rumfarmer

Plan on making rum only. Any advice out there about using this as a rum product development still?

Is there a reason the Hillbilly still wouldn't work well for rum or whiskey?

PM set up now. Sorry for the oversight. I would use one of these very small stills legally, of course. The idea would be to simply create the recipe and have a tangible product in a bottle that could prove the concept and secure traditional financing to build a full production facility on a larger scale. I assume one of these little stills could put out 2-3 gallons of spirit per run, and this might be enough to accomplish my goals. I want to be able to produce a quality product, and I am worried that might not be the case. A 30L German still will set me back $25K or more, so these little one's seem to make sense. More feedback welcome, and please feel free to send me a private message.

Has anyone purchased, seen, or used a still from one of the really small backyard guys like Hillbilly Stills or Mile High Distilling? I'm sure there are others out there, but those are the two obvious ones. It seems you can be up and running with a 25 gallon still for at the most $2,500 with every bell and whistle they offer. Obviously this wont be suitable for a commercial application, but are these things worth the money to do some initial product development work and recipe creation? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Good luck. I am in the same place as you. Not sure your budget, but I made the rounds with Kothe, Bavarian-Holstein, Carl, and Vendome. They are all good companies making fine equipment. Dollar to EU conversion doesn't help with the Europeans, though.

Can you post some images?

Congratulations and good luck to you!

Do you still have the fermenters?

Are you still on track for the summer delivery of your first units? Count me in as very interested. Can you provide the overall dimensions and weight for the final setup? Also, will you provide any onsite setup and or consulting services for novice startups? Thanks, Robert

email me at info@manulelecane.com

My constancy concerns have mostly to do with anyone that has distilled this way and run into issues managing things like uncontrolled fermentation from natural yeasts and bacterias that live in the cane and will be swimming in the juice after it is crushed. As the leftover waste product of refined sugar, molasses will never have anything like this. I do not have experience with distilling at all, so I am trying very hard to uncover as much about what I don't know as possible. The Brazilians make cachaca by allowing some of the natural fermentation to occur during the process, but natural fermentation would probably not be very consistent, in my estimation. Hoping someone has tried this and can give me their 2 cents.

Thanks so much for your information. You have obviously had a good deal of experience in this area. My extraction yields are much, much higher than yours, but I might just have a better mill than you do. I have assumed 50% extraction, but I will err on your estimate now. Harvest time in Hawaii is less important than other areas, as our climate is pretty consistent year round. Increasing sucrose is mostly done by reducing water and fertilizer in the last 30 days prior to harvest, but I do attempt to harvest at a time that maximizes the sugar content. I am assuming low brix due to the uncertainty in some new cane I am growing. I have tested brix as high as 23 in my fields before. My main question to the group is really more about the difficulty in actually creating a rum produced directly from the juice. I own my own fields, so harvesting and distilling quickly is not the issue. I am mostly concerned about creating a consistent product. Have you made rum directly from juice before? Mahalo. P.S. Where is your cane farm?

I am very curious about how much sugar cane they need to produce Cachaca. It would be great if you can find out about this and post it to the forum for our general education.

Does anyone have any experience making a distilled spirit directly from crushed sugar cane? This is the way Cachaca is made in Brazil, and I am curious how much sugar cane would be required assuming 14-16 Brix on the cane juice itself. It is my understanding that the weight of sugar cane is at least 50% juice, if not more. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So it is made from pure sugar cane juice like cachaca?

Was this distilled from molasses?

Steve, I would love to hear more about what you offer. Please contact me at 808-224-7505. Mahalo, Robert Dawson

Is there a full distillery for sale, and if so, what is the equipment?