HedgeBird

I am not really sure as I had it insulated from the get go. My insulation could probably be thicker as the stainless sheet still gets hot to the touch.. From powering on the boiler to boiling mash in the kettle is under two hours three hours for me running at about 6 PSI. I think the boiler takes about 30 minutes heat up time to build pressure. Thinking about it some more, I don't think insulating your kettle will actually speed up heat up time unless your boiler is currently running continuously during heat up. Insulating should just help maintain steam/heat/pressure in the jacket so that your boiler does not need to cycle on as frequently. I believe heat up time is going to be almost entirely determined by surface area of the jacket or plate that is able to be in contact with the mash/wash and agitation of the mash/wash. Does that make sense?

Just a heads up.. The forum has an option to turn a URL posted into an actual hyper-link that people are then able to click on. If your going to post your URL on every single thread on the forum you should consider using this option to make it easier for people to access your site. Here, ill do it for you: WWW.REDBOOTSTILLS.COM

I just cut holes through the insulation and then used hole-saw bits to drill holes through the stainless.. I actually forgot to plug an old thermometer port in the steam jacket the first time and had to take everything back off when steam started pouring out the first time we fired it up. The stainless is held in place with self-tapping sheet metal screws that go into a ring of wood lattice that wraps/sits on the outside lip of the kettle/still flange connection and then more screw where the sheet overlaps in the back. My steam and condensate lines come off the bottom of the kettle so I did not need to do anything for those. I think I got my sheet from this place: https://www.stainlesssupply.com/order-metal-online/index.php and thanks for the compliments! its far from perfect, but I am happy with how it came out and she seems to be making some tasty whiskey!

my 150 gallon steam kettle has pretty straight sides so it was fairly easy to wrap in insulation and then wrap that in thin stainless sheet.. I went with a quilted pattern and really like the look.. personally I think the dished kettles look a bit awkward so just building it out straight seems reasonable..

Hewn, you really are like my doppelganger; I also spent a short while living in fairbanks a good few years back! ..and glad to hear things are working out with your trade mark Ursa!

Lowering the PH can also help with starch conversion. This is another reason I am asking about adding the backset before, or during the cook. Adding the backset earlier would help with hitting my target stach conversion PH, but I am concerned it may have other starch conversion side-effects that I am unaware of. ?

This reminds me that I once spent my days doing Google searches for these type of issues instead of fermentation and yeast issues. Feels good that I can honestly say I am happier making whiskey than websites! Looks likes its a PHP version issue: Error "Incompatible file format" means that you might tried to execute PHP 5.2 encoded file on PHP 5.3 runtime. Re-encode with PHP 5.3 project settings, or use zendenc53 if you encode using command line tools. In this case, you have the following options. 1. Downgrade the PHP version in the server to the required lower version. This is not possible in a shared server or in cases like, when you are having sites that work only on latest PHP version, in the same server. 2. Re-encode the PHP files to work with the latest PHP version. For encoding options, Zend Guard has a GUI based on XML parser engine, and command line encoders for automation and choice of use. To make things clear, Re-encoding can only be performed on the PHP open source files, not on already encoded files.

If using backset, would there be an issue with adding it during the cook, instead of after, in order to make sure it gets pasteurized and does not introduce any bacteria? Or is that really an un-necessary concern as the low PH of the backset should prevent any nasties from growing?

I have a sample of this enzyme I am hoping to try on my next batch. it came with no useage instructions or recommendations regarding amounts per volume of mash, or weight of grain.. any suggestions on how much to start with? I am doing batches of about 150 gallons and 250lb of grain..

what are some of the typical proportions of backset added when souring a mash? Are most of you just adding until you hit your target PH?

"On Nov. 9, 2010, Hank Williams, Jr. announced his partnership with J&M Concepts LLC and widow Pam Sutton to distill and distribute a brand of whiskey named after Sutton that was asserted to follow his legacy" ​I guess copying someone else helped Hank Jr get his singing career started and now he is just trying to do the same thing with his liquor business.

oddly enough the recommendation for my yeast is to ferment at just less than 90F; between 86-89F ..

