) still? Also, wouldn't having a separate mash tun and lauter tun allow for more efficiency just like having a double sized mash/lauter tun? Essentially allowing a 10 or 15bbl to double production? or on the flip side still do a smaller run for beer or distilling if I wanted to change up a recipe, as well as allowing for fine tweaking of beer? Of course I'd still need some double capacity in my tanks. (I'm also pricing an idea of starting with a set of a 150 gal (600L) & 600 gal (2400L) stills.) Hi Mike, Keep me posted! My future system will need cooling for brewing, heat for the distillery, and heating and cooling for the winery! lol. It will definitely keep the planning for these interesting. I think you may be finding yourself a nice niche market!

Hey Pano... great point. One of the issues I'm having right now is settling on a still size in relation to brewery size... and in relation to projected growth needs while taking into account dual purpose equipment sharing. lol.. I'm currently thinking a 600L or 1200L still to start, and was thinking a 15bbl or 20bbl brewery (I know there are a lot of nano-brewers that would get mad at me but there are a lot of cost analysis papers that point to 15bbl as being the smallest viable size for decent profits) I only wish there were more studies of the distillery industry to refer to! Hey Mike! oddly enough.. you're already on my list of people to contact from reading through this awesome forum! Any pointers as to the matching up sizing of a Distillery to a Brewery would be great! (that other client of yours sounds like someone I'd love to speak to as well) needless to say, once I get that portion down I'll be needing some heating and cooling advice, equipment lists, and pricing. Thanks for the welcome!

Hello All! I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself and to Thank You All for the great information I'm finding on here! My friends call me C.J., I'm originally from a small rural town in WI, and hope to head back there soon (within the next two years) to begin my project.... although I'll be going back to a slightly larger town this time. I joined this forum after getting the chance to speak with Bill Owens and being impressed at how knowledgeable and approachable he was.. he even sent me some great materials to my location overseas to help me out with my planning! I figured since he's such a stand-up guy, then I had to follow his recommendation of joining this forum. I'm really glad I did! I'm already finding a lot of answers to my questions, and of course finding out a ton more questions that I need to begin asking and researching. My project in it's final form with be a Distillery/Brewery/Winery/ with a 60 acre Vineyard&Orchard with some rentals cabins. I know that this is going to be a complex undertaking, but I have it broken down into stages with the initial stage being the Distillery start-up and planting of the vines and fruit trees, followed by the outfitting of the brewery side, with the longer term term goal of establishment of the winery. This is going to be a family run project....I've already recruited two of my brothers and one of my sisters and soon perhaps a few other family members. My current position in planning is determining the correct size for the distillery, size and type for the still or stills to purchase, with corresponding size equipment, tanks, ect, including outfitting for the brewery. I"m leaning towards following DryFly's path with a 450L still, but have been reading more about the efficiency of distillery operations utilizing two stills. My goal is to start purchasing the equipment this coming year. Any guidance, recommendations, or opinions on equipment layout and operations is always welcome. I wish you all the best of luck with your endeavors! I look forward to reading about your thoughts, opinions, and experiences on here! Regards, C.J.

Please delete this post... My apologies, somehow I double posted.