derek.duf

Looking for advice since I get a different answer from every different person I talk to from TTB. We bottle a blended whiskey of Rye and Bourbon and have had the formula and label approved from some time. We wanted to bottle that same blend that we transferred to a red wine barrel to finish aging. TTB would not let me label it as a blended whiskey, only as a distilled specialty spirit, and in turn I cannot use the word 'Whiskey' on it. Well that doesn't make any sense to me, I see plenty of whiskeys that are finished in various barrels. Any advice on where I'm supposed to go from here?

Ah ya, I come from a brewer background so the term 'taproom' flows out of my mouth automatically. Correct, we fill on DSP premises which is use in our on-site tasting room.

Thanks, enolmatic looks like the best option for starting out. I've been using HoochWare but will check out Alcodens to compare. Not sure what this is in regards to?

We have operated solely as an on-site tasting room, and always planned to start bottling later on. Well we are at that point where we want to slowly begin bottling. I've done a lot of research on the site over the past year, but still have some questions. We are looking for a very entry level bottler, as we will only be selling out of our taproom, likely only 1 or 2 products, and have no plans for distribution or any of the sort. I'm mainly looking for advice on following all guidelines, as I know there are a lot when it comes to bottling. - Bottling Line - Any recommendations on a simple, cheap, easy bottler? Doesn't need to be a speed demon or anything, definitely looking for an entry level type of bottler. - Proofing - We currently proof using calibrated hydrometers. I've been concerned about going into bottling because I know the proof needs to be dead on. Are a lot of people proofing with hydrometers, or do be safe if I am only bottling 1 or 2 products, am I safer just proofing and having a batch tested before I finalize the ABV on my label? - Condensation - For the spirits we serve in our tasting room, they are proofed then manually filled into standard size bottles that we pour out of. We have an issue with condensation in the necks, that I would like to not have when I am selling bottles. We've tried rinsing with the product before filling, but hasn't helped. Any other advice on this? It happens with all of our products (vodka, gin, whiskey). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Been scared to take this 'leap' but feel we are ready to do that.

Say for example I wanted to make a flavored vodka using the same process I use for my gin. I would start with my vodka that was distilled >95%, dilute down to 30%, and run it through my basket. Since this will then come off the still less than 95%, is this still considered vodka? Since it originally started as vodka, does redistilling it <95% affect its class, or would it still fall under a Flavored Vodka?

They are wired in delta connection. My electrician is recommending bypassing the control panel and wiring the elements directly to do a test heating cycle and see if they work better to determine if an issue lies within the control panel.

The elements are 230v 3 phase 60hz. Attached is a photo of the wiring. The white lines on the bottom left go to the elements.

The elements are from China. The controller was built locally.

We have 3-phase 208v power. Each of the three wires to each element shows 5.5 amps. I'm waiting to hear back on specific specs the elements should be getting, I was originally told the elements required 60 amps.

Anyone have any recommendations on how to check/verify heating elements are working to their full potential? I know its kind of a loaded question but running out of ideas. We have 3x 7kw heating elements in a 100 gallon still. Our heat up times are ridiculously long. In our latest test batch, with putting about 15 gallons of water in the jacket of the pot, even after 4-5 hours the water in the jacket never got hotter than about 180ish. The elements are hooked up to a control panel. I have verified with the manufacturer that everything is hooked up correctly and is supplying enough power. My electricians have come back and verified the elements are wired correctly. Obviously I know the elements are heating, but is there some simple method to verify they are all working to their full potential and not having a loss of power somewhere along the way?

I purchased some of the Hudson Exchange HDPE buckets to store low wines in. After a week of sitting, there is a yellow tinge to the low wines, when it was clear after distillation. The proofs ranged from 150-120 in the buckets. Was I wrong in assuming these buckets were adequate for temporary storage, or is maybe something else going on that caused the color change?

Primarily Vodka/Gin

So I'm SOL if my still doesn't have a way to check temps above the dephlegmator? haha

I have previously only used a simple small pot still, so trying to properly understand the use of a dephlegmator. The still has 2 columns, with a dephlegmator on top of both columns. Each deph has a cavity with a water inlet/outlet, with tubes running within for the vapor. I have valves on the water inlet/outlet, so that I can fill up the cavity and adjust the flow as necessary. However, the only places for me to monitor temperature is in the column below the deph, or a temp probe that sits in the cavity in the deph that would give me the water temperature. Under this scenario, where is the best location to monitor temp to best adjust the flow of the cooling water in the deph? Thanks so much for any advice.

I wasn't sure whether to put this in the Beginner section or Technique, but since its mainly about technique I threw it here..but be warned it is definitely beginner in nature. We are getting ready in the next few weeks to start playing around with out 100 gal still. This is a side project at this point in time, so the plan always was to 'learn on the job' as we are not trying to push any product out in the near future. I have read every book and website I could over the last 6 months to learn as much as I could, but now staring up at the still, its hard to figure out how to put that book knowledge into real life. I have a list of questions regarding proper usage of the still, if anyone could help answer some of these it would be greatly appreciated. Most of these questions have to do with temperatures. My plan has been to make cuts based on temperature as we learn, and I have all the temperature ranges, but where specifically are we talking about the temperature? Is this in reference to the temp of the vapor as it leaves the kettle? The temp of the wash? Or somewhere else in the process? Is there a target temperature to keep the mash at once we start boiling, or is it more of visual to keep everything flowing consistently? We have 2 columns, a 4-plate and a 16-plate. For the dephlegmator, is there a temperature range I should be shooting for when controlling the flow of the cooling water? Our still manufacturer said most people want the cooling water temp on the dephlegmator to around 78C. Does this make sense? For condensing column, we were recommended to have the distillate come out between 34-40C. Is this a good range? After typing this out, I guess I'm really asking if the main things I should be looking for and paying attention to is the temps in the kettle, the dephs, and the condenser? And then make adjustments to keep those temps in range.