tmbdistillery

Tom, ignore the lbs of grain and water. I was just plugging in numbers to see how the formulas behaved.  If my math(formulas) are correct then the water and adjuncts should adjust total est. gravity and DP accordingly.  I am just asking for a few extra sets of eyes on the formulas.  Yes, 850/250 would make it a thick mash however, in order to get the desired gravity and DP with my current formulas, that is what it is showing I need to have in the pot to get those results.

Mash tun is steam jacketed and the corn is hammer milled through a 3/8 screen.  The barley is from BSG and is crushed to a medium.  

My MT has a capacity of 300gal.  

Richard,  That's a lot to chew through.  Thanks for replying.  Do you have this available for me to download so I can try and compare yours and mine?  Thanks!

I have been working on a mash recipe calculator for a couple days now and put it to use yesterday on a corn mash.  I didn't get the efficiency I was hoping for and thought my formulas might be off.  Any excel gurus out there that would like to take a peek at the sheet and see if I have my numbers correct?  Its basic but I think it can certainly get the job done.  I have attached the file so feel free to download and make changes.

Things to pay attention to:
1. Math to figure diastatic power
2. General formulas
3. Suggestions on things to add

Thanks!

Mash Recipe Builder.xlsx

On 5/19/2021 at 12:27 PM, Golden Beaver Distillery said:

No Fire Marshall issues.

We vented using small round vents on the sides (15 of them) and two roof vents.

Remember that alcohol is heaver than air so the side vents need to be at floor level. 

 

Do you have any pictures the types of vents you used?  We are doing the same thing with the barrels we have and will get and was curious about whether you were concerned about negative air or did you just vent and let air do its thing.  

Virginia distillers...you are already very much aware of the obstacles we face operating with the Commonwealth. I’m in search of any information on existing organizations within the state that push agendas up to a lobbyist to enact changes to our backward liquor laws. And if one does not exist would distillers in this state be interested in forming a pac to solicit contributions to pay the lawyers or “lobbyist” to speak on our behalf. 
 

Curious anyone’s thoughts or suggestions. 

2 minutes ago, Thatch said:

Perhaps I misunderstood your initial post.  Yes, the DSP needs to be separated from the tasting room by a floor to ceiling wall but that has nothing to do with sprinklers.  If you've researched other areas of this forum searching on "MAQ" or "AHJ" you will find a wealth of information on what you can and cannot do.  In short, without sprinklers your MAQ will be 120 gallons not in bottles within your DSP.  That includes barrels.

If we plan to store barrels off site, and have nothing on site except for the days run you’re saying we won’t have to sprinkle? Right now we’ve been quoted about $30k to sprinkle the DSP. Thanks for the reply and I’m going to research MAQ and AHJ. 

6 minutes ago, Thatch said:

Not sure what you are referring to.  Please send a link to the source of the "ttb guidelines" you are quoting.  You also haven't said anything about occupancy and whether you are seeking H-3 or F-1.  Your OP had to do with design of a tasting room and has evolved into a discussion on sprinklers.  

Because the tasting room in the DSP has a lot to do with sprinkled areas where there will be occupancy. We are probably shooting for an F1 but my question was about where we would put a tasting room and others chimes in regarding fire code restrictions. It is all good information so I’m thankful for the responses. 
 

Regarding the TTB, it is a requirement that your DSP and tasting room is separated by a floor to ceiling barrier preventing patrons from accessing the DSP. The reference was on the initial TTB application for operating a distillery. 

1 hour ago, 38° said:

We did not sprinkler. We chose to do a 2 hour firewall in lieu. With sprinklers we would only have to do a 1hr firewall. 2hr wall, with appropriate 2 hr windows and doors are a significant expense, but in our case, sprinklers were not feasible. FYI a tasting room and production area are two different occupancies in many scenarios for several reasons. Hence, the need for fire separation. Also, technically the ttb doesnt allow a tasting room in a DSP, another reason for physical seperation.

Okay so your DSP was sprinkled and not your tasting room. We think we are going to have to sprinkle the whole building if we have the tasting room under the same roof separated with a floor to ceiling wall IAW ttb guidelines. 

