iliasm

I personally don't but at a recent podcast, I chatted with the owners of Smoky Quartz distillery. They are doing it and are open to help others as well. Shoot them an email!

Brewcraft USA is where I get mine from.

https://shop.brewcraftusa.com/

You opened my eyes with the leasing equipment, thank you John! Even though I'm late into this game, going forward I'm looking for opportunities to lease.

Cheers,

-ilias

I agree with the rest that having an understanding of why that proof gallon moved from this report to another and that specific row/column is crucial. Learn how to do this on your own first, the TTB provides very useful flash tutorials:

My last two cents is that software should not cost that much. 

Cheers,

-ilias

Congratulations Pete! I assume this leaves you with no time for sand castles!

That would be great, I'm sure there some good information on those documents as well. I also plan on doing a test from the document you shared above that mentions the use of heads towards the end of the fermentation (3.8 Brix) since I have a ferment that's almost done, although his recommendation is to add it mid-level when the fermentation is the most vigorous, so that will be done at the next fermentation and compare results.

Cheers,

-ilias

Thank you @bostonapothecary for sharing the documents and the lecture, there was also mention of further research that was fallen through in terms of bringing them forward as a book.

On 10/4/2018 at 6:48 AM, Foreshot said:

Thanks for sharing the experiment! Open research like this is hard to come by in this industry. 

For the batch that was fermented with the recycled heads:

1. Did you measure the ABV of the heads?

2. Did fermentation show any effects? Ferment faster/slower? 

3. Open or closed ferment? Temp controlled? 

4. Was the percentage of head/hearts/tails similar to the non-recycled batches? 

5. Was the ABV of the wash similar to the non-recycled batches? (The point is to increase ABV, yes?) 

6. What was the FG? Was it different that expected (attenuation issues?)

7. Any differential to flavor or aroma profile? And save some for review every couple months to see if something happens after a while, good or bad! 

1

@Foreshot ABV of the heads was at an average of 75%, fermentation started slow possibly due to the ABV but completed with no issues. I did add extra nutrients and a second round of yeast additions mid-way to help finish. It was an open top fermentation, yes in terms of the percentage of ABV it was the same as my normal wine fermentations, although this was apple based, which was my first time doing so not a lot of experience there.

In terms of aroma and flavor, I did not notice anything when the fermented cider was finished or distilled. With that said once distilled I did my normal cuts, also the final product was destinated to be a brandy liqueur base so if I was to produce an apple brandy for example, I would have been more careful with the amount of heads added.

Overall, in my opinion, this was successful but it needs further refinement. A better understanding of the fermentation and nutrients and more experiments to figure out a good ratio of heads to fermented mash, although the links that @bostonapothecary shared are a good resource.

There was never a clear document or direction on what do with the heads distillate. From the obvious re-distillation which in my opinion doesn't produce good results, to burning and disposing of them.

Skofis in his 1987 manuscript mentions the work of Dr. Guymon's use of fermentation to re-purpose heads, I summarized my findings and experiment at a recent blog post.

https://blog.dropbit.io/2018/09/25/re-purposing-heads-into-usable-alcohol/

If nothing turns up just email Genio  "ca at g-still.com", and they should be able to help you.

Jedd - if you can legally ship to consumers (and track that) why not ship to them? Can you explain the only to wholesaler and competition comment?

To the comments above, FedEx is not that bad you just need to be persistent and push via email to get frequent updates on your application status. How I kickstarted this has I created a business account with them and fired off an email to the business desk asking that I want to ship alcohol.

Then a long email chain that lasted about a month and a half to get this approved.

Wow, 4 days must be a new record, it took four months for mine, I documented and summarised my experience on the podcast I host, episode 11.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distillery-nation-podcast/id1040367741?mt=2&i=1000367739232

In summary, I did it myself, and I broke it down to a few days, you can save and return to the application. This gave me time to ensure I had all the right information and a clear mind on the requirements. It's not hard, you just need to be well prepared.

Cheers,

-ilias

I use an ethyl alcohol monitor by RKI, its pretty affordable and triggered a few times when I was mixing tanks on a few hot days. 

http://www.rkiinstruments.com/pdf/ps2.pdf

Thanks,

-ilias

Welcome Yianni! Happy to see a whisky in Greece and best of luck! Next year I might stop by for a visit when I'm there.

Cheers,
-ilias

They work wonderfully, and a lot of distilleries including myself use them. I ferment grapes in them, cleaning can become an issue but with molasses, it should fairly easy since there's no solids.

Cheers,

-ilias

For my approval I had to show that the distillery DSP and the tasting room are two separate entities, with two different entrances, with the ability to lock from the DSP side. Pictures and diagrams were included with my application to the TTB agent. 

Cheers,

-ilias

Thanks for the feedback and your time in listening all of the episodes. In regards to the monotony of the questions, I knew this was going to be an issue but honestly I'm trying to find my own voice.

I hope as the podcast evolves my interview skills will become better and thus the flow of the questions will change but until then I have to stick to a structured interview to avoid total boredom

-ilias

Thank you Kris for taking the time to listen and writing back!

-ilias

Thanks guys - updated my original post (copy/paste error). Appreciate any feedback you might have!

Cheers,

-ilias

Hi Matt,

Good luck with starting out. My general advice is that there are good people out there that are willing to help out and go the extra mile and that covers about 99% of the people working or owning distilleries. The other 1% is there to make a profit and utilize you to their advantage.

So your quote stands. Follow your gut, be open to new opportunities and for the small percentage that are simply not good people to be around, move pass them.

Cheers,

-ilias

Hi Bluestar,

Is your iTunes account in the United States for Country/Region under your account info. I just tested my iTunes yesterday and worked.

Thanks for taking the time to look into this.

-iliasm

Thanks all - I do also agree that a gas fired still is as dangerous as an electric. With proper management and safety guards its doable and totally safe. I've actually got a lot further in understating the International Fire Code and requirements around this, but I had a question around ventilation.

What type of ventilation are you using for your gas fired stills, is as simple as a Class 2 vent hood or something more specialized.

I do appreciate it any tips or recommendations please send them my way. I'm located in WA state.

Mainly due to my still, its a direct fired pot still. Yes the written proposal is coming but I wanted to get a few opinions on how to best position this. I know quite a few distilleries in my area are using similar setup and when I tried playing that card it didn't take me too far due to the fact that that they are in different counties.