RobertS

https://wine.appstate.edu/sites/wine.appstate.edu/files/Diversey_PassivationofStainlessSteel.pdf

We are removing iron exposed by wear and exposing chromium so that it can form a protective oxide layer. This oxide layer renders the steel 'passive' to further corrosion until it is damaged again. Oxidation takes time, so passivation is best done with a large time gap (at least overnight) between completing the acid cycle and using the equipment.

Check what type of calibration you have on your hydrometers, most are single or two-point calibrated. You will need a temperature-control bath to match the calibration temperature. This is a cheap and easy ice bath if they're calibrated to 32F/0C. If not, you'll need a temperature controlled bath. You use the calibrated set to proof down a calibration solution for each calibration point. Match the numbers on the certified hydrometer, then record the reading given by the workhorse at that point. Now you have the correction you need to apply to its readings. For single point calibration, it's a simple +/- you apply to future readings. For multi-point correction, you'll need to create a correction table based on however many points you took.

Use calibrated -> Match calibration point -> Record workhorse measurement at calibration point -> Calibration correction found

Your records will have the date and time of calibration, what master hydrometer was used, what it read at what temperature, what the workhorse read at the same temperature, and what correction that entails.

http://www.kotmf.com/articles/oliveoil.pdf

New Belgium put out a paper on using olive oil. It works, but the benefits apply more to beer than to wash. We propagate yeast with oil and feed oxygen in-line during knockout like Pete's son does.

Makes sense. Thank you for the explanation, we've been considering stenciling the ends of our barrels on display and a background color hadn't occurred to me. Trying with a roller probably would have made more a mess.

We've been recycling in the ferment with good results so far. The cuts grew over a few batches by a total of 20%, but stabilized there. We're actually more likely to see fewer heads out than we put in and have been slowly working through the barrels of heads we put away before trying this. Yields are up, with some losses vs 100% conversion of heads to good spirit.

Is the background done with a roller? I notice a couple marks outside the line, so I'm guessing not a spray can with a mask for that part, at least.

Our waste treatment facility used to be okay with processing our load but is having us retrofit a solution for BOD and pH control. You'd probably be best off looking into a cistern and anaerobic digester right off the bat, even if the local waste treatment gives the go-ahead to skip them. Upside to the digester is that you can create bio fuel and fertilizer as valuable byproducts rather than having a cost of disposal, assuming the economics work out. A cistern would allow you to send neutralized waste water into the system on a known schedule, rather than sending large amounts of acid or base randomly as you clean your facility.

For smell, I'd be more concerned with your waste grain. Our farmer picks up once a week and summer winds are...not pleasant. I don't know about complaints from neighbors, but it generally blows right into our bay doors and is not appreciated by staff. Enclosed storage would contain the smell, or more regular pickups would keep it from happening in the first place.

We go by ABV on the parrot. Did some test runs with our product, checked for clouding, reran the stuff that failed, and now don't run down to where clouding appeared. Give yourself some wiggle room, as it may vary a bit between batches. We never had problems for vodka, there's a rather sudden drop in proof when the tails start. Just need to know when to watch for it.

Interesting that you lost so much flavor, considering pineapple notes are one of the tropical ones that come from Fischer esterfication. I would then assume the one that comes through then is just one of a larger whole, the rest being too heavy?

Ahhh. Thank you for the clarification.

UN1170 would still be relevant for vodka production, though?

Micron sizing has to do with particle size, not concentration. Higher concentration of filtered particles would require larger filter surface area and likely multi-stage filtration with decreasing pore sizes. Engineering toolbox points out that sugar is 0.005 microns and will slip through 1 micron easy. 1 micron is a nice, convenient, easy to find size that allows pretty much all the flavor and color compounds through while blocking many of the larger molecules that cause haze or clumping. There are a few things that can be lost - gin makers will proudly forgo filtering to preserve those - and a few pesky haze makers that slip through, but 1 micron is a good general-purpose filter size.

Anti-foam here, too. Sometimes I add not quite enough, just dial it back until the foam breaks and gently bring it back up. I think multiple foam-ups happen when different proteins break down?

Stripping time is just a matter of size and power, our 90 gallon stills strip in 3 hours with 12 psi of steam passing through.