On 1/27/2021 at 12:05 AM, 38° said:

Sprinklers were way out of budget for us due to california regulations and our rural location. We had to 2 hour firewall all walls and the ceiling. Even the adjoining business walls. If I recall, the distillery was the side that needed the sprinklers.

So you did sprinkle or did not. Just confused by what you said. We would have the tasting room under the same roof as the still. 

2 hours ago, Glenlyon said:

The key to  a successful tasting room is making it female friendly! You want it cozy with lots of natural light and humour. 

Totally agree!

Just now, tmbdistillery said:

Could you try you rInstagram link again?  It didn't work for me.  

So you were able to not sprinkle the tasting room in lieu of 2 hour fire glass?  Our roof is wood beams and we were told 2 hour firewalls won't work because the fire would just burn the roof.  I think we are stuck getting sprinklers no matter what but In my rendering above I guess it just makes sense to sprinkle the entire building.  I think in the end doing an additional 15 feet of iron pipe might not be a huge cost factor.  

Nevrmind on the instagram link.  I thought I was logged in but I was not.  

6 hours ago, 38° said:

My two cents: almost everyone who has come into our tasting room so far comments on the large windows looking into production. It is a huge boost to the ambiance. And, as NotSure pointed out, I believe it increases sales/awareness of what we do here.

One consideration is cost. In our set up (no sprinklers) and local we needed 2hour fire glass. Not inexpensive at all, difficult to install, long manufacturing lead times.

In my opinion, there is no other way to go.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjGVISsMyE/?igshid=172asc7to8wfi

 

Could you try you rInstagram link again?  It didn't work for me.  

So you were able to not sprinkle the tasting room in lieu of 2 hour fire glass?  Our roof is wood beams and we were told 2 hour firewalls won't work because the fire would just burn the roof.  I think we are stuck getting sprinklers no matter what but In my rendering above I guess it just makes sense to sprinkle the entire building.  I think in the end doing an additional 15 feet of iron pipe might not be a huge cost factor.  

Hey all.  We are in the final stages of deciding where we will be putting our tasting room.  We are lucky enough to have two buildings adjacent to one another.  One is the warehouse/distillery and the other is currently office space with lots of windows, 6" hardwood floors and exposed brick and ceiling.  Not to mention a working hydraulic elevator.  

I am torn on where we should have the tasting room.  I have attached a pic for you to consider.  This is of the warehouse and distilling side.  I built in a floor to ceiling wall separating the warehouse from the tasting room and glassed it up so you can visually see the hardware.  On the other hand, we have a building that is elevated from the street (old truck dock facade) that will need to be converted for ADA as well as curb appeal renovations on the outside.  Thinking white washed logo.  

Would you rather enjoy your tastings in the warehouse where you can see the still and operation or in a newly renovated building with no visibility of the still but have hardwood, exposed brick and floors.  Second picture of test still just to show interior walls. 

Appreciate any discussion.  Pictures of your tasting rooms would be awesome too!!!

We are about to begin production in our distillery within the next 3-6 weeks and the only thing I have heard from the FDA about was my biannual renewal for the FDA license.  We have been ABC cleared and look to be producing very soon.  I suspect Calwaise above has hit the nail on the head with his acceptation of the government's motives.  Emergency leniency to produce hand sanitizer only to come back after the fact and demand records and samples.  Just like you said, when you're not needed anymore you become a liability that they need to inspect for "errors".  

I don't think we will immediately be producing sanitizer but who knows what 2021 will bring us.  

I agree we should band together and I'd be willing to create a database of documents for VA distilleries from inspections, phone calls, etc so help each other out.  If there is any interested parties, let me know and I can get us some cloud space for sharing.  

Tim

Curious what y’all came up with. VA laws are tricky so did you end up serving food to compliment the spirits?

I’m interested. I can arrange to pick them up and I’m interested in all 13. Please let me know the best way to contact you. Thanks. 
 

Tim

Is this still available?

Will you sell individually?