Hewn, I am curious what type of rye you are using? Coarse grind, flour, flaked? And did you pitch your yeast at 120F or am i mis-reading that? That seems high for the recommended pitch temp on most whiskey yeast I have seen. Is it possible that adding the yeast at that temp killed many of the cells off and left you with only ones that will convert a smaller sub-set of sugars? So possible you had a good mash/convert, but a bad ferment/pitch? We just ran our first test batch yesterday (i am using finely ground rye and wheat) and it seems to be bubbling away happily now. I re-pitched my yeast after 3 hours of no activity and re-reading the recommended temps for the type of yeast I used. I had initially used the suggested temps/instructions for another type of yeast I had and think I pitched it too cold. After warming up the mash and re-pitching i had nice action within 30 minutes. My mash times/temps where pretty far off from what you did, or from what fldme suggests.

no, I did not mean scaling up from one still to another, but rather if all factors are the same except batch size, the larger batch is going to take longer.. So for example if I load my 150 gallon capacity still with 75 gallons of wash (and run it as fast as my heat source and cooling system allow) its going to take longer to strip that batch than if I loaded it with a full 150 gallons. I really was/am nit-picking a bit with my argument, and agree with the point you are making; that larger stills don't necessarily take longer to run. But I would think thats not because batch size and time are not correlated, but rather because they typically have larger heat sources, more surface area for evaporation and larger condensers.. right?

seems safe to assume he is probably looking for a still and some other distillation equipment... I get that every single post you make is one promoting your own services. I bet some folks might find it annoying; but whatever, thats cool. And I get that you are proud that your stuff is made in the USA. (Im proud that my still was made in the USA as well.) But by adding the "not China" your just intentionally trying to devalue the products offered by another poster in this thread who happens to add a lot of value to this forum/community beyond promoting his own services. Instead of trying to knock someone else you might consider what you can learn from them and how they conduct themselves.

Your right that you can't determine run time based on charge size, as its just one factor. But at the risk of being nit-picky. All other factors being the same, a batch that is 500 gallons is going to take longer to distill than one that is 250 gallons, so still charge size and run time are correlated. There is a relation between the two beyond chance, hence correlation.

this page shows a conversion formula.. no idea if its correct.. http://forum.onlineconversion.com/showthread.php?t=14493

Friday we went ahead and assembled all the main pieces of my still.. Probably need another week or two for final fittings, attachments: piping cooling water supply building a parrot and a cooling manifold, attaching the agitator pump etc. I was a bit surprised how tall and slender looking it is compared to most stills; dimensions on paper only go so far to help visualize things! All in all I am pretty happy with how things came out at the end and feeling confident she should work well. Thanks for all the input and feed back from this forum; it was beyond helpful having you all as a resource!

It does indeed sound like we are at similar points if COLAs and Mash Protocols for locally sourced PA rye are what you are dealing with! I am hoping to start doing some small test cooks next week to figure out my mash process. How neighborly do you want to get? Seems like we might have some helpful info for each other if neither of us care that we seem to be doing the same thing in the same area.

I should probably be posting this in the screw-ups-you-have-made-and-are-willing-to-admit thread, but this just reminded me. When I got my black pipe cut for the steam lines the guys cutting it would frequently shove a paper towel in the end to keep the cutter oil from dripping all over the place. Somehow I managed to not remove one of these paper towels, and it eventually clogged in my steam strainer on the condensate return line. I had no idea why the jacket was not getting hot. Took me a day before I finally took the condensate line apart to check the trap/strainer/valve and found this "stuff" in the line. It took me another two days to figure out what is was/how it got there. Did that happen with or without a mixer/agitator on your still?

I am about to submit my first set of 3 labels/formulas for approval. I am concerned that I may not have everything correct and that I will wait 40 days, and then have to make a bunch of changes. Is there anyone that feels confident in their knowledge/experience that would be willing to take and hour or so and review my labels before I submit them? I would be willing to compensate for this as well. I will be submitting labels for un-aged/white rye and rye aged for less than 1 year. Cheers!

Just a heads up.. Once you get your COLAs online login, (and the only way I could find to do this was to mail in the paper application for the online access) you will then need to enable your FORMULAs online access separately. You do not need to create a new user/password, but somewhere within the "My Profile" section of COLAs online you select to enable FORULAs online. This also then takes time for them to enable this feature of your account. They told me it would take four days for me to get access after enabling this option, but after a week of not being able to login I called the help desk and they where able to enable it while I was on the phone. Good times!

I am far from an expert on this, but I picked up from one of the boiler guys I had quote my project that direct injection of steam may require a different type of boiler. He called it a "process boiler" and implied that it was larger and more heavy duty because the boiler is constantly heating fresh cold water rather than heating the already hot condensate return. I ended up not going with this guy because none of my equipment was setup for direct steam injection (my still and mash tun have jackets or plates to exchange the heat). The process boiler he recommended was much more expensive than the typical closed loop type that I needed and went with. Not sure what he was thinking when he recommended this for my setup as I clearly indicated my tanks had condensate returns, vs direct injection..

Just purchased three corny and three half barrel kegs for storage. Thanks for all the feedback and input on this!

I am planning to use an air operated double diaphragm pump to circulate my wash: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KFFRUO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I am just adding a 3-way valve to my tank outlet, then an inlet on the back of the still dome. Seemed like a simpler and cheaper option than adding a mixer and I have the added benefit of being able to use this pump as a backup transfer pump if the other one fails or needs rebuilt.