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So, we have stills (700 Gallon Stripping/300 Gallon Hybrid Pot Still), a boiler, fermentation tanks, a diaphragm pump, a small bottling line and an RO system. But really, that’s all we have at this point. We’re going to be primarily focused on whiskey production. I’m a very recent (about a month) crossover from the brewing world and have set up quite a few breweries in the past, but this isn’t very similar in my experience thus far. I could literally set up a brewery in no time, but I feel like I’m struggling here a bit with the task of identifying everything we need.  If anyone has any time, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you’re willing to provide on the following list of things that I believe we still need.  Here goes – 

·     Air Compressor/Air Dryer/Filters. 

·     Collection/Holding tanks -Low wines, Hearts, Tails, Blending?

·     Floor Scale (?).

·     Hoses (Distillery specific?).

·     Barrels.

·     Barrel Racking equipment.

·     Assorted Clamps, Gaskets, Valves, etc. 

·     Thermometers (glass/digital).

·     Hydrometer/Alcometers.

·     Filtration system – Depth or Cartridge or both?

·     Flowmeters(?).

·     Cold Liquor Tank/ Chiller(?) (Unsure if Midwest city water is cool enough year-round). 

·     Ethanol Detectors(s). 

·     Forklift/Pallet Jack

·     Distillery Software.

 

That’s where I’m currently at with this list. What did I miss? What don’t I need?  I’ve generated this list by reading hours and years’ worth of this forum, independent research and insight from the very few folks I know in the industry. I’ve done my best to do my homework before asking for your collective assistance, so hopefully this doesn’t come across as a request to be “baby birded” the info. Thanks again. 

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Seems like a solid list. Only thing I'd recommend is using the flowmeter(s) for water only, unless you are able to put everything on load cells then weigh it all instead. An on-demand hot water heater is always nice. Water softener/filtration for your boilers/mash water respectively. Stainless steel paddles/whisks are great tools to agitate spirits during blending, proofing, etc. Match your hoses to meet need based on proof, temperature, and sanitation. 

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2 minutes ago, captnKB said:

if you are producing whiskey do you plan to get a dedicated cooker or mash tun?

Eventually a cooker.  However, we are currently located next-door to a brewery with brand new equipment, so we will utilize them for now.   

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jwalsh,

If you are going to do corn mashes  on the grain you will need a distillers mash tun.  At least 99.9% of the bourbon produced in the US is done on the grain and for good reason.  We can help you with the mash tun. 

Also it is best to size your stripping still 3 times larger than your spirit still.  That way you will have just enough low wines from a stripping run to fill your spirit still, but of course there is nothing we can do about that now as you have already purchased your stills.  The person who sold you the stills should have told you this.   I certainly explain it to my customers. 

If you will email me: paul@distillery-equipment.com we can quote you for a Mash Cooker, compartmentalized receiving tanks for heads hearts and tails, proofing tank, CIP for everything, UL listed ethanol storage tank, mash pump (if needed), explosion proof ethanol pump (if needed), hoses for mash and high proof, air compressor, crash cooling equipment,  Hot water holding tanks for reclaiming condenser water for cleaning and mashing, chiller for crash cooling mash, cartridge filter for final filtration and charcoal filters for flavor improvement.  With a purchase of $10,000.00 or more  I also give free consulting, free 3 day hands on distilling workshop using our equipment at a large distillery and free distillery equipment layout.   We can also do training at your distillery for $800.00 per day plus expenses.  We have stills in 20% of the distilleries in the USA and normally along with the stills we have full sets of equipment including everything except bottling lines, barrels, racks and bottle and other things like that.  Along with our quotes we supply a huge reference list.  We are well known for our quality, price and customer service. 

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When I head back up to my place in Holland in a couple weeks, be happy to get together and provide some feedback. Also, Paul's advice in general is pretty good. He is right about still size,  but it is no deal breaker, you can always store the strips as low wines or run the spirit still 2/3 or so full.

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1 hour ago, bluestar said:

When I head back up to my place in Holland in a couple weeks, be happy to get together and provide some feedback. Also, Paul's advice in general is pretty good. He is right about still size,  but it is no deal breaker, you can always store the strips as low wines or run the spirit still 2/3 or so full.

That's the great thing about low wines, storage is no issue.  Add to the list a low wines storage tank.

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On 5/20/2019 at 7:59 AM, Jwalsh77 said:

 

So, we have stills (700 Gallon Stripping/300 Gallon Hybrid Pot Still), a boiler, fermentation tanks, a diaphragm pump, a small bottling line and an RO system. But really, that’s all we have at this point. We’re going to be primarily focused on whiskey production. I’m a very recent (about a month) crossover from the brewing world and have set up quite a few breweries in the past, but this isn’t very similar in my experience thus far. I could literally set up a brewery in no time, but I feel like I’m struggling here a bit with the task of identifying everything we need.  If anyone has any time, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you’re willing to provide on the following list of things that I believe we still need.  Here goes – 

·     Air Compressor/Air Dryer/Filters. 

·     Collection/Holding tanks -Low wines, Hearts, Tails, Blending?

·     Floor Scale (?).

·     Hoses (Distillery specific?).

·     Barrels.

·     Barrel Racking equipment.

·     Assorted Clamps, Gaskets, Valves, etc. 

·     Thermometers (glass/digital).

·     Hydrometer/Alcometers.

·     Filtration system – Depth or Cartridge or both?

·     Flowmeters(?).

·     Cold Liquor Tank/ Chiller(?) (Unsure if Midwest city water is cool enough year-round). 

·     Ethanol Detectors(s). 

·     Forklift/Pallet Jack

·     Distillery Software.

 

That’s where I’m currently at with this list. What did I miss? What don’t I need?  I’ve generated this list by reading hours and years’ worth of this forum, independent research and insight from the very few folks I know in the industry. I’ve done my best to do my homework before asking for your collective assistance, so hopefully this doesn’t come across as a request to be “baby birded” the info. Thanks again. 

Mashing?

Also, the cooling system- chiller, reservoir tank, water/glycol pumps pipe, valves, fittings etc.

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