nabtastic
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Everything posted by nabtastic
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We fill be weight on a pallet scale with our air diaphragm pump and transfer hosing.
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Are you using a water source or spirits to clean?
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Would this program work exclusively for water/sugar/ethanol or would it also be able to account for liqueurs made from fruits, herbs, and spices?
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Thank you - to everybody and sorry for the delay. One last question, for those that need to distill are we using this Kjeldahl 2 unit or equivalent, the Velp Kjeldahl, or a different setup for liqueurs?
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When determining proof when a spirit has in excess of 400 mg/l obscuration are you required to follow this method or can you simply distill and proof using a lab still? Video referenced is determining proof obscuration by evaporation. Thanks,
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Unless you have a deep well, the ground will act as an insulator - it should keep the liquid pretty close to the temperature it entered the tank at up to (or down to) the temperature of the soil around it. Keep this in mind if pumping hot water into the holding tank. I would think the hot water should retain a good portion of its heat, though I don't know the thermal capacity of dirt. I would expect it to keep around 50-70 degrees depending on location - some of you guys live in pretty cold areas though. It stays hot here so the ground water comes in upper 70's F.
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Flavor of the distillate is on point and I've not noticed any visible waxes ever. That being said, some of our cane has considerably higher levels of wax on it and it's not uncommon to collect wax from filtered pressed juice in distilleries and sugar mfc plants. I've filtered with cellulose to 3 microns and still had issues and it seems to be completely removed with cellulose filtration at 0.5 micron. However, the complexity is lost a bit doing that as well (seems "flatter" if you'll allow the term). I do not presently have a filter between 1-3 microns (not sure why the range is so wide) and 0.5 microns.
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I realize the industry standard is to flush the effluent down the drain - with exception to those that make biogas from it. Any other uses for it? Anyone know the nutrient content of rum effluent? I realize there will be massive differences between a blackstrap wash all the way to an agricole or panela wash. thanks, NAB
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^google for his website and email that account. He's definitely worth working with.
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^country of origin for Panela?
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Patrick260z - that's an excellent question (and info). I wasn't working for the company when these particular batches were distilled so I can't answer with absolute certainty. Given that our canes tend to be waxy I could definitely see the issues coming through in distillation lending me to believe (without further lab analyses) that cleaning between runs would be mandatory. Normally I wait until I see scaling but if it keeps the wax out .. certainly not the worst solution
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Jeffw - I can't say that I have a specific taste to attribute to it. We sent samples to a lab in Lexington, KY to ensure that the "floaties" / precipitants were actually beta sitosterol. I will say that I've noticed a pine flavor (probably what you taste as eucalyptus) with a creosote and sawdust aromas (plenty of positive notes too but that's not what this thread is about). Sitosterol is essentially wood sugars but I don't know a specific flavor profile associated with it. NAB
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I appreciate the response but that didn't really help. Black Swan said they age for less than 6 months (which I assume means they don't intentionally age) and Kelvin said they had never heard of anybody having issues with sitosterol (we don't use Kelvin yet but I have used in the past without known issues). I make agricole (fresh pressed) cane and to my understanding sterols and waxes are inherently present in the cane but it's unlikely they survive rectification/distillation. This is reinforced by the fact that we have had zero issues with unaged spirits. So I'm still confused how exactly it becomes a problem - length of aging, non-chill filtering, heat, proof, etc?
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Apologies, wine is not my gig. Thank you for the correction. When proofing (I don't know if this is an issue with wine) but if the spirit is allowed to sit for any significant period of time in it's container -hours to days - it's helpful to have a way to agitate it.
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Hey everybody, I want to give a big shout out to BDAS in Lexington, KY for their great lab work (I'm purely a customer and in no other way affiliated). Recently got results back regarding beta-sitosterol in spirits. I was wondering if anyone else has had issues with high levels of sterols or any other precipitation in the bottled? I know that I can filter down to 0.5 micron to solve it but I'd prefer to limit the amount of sterols coming across to the finished spirits because so much flavor is lost. I have a strong feeling that it is coming from our choice of cooperage but I'm not 100% and waiting for new barrels to arrive and fully mature a product isn't ideal given that I'd be waiting in excess of a year. I believe it the cooperage is the culprit because no sterols precipitate out in our white spirits - even though it's lower proof and I have left in the freezer to facilitate precipitation. Is it possible that the wood used in the barrels themselves have not been seasoned long enough? Any other options there? I still have several months before the barrels from a different source are ready for testing.. Thoughts? Thanks, NAB
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Explosion proof everything (not necessarily a legal requirement but always better to not explode), parts that can handle the high proof spirits, ensuring a consistent proof content. Wine has a much wider range of allowable ABV +/- 3% I believe, whereas spirits are only -0.03 proof. Sourcing equipment for spirits seems to be a little more challenging though I have intintially sought wine equipment. Filtering spirits may be a challenge as well. I have mostly used plate&frame but determing how tightly to filter is up to you. Some don't filter at all. NAB
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In a follow up question: how does one know what the solids concentration is in a liquid? Is it something you have to use lab equipment for, and if so which ones? Will barrel-aged spirits exceed limits for obscuration or is it just infusions that you have to worry about?
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^that's a good answer. It seems pretty common to have a positive pressure relief but not so often do you find one with a negative pressure relief. Still evacuation, in regards to plumbing and code, is not something I've came across often. Thanks to everybody for your inputs.
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Large fermentations require agitation because the pressure build up will cause gasses to dissolve in the wash making it difficult to ferment. Agitation should help (has worked for me on many occassions) but I would think it would lead to few esters being created due to the more rapid fermentation and probable increase of available oxygen.
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Yeah that was a little awkward when it popped up in front of my roommates..
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I'm sure the answer to my question is somewhere in the forum but I'm on lunch break.. anywho - is it possible to have a joint where the SS meets the copper butt to butt and bolt it together? Seems easier but I don't know what sort of metal equipment you are working with..
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is anybody working on a non-ridiculously priced version of this? https://www.shipcompliant.com/distilleries/ maybe this will be the next expansion to the Whiskey Systems program.. Oh, add Illinois ("The Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC) announced at their board meeting last week that they had sent over 100 cease and desist letters to retailers, wineries, and fulfillment houses.") to the list -
If Calcim acetate has GRAS then the TTB should allow it. To my understanding the TTB's stance on ingredients is if the FDA allows it then they do - the TTB is for the protection and inforcement of spirit types and tax collection, not the regulation of allowable ingredients. I believe the industry norm is to add glycerin as a thickener and means to keep particulate solids in suspension. Tho axanthan and acacia are in all my sodas..
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backset should bring you down to a healthy ph (4-4.5). wild bacteria is not necessarily an issue especially if you pitch yeast paying attention to quantity and viability. The yeast should be able to crowd out most everything. However, Rafeal Arroyo details a method of cleaning the molasses by heating to ease the removal of solids in addition to adding old school versions of fermaids in his patent on the Production of Heavy Rums
