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Mosaic

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  1. But has anyone used a Kothe 900N? The one with a short column to the side (3-6 caps, 400 litre). Thanks all for answers so far.
  2. Greenfield, can you tell me about your carbon filtration system. Pics, links, COST of system and per bottle?
  3. Greenfield, how does your distillate taste with the result you are describing?
  4. Southernhighlander, which still are you using? The Kothe guys say that with a 6 bubblecaps Kothe 900N and automation, the distillate can hit 94%, but it won't stay there. They also say you'll get the same result with a 20 plate Kothe. I'm trying to figure out whether the distillate they're describing is an acceptable standard. I'm not worried about 96% as long as I can call it Vodka, don't need to filter it, and that it tastes great.
  5. Hi Guys, I'm in the process of setting up a distillery (in the UK - business plan stage) where I want to follow the American practice of making vodka, gin and whiskey from scratch, using a friend's farm - grain, and fruit based ultimately. Budget is super tight. I've met with a distributor for Kothe stills who's trying to steer me away from a twin column 16+ plate system and more towards the K900N, using 3-6 (latter recommended) bubblecaps and an automated system. They doing this 1. To save me money, and 2. Because they claim it's not possible to hit 96.4% ABV on any of these stills, whether it's 6 caps or 16. It's also considered thst a lot of the twin-column still purchasers buy it more for show, than functional ability. Question: Fine, I can't produce an EU standard vodka at 96% but does anyone use a K900N to make vodka, what is your experience like in doing so, and how does the product taste? Do you filter afterwards? I want to avoid filtration. What is your process - double/triple run? Many thanks, M
  6. Do people tend to seperate grain from wash post-ferment or distill on the grain? From my experience, it's much easier to filter grain out after ferment, but I'm not sure whether one method produces undesirable flavours vs the other.
  7. Ben B, are you saying you don't have the functionality to cool your wort after mashing in? If so, depending on your size, is it not possible to put together a moonshine-style copper coil cooler? Alternatively, you could reference the farmhouse brewers of Belgium by using a koelschip/coolship; it's a wide, but shallow vessel that your wort is sent to after mashing in - spread out thinly, it cools quicker. If you can get your wort down to yeast-friendly temperature in a couple of hours, you'll be safe. ALTERNATIVELY, if you are questioning whether you need to rapid-chill/boil to prevent something like DMS, most distillers won't do this. One example is Scotch Whisky distillers using 100% malted barley. They mash in using three 'waters'. Out of a example 19,000 litre wort, first water will be something like 7000 litres at, say, 63.5c. After mashing for 15-30 mins, this wort is run off into the fermenter (cooled) and inoculated with yeast. Meanwhile, the second water goes back onto the grain: 12000 litres at e.g. 75c. Eventually, this is also run into fermenter (cooled) where the yeast has already started its Lag Phase on the first water (all enzymes are retained in the first water to convert starch to sugars). Finally, third water goes onto malt at e.g. 88c at 7000 litres. This then becomes the FIRST water for your next mash, having pulled the last bits of starch out of the current malt. Sorry for the long-winded response, but I hope that helps.
  8. Thanks Denher. I tried the misting test on my home trials, but the sample was so small it was hard to tell whether it had clouded or not! Oh the joys of a proper full-size system. Thanks to all the very kind advice given on this superb forum, I'm now jacking in the filter option and going 'back to the still'. my next challenge is arranging a still with the appropriate heating solution that doesn't blow my budget sky-high. I'm actually based in the U.K. (sorry i know this is the ADI, but I'm getting some great help here) and exploring steam heating as an option is proving extremely difficult as well as way to expensive for my budget ($70000 incl taxes to order the basic setup of a 400kg/hr generator!). Going to look back at electric options. Also prefer not using gas/oil to heat, doesn't feel ecologically sensible.
  9. Hi Kelbor, I'm using distilled water in my trials, but will use RO water once fully set up.
  10. Awesome thanks RobertS. Had a feeling this would be the case, but haven't been able to test effectively on such a small set up. Can't wait to give it a go!
  11. Thanks Silk City. That was my first post on this forum and already I've had an outstanding answer. So you think I've been going to far into the tails? I'm always afraid I'm not including enough of the spirit in the hearts so perhaps I should just go with my gut next time. Do you guys use any other tests apart from smell for the tails cut? Misting test, % ABV/temp etc?
  12. I'm in the planning phase of opening a small distillery to produce rum, vodka, gin and whiskey. It appears that I'm going to have to carbon and/or chill filter my vodka and rum as initial tests show the spirit to be too cloudy and also a bit rough around the edges on taste. Can anybody please advise me what the cost per bottle/gallon/litre might be to peform carbon/chill filtering. I'm referring to the cost of carbon etc as opposed to paying off say 10k of equipment within the cost of production. That said, if people can also advise of chill filter and carbon system costs too, that would help as I'm struggling to find info. I aim to operate on a 300 gallon pot with 4+10+10 plate column set-up. Raw materials will vary from grain to molasses to fruit, depending on product. Many thanks.
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