indyspirits

In 2018 we've committed to take a serious look at our entire spirits portfolio. First up: rum. Our rum is not great; simply put it's too clean, even following best-practices (ph control, use of backset, appropriate nutrients, step-fractioning of tails, controlled ferm temp, -- except no heating, ) and it's one of the most expensive products we make. It's time to shit or get off the pot. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read most papers on rum and have focused on Arroyo's 1943 patent filing "Production of Heavy Rums". A few questions before I dive in. First, where can I source clostridium saccharobutyricum? I've found a commercial lab but it seem expensive ($350 / approx 6ml) but more importantly propagation seems complex (see attached). Our ferments are 600 gallons which means our bacteria culture would need to be (as per Arroyo) 30 gallons. Wow. Also, Arroyo alludes the the fact that the intent is to age this rum: Although we do age our rums, a good portion of it is produced as white. Does this method lend itself to new make spirit and, if so, how would that effect the cuts? Is anyone using clostridium saccharobutyricu? If so, how are you growing the required volume in your distillery? 860.pdf

How much were vendor booths this year?

Sigh. We didn't. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Can you post some pics? We're going to have flanges tigged to our and I want to get some ideas on the best way to do this.

Whoa there killer!! 250 lbs of sugar in 100 gallons of water??? You're talking about an OG of 1.115 with potential alcohol of nearly 14%. If you could find a yeast (SR certainly isnt it) that can handle it. For starters, back the sugar WAY down. Say... 150 lbs. And you need nutrients in addition to DAP. Maybe some mag sulphate, dead yeast hulls, somethign for cell wall health. I would consider dosing twice. Say once at first and then when 1/2 sugar gone I havent looked at a brick of of SR in ages but that sounds like the right amount. Work on that ferment and then the distilling will fall into place.

Is it not clear from comments in this topic? I know how much you charge vendors and now attendees so I find it difficult to believe ACSA is losing money.

Sounds to me like they're used.

I've used patcote 376 with absolutely no ill effects.

What anti-foam did you use?

Well... I would advise it. Beta glucan rest on the way up just makes life more pleasant. More good stuff --> http://realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ch14.html

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-3/how-the-mash-works/the-protein-rest-and-modification

What this guy says!!

Follow up question: raw or malted rye?

What are you looking at for your mashbill? 100% rye? It's unpleasant but far from wretched. beta rest in mid/high one-teens, gluco @ high 140s and bobs your uncle. Dont even consider lautering or you'll be thinking about giving up your first born to alleviate the angst.

I'm with you 100% on this.

$600 is bullshit considering what you get for it (read: nothing new). Are there any "offsite" gatherings planned? I'd certainly come for that.

Do you mean $20k??

Ever since I was a distilling noob I've heard/read "You dont want to collect lower than x% at the parrot because it's too expensive". The Distillers Guide to Rum says it well: What data supports this? What's cutoff makes the most financial sense? If my condensed vapor (assuming simple pot still / no reflux /trays) is 9% the contents of the kettle is roughly 1% ABV. If I have a 600 gallon kettle and I've vaporized 50% then I have roughly three gallons of etoh. If I reclaimed 50% of that we're talking 3 proof gallons or 15ish bottle of product at 40%. Say I put those into the 3-tier at $14 / bottle that's $210 in revenue. Our COGS is a about $5 per bottle (a figure is that much more art than science) so after all is said and done $150 in revenue. That's not exactly a glowing recommendation for collecting low into the tails! But what if we collect low and add feints to next strip? Is it a financially sound decision then? I suppose the question I'm asking is on a product-by-product basis how far into the tails are you collecting?

square root of fuck-all. You mean at the distillery or retail locations? We dont do tasting in the distillery but do them as frequently as possible in public. If ppl come to your distillery they are seeking out your product. At retail outlets, you have an opportunity to introduce them to your product. We do public tasting as often as we're able. Of course not. If you sell product, they still make money and they've done zero work. Not they they'll do more than zero very often. Do not fall for the line of bullshit you'll get from the distributor that they'll advocate on your behalf. Unless they're selling tens-of -thousands of cases they simply want to have you in their line-card in case you hit it big.

Questions: How many runs per day? Are you going to cool mash with this as well?

Thermopen Reference?

Im intrigued. Ages ago I had a 100% oat whiskey from someone who I can't remember. I'd love to search a few out and give em a try. Edit: Apologies for the thread hijack. I will cease and desist...

Based on real world experience I feel you're asking for nothing but angst and sorrow trying to lauter rye. Even with a protein rest in the mid one-teens it's problematic. Even with added beta glucan its problematic. Even with sacks and sacks of rice hulls it's problematic. I've tried and tried and it's nothing but a PITA. We now just mash/ferm/distill on grain. I give up rye, you've won. Happy New Year

http://www.thermoworks.com/Reference-Thermapen

I built a barrel steamer which helps to swell/seal up barrels prior to filling. I have an old homebrew setup: sankey keg w/ spear removed and 2" triclamp tigged to bottom. Well-potted 2500 watt 220V element. 2" TC x 1/2" MIP. Short 1/2"x24" length of CSST and bobs your uncle. We hold the barrel over the steamer w/ our forklife. Insert CSST into bunghole (he he, he he) and put the spurs to it. Anecdotally it works. We steam each for 20 - 25 minutes. Rarely do we get leaky staves (although in all fairness I've never just rinsed with water and done a side-by-size comparison) but we do get the occasional leaky head which goes away in time.

We're planning to add staff.