Hypnopooper

Looks like Chip has been Bought out and fired from the board of Balcones. Sad ending, but I think it was inevitable. Chip will land on his feet and should reappear in a year or so... http://www.wacotrib.com/news/business/balcones-distilling-founder-tate-bought-out-by-board/article_cf702743-5d51-5704-8f1d-931ab1e611c6.html?mode=jqm

I am trying to think of ways to get our name out to places that we are unable to sell our bottled alcohol at. In TX, we can't sell our vodka at Artisan/Farmers markets, we have a stract 3 tier system, except for bottle sales in our tasting room. I assume giving away samples at such locations that do not actually resell our product is probably not going to net many new sales if they have to go find our product after sampling at an event. I'm toying with the idea of making Vanilla Extract from our Vodka and selling in 4 or 8 oz bottles with our product name and logo on the bottle. This would allow for us to go to Farmers/Artisan markets that we are currently not allowed to sell our "Vodka" at. Have any other distiller's tried such an option? What were your results? Thoughts?

We use the open top fermentation and run the bug that make it through the nets with the rest of the mash as well. if I could do it over again...I would have bouth a stainless tank and had it "skinned" in cypress. Less work to take care of the wood and keep the staves from separating due to lack of using all 3 of ours at the same time.

Subject should have stated "New lawsuit against the 5th Generation Inc. (Tito's)"

Well it looks like truth in Labeling and the latest lawsuit on Tito's could be a small problem for the company... There's no denying, that we all would like to be as successfull as "Tito's" but it looks as though the "Handmade" and "distilled in Austin, TX" may end up being a problem. What's more interesting is that we may actually get some real facts from this court case as to what the production method is and whether GNS is in fact what is being re-distilled in Austin TX. (although I think most us have an inclination to suspect GNS) It's a pipe dream for me, but hopefully we can also start getting the TTB to put some rules around GNS and how the industry truthfully labels re-distilled GNS. http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/vodka/the-titos-lawsuit-when-approval-is-not-approval

Email sent

We have (3) 250 Gallon cypress fermentation tanks from Confederate Stills of Alabama. Each tank has 1/2" or 3/8" hard copper coils around the walls that keep our ferment at 75F in Houston with the use of our chiller. He was also making the cypress tanks that Hillbilly Stills was reselling as well as wrapping stills in a nice cypress finish until the two of them had a falling out.

All still sales are supposed to be reported to the TTB. The TTB is going through the reported sales of known startup still makers and sending out a "form letter" letting purchasers know that the TTB is aware of their still purchase and that unless they have a permit to distill alcohol, they are likely breaking the law. They also cited the recent sting operation with cooperation between TTB and the FL alcohol bureau or whatever it's called that resulted in "X" amount of arrests. We purchased our stills through Hillbilly Stills and got a letter last week from TTB. No problem for us, we are a registered and bonded distillery. But for others, this could be problematic. If the TTB would have done any homework,they would have known that I as the purchaser of said still am also owner of a registered TTB business. Bottom line, if you are buying stills or parts to build a still from known still builders, and you do not have a permit to distill alcohol, you are taking a big chance that your little hobby may become a very expensive trip to a defense attorney. ADI does not endorse hobby distilling without a proper TTB permits. Stay legal people.

Agreed on square stand! It's easy, cheap and functional. we use it in our tasting room as well.

You can add a cash drawer as an option. I'm thrifty and IT oriented, so I'm just waiting on a good deal for the drawer. The Ipad was a pawn shop purchase, the stand was Craigslist, we picked up the receipt printer new in the box off of Ebay for $75.. Our total investment in the cash register solution is less than $350 to date, but we own it, and it's pretty simple to use.

We use an iPad with the square stand for tasting room sales. Very easy to run reports from and can easily import into Quickbooks.

We used East Texas History to come up with our "Dog Trot" Vodka. Named of course after the Dog Trot style log cabins in east Texas before A/C with 2 rooms divide by a breezeway. They were common in east Texas and the "Big Thicket", and had originated from Appalachian regions of Tennessee and Kentucky. We wanted something with local roots and a conversation starter.

