Galapadoc

Thanks. I may reach out when I get that far down the road. Gotta get these first two products ready for prime time first.

No website. We were looking into that but all of our sales will be local for the foreseeable future. Not much need for a website in a place where everyone knows everyone. We're all electric right now but we'll have to go to steam when we upgrade. We were originally going to go with steam but it was cost prohibitive for this scale. The built-in baine marie oil heater from Affordable Distillery Equipment was the best choice for 100 gallons, but the electricity is going to be too expensive when we go up to 600 gallons. There's a regressive sliding scale based on consumption so the more we use, the more expensive the kwh. Who knows? There's a 5 acre solar farm right behind my property and they just privatized it, so maybe I can strike a deal directly with them. Gotta get through phase 1 first.

I'm hesitant to even get into gin. Seems like more trouble that it's worth. With the clients we have lined up already, I think we'll be near capacity for this still with just the vodka and the cachaça, plus I'm still hoping to make at least a few barrels of corn whisky since it's the only other thing that grows here. We'll see once everything is moving. The floor has been poured and dried and the plumbing and electrics are being installed. Hopefully I'll start putting the still together this weekend. Been staring at these crates for far too long.

So if I wanted to add a gin basket to mine, that's something you could fabricate to add on? I'm not much into gin (anymore) but all of my potential customers are asking about it.

How do you make cuts on a vacuum still? I'm thinking if we have to upgrade to a bigger operation, that's probably our best option because electricity is limited here and the whole archipelago is trying to go carbon zero (i.e. no gas), but cuts are essential to what I'm trying to make. Maybe Paul can chime in because if that's what we get, we'll be getting it from him.

Yeah, definitely a home distiller setup. My still is only 100 gallons and it's only economically viable because of the unique opportunities offered by being on a small island in the middle of the ocean.

What are those three extra things on the right in that 16-plate still where the condenser usually is?

Nothing yet. We just got the roof put on our distillery a few days ago. Floor is being poured this week, then I start assembling the still while the electrical engineer wires the place up. I'm going to give it a shot to see what happens. The Cuban cedar we have here is the only lumber tree on the island. They're an invasive species so the national park encourages us to cut them down. If nothing else, they'll make for nice decorative boxes for some limited edition spirit.

The ship is being unloaded as we speak. Hopefully our container will be here tomorrow. Can't wait to get started.

One island away!

Hey Paul, you didn't post our still's baby picture! It finally cleared customs and is now on a boat from the mainland. Hoping to have it on the premises next week!

What are you asking for them?

Barrel Rick!

An engineering Mountweazel! 🤣 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry I love it! I'll admit, I reached out to some Chinese manufacturers. The pandemic meant everything was going slow. There was lots of time to brainstorm. They did offer better quotes on paper, and with customs tariffs the way they are here, it's actually cheaper to import from China than from the US. But I knew something felt off. They couldn't answer any of my nerdy questions. @Southernhighlander could. This is our family business. Every cent invested comes from our labor. I justified the difference in the price point to the CEO, and why craft and institutional memory matter, and we went with Paul. This is just the beginning.

What specific model of machine do you use to generate ozone for use in the CIP? Sounds like a good way to disinfect everything since we're very limited at to what chemical agents we can import into the Galapagos. Citric isn't a problem (because they classify it as a food ingredient), but everything else is highly regulated. Ozone is great because it breaks down naturally to water so it can go down the drain. And just a heads up. I'm not sure what kind of PPE you're using when fogging with gaseous ozone, but keep in mind that it's super toxic to human tissue. We use it in ozonated water for wound care, especially for patient's with decubitus and diabetic foot ulcers, but you definitely don't want to be inhaling that stuff. It will do a number on your alveoli and over the years can lead to COPD.