pogriallais

Thank you Huffy2k. I have sent them a message on this!

Hi everyone! Could anyone recommend any distillery management software that is capable of reporting using the EU alcohol tables? We already use accounting software but it's becoming a bigger task every month to manage the reporting as we have to populate excel sheets - far from ideal.

Thanks guys for your concerns re weight but we don't do it here. What I want is your perspective on tank specification. Do you need an agitator/ open top etc?

The regulations are more to do with how the strength of the spirit is to be calculated after distillation and before bottling. In Scotland and Ireland, blending is typically done by volume rather than by weight. We're permitted to blend by weight too.

Hi guys, Could you recommend tank specifications for cutting spirit with water? We're going with a 1000 litre tank. At the moment we stir our spirit and water in a 500 litre vessel and bottle direct from that vessel. For the 1000 litre tank we're looking at a concentric base with top and side manways. Does it need agitation? Or how would mixing be achieved - recirculation via pump and hose? Any recommendations welcome. We blend/ cut our spirit by volume here in Ireland rather than by weight. Image of what we're thinking attached.

Yes, have you tried Stevenson Reeves in Scotland?

Hi guys, does anyone know of anyone that sells bog myrtle botanical, preferably in Europe?

Good afternoon all, Does anyone have any recommendations or tips on specifications for a spirit proofing tank. i.e manway positioning top/side; height/ level gauge etc. I'm planning on getting a 2000 litre vessel. I know some people proof by weight but I have always done it by volume. Is there any issue with blending different spirits such as gin and whiskey in the same tanks as long as proper C.I.P is used?

Also just as a side note, I couldn't find any posts in relation to PID or solenoid valves. Anyone have any links? Much appreciated.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. Why wouldn't people go with any automation? Some clever automation will increase productivity and lessen the burden of constantly changing dephlegmator, I'm aware that this is partly due to the way it's currently plumbed. I will look into the PID dephlegmator control, thanks for the heads up. Why wouldn't I think of letting the still heat up unattended if appropriate safety measures are in place? My hot liquor tank is programmed to keep a constant temperature, the same could be applied to the still. Most of the Irish and Scottish distileries pre-heat their wash in a wash charger/ heater why wouldn't I? Provided safety measures are put in place I don't see it as a big no no. People run their stills twice or 3 times daily, heat up is a lot of time 'wasted'. With a wash charger, you can cut out 1.5 hours on each distillation run.

Hi guys, I'm running a 250litre 3 plate hybrid still. It's heated with electrical elements. I want to get it semi-automated so that I don't need to be tweaking reflux condenser and heat input all the time. The other advantage is the ability to pre-heat wash prior to distilling, we intend to get 2 runs done per day. We also have a wash pre-heater that will be heated at a set time. I'm proposing to build a panel with a PLC controller. I intend to have PT100's in the pot and one in each condenser respectively. Do I need to regulate the vapour temperature or am I over complicating the setup? I attach a photo of the still that we're going to hard plumb shortly. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Hi guys. Could anyone recommend any suppliers of neutral grain spirit suppliers in the EU?

Yeast strain is Anchor - Active Dried Distillers yeast for malt whiskey saccharomyces cerevisiae. I use 1g per litre of wort. Rehydrated using 50:50 wort to water. I boil the wort prior to rehydrating yeast to kill any bacteria present. Yeast is rehydrated at 36 C. Yeast is pitched into wort at 20 degrees C and no temperature control is used. Temperature reaches 29-32 (max) degrees C. No agitation during fermentation. A clear wort is fermented so no grain present.

I have considered this and kept the still in equilibrium to see if it made a difference but unfortunatley not. I will try it again however. What I can't understand is how the performance of the still would change so dramatically if I'm doing everything the same for the past 6 months.

I'm running into a lot of difficulty recently with my distillation/ fermentation. The symptoms are early onset of feints/ tails. I have tried increasing reflux in the still to continue the hearts cut but it isn't working. I have tried less reflux too. Fermentation appears to be good. Grain bill - 100% barley malt Starting gravity 1.061 Final gravity 0.997. Estimated ABV 8.38%. Final PH 4.19 Distillation Still - 250 litre pot with 3 plated column with dephlegmator. Heads and foreshots are compressed at the begining of the run - 100% reflux for 30 minutes and heads collected slowly afterwards. Cut is determined by taste a smell. Hearts- relfux is reduced and heating of pot is increased. Cut is determined by taste and smell. The average abv i was collecting before this was 81% ABV. I can achieve above 81% ABV initially but the abv drops fairly suddenly when about 25% of the expected hearts cut is obtained. The product becomes feinty after this point. I have checked the still for leaks but all the gaskets look fine. Any advice?