Classick

its also entirely possible that I just have a throat irritation... and whatever the fumes are, regardless of base material, are exacerbating it....

But the timing seems suspicious to me.

I only have a few more days of it, so i suppose ill see if it goes away when im done. the cough does not occur when im running vodka or gin

Hi all,

Just wanted to pick your brain.

So I'm distilling some Cabernet wine into brandy for port, and I just realized that the persistant cough that I am experiencing, I also experienced last year around the same time, doing a similar project.

I know the wine we brought in had 30 ppm free so2, but I neutralized it with h2o2.

I'm thinking though that maybe there is some kind of irritant in the air while I'm distilling... When I cough, I get a kind of metalic/tinny taste in my mouth.

Just wondering if anyone else had exprienced anything similar

Thanks much

What about talking to some of the mobile bottling lines in the state? The only technically challenging part of the operation would be the corking with those t-tops. What kind of bottle per minute speed are you looking for?

We have done the mobile bottling line route before... and it worked fine.. but the trick with those guys is scheduling.

We are doing about 1000-2000 cases a quarter, but not with any regular frequency, meaning we cant just say, yes every 30th day of the month we need to bottle.

The mobile bottlers tend to need more structure with their scheduling.

Sorry for my delayed reply... apparently i do not get notifications when i have replies on this thread.

With good equipment and a team of 8 hardworking people we are able to bottle 500 cases in roughly 6ish hours.

depending on the bottling line.

we have a 4 head gravity filler, and it takes me and crew of 2, 4 days to bottle 500 cases by hand.

Hey All,

We are actively looking for a contract bottling solution. As a contract producer, we have at least 3 clients now who are at the growth stage of their efforts, and are now looking for a contract bottling solution for runs of 500-1000 cases at a time.

Specifically we are looking for a high speed line that can push T-tops and has a shrink tunnel for PVC caps.

Additionally, there would be some dilution/filtration that would need to happen for the vodka projects. We could handle that on our end if need be, but its usually simpler to do that just in time at the bottling facility.

We've talked to blue egg in Colorado.. but that solution seemed a little pricey.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

sorry for the multi post... hopefully an admin will clean it up.

stupid browsers

Hello All,

Just wondering if anyone has heard of or has any references to locations that might be willing to "house" or store large volumes of high proof spirits.

We have a potential project coming up that would see us needing to sit on almost 14,000 gallons of 190 proof spirit that we would need to draw off over the course of the year.

That is well outside our bond limit, so we are trying to find some place that would be willing and able to sit on that amount.

Could sit in 252 drums, 63 pallets (4 drums per)

or in a large tank, from which we can fill IBC's

realistically looking for california only, but any info is appreciated.

Thanks much

Dave

HI Mike,

the forum software seems to be a little messed up. its not letting me email. i would very much appreciate the contact. Can you email it to me dcj at essentialspirits.com

thanks much

We've been using Paulson t-tops for some time, as well as have referred several of our contract clients to them. We have always been pleased with the product, and believe it to be a superior product to other brands.

I highly recommend getting a sample and seeing for yourself

These kudos were unsolicited

Hello All,

Just trying to see if such a place exists.

We looking for a place to send 1000+ case orders to to be bottled via highspeed line, with the caveat that they be able to push t-top

Anyone know of such a business? Perferably in California, where we are

Thanks much for any help.

DCJ

We made some Arak for a Lebanese client a while back

HI Barry,

I was wondering if you had any results to report back.

What did you end up putting into the barrels and how were the results? Is the test still ongoing?

thanks much

We arent using a Charantais, but a Stupfler Alambic... We have the only one like it in North or South America. It was specially developed by a 3rd generation stillmaker for the production of exceptional fruit distillates and produces a medium bodied eau de vie that is a very accurate representation of the fruit from which it was distilled.

Kristian, was the grappa you aged 120 proof into the barrel? how did it turn out? What did you notice in the way of angels share evaporation, roughly that is. And for how long was it in the barrel before you decided it was "ready"

As for the barrels to be used.. im not sure i have an input on that. I am making this for an exceptional winery in central california, and i believe they will be deciding that information, I am just trying to figure out what the proof of their distillate i should suggest they put in the barrel.

Thanks much

Looks like i just got invited to head out to vegas in a couple weeks to help launch a brand and work the booth.

