adamOVD

Is there a tri clamp fitting on the inside of the venting port for a spray ball?

Enolmatic if you really want to save space and money. It should fill 400 bottles in a day easily if that's all you're doing.

I do run a humidifier in my barrel room, and have changed my barrel supplier. They are a superior build quality, and leaks are less of an issue these days. The leaking barrels are the last of some older ones I'm refilling for a second use. The sealant seems like it might be a good idea worth looking into though.

@Kindred Spirits did you hear back anything from your client? Is he happy with it? 

@Kindred Spirits Thanks for the tip, I live in a very dry area. Do you use the sealant personally? Find it makes a large difference?

I have a couple barrels bulging and leaking from the heads. I pulled them apart and swapped out the leaking head with the good head on the other, to have one good barrel. They already had some wax sealing around the insides of the heads. I placed a new bead of paraffin mineral wax around the where the head seats, but now am unsure. Do I need to worry about the wax affecting the flavor at all? 

1 hour ago, Pofarmer said:

Holy crap. How many in the county?

 

19,000. Bishop, CA. Not the best location if making a ton a money is the main goal, but it's a great place to live.

7 hours ago, Pofarmer said:

Can you define "Small town?"

Population 4,000

I'm using a burr mill now, but am outgrowing it. People who have posted seem to mostly be using the CME which runs around 9k and the Master Mill which is more like 5k with 10hp. They seem pretty similar. Anyone have experience with both, or have a reason to go with the CME?

Also seems like 3/32- 7/32 is the concensus on screen size. Will a 1/8 screen put out something like a coarse flour like consistency?

I'd also think a closed fermentation will stay warmer, and form more esters during fermentation, if that's the goal.

My rum ferments are certainly slower, with fewer nutrients than a grain fermentation, so I'm even more concerned with sanitization. The only PH problems I've actually had are from all sugar washes during the dark days of hand sanitizer, and a PH buffer solved that.

Kinda off topic, but one note that I've discovered on closed fermentation, if you pick that route, is the need to open it up for a day or so before distilling, or agitate it vigorously to release the desolved CO2 in the wash. It's not so nice coming concentrated out of the parrot.

I doubt anyone would say anything unless you brought it up. Barrels don't have tri clamps so you're not likely using them in every application anyways. Tri clamps are cheap and terribly convenient and useful though, so I don't why you wouldn't want them in as many places as possible. 

Avoid a wild hose spaying 100p spirit all over your DSP once and it's payed for itself.

Our distillery is super small. While traveling In China, one of our local customers saw someone wearing a shirt with our logo on it. He had to ask him about it, but due to the language barrier no clear answer was had, but he didn't seem to have any actual connection to the distillery, or anyone in our area. There was also a Chinese website briefly, and randomly selling our logo ware, so maybe that had something to do with it.

In addition with what @JustAndy said, are you dumping your tails into the next batch? Could you be running a batch inefficiently and then passing retrievable alcohol into the next batch, which is then run longer with more reflux towards the end of the run, retrieving the alcohol from the previous run? 

135P seems low through 6 plates if run in the conventional manner.

Search 1.5" tri clamp butterfly valve internal seal, along with the brand name. Call TCW they are good at answering questions and will find you the right hose.

Spiles. I usually just use a stainless screw if it's something I plan on sampling often.

What are the laws on serving cocktails in your state? Shipping bottles DTC? How comfortable are you with risk? At a certain point you just have to go for it, and be ready to pivot hard it it all goes to crap.

If your product is good-great, and your tasting room experience is enjoyable, and you have good location in a metropolitan area, I don't think you will have a problem meeting your goals. There are too many variables to say for sure though, which is probably why not many people are chiming in, or they're not comfortable disclosing their sales numbers.

Not sure. I'm making about 1,000 proof gallons a year these days. It was less then. Another thing to keep in mind, was year 1 was all unaged products.

Year one, in a small town, with no foot traffic, no marketing, no established brand, but with some food, and cocktails, and free tastings. We sold 2,200 bottles year one out of the tasting room. 2,700 year two.

I think he may be talking about just a plated column, not a continuous still. In which case the answer is definitely yes. Fewer plates, less/ no cooling to the dephlemator. Just another way to control the purity of the end product. It is expensive and hard to clean though, so if you're not really using it, it's a waste to have.

If you're just curious what your Rye would taste like in Vodka form, then I'd think it would give you a pretty good idea. Our vodka is just our rum wash distilled to 190+.  

Overall, I'm a believer in dumping Feints into the next distillation. It definitely boosts the yield, and helps consistency between batches.

2 hours ago, Bolverk said:

Why the roller mill or the barle?? I've not heard this before...

Hammer mill will shred the husk, and you won't be able to lauter, if you are doing off grain ferments, which is the norm for barley.

My best advice for figuring out monthly forms, is to start by reading the glossary of terms, then begin looking at the forms once you have a clear idea what "proof gallons", "tax determined", and other specific terminology means.

@SpiritsPkg101 They are in boxes and are labeled as Anchor Stockholm. There's plenty of other bottles that look exactly the same, which is another reason to never buy them again.

Making money purely through distribution as a small producer Is definitely a hard nut to crack. Have to have a fantastic product, marketing, label, location, distribution, sales staff, ect, ect to have any hope of success. As a little guy, distill pub is a great way to go, in my opinion (depending on your state regulations on cocktail sales). Most people get in this business because they want to make cool stuff though, and don't want all the headaches that go along with running a bar/ restaurant, of which there are so many.

The bar pays our bills though, and many nights the bar is slow, are still high earners due to bottle sales, and when both are strong it's off the charts. The symbiosis is great. It is also easier and cheaper to hire and train bar staff than a Distiller, so you can pay someone and not have to work 80 hour weeks... eventually. Your time will be split though, especially if you don't have a partner you can depend on.

If you can create the right environment, building a community of happy regulars and staff is actually as rewarding as creating a great product. Hope it works out for you.

I ordered glass from them in the past, and promised to never buy again. Stockholm bottle. Inclusions, cracks, and scratches in the glass. Also the walls are wavey, so the labels have bubbles that need to be pressed out. I bought some pallets on the cheap from another distillery hoping I just got unlucky in the past, but they are just as bad. Just a warning/ rant.

There's a thread that warns against Citric acid on here. I use Lactic, as it is most likely being formed during fermentation by Lactobacillus anyways. I feel like it's the closest alternative to backset without using backset.

Having a lower starting Ph can have other benefits as well. Like keeping out mold and butyric acid.