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Adam Aloni

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Posts posted by Adam Aloni

  1. On 5/12/2020 at 2:16 PM, Silk City Distillers said:

    Whatever works, works, just don't use your good hoses for dumping hot stillage/dunder - no sense in beating up a good quality hose with hot/aggressive stillage.

     

    Agreed. I guess I asking what type of hose is both cheap and can withstand the heat...

  2. 18 hours ago, EZdrinking said:

    I don't know. The fibers in agave are pretty tough which is why the old method use a big stone mill or more modern distilleries use a roller mill. I'll ask a guy I know and get back to you.

    I'd really appreciate that. It would help a lot. 

  3.  

    On 1/5/2020 at 11:02 PM, EZdrinking said:

    I haven't heard of anyone selling the pulp. Once cooked and crushed the must starts to ferment. However, cooked agave (whole or halved) seem to be pretty stable, I've seen distillers in Oaxaca leave their cooked pinas for more than a week before crushing and beginning fermentation. 

    A number of years ago St. George purchased cooked agave from mexico and then trucked it up to Alameda, CA where they shredded it and distilled it, though from the stories I've heard they had some difficulty with this process.

    Hi EZdrinking, 

    I'm glad to read that you have some experience with processing agave, and have a question on crushing the cooked pinas prior to fermentation.
     
    I have an apple mill with rotating blades (standard type for craft cideries and distilleries), and was wondering if it can handle a few tons of agave per annum? I would go ahead and give it a try, but wanted to ask first (in case it would break it).
     
    Thanks!
  4. Hi,

    I am starting a Rum distillery in Israel, and am looking for an International molasses supplier. We do have Blackstrap in bulk here, but I am only looking for Grade A or High Test product.

    Can anyone recommend a good supplier?

    Thanks,

    Adam

  5. On 11/9/2019 at 7:11 AM, OzDistilling said:

    The principal reason to keep the distillate temperature as low as practical (is the flash point of ethanol, and therefore the fire risk, try to keep the flash point as low as possible.  The higher the temperature of a spirit, the more ethanol vapours that are liberated.  Distilleries for decades saw 20C as the safe point.  It has nothing to do with measurement temperatures, and virtually all measurements have to temperature corrected.

    Generally I have not seen 30C as an issue, providing good handling and fire control practises are observed. In locations with higher ambient temperatures like you describe, usually have higher humidity.  As the humidity goes up, the flash point goes down.

    To your specific question.

    Nothing can reduce the distillate temperature below the condenser water inlet temperature, fact. So you need to reduce the condenser water temperature.  As suggested you need some sort of chiller, compressor based units are not cheap to purchase or own, but are highly effective.  Depending on your average humidity, a simple falling water cooling tower will give you the 5-9C drop you need.  A lot of smaller distilleries such as yours, use ice banks, a cheap option.  100kg of ice will chill 900L of 30C water (total 1000L) to 19C.  If your final condenser needs 200L/Hr then you have 5 hours before extra ice is needed.  

    Remember you just need to pull down the temperature of the higher proof distillate to a level that presents an acceptable fire risk.

    Wow, Thanks for the thorough reply! In the IBD distillation studies they note 20C as the desired distillate output temp, but don't explain why. I assumed it is because valuable congeners might evaporate if the temp is too high, but just may be because of safety concerns (like you explain). In the cognac tradition they also talk about optimal distillate temperature in terms of spirit profile outcome. See for example this tech note from the Germain Robin distillery: 

     

  6. Hey,

    It is widely accepted that distillate should be collected straight off the condenser at 15-20°C (60-70°F). My problem is that the water coming out my tap are usually around 30°C (85°F), so there is no way I can bring the distillate down to the desired temperature.

    What is the best (and least expensive) method of bringing the water temperature down before it reaches the condenser? My setup includes two alembic stills: 250L and 1,000L. 

    Thanks!

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