Just wondering if anyone else from here is headed out there for the Expo. Might be fun to meet up for some drinks

Hey everyone,

I have a client that is thinking about aging some grappa i made for them, but as i have never really put anything into wood, i must admit i am at a loss on how to counsel them. I was hoping there might be some folks on here willing to share some information/technique

I believe most spirits go into wood around 138 proof, is that about right? and if thats the case, would the same application apply to grappa? Im not yet sure which kind of barrel they are planning to use, if they will be used wine barrels, new barrels, etc, and i know that will affect the technique to a degree, but for the moment i am just looking for advice on the dilution side of things.

Anyone have any insight to share, or willing to point me in the right direction?

Thanks much

Dave Jr

I dont think ill get a chance to go so far.. i've never been to portland so i am very excited to spend some time there soaking in all the weirdness and all the brews and foodie wonders... but eventually i will make an entire trip of the PNW visiting all the distilleries along the way.... "business expenses" hah!

Hello Organians,

I just wanted to send a shout out,,, see if anyone was up for a visit/some tasting.

Ill be in the area on the 9th of feb... was planning on heading over to distillery row to check out some tasting rooms, but wasnt sure who was where, or if there were any members from here.

Has anyone been using this? Any issues?

Are you submitting paper copies or electronic?

so apparently they kicked it back again, and now are requiring us to provide a list of all previous DBA's... god damn TTB.

We have done i dont know how many DBAs in the past, exactly as we have this one.. and never had any issue with it. and now all of a sudden we are required to register every single one? This is lunacy

I spoke with our specialist at the permit department about this. You have to send in a letter on the DBA letterhead stating your distillery has permission to use the DBA and an application to ammend basic permit http://www.ttb.gov/forms/f510018.pdf fill in section 6 and email it to your specialist.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Kristian. We did include a scan of the official DBA information along with the label approval as we have in every previous submission.

I think what happened is in Step #2 when submitting the application, I might have forgotten to select from the drop down our DSP#. Thus, the submission would not be linked to our DSP permit. I have resubmitted the application, today and am hoping that that small change was the issue.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Hopefully if this is resolved, this thread will serve as a clue if this happens to anyone else.

Have to remember to dot the I's and cross the T's

So i have a label in for approval, and they just rejected it with something i have never seen in 14 years of distilling/getting labels approved.

The Application needs correction for the reasons listed below. Click on the "Make Corrections" link above to edit the information from your original submission. All corrections must be completed by 04/12/2012 or the application will be automatically rejected.

Reason Additional Information The company name or the trade name on the label is not listed on your permit. 27 CFR § 13.21 Your trade name or “DBA” must first be updated with the National Revenue Center (NRC) which administers permit records. You may update permit records either in writing, via e-mail at ttbwine@ttb.treas.gov, or via Permits Online. Your COLAs Online user profile may then be updated to reflect this information. [The trade, Muscardini Cellars, is not a trade name of record, as indicated on your label, attachment document, and application.])

We have completed in dont know how many DBA's in the past... and have never received this error. We had attached a scan of the approved DBA from our county along with the label submission.

Any thoughts?

Thanks much, will give them a call

Hey guys,

Does anyone have a decent source for stock PVC shrink capsules that have tear tabs in them?

looking for 31.5mm

Here in california, we have a few suppliers, but all the stock caps have grapes on them, and none of them have tear tabs.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

With 28 micro distilleries in California, surely you can form a trade association to lobby for favorable changes? The "love" is bought via paid lobbyists (or your own grass-roots lobbying effort).

Legislatures respond to pressure; they rarely do something because it's the right thing to do.

you would think... and Arthur has been very involved with organizing ideas and trying to get us some lobby power.. but as of yet, no real cohesion has been experienced.

there was an effort a few years back, but it kind of dissolved when interests weren't aligned. Its a work in progress

The California law can not supersede the Federal law. So, the law can not allow bars and restaurants to do anything that was reserved by Federal law to the DSPs. If you have to get a Federal permit for it, so does the bar or restaurant. Now, if California restricted bars and restaurants MORE THAN DSPs in the past, and the new law relaxes that restriction, then yes, the DSP would be losing that state privilege. And yes, if the DSPs would lose a privilege previously according them a competitive advantage, it would be reasonable to use that as an opportunity to lobby the legislature for some compensatory privilege, like greater flexibility in providing tastings or on-premise direct sales. But I think you are missing the point many are making here: it is far better to lobby for greater freedom or privilege for the craft DSP than to lobby against one of your most important customer bases: the bars and restaurants.

Its actually the opposite.. not only did we already have less advantage than bars and restaurants (because they are already selling directly to consumers)... with this legislation, we have even LESS of an advantage, because suddenly bars and restaurants, without the same permiting process, and fees and taxes associated with it, are allowed to perform the same blending and mixing to create unique, revenue generating products as a rectifier would.