Luv2Learn

They transport their beer to us and we distill it. They ferment their own currently.

If they were investors in the distillery, and were owners, I do not think that we need any of the above but I still agree in "Partnerships are a nightmare". We are just not at the production level to keep us afloat right now and I do not want to give up. I do see that lawyers would be needed if we just "shared the space" and they were not owners in the actual distillery. If anyone has done anything such as this - would love your feedback. Thanks everyone!

We have been doing some production for a local brewery of ours and it got me thinking: Does anyone have any experience with sharing their distillery or bringing in a brewery as an investor? I am looking to bring on an investor but also want someone in the industry for several reasons. Anyone have experience with this? I am thinking of a "shared space", "leased time", or "investor opportunity". Shared space would be if someone wants to have their own brand but be able to use the tasting room as well Leased time would be just time to use the equipment (with our distiller) Investor opportunity would be making them a partner in the whole operation When I was looking to open up 4 years ago, this forum was a ton of help so I figured you all would be my first stop!

The WHO's guidelines are within what he is charging ($2.50-$5.40/100ml) see image below. I know one distillery here in AK charging $100/gallon but I also know we are at a huge disadvantage being here in AK for supplies and shipping costs.

Yes, we have a pump and we have an agitator. Thanks so much!

I just opened a distillery in Alaska and would love to share this opportunity with my brother in Arizona! I didn't see any mention of bottle sales. How has your growth been? Distributorship vs in tasting room sales. Looking forward to hearing more. I can send you an email with my brother's information as well. ~ Hilary

Is there a reason I am not thinking of - why I would not put it in my jacketed ferment tanks and use the jackets to cool in the ferment tanks? I am a new distillery owner and that is our current process but learning as I go......

We are 4 ferments in, 3 stripping runs in, and almost ready for a spirit run. Minor missing parts, one inlet made too small (was suppose to be one inch and was made 3/4 inch). DYE aired missing parts, and is going to reimburse for having a welder fix the inlet. I HIGHLY recommend Melissa there and she has been great to deal with. Just give yourself more time than you think! Time is not on your side with anything in this business. Still waiting on bottles from China - nightmare story. DYE has been great.

Thanks everyone for the input!

My distiller was saying I needed 15 oz per 200 pound mash. Maybe we are calculating wrong. Gonna look into that. I ordered from BSG.

Not the worst thing but our labels are on our bottles so we cant mislead anyone. If we put cane sugar in the mash and it has to be on the bottle, then this wont work for these bottles anyway. Thanks for the tip on the DAP, MgS04, and Vitamin B complex. I will look into that. My last order of Amylase cost me $366 to ship to Alaska. Gotta love being on this island......that is not really an island. LOL ~ Hilary

We used "startup" from BSG but the consultant said to stay away from the "Superfood" that someone else told us to buy. We stopped collecting at 10 proof, and started at keeping after we threw the first gallon to the side. The average of everything together was 50 proof. Let me tell you that if Rhino's fart like this, stay away. Smelled and tasted terrible during the stripping run, but were told this will clean out during the spirit run. Hope this is true..... Also, we were told we didnt need formula approval for the vodka. TTB has no mention of putting sugar into the mash but our consultant said it would need to read "Distilled from Potatoes AND Cane" if we were to use it. I understand the sugar allows us to yield more alcohol but dont want to do it if it is not allowed. Im still looking for my cojones...... Lol Right now, this is a big idea that has not 100% fruition YET.

Yes, "Distilled from Potatoes . GLUTEN FREE"

I have decided to take on the project of distilling potatoes with no prior experience (crazy and blonde). The distiller I hired has distilled everything but potatoes and nothing at this grand scale we have. We have had a couple hick ups and I am hoping for some help. 1. My consultant said I can not add sugar to the mash, or it would need to be put on my label. However, we are only getting 8-10% alcohol with potatoes and no sugar. When we had sugar, we were at 13-14%. We have decided to buy Hightempase and Amylo 300 for use with the potatoes. 2. The last ferment (first ferment without sugar) got over 90 degrees one night and stopped bubbling. The distillery "revived" it, but when it started bubbling and working again - a smell came to it. The smell almost smelled rancid/ slight smell of puke. We still did a stripping run to see what happened and it only came out 50 proof..... Should we have gotten it as high as 100 proof on the stripping run? Has anyone messed the ferment up to make it "sour" and still been able to do a spirit run without it ruining the flavor? I dont want to do the full run if we have all indications that it is not good..... Smells bad, tastes off, and only came out at 50 proof (25%). With all the options with enzymes, nutrients, yeast - how does one go to pick which to use? Thanks so much for all your help! ~ Hilary Alaskan Spirits

This actually made me laugh. I wonder why not just hire from the start? Maybe because I have a career and am not relying on an income, but more of a long term investment - I needed to hire help on the forefront. These are all choices we have to make. Great news is, I found an amazing distiller. Time has allowed for certain things to come in place. I have decided to have faith in the fact that with time, everything seems to be working out. Still waiting on bottles, which has taken WAY longer than expected. Its a bummer because we have spent MONTHS working on the bottles and when they were ready for production, it has not gone smoothly. I will be waiting on bottles by the time we are ready to open. I finally tasted a drop of my possible product yesterday (eek, this was so exciting and has caused me to get butterflies in my stomach). I have never gotten down to comparing potato vodka versus wheat/rye. I could actually sip the vodka by itself, and it actually had a sweet flavor to it. I am now going to start tasting Chopin, Luksusowa, and Blue Ice in comparison. Fun and exciting times. I have my Groupon set to start immediately upon opening, news story lined up, and Kickstarter around the corner. Im anxious to see outcomes and how everything falls together. In the end, I fell in love with our bottle. Glad I spent the money and created a custom mold. It allowed me to know the bottle was going to be unique, and have a custom feel. We have ALASKA PR%F embossed on the back, and BATCH907 on the bottom (which will be the name of a future spirit). Anyone have much experience with Facebook marketing? What worked/didnt work?