Obscuration correction is annoying for the time it takes. Just get a little lab still and be careful as always with your measurements. Size the sample pulled to the proofing cylinder, which for me is 500mL. Rinse the tool used to measure, adding the rinse water to the boiling flask. Distill until just shy of 500mL is collected, then top off with pure water to exactly 500mL. Gauge this redistilled sample as your true proof, compare to the gauge before distillation for obscuration and correction. Be ready to repeat this a few times as you come down to bottling proof.

Glass is cheap, certification is not. I assume you don't want to spring for re-certification every six months. Get two sets of hydrometers. The one set are your babies and live in luxury, only being touched to in-house calibrate your workhorse hydrometers. The skills to calibrate hydrometers are exactly the same as to use them in the first place, just keep records.

I do, but I think that's a bad example. I track my mpg and haven't found a major efficiency difference between any of the major brands. (Sorry for the tangent)

Baking soda has been working well for us for correcting pH. Last time we had pH issues, I added an ounce per barrel, measured, and repeated until we got back up to 3.8. Flavor was fine. I don't know that I would use it proactively, though.

Which would be why you exclude the malting facility from the bond and put up a barrier to designate different businesses. So long as the distillery and malt house have separate entrances, they can be considered separate premises. Depending on the mood of your agent, you may even be able to get dispensation to use a shared entrance. We were able to use a shared bay door with the brewery and only needed railings between the bonded premises.

§19.405   Consignor for in-bond shipments.

(d) Packages. When a consignor transfers spirits in packages, the consignor must weigh each package except in the following circumstances:

(1) When transferring the spirits in a secured conveyance;

(2) When the consignor has securely sealed the individual packages; or

(3) When the appropriate TTB officer waives this requirement upon a finding that there will be no jeopardy to the revenue.

§19.407   Consignee premises.

(b) Packages. When a consignee receives spirits in packages, the consignee must weigh each package. The consignee must record the receiving weight of each package on the accompanying package gauge record or on a list according to temporary package serial numbers prepared by the consignor. A copy of the package gauge record or list must remain with the original transfer record. However, the consignee is not required to weigh each package when:

(1) The transfer is made in a secured conveyance and the securing devices are intact on arrival;

(2) The individual packages were sealed by the consignor and are intact on arrival; or

(3) The requirement for weighing the packages at the consignor's premises has been waived under §19.405(d)(3).

(c) Bulk conveyances and pipelines. When a consignee receives spirits, denatured spirits, or wines by bulk conveyance or by pipeline, the consignee must:

(1) Make a gauge and record the results on the transfer record in accordance with §19.621 or §24.309 of this chapter. However, the appropriate TTB officer may waive the gauging requirement for receipts by pipeline upon a finding that there will be no jeopardy to the revenue; and

(2) Ensure that each conveyance is empty and has been thoroughly drained.

Our understanding is that the tare and gauge should be supplied by the source of the transferred spirit, and when receiving packages (especially bourbon) that the one receiving only has to weigh to confirm nothing has gone missing.

Anyone using the CCR Model C? Hand soreness is definitely our number one complaint on the bottling line, but I'm wondering if the savings for the manual corker are worth it.

If the carbon is fresh, it may be adsorbing some ethanol and water in appropriately sized pores. The carbon manual people like to pass around has a couple paragraphs on the mechanics of that, but I don't have any numbers to say how much ethanol would be adsorbed by any given activated carbon.

That sounds about right. Quick 'close enough' conversion is

(SG - 1) * 1000 / 4 = Brix

So 1.058 = 14.5 Brix

Full conversion should be half the Brix as percent alcohol, which would be about 7% in this case. Did you not take an original gravity when making the original must?

You can deyhydrate a sample and weigh the remaining solids if you have a scale that's accurate to milligrams.

We use a vacuum filler and have our proofing tank on the ground.

You are absolutely required to use a calibrated hydrometer for bottling, and I believe barrel transfers or any time product is leaving your bond.

We use our normal CIP caustic and acid, warm but not hot enough to soften the suction tubes. Takes maybe an hour to run caustic, acid, and a couple water rinses through the system.