Welshbrew

I've found that when distilling fresh raspberries, the flavour does not come through.

You need to add the fresh fruit post distillation.

Certainly raspberries and blackcurrants.

Forget it.

You'll need to buy very large amounts to make it worthwhile, and correctly dry the products. For example, my spice trader takes juniper berries which are typically 40% moisture and dries them to around 18% moisture.

By the time you have everything in place (to process raw product) you have replicated a lot of what a spice trader does (at great expense).

Definitely not worth it.

The green berries are next years harvest. Leave them on the tree.

Where did you get the copper pipe section from?

72.5% ABV at 20 degrees C is 65.08% by weight (ABW) with a density of 0.87755.

So if you have 40.5 kg then you have around 46.15 litres of product.

I calculate you have 26.36 kg of ethanol in your spirit.

If you were to dilute to 40% (for example) you would have 81.45 litres of gin.

Thanks.

I see the resolution is actually 4 decimal places (0.0001 g/cm³), with accuracy being 3 decimal places.

I really need it for ABV/ABW mostly, with some use for density.

I would rather buy the Snap 41 if that is more accurate than the DMA 35.

I won't be using it for final proofing since it is not legal in the UK.

Wonder why the Snap 51 is more expensive (£2,581.90) than the DMA 35 (£1,970.80)?

The lifetime replacement on the sensor looks attractive.

Does anyone know the alcohol ABV or ABW accuracy with the DMA 35?

For the Snap 41 and 51 they quote accuracy of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

But nothing quoted on the DMA 35, other than density accuracy which is 0.001 g/cm³.

Also regarding the "Basic" version, is this just the previous generation that is now cheaper?

I'm using a copper alembic still.

Botanical charge is just over 30g per litre, at 40% ABV maceration.

I have pretty much nailed my recipe. This is at 10 litre testing size.

Problem is moving to 100 and 200 litre sizes. It will be much colder in January than July. The maceration will take longer due to the ethanol mix being colder.

This is what I want to measure. Establish a value when maceration is complete (conductivity, PPM, SG, refractive index) then test the maceration until complete.

Taste is not reliable. Fully stop.

19 hours ago, indyspirits said:

Perhaps I don't fully understand what you're trying to accomplish.  My point is to ignore the measurement of anything other than botanical quantity per unit volume and a known proof. 

The ethanol/water mixture takes time to take the flavour out of the solid ingredients.

After 1 day the flavour would be too weak to be worth distilling.

After 12 days it will be definitely ready.

Now it could be ready after 7 days. Or 8 days. That is what I want to measure instead of just waiting too long to be sure.

I reckon measuring electrical conductivity may work - it will give an indication of the number of ions dissolved in the liquid.

I know the proof will not change.

Sugar will be very low, probably too low to measure.

Wonder if refractive index could be used?

Hello

I create my gin by macerating at room temperate for 7 to 10 days.

Up to now I have determined if maceration is done by taste and colour. Not exactly reliable. And certainly not a scale when I open my distillery.

Is there any equipment that will give me some exact figures of how the liquid has changed?

It starts as ethanol/water at 40% ethanol by volume. All solid ingredients are then added, before being removed before transferring to the still.

What about the Anton Paar density meters like the DMA 35?

Or should I be looking at a refractometer instead?

Thanks

Thanks

If anyone from the UK is reading this, you need a DSEAR compliance engineer, and they charge around £700 per day.

Hoping no more than 3 days work, but who knows.

Just heard back from them - they have accepted my application ?

I've stated that I will comply with DSEAR 2002 regulations, and that I need a compliance engineer to get compliant.

We'll see what they say.

Right now - from me.

I'm reluctant to employ an engineer until I have the lease.

Thanks, very useful.

However, I'm in the UK. We are covered under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR).

Hello

I am about to sign a lease on premises for my distillery.

The fire safety officer has asked these questions:

1) Please confirm on how you intend to mitigate against the risk of fire and explosion
2) Please confirm that you will have adequate natural or mechanical ventilation in the distillery
 

I don't intend to worry about the finer points of health & safety until I employ the services of a consultant. I cannot do that until I know the exact layout of the premises after moving in, and the distillery layout.

How should I answer? Any ideas?

I have already explained that I don't intend to put 96% ethanol into the stills. The ethanol will be diluted to 35% before putting into the stills - this was something they were worried about.

Is anybody using floor based fans? It is not possible to put in roof fans since there is a railway above.

Edit to add:

One thing they are worried about is the transfer of 96% ethanol to the diluting drum before transfer to the still.
I've explained that a hand pump will transfer the ethanol into another drum with a lid on, so no vapour escapes.

15 hours ago, indyspirits said:

Although @meerkat won't suggest it, I will. Go buy a copy of alcodens to simplify your life.  I honestly think it's the best money we've spent. 

Funny you should say that. I downloaded it a few days ago.

Don't understand it yet, though. ?

Thanks meerkat.

That makes sense.

As most people know, if we mix ethanol and water, we don't end up with the sum of the parts in volume.

For example, if we mix:

50 litres ethanol
50 litres water

We end up with 96 litres. Not 100.

My question is this:

With the decrease in volume, we don't lose any mass of ethanol, so has the ABV increased?
i.e. is the ABV 50% or has it increased?

I'm trying to do some cost analysis of the total loss of ethanol throughout the distilling process to fully cost a micro distillery.

I've already got some pretty accurate figures on how much I will lose in the actual distilling stage, i.e. recovering the ethanol from heads and tails.

In the UK I need to pay for duty up front (initially) and so my ethanol is around £30 / $39 per litre.

I don't have access to 96% NGS yet to actually try this.

OK, I might give them a go then. 

Which juniper did you go for? £12 a kilo or £15 a kilo?

Which coriander seeds did you buy? The ones from Romania.

BuyWholeFoodsOnline or Just Ingredients.

I am not open until next year, currently in R&D stage.

Organic Herb Trading look expensive.

£12.00 + VAT per kilo of juniper.

£7.70 + VAT per kilo of coriander.

They supply coriander seeds from England.

I didn't know coriander seeds were even grown in England until I visited their stand at Craft Distilling Expo in London last week.

The smell was amazing.

Nice one.

What model is the 50 litre still?