Luv2Learn

On 6/17/2022 at 4:59 AM, Tom Lenerz said:

You can't have a DSP and brewery licensed in the same space at the same time federally, that's what the alternating premise is, even if it is the same owners. You can only do one activity or the other, not both, so if beer is fermenting in one tank you can't be fermenting wash for single malt next to it, unless its separated. 

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.

On 11/11/2018 at 3:41 AM, indyspirits said:

You can certainly do that as long as either (A) you pump over or (B) you have an agitator -- either fixed or transportable -- in your fermenters. If you don't have either you're ferment will be completed (or stalled due to overheating) by the time its cooled.  

 

 

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

On 11/27/2018 at 7:39 AM, Lucidi Distilling Co said:

Some other notes:

Facts about this property/business:

 

1.       4,800 Social Media Followers/Likes = 4.74 Star Rating (out of 5) on Facebook.  Highest in the State of Arizona for this industry with over 1,000 followers.

 

2.       Yelp Rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5).  Highest in the State of Arizona for this industry with a minimum of 50 ratings.

 

3.       Highest rated distillery on Groupon with 98% approval (“would recommend”) rating with over 420 reviews.

 

4.       Ranked Number 1 on TripAdvisor.com in Peoria, with a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

 

5.       Birdeye.com 4.8 out of 5 stars with over 170 reviews.

 

6.       Multiple massively positive news coverages (find even more on google.com):

OTHER AREA NOTES

 

1.       This area has been designated as an “Entertainment District” (2012) as defined by the State of Arizona.  This allows for department of liquor permits without regards for 300-foot minimum distances from churches, schools, or day care centers.  A city is only allowed to have 1 Entertainment District for every 100,000 residents.

 

2.       Regulatory Landscape includes the Old Town Revitalization Plan of 2009/2011, The Multi-Modal Transportation Plan of 2012, and is currently in progress of updating the Old Town Mixed Use Zoning District and updating the sign ordinance.

 

3.       The business currently has the following liquor licenses in place:

 

a.       Series 12 Restaurant License (allows for beer and wine sales, including outside spirits)

b.       Series 17 Shipping License (allows for shipping in the State of Arizona)

c.       Series 18 Craft Distillers License (allows for manufacturing, botte/case sales)

d.       Series 19 Satellite License Available (allows for a second location off the Series 18)

 

4.       There is no requirement for parking spaces under the current zoning in Old Town Peoria.  This has the result of being able to develop the lots to the primary lot lines, without any setback.

 

5.       The city has approved the new construction of a $70,000,000 127,000 sf West Valley Primary & Specialty Care Center (hospital) in Old Town Peoria.  Initial plans have been submitted and expected completion in late 2019.  This was a bond approved measure with financing already in place.

 

6.       The Old Edward’s Hotel has finally sold and is being restored to its original condition with a breakfast and coffee shop on the main floor and flex office space on the top two floors.

 

7.       With the exception of the Hood Building and the Martin property, the city now owns the remaining lots for sale or development.  They are currently in discussions with developers.

 

8.       We have held events as large as 15,400 people for the Los Lobos / Lose Lonely Boys concerts, 14,000 people for the annual Christmas party, 12,000 people for the Annual Arts Festival, a dozen Food Truck Friday events averaging about 5,000 people each, Annual Vintage Market Days with 6,000 people, Toys for Tots Event with 2,500 people, and dozens of parties ranging from 60 people to as many as 300 for private organizations.

 

9.       The building was built in a manner that the “Lucidi” brand can easily be replaced for under $1,000 and the Fire Station No. 1 brand can take over, or any other brand of choosing.

 

10.   The City of Peoria is heavily invested in this specific block and EDIS II funds are available for developers and new businesses.  

 

 

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......

On 5/1/2018 at 3:33 AM, Jaguiler said:

Alaskan, Whiskey -  

Any updates?  Which still type and size did you purchase? 

Thx

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.

7 hours ago, indyspirits said:

After much experimentation, we've started using DAP,  MgSO4, and Vitamin B complex. There are a number of commercial products out there that have effectively this -- take a look at their patent filings.

You were told correctly!

Certainly that's true. I've found 100% cane sugar to have something of a "twangy" flavor. Shrug. Maybe that's just me. Regardless, I don't think "Distilled from Potatoes and Cane Sugar" is the worst thing.

 

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.
 

On 10/6/2018 at 8:51 AM, Julius said:

Are you labeling as “Potato Vodka?”

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

On 6/28/2018 at 9:06 AM, JustAndy said:

Another good thing to do if you are planning to operate on nights and weekends is to make a list of all the things you like to do in your free time: camping, hiking, fishing, bbqs, dinner with friends, spontaneous travel, etc and then imagine not doing any of those things for several years. 

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?

On 8/20/2018 at 5:30 PM, Modernity said:

Thank you Indyspirits.

