Paul G

I would suspect the cases would be 12 bottles per (>95,000 gallons) I'm inclined to believe the author made a typo with an extra zero. I have to wonder if they're simply rectifying GNS and not making their vodka from scratch. Not to mention, if they're distilling undiluted GNS (i.e. >80% in the boiler) they're playing with bombs in the first place. I really do want to sympathize, but I can't help thinking I hear Darwin knocking. However, not knowing the finer points, it's impossible to say for sure.

That's what they said about the first fire...the second was ignited vapors. I'm taking a little issue with the statement about the five gallon glass containers (which I think we all understand to be carboys) that was "built not to explode." Honestly, have ANY of us heard of a explosion proof (or even resistant) carboy? Would "...five gallon glass jar he hoped wouldn't explode, but did anyway" be closer? Cheers, Paul -taking notes on what *not* to do

Welcome aboard On a technical level, while you're riding out the waiting period for licensing and approval, take up home-brewing beer or wine (both even). If you didn't already know this before, it's half the battle of making a good spirit. The nice thing about it is that you can experiment with the fermentation portion of the process in small batches. With the general GIGO (Garbage In=Garbage Out) principle, the better the wash is, the better the spirit will likely be. Knowing how to make a good beer puts you one step further in the game when the state and feds finally give you the green light with the distilling side of things. I would imagine that Wisconsin would have some solid home brewing clubs you could become acquainted with, too. Cheers, Paul

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, you could possibly do something on the lyne arm where the single tube can be flanged into a multi-tube segment, not unlike a shell and tube heat exchanger without the shell...where the tubes are all copper. The multiple tubes would lend much surface area for a comparable pass-through area. It would be like your idea of a spool piece in either the column or, perhaps as an artistic twist on an air-cooled pre-condenser in the lyne arm. So, like, what you said...only different

In first reading the subject title and the first post, I asked myself "How much bother can the name of a small scale distillery really be?" From the subsequent responses, it looks like I grossly underestimated it. ...and that's why this forum rocks! Thanks again

You might consider silicone in lieu of teflon. It's food grade, alcohol resistant, good for high temperatures (600F if I recall) and can be used with stainless barb fittings and cut to size. McMaster has decent prices for silicone tubing, but there are less expensive alternatives out there. One good source is Harrington Plastics

It's being done. JB Wagoner's Pure Agave Spirit Made in Temecula California.

Door number 2, Monty Yes, the unmalted grains would be processed during mashing. This would either utilize the naturally occurring enzymes from the malt, or augmented with additional enzymes added during the mash process. Not unlike how adjuncts are handled in beer brewing.

Amphora Society's "Compleat Distiller" is also a great resource for the basic theory behind the process. I've heard tell of college courses using it as their text.

Looks nice, but the full size pic is still a bit small for any detailed critique.

The theory is quite the opposite. Copper is an essential component to the distillation process as it acts as a catalyst to remove sulfur compounds from the vapor/distillate. There are differing stories behind this, but many swear by copper, claiming that there's a distinct funk to spirits made in a purely stainless rig. Consider the copper pot stills used for decades in Scotch whisky distilleries. No metallic taste there. Copper does not contribute to any haze or precipitation either. Obviously, an all-stainless manufacturer will claim this is all bunk and nonsense, where a manufacturer of copper equipment will swear it's absolutely true. I'm inclined to side with copper, personally. I'll also be the first to admit I don't have any side-by-side comparisons with stainless. As such, I can only relate what I've learned. Cheers, Paul -I also think copper is prettier, but that's just my short attention span talking

A little too late for that... especially for your third post on this forum. Howzabout providing something that isn't already old news? You might also pause to consider the wisdom of calling people names who contribute far more actively to the industry than recycled news articles. If you're interested in bringing content and respect to your site, you're doing it wrong. Cheers, Paul

Off the top of my head, I don't recall specifically, but the first place I'd check would be Berglund's book. Beyond that, I'd offer the universal copout: by taste.

