ViolentBlue

standard practice is to first make GNS from your mash, then either with maceration or vapor infusion introduce the botanicals to the spirit. Masceration is the usual practice for a London dry style Gin, while Vapor infusion is the method of achieving the more subtle flavor of a Bombay Sapphire style Gin. Do keep in mind that there are many methods and many end results both between these two points and on either side. For all Gin the predominant flavor should be Juniper. for a vapor infused gin, a starting point would be scale up as required for every 5 liters of GNS diluted to 40% 3 tablespoons of Juniper, more if lacking in noticeable aroma 4 almonds Zest 1/4 Lemon, or 2X Equivalent Dried (dried botanicals have less potency over fresh) a single clove 1/8-1/4 of cassia quill 1 green cardomon pod teaspoon of coriander seeds teaspoon of dried licorice root, or substitute for star anise this recipie shamlessly ripped from a unimpeachable source, who was kind enough to make his recipe public, tested personally with great results. add, subtract or modify to your desires. Orris root and other such botanicals, are fixatives and keep your flavor profile from breaking down over time. A macerated gin would follow a similar botanical mix, but would require much more Juniper in order to achieve equilibrium with other volatiles that distill out more readily. Since the Juniper comes over so late in the distillation. I do reccomend a mix of juniper from a number of sources, fresh and dried if possible, in order to achieve maximum complexity in this fundamental component of Gin thats my 2 bits anyway

on our prototype we used just straight up canola oil. the temperature monitoring setup on the control never allowed it to reach anywhere near smoke point, even with the kettle empty. we've been looking into Boideisel, as it is non toxic (maybe not food grade though) and does not degrade as quickly as regular food grade oil does.

had the same conversation, as well Propylene Glycol breaks down and is many times more expensive than food grade oil. this is what pushed us in the direction of boidiesel. cost effective and long lasting as a heat transfer fluid.

using electricity and heat transfer fluid in smaller sizes is more about cost than anything else. no need for a steam boiler. I have a pair of 30 gallon steam boiler that are being finished up right now. their end users already have steam in place, but want small stills for test batches. yes I seem to be selling a lot of the 60 gallon units with electric heat and heat transfer fluids, because 60 gallons is enough to get started, but not enough for full production. to drive a similarily sized steam jacketed still, you'd either have to purchase a steam boiler that will be to small for real production, or one that is way bigger than is needed for small production. it all comes down to dollars and cents.

factory just finished up a pair of steam jacketed versions of this boiler. does raise the price a bit more, but you can distill on the grain with it. makes matching test batches easier

Never seen your manly bits, so can't comment on them. I saw 2 pictures and it registered as 2 units in my brain for some reason.

nice units.

wouldn't happen to be in Dallas area would you? I got clients out that way, just starting up production.

many different ways to skin a cat, but when you say moonshine most people would expect something like the result of one of these two recipes. http://www.artisan-d....php?f=5&t=2799 http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5268

Hammermill is the only thing that will handle corn in the volume you need.

depending on what you're running, but a large still with half charge will be a lot more work to clean, since the top half of the steam jacket will heat up much more and cook whatever touches it solid to the surface. a dedicated unit for smaller experimental runs is not a bad idea Steve

if you want to be more specific about your needs, it could save you a bit of time. size, heating method, any design considerations. Steve

I would recommend TIG if at all possible, but if you like the steam punk look, try riveting and lead free soft solder. hand hammered copper rivets would look quite nice, clean the solder from all visible areas and it will look good, and will be sealed nicely. you can also use rivets to fix the plates in the column as well.

under current legislation in Alberta it is impossible to start a craft distillery. production minimums have to be on par with large commercial distilleries of the likes of Segrams. Licencing currently is not condusive to a small volume distillery. However after spending many hours discussing the issue at the provincial and federal Level with involved licencing agencies (Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission and Canada Revenue Agency) a rumor appeared out of nowhere, apparently the ALGC is willing to entertain applications that do not meet minimum production quantities. The source of this rumor, hinted that this may be an exploration into changing licencing policy, if some one can step up and show how a microdistillery should be done, then it may just become the model for law. Very similar to how it was done in B.C. but this is all just Rumor.

so are you thinking of electric heat? if so I can put you in touch with my controls guy. he's very good. Steve

our 60 gallon units with electric heat and oil in the jacket work very well. Biodiesel will last longer before degrading then regular cooking oil or propyleneglycol will. just make sure whatever transfer medium you use is food safe, just incase.

check local used kitchen equipment sales. I've seen some very good prices on low pressure steam boilers in places like that.

welding copper to stainless can be done, but making the seal is problematic. your overlap between the copper top and flange is a good idea, just be sure you TIG weld both ends of the overlap.

I am very much looking forward to that

OP typically means Original Poster.

ha ha ha ha this guy is funny. I'm not sure I can remember what a 40 hour work week was like. but then again, if its something you're passionate about it hardly seems like work. 950 gallons? who starts off that big? with most of my clients 300 gallons is a pretty ambitious start.

pretty sure that was flour paste to seal the cap to the boiler.

looks to me like they popped the cap off mid boil. should have had a weight on it. Steve

Yup, need TIG welding for sure. there are other methods that work, but TIG is by far the best way to go. feel free to drop me a line if you need any design advice.

I've herd that carbon monoxide detectors are set off my ethanol vapor. I've yet to confirm this myself.