Jedd Haas

A brief description of the basic steps should work. Here is an example from a portion of my production procedure. This was approved by TTB. Whiskey: Whiskey distilled from grain. Grain mashed, fermented, and distilled. Two pot distillations; a stripping run followed by a spirit run.

I use temperature monitoring all the time. It's one of the things I look at, but not the only one. In the case of a spirit run, I'm also looking at the parrot hydrometer, the run time, and the output volume or weight. However the most important factor is taste. Recognizing the characteristic flavors of heads, hearts, and tails is the most important part of making good cuts. Flavor recognition is particularly important in experimental runs. Now, in the case of a stripping run, you don't need to taste the output and can go by vapor temperature, the parrot hydrometer, and run time. Temperature monitoring is also very important in mashing and making wash.

I used to use this pump: https://www.amazon.com/JAANHUEI-P490JH-Plastic-Patented-Rotation/dp/B07PRDXTXX/ref=sr_1_18?keywords=55+gallon+drum+pump&qid=1581616387&sr=8-18 Then later bought one of these: https://www.amazon.com/National-Spencer-387-Stainless-Steel-gal-55-Seals/dp/B011N6F4MI Both pumps work just fine for neutral spirits. However, I have stopped using these hand pumps entirely; as Silk notes, they are painfully slow. Now I use a Sandpiper PB-1/4 such as this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SANDPIPER-PB-1-4-TS3CA-Double-Diaphragm-Pump-Conductive-Acetal-Air/383004202514?hash=item592cd45612:g:NaMAAOSwub1dAjJc You can sometimes find these pumps used on ebay for very reasonable prices. However, be sure to find out what they were used for previously.

They are out of stock.

I'm looking for used barrels, not new.

Looking for at least 7 barrels, possibly more, up to 24. Please send a message with details on previous contents, location, price, and your email address.

You can change the age statement without filing for a new COLA. See number 14 on the list at this link. https://www.ttb.gov/labeling/allowable-revisions

In general, when you submit a formula, the formula specialist provides a statement of composition, and the label specialist generally wants your statement of composition to be exactly what the formula specialist wrote. This process can be aggravating, as the statements of composition can vary, even for spirits that use a formula that is similar to another. One thing you can try, when submitting your formula, is to provide your preferred statement of composition in the "notes to the specialist" field. You could try submitting the formula again, along with some notes on what you want to call it. You can also change your formula, as a formula for the same product can be written in different ways to get different results.

I got a demo of both. See this link for my comments:

Look for a manufacturer in your area, as otherwise shipping will be a significant added expense. Also try to confirm they are actually the manufacturer, rather than a broker or re-seller, as that will also increase your cost.

Can you post some pictures of your modified XpressFill?

Starcat, that looks like an interesting panel, can you show the front? What is it controlling?

When you receive the barrel, you enter it in storage inventory at the stated proof gallons. When you dump the barrel, you gauge the proof gallons and record the loss. You then account for the loss on the monthly storage report. Tax liability is created when the final product is withdrawn from bond and you only owe for what is actually withdrawn. Be sure to document everything so that your records support the claimed losses.

If you get one of these emails, one easy test is to respond by asking that they send copies of their licenses. Scammers posing as distributors tend to stop responding when you ask that question.

How is the whiskey being flavored? For the sake of discussion, let's say some flavoring is being added, either directly or by infusion. In that case, the flavoring operating would be a processing operation. So the whiskey would be transferred from storage to the processing account, flavored, then remain in the processing account until it was bottled and sold. That's my understanding, but you probably want to check 27 CFR to be sure.

You can buy an auto body slide hammer kit on ebay for about $20 which works just fine for pulling bungs. A lot less than that fancy Stortz tool.

Assuming your stripping run of 8% wash comes out at 35% ABV with perfect efficiency, you would have around 675 liters of low wines. In reality, you will have a bit less, depending how long you run your still. Let's say 630 liters. Three runs will give you 1890 liters, this allows for tails volume up to 1110 liters. For the first run, use 4 stripping runs. Then you'll make tails from the first run, which you'll use in later runs.

In general, for flavored products, the most prominent flavor should be named. If there are two key flavors and you want to name both, the one that is used in greater quantity comes first. Exactly what spice is being used? Let's say it's pepper, and your secondary flavor is salt. With that combination you'd have "Pepper and Salt Flavored Rum." (But not "Salt and Pepper Flavored Rum") as your statement of composition. You could perhaps try using "Spiced Rum" as the fanciful name and have the statement of composition in smaller type somewhere else. Disclaimer: this is just based on my own experience and you'll have to look up the rules in 27 CFR if you want to wrangle with the TTB. Which will likely be a waste of time.

It seems like an interesting idea overall. But it will probably be meaningless for me, because state law in Louisiana defines legal sizes. So while TTB may allow new sizes, I doubt the state will enact the same changes. I suspect other states may also regulate permissible sizes, so following the theory of unintended consequences, it might lead to problems with "new" sizes being legal in some states, but not in others.

You could try replacing the balls and their seals. But first, I would call Sandpiper (Warren Rupp) and see what they suggest. Pretty sure they also have a troubleshooting guide on their site.

In the case of High West and other major league sales, the metric that is often used is $XXX per case of yearly sales volume. Numbers that I have seen described as "typical" are $200 to $300 per case. However, in the case of High West, it was about 10x this range. According to this article, High West was sold for $2,285 per case. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mergermarket/2017/04/11/consolidation-bubbling-up-in-craft-spirits/ The article also suggests that the "new normal" is $1000 per case, although it appears that this will only apply once you get above a certain level and are achieving major growth.

I do my malt mashing at a brewery, so the vorlauf is part of their standard practice. It also seems to be a good idea to reduce particulates if you have internal elements in the still, as I do. Typical vorlauf time for my mashes is around 15 minutes, so not a tremendous increase in mashing time.

Around $15k. See this post for some additional comments. f

I am no beer expert, but while this explanation is a good part of the picture it is incomplete. Before you actually start lautering, you must "vorlauf" which is a German word that means, literally, "before run." To be more accurate, we could call it the "pre-run" or, as some beer texts would have it, "recirculation." The idea is that prior to drawing off the wort, you recirculate it through grant. You are drawing off the bottom of the mash tun and sending the wort back to the top of the tun. The purpose is to draw off all the fine particles that come off the grain bed and send them back to the top of the grain bed, where they will hopefully get trapped before making their way to the bottom. During the vorlauf, the wort turns from cloudy to clear; when it becomes clear, you know you've eliminated the fine particles from the flow and now you're ready to proceed with the runoff, per Thatch's explanation above. So, during the vorlauf, you can think of the grant as a sort of open-air sight glass. It's also useful as a sample point for drawing wort samples as the runoff proceeds, to check specific gravity during the course of the runoff.

https://www.ttb.gov/foia/frl.shtml