Hey Bill, Have you a rough idea of what scale you're planning on implementing? Are you planning on having it built turn-key? The troublesome thing is that it's tough to gauge without some experience yet you can't get some experience without already having the setup. Speaking in very rough generalities, try taking up home brewing and make a batch or seven. It's small scale and perfectly legal. It will give you an idea of a full half of the process. That portion scales up pretty well. Then the hard questions about the distilling portion become a little less mysterious when you're talking with the various manufacturers. Cheers, Paul

In all seriousness, yes, it most certainly can. Keep in mind the scale in which you're aiming to maintain and use that for consideration whether or not the equipment up for auction will accommodate that scale. You could find some incredible deals at that auction. I'd go anyway (if it weren't a whole country away) just to get a feel for what prices some of these items are fetching. ...and for what it's worth, whisky wash is just beer without hops. Simple as that.

Depends on where you are. In San Diego, the municipal water supply is abyssmal. Where I grew up (CO's Western Slope, though a decent distance from you, Coop) the municipal water was as good or better than that bottled for drinking. There's no single answer that's universally applicable. Similarly, I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Coop, if what you've got going on is making good spirit, I would see no reason to change.

I've purchased really well made flow meters from Onicon. Granted, they were for water purposes, but the construction is all stainless. A rep might be able to find something that will fit. I'm happy with them.

Even so, you have to consider operating expenses, not just profit. There's no compelling reason not to work out the numbers in a logical fashion.

Given that potato vodka is inherently more expensive to make than grain, you have to work from the materials forward, not from the cost of the final product backward. With the economy of scale NOT on your side, you have to find some way of figuring out how much product you get from a given amount of ingredients. Then you have to figure how much it cost you to get that, then pad it a little and work out your final price from there. It makes no sense for the little guy to try to compete price-wise with large facilities. Worry about better, not cheaper. That said, keep an eye on "Blue Ice" vodka. That could serve as some sort of benchmark for you.

If nothing turns up, you might try a small batch each way and see which one ends up the way you like it. Might simply boil down to (no pun intended) a matter of taste.

Absolutely. The mineral content, and any other impurities for that matter, will potentially affect the yeast. As such, can result in off or inconsistent flavors from one fermentation to the next. Those off flavors can then carry over to the distillate. Plus, there may be volatile contaminants that can carry over. As in anything, garbage in = garbage out. Even though you don't *have* to be as anal as a brewer who's packaging the brew for sale, your final product will not suffer if you are.

What he said...and more of it!

Not to mention, there are forums for the home distiller (legal or not) out there, too. They're not of much use to the commercial micro DSP, just as this forum really isn't of much use to them. There's some overlap where some things discussed here could be applied at home, and what can be found on the "at-home" forums might apply to commercial operations. However, I think that this one serves a useful purpose to those who are or aspire to be running on a business level. The one thing we'll just have to weather is the inevitable ripples in the forum signal-to-noise ratio that exist on the interwebs. Perhaps a little more active administrator involvement might be on the horizon for this forum. It might require a couple more sets of hands at the controls to vet applications to filter the incoming rush of kitchen stillers and home brewers who don't care about the intent of the forum and are asking how to make vodka out of leftover sprite or 24% pruno in their college dorm. In short, the forum may have to tough out some growing pains in the near future. In my humblest of opinions, we, as a group thus far have a lot to share with each other and our industry is undeniably on the rise. If the forum is to survive gainfully, it might have to tighten up. Presently, it's a very low traffic board (relatively speaking) and so in perspective, there's not much to slog through. That could easily change as the micro spirits producer field balloons like we're anticipating. Ok, I"ll stop rambling now. Cheers, Paul

Mighty purty work. Thanks for sharing.

"Why do you ask, Two Dogs..." Sorry, just fell victim to my horrid sense of humor. Carry on