Hammer Spring Distillers

I'm interested in the replies here. We've been open for a year successfully making clear spirits to pay the rent up to now, and finally we're starting our brown spirits. I'm a Rye fan, so that was a logical start for me. This week was our first stab at it. Our mash is essentially 2.5 lb fine rye flour per gallon of water. We start with bioglucanase and fermcap (glad to learn of a cheaper alternative!), add hightempase at around 140f, raise to 170f and hold for 1/2 hour, cool to 140 then add amylo 300, rest for another 1/2 hour, confirm conversion with a few drops of iodine in a small sample, then cool to 85f. This is where we adjust the pH, and I see some are adjusting at other points along the way? Then we transfer to the fermenter and pitch yeast (Safspirit M-1). Our starting gravity was 1.085 which was a little lower than I expected, but workable. However, the distilling run was A) slow as can be - as stated above, seriously barely a trickle for like 6 hours - it felt like our vodka spirit run!!, then B) only gave about 1/2 of the proof gallons we expected. The good news is, what we did get tasted GREAT!! just not nearly as much of it as expected. Here's a part that might explain my low proof gallons - and that's about the method of checking the OG, and FG. It's way too viscous before conversion to get a good OG reading with a hydrometer (it basically just sits on top of it), so we use a refractometer. But at the end, as it ferments and thins out, a hydrometer reading is possible... and zeros out to 1.00 after ~4 days, but the refractometer still reads 1.035? Which one is correct? Did we still have 4.4% potential (unfermented sugars)? Or was something else, "a-rye"? JP

Schnapp Still equipment is crap. Non UL, or NEMA, basically made in his basement from Home Depot scraps.

Jason schnapp is a complete jackass. Most of his stuff is resale Still Dragon parts. Some of the pieces we got were clearly already used and damaged/ broken. I generally would not make such a poor review of anyone, but he screwed us out of a lot of money when we made an accidental overpayment on an expensive two column system that we bought from him. Instead of refunding the obvious overpayment back to us, he actually told us to go f*** ourselves. We have copies of checks and invoices to prove the error was his, but we don't have an attorney in Missouri. We have had problems with nearly every single piece of our order. One of the controller's had to be sent back because it didn't work, several of the PID cables are bad, the heating elements are underpowered, the dephleg does not circulate enough water to hold the column in reflux, he ships equipment in bad packaging so that it is damaged during shipment (and then expects you to pay for the repair). Basically just stay as far away as you can. If anyone else has had a similar experience and is interested in a class action suit against him, we would be interested to talk to you.

Hi Silk City, Like I stated initially I understand the general concept just fine, and after even more research today https://www.omicsonline.org/modeling-of-the-dynamics-adsorption-of-phenol-from-an-aqueous-solution-on-activated-carbon-produced-from-olive-stones-2157-7048.1000153.php?aid=12456 http://facstaff.cbu.edu/rprice/lectures/adsorb.html I discovered that there are integral components that are all variables. This demonstrates the science, but you much choose your own starting point by defining one of the variables... so again, not looking for formulas and science necessarily... just someone who's done it and what type of volume they are getting based on the parameters of their filter and flow rates. Here's an example of what I'm hoping to find: "Dear JP, we have 2 cubic feet of granulated stone carbon in a 2' x 10' pipe and we successfully filter 10,000 gallons of spirit over the course of a year before we notice a decrease in quality' Something like that. Best, JP.

Hi folks, I did search the forums for this, and found quite a bit of conversation about activated carbon, so my apologies if the answer is already in there and I just didn't find it... kindly point me to it. Otherwise, my question is about what kind of mileage we can expect per any certain volume of activated carbon. I know the rudimentary science behind activated carbon, and I know there is a tremendous variety of types, and results will vary by the amount of impurities in the spirit going through it... I also understand that its efficacy will decrease over a curve. But generally speaking, assuming professional quality stripped and fractioned vodka spirit, how many gallons (or liters, or whatever) can one expect to be effectively treated by say a cubic foot or so of granular, stone carbon? Just as a reference point. 10 gallons? 100 gallons? I know, there are lots of variables, but as a benchmark... is this number out there somewhere that came from someone's personal experience? These filters can go from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars... I'd really like to avoid over or under purchasing a system much as possible. Cheers, JP. Hammer Spring Distillers

We're looking for a potato supplier -- preferably with the ability to shred/juice them also -- located in or near the Northern Utah area.

"A little interesting" haha, yea like a hockey puck the size of the mash tun!! Oh, the learning curve!

We have been experimenting with pre-processed potato starch. From our local supplier, we get a 50lb bag (made by from Agredient) for about the same price as 50lbs of Rye Malt. We've figured out the mashing (mashed potatoes... I'm a professional potato masher now!! Lol!!) with HTL and GL enzymes, and are getting 8% - 9% abv wash. But just using the starch is hugely deficient in nutrients. In fact, we're really not sure yet exactly how much nutrient to add. We've done (4) 20 gallon washes, but each one has had it's own problems in the fermenting phase so we haven't quite nailed down what exactly it's going to take. One thing for sure tho is the stripping runs (the hearts of them anyhow) have been extraordinarily sweet. We're really excited to crack this nut and see if we can pull it off. Now that we have enough for a spirit run in our 25 gallon test still, we have high hopes for something nice. JP

I have a decent sized order in with them currently that we placed in June. I don't know the quality of it because it hasn't come yet. I've been making periodic inquiries over the past month as to whether it would be delivered on time (we have an event scheduled, tonight actually, that we wanted it for), but they still don't have a shipping date for me. That part has been very frustrating, but they are always friendly on the phone and return emails typically the following day. JP Bernier Hammer Spring Distillers Salt Lake City, UT.

There's a handful of names for these bottles, so maybe you know it by one of them... anyhow, we're doing a specialty product in them... a lot of them... and my thumbs are killing me. Does anyone know of a device that assists with closing large volumes of these things? JP Bernier Hammer Spring Distillers

New World's "Ooma Gin", and "Rabbit and Grass Agave Spirits" that come off these are great! Odin, it was nice to meet you last summer -- I'm glad we had a few minutes on the way to the airport to chat!

Thanks, we'll need it! Actually, there are quite a few other DSP's in Utah and we're all doing pretty well!

High West is a "blending distillery", though they do have a small amount of their own product. Their new facility in Wanship, UT is quite impressive, and they have recently been bought by Constellation Brands https://www.wsj.com/articles/constellation-brands-acquires-high-west-distillery-for-160-million-1475625536

Greetings from behind the Zion Curtain! Hammer Spring Distillers has been working hard for almost two years to get our family owned micro-distillery up and going on the West side of Salt Lake City, Utah! While we're waiting for our DSP (expecting it in November 2017), we've been busy ordering and installing equipment, fixtures, signage, etc. Things are coming together and we are very excited, to say the least, for our grand opening hopefully sometime in the Spring of 2018! We will come to market with a Vodka and Gin product (including plans for some special releases!), then when it's ready a Straight American Rye Whiskey. Add to the mix cocktail bitters, and a pretty darn awesome whiskey pancake syrup! We still have lots of questions, so hopefully we'll meet some folks here in the know who won't mind lending us their ears from time to time! JP & Vita Bernier Hammer Spring Distillers www.hammerspring.com