MG, I got a deal on a 4ton chill king unit that I could not turn down. It came from an ice cream shop that never opened. We are using it for our condenser's and to chill our ferment tanks as well. Thanks, Dan

We bought our still tanks from ZHENGHENG found on Alibaba. and had a good experience. I learned a little about importing too Each of our still boilers are 474L tanks that are insulated steam kettles. We bought 2 of them and paid 5322.00 each. It was a little unnerving sending 12K overseas in a bank wire transfer though. new-474L1.pdf

I agree whole heartedly Blackheart. I also found that electrical steam generators are generally cheaper than boilers. But, the cost of adding 3 phase to our electrical panel was going to be 20K for electrical powered steam. So, in the end natural gas is cheaper than electricity for for us and much more efficient. For us, I predict that by going with natural gas/steam, the cost difference will pay for itself based on our current electrical rates in less than 2 years. Find a reputable boiler inspecter, they usually can get you a good lead on a used boiler for often times more than half the cost of a new one. Pay for the inspection before you buy.

We bought a used Hurst 20HP vertical boiler. It's rated at 863K BTU. We bought used because all new boilers were required to be "low NOX" in Texas if bought new, or we would not be able to be certified if I bought from out of state if it wasn't "Low NOX". A previously used/licensed boiler in the state was exempt from the "Low NOX" rule. The boiler was 9K, Fire room was 3K Floor drain was 1K, and Install was 6.3K. Total cost was about 19K. We are powering (2) 100G stills and its more that adequate. We made sure that we would be able to add a mash tun in the future with no issues to the units output capabilities.

This is a great topic, and I have a question from all the wealth of experience here. What sorts of hats sell better? Screen printed, embroidered, or patch sewn on. Looking for ideas. Thanks!

I bought the volumetric filler by Xpressfill. We got the 4 spout unit here: http://www.xpressfill.com/volumetric-filler We paid their marked price directly from the mfg, and got a free tranfer kit and free shipping. It's still in a box waiting to be used, as we are still awaiting our DSP.

Well I read it differently my mistake, This is a great book for basic infusions to start out with then take them to the gin basket on the still for those that want to try more complex infusions.

Here's a good start for you.... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811846008/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not yet, its in my list of to-do's in the next several weeks. Been finishing out our space and dealing with TTB issues lately.

Wer are well within what is considered the boundaries of The Big Thicket, as is the brewery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Big_Thicket.png

After stressing to our TTB reviewer in an abrupt and curt email last night and demanding that this be reviewed by a senior TTB permitting officer. I emphasized that there is absolutely a difference between a Brewery and Distillery, and that each prospectively offers a different product to consumers. There should be no concern from TTB that an individual would not be able to tell the difference between whiskey or vodka and beer. Or that an individual might go to a grocery store shopping for beer and accidentally walk out with a bottle of vodka and being confused as to what they bought. If brewery and distillery were too confusing to differentiate to the general population, then why are there different rules, laws, and permitting requirements for each? Additionally, I also reminded her that if the state of Texas allowed the 2 names that were close in name but distinctly different in filing for incorporation by their own incorporation rules, then that should be acceptable to the TTB. Their job is to process my application, not to worry about whether my distillery name is too close to another TTB permitted business. I'll deal with the brewery myself later, if needed at the state level. So, I apparently managed to talk some sense into our TTB application reviewer. TTB has reversed course on our naming issues, and we are now moving forward. Next on the list is to trademark Big Thicket Distilling Co. to keep the brewery out of my back pocket in legal fees.

After stressing to our TTB reviewer in an abrupt and curt email last night and demanding that this be reviewed by a senior TTB permitting officer. I emphasized that there is absolutely a difference between a Brewery and Distillery, and that each prospectively offers a different product to consumers. There should be no concern from TTB that an individual would not be able to tell the difference between whiskey or vodka and beer. Or that an individual might go to a grocery store shopping for beer and accidentally walk out with a bottle of vodka and being confused as to what they bought. If brewery and distillery were too confusing to differentiate to the general population, then why are there different rules, laws, and permitting requirements for each? Additionally, I also reminded her that if the state of Texas allowed the 2 names that were close in name but distinctly different in filing for incorporation by their own incorporation rules, then that should be acceptable to the TTB. Their job is to process my application, not to worry about whether my distillery name is too close to another TTB permitted business. I'll deal with the brewery myself later, if needed at the state level. So, I apparently managed to talk some sense into our TTB application reviewer. TTB has reversed course on our naming issues, and we are now moving forward. Next on the list is to trademark Big Thicket Distilling Co. to keep the brewery out of my back pocket in legal fees.

No trademark on either at this time. My understanding is that you cannot trademark a name that is associated with a geographic location. Clearly, I have an issue of "how long can I fight this", because I cannot make any products until this gets resolved. The other Brewery is able to function while this gets resolved.