My understanding is that the spuds are 80% water straight out of the ground. That's 800 litres or 211 Gallons. 

We plan to lift them from the ground and then process them directly into a potato washer/scrubber leaving the muck in the paddock. At the distillery they would be passed through a sieve plate (similar to an over sized sausage mincer). They would be cooked with or without direct steam (not sure how much extra water we will need to add yet) before enzymatic conversion. If a liquefaction enzyme is used, we are told that we can get away without adding any additional water. That would be a pretty neat idea. 

The spuds would be left in the ground for less time than an eating spud as we don't need a thick skin for transport and retail sale. As a result there would be a lot less fiber (so we are told by the growers). 

How did this end up working for you?  I like your idea and curious as to your outcome.  Thanks.

On 4/4/2010 at 9:47 PM, Rensselaer08 said:

You can find us here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/harvestspirits?ref=ts

Just started our fan page about a month ago

Just noticed your fan page grew to I er 25k in 8 years. This is the largest growth in this thread! Any keep points that helped in your success? In building your Facebook page? Use any loyalty reward programs? 

I decided to get into this business based on some life events that I thought "fate" was pushing me towards.  Never distilled a drop.  I have only started and ran several businesses.

I have not opened yet - target is next month, however I have said that before (was hoping for February).  The worst thing I did when I decided to start this venture was not listen to the people that said double your cost and double the time.  We had a $280k budget, with investors pitching in $220k and a line of credit at 6% for $100k.  We went beyond that and are not open.  Had to secure another $200k loan and still not open.

Here were some of my unforeseen costs:

Budgeted $12k for boiler, actual $92k for boiler and all "mechanics".  Highly regulated here in Alaska and had to get permitting and licensed installers
Budgeted $4k for a converter, actual was $37k to install 3 phase electric.  City would not allow the use of a convertor and forced us to get 3 phase
Budgeted 6 months till opening, actual is signed lease in September of 2017 and still not open; lease roughly $3k/month
Budgeted $80k for equipment, actual over $100k.  Did not think about FDA inspections, customs excise tax, hiring someone to assist with importing from China, etc
Budgeted $1000 for permitting with the city, actual over $10k and still not done
Budgeted $10k for electrical and plumbing knowing my husband knows how to do it all (he is a contractor) but did not realize city would not allow him to do all the work based on his license, actual.....$lots and still counting
Shipping shipping shipping - I was naive about how much everything costs to get to Alaska

Sometimes I ask myself if I would have done all this if I knew where I would be right now; stressed, not open, no bottles, no product, and no distiller........

Cant wait for a year to pass by and for me to answer that question.  Wish you the best of luck!  Hire Dave Dunbar for consulting with the TTB; one of the best choices I made.  When they were taking 6 months, I got mine in 87 days.  That was the easiest part.  Ive had that license for 7 months now.  Sigh.

~ Hilary
 

I'm 250 gallon set up and don't have it running yet. Was surprised at cost of boiler installation  (upwards of $80+k) and did not budget for that. Hope to be up and running shortly.

Using Dave was amazing. Just had to post a follow up. Now if he could have made working with my city municipality easier, I would ba one happy camper. 

Hoping to get off the ground next month. So long as I can find a way to get this boiler in without costing me my first born. Sigh

On 4/23/2016 at 4:49 PM, Dehner Distillery said:

got one on ebay. 600GPD with booster pump, 1000-1200 GPD. I thought it was cheap, base price was $650. the local water places here wanted $4500-$6500 for the same looking unit.

What was the brand name of this?

My state is becoming non-distillery friendly.  Seems like bars are running this town.  ABC board last week decided that they are now going to interpret legislation differently than they have the last 4 years; which means NO mixed drinks.  The only thing we can do is serve our distilled booze.  I would like to make a vodka seltzer (like Truly / White Claw).  I would also like to have it on a soda gun.  Anyone ever do this?  I see I can use a soda siphon but the siphon does not mix the vodka in and I don't think I can get away with that.

Any suggestions?

I dont know how I missed this from October.  Our equipment is being shipped from DYE this week and should arrive here in Alaska in about 5 weeks.  I would love to chat with you more regarding distilling with potatoes.  I hired a distiller that said he feels he has his mash down good using flakes over raw.  Your input would be very valuable.  If you could email me at info@alaskanspirits.com - that would be awesome.  My cell is 480-213-5673 as well.  ~ Hilary

40 minutes ago, Classick said:

this is who we use.. but its in California

https://www.etslabs.com/home

Thanks.  I called but they don't test water. 

I am in Alaska and need to get our water tested (everyone here just sends it out and is very expensive).  My distiller said to find a place to do a full breakdown of what is in the water.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a company on this?  Also, any recommendations on water systems? Completing our build out now - hoping to be open in late March.