bluestar

So, the short answer seems to be no. BUT, I will tell you that have been able to do two strip runs in a shift with a small 60 gallon still, likely because cool up and down are pretty fast and we dump relatively hot (just cool enough for the PVC). BUT, only one spirit run in a shift.

Yup, and it is all in the CFR (always the first place you should check). Look at section 19.489 and forward.

NO. Check the TTB site, there is now a recent circular on certified densitometers for proofing.

Adam, I would encourage you to become a member of the Illinois Craft Distillers Association: http://illinoisdistillers.org

I don't think you will find one base recipe. Amaro's are an old and regionally diverse style of liqueur. Even the base alcohol can vary significantly, from grape eau de vie to grain alcohol to even sugar beet distillate. The bittering agent is as varied as the range of territory in which it is made.

Come down and visit us in Riverside, IL. We are your current "local" distillery. Have you approached the city yet? My understanding is that Oak Park is very unlikely to ever approve a distiller's license. They have for years not allowed a brewery or brew pub, although I think the most recent effort finally, after some years, has inched forward a little more. Funding is easy, cash in your 401K. Really, I self financed. If you are funded by someone else, they are the owner.

No sanitizer for the fermenters after cleaning?

30% margin seems more typical

Isn't Red Star a Lallemand product? If so, you can order directly from Lallemand's Biofuels and Distilled Spirits division in Wisconsin. Pricing is very good.

An update: the CFR language that requires the formulation is the part about changing class. That is why if you have something that starts as a spirit in another class, then you redistill it to make it a gin, it requires a formula submission. And that's why I suspect sometimes they allowed multiple distillation gins to NOT be considered redistilled, if the product was never classified as something else in the interim. For example, if you distill low wines to later redistill and barrel age to make a whiskey, it is not considered a change in class, and no formulation is necessary. One could argue the same for a gin. They key is never to have classified it as anything else in the interim. But I don't think that is how the TTB is currently viewing it. Anyone have any recent example to the contrary? All recent presentations from TTB seem to indicate the stricter interpretation is in force.

Misspoke, meant NIST traceable calibration. TTB only says it has to be calibrated.

Agreed, best value, although you need to have at least one in the range that has the NIST calibration offered for 4x the price of the hydrometer. You could technically do your own secondary calibrations, but keep records like those you get with the NIST calibration.

Yes, that sounds like our spirit as well, although the flavor is very dependent on the specific honey used. Yes, our costs for the honey are running at the upper end of the range you mention, plus labor, utilities, bottling, etc. A 750ml bottle could easily cost more than $10 to produce, plus tax.

Agreed, and in bad years, the price can increase but more importantly, the quantity simply might not be there. Yes, we see a wide variation in the flavor or aroma as a function of the honey source. So this becomes a consistency issue as well. Sadly, we find that clover honey does not make the best pure spirit, but it can be used as a base for other things.

Copper raschig rings will run you $1200 to $1600 per cubic foot from a manufacturer like WS.

Federal law requires federally approved labels to indicate where the product is produced, check the CFR. I am not sure what happens if instead of a COLA, a certificate of exemption is obtained for sales only with the state, which some use for private labels, I believe.

yes that sounds right. high end of the range base with end of year bonus and option into company for someone with experience.

Any good printer should be able to do it. We just use someone local, not as finicky as labels. But we found it to be convenient to have them printed on rolls like labels, and then put them into an industrial tape & label dispenser, to make it easy to remove them before application.

Just a locked door is all. And if it is to general premises, not even a special lock, although your bonded area needs one or an exception. In fact, you can even have to go through the retail space to get to the distillery entrance, and meet the requirement for street access to the distillery, since you control the passage. So, in our case, you enter into retail from street, and then into bonded space from retail, with appropriate locks and security. Although we do have secondary exits for both into a general hallway, that satisfies the fire marshall, etc.

As others said, contract and purchase his wort (to ferment on your site) or purchase his beer. It would be too much trouble to alternate his premises to operate as a distillery

While IN THE PAST they allow some distilleries to do sales (on or off premise consumption) in the general (non-bonded) premise, this has been clarified at all levels of the TTB, and it is NOT allowed. Reclassify, and SEPARATE the area to be used for sales as neither general or bonded premise. Then, from the TTB point of view, it is not part of the distillery. But from your state's point of view it may be part of the overall premises where you are allowed to have retail and tasting and bar service at the distillery (just not in the distillery, by TTB definition). The key here is physically isolating retails sales and service from manufacturing, to "protect the revenue".

Your local fire marshall can often be your biggest challenge. And for the quantities you are talking about, you will have to be a high hazard location, H1, with sufficient fire suppression and other fire protection engineering, UNLESS almost all of it is in wooden barrels. Then, oddly, it does not count in the limits.

Contact me at info@illinoisdistillers.org, I am the president of the Illinois Craft Distillers Association, and I would both encourage you to join the Association and try to give you some assistance to start. 1) It is 30,000 gal going up to 35,000 gal. The stuff on the ILCC website and forms is out of date, check the legislation itself. Also, there are members that are currently working toward lobbying for an increase to 60,000 or more. And yes, the state goes by WINE GALLONS and not proof gallons. 2) Not quite sure what you mean by not needing bond for two years. You need bond as soon as you start to produce alcohol, and to get your permit. There should be little difference between the amounts for state and federal, since you pay the tax at almost the same time, except you won't pay the state tax when going to a distributor. But you still have to bond it for that amount. 3) Yes, you need at least one COLA for your application. You need your local license approved. You need your federal permit approved. You need a distributor, or a statement filed that you are not supplying retailers and you are the distributor (on their form). You need to be inspected by the state after submitting your application. By the way, a Class 9 license is a "Craft Distiller", not a "Micro-Distiller" in Illinois.

Some states are rich in wild honey, Washington for example. Seems to depend how heavy the agriculture is. Was the Polish spirit sweet or dry? Was it all honey base? Proof? Name?

Thought I would mention on this thread that Coale has initiated a new round for trademark threats to organizations that are not spirit marketers or sellers for the use of the term craft distiller. One of these was the ACDA, which they sued. Unfortunately, the ACDA decide for various reasons to rename themselves ACSA and the suit was dismissed without prejudice. So now Coale is going after other similar organizations. The problem for Coale is he LOST his attempt to get a service mark for craft distiller, with the reply from USPTO being it was a descriptive term. And since many states now use the term to define a legal permit type, the associations are in good legal standing to resist, since they are service organizations, and not manufacturers, marketers, or sellers of spirits, and in some case, actually represent holders of legally define "craft distiller" permits. But, someone has to take him on, and it would have been best to do so via a national organization. His most recent threats use the ACSA name change as prima facia evidence that they have a good claim to the trademark in this usage.