dgpoff

Hey Andrew,

Hard question to answer as there are a lot of variables.

But let's say your 100 liters of mash is 10% abv. In theory, you should be able to extract 10 liters of 95% pure alcohol. In practice it's probably more like 7-8 liters, and that's only for the first stripping run. Re-distill again, and the 70-80% yield rule is probably accurate. So for let's say a whiskey, 100 liters stripped is probably 21-24 liters +/- at 30% avb. Redistilled that becomes 15-18 liters at 60% abv., assuming you have a fairly efficient still. Distill again and the end yield decreases.

Again, rough numbers only.

Don

Is anyone financing or leasing their equipment through a company that specifically caters to our industry?

Just doing some due diligance and I thought I would contact some of these folks if they exist.

Anyone have a leasing company that isn't killing them on price or early opt-out penalities?

THANKS!

New company with no history - I'm not so sure there is a "good" leasing deal. I'm pretty sure that you could get someone to do almost any lease deal, but you'll pay for it!

We leased 1 small piece of equipment, primarily to develop a relationship with a leasing company should we need to take advantage of that in the future.

Don

As of this week, only one distillery has been licensed and is operational, Dry Fly Distillery - but there are at least another five that are in the licensing process, some just a few weeks away from operation.

Andrew may be a bit off on his estimate of small distillers in Washington State. If 10% off those who have said they are going to build here actually do, there will be 1698 distilleries in Washington alone!

Don

still looking? I might know someone.

Absolutely. Have them drop me an e-mail!

Don

Just wondering what every one is using to clean and re-guvating their copper on the inside? coop

Light Caustic cleaning followed by a citric acid wash.

Don

Montana's HB 517

http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/billhtml/HB0517.htm

Allows for sampling room and on-site sales.

Washington's bill is SHB 2959

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2959

Don

Bryan,

We had no issue with this. We did take the time to meet with the insurance company and explain our process. No pressure tanks. Steam jacketed heating. No open flames. No mass alcohol fumes.

Additionally, we covered the building owners in our own policy. We used Liberty Northwest.

Don

We here at Colorado Gold will be making our own also but not till near year end. Coop

Nice. Good luck on your project!

Don

We make our own base as well, from wheat. In fact we make our final vodka first, and send some of this to macerate and re-distill.

Thanks Rich!

I have heard that we are one of a very few in the US who make their own base.

Don

I was asked a question by a customer that I could not answer, so I thought I'd post it here:

How many small distillers make Gin from their own neutral base?

I know most use purchased NGS. We make our own neutral base from wheat.

Don

Dry Fly Distilling, located in Spokane, Washington is accepting resumes and cover letters from applicants interested in a full time production manager position. Dry Fly currently produces Vodka, Gin, and an assortment of Whiskey products, all from raw grain to bottle. This position will be responsible for the following activities:

Mashing and fermentation

All aspects of production quality control

Distillation of the company's product line

Package production

Inventory management

Maintenance and cleaning duties

Participation in tasting and PR events

Covering for the owners while they fly fish

Other assorted duties as assigned

We offer excellent growth opportunities. Dry Fly has ordered additional equipment to more than double their current production capacity. Additionally we'll offer a competitive compensation package including health benefits and a 401K program.

Inquires should be made by E_MAIL ONLY to don@dryflydistilling.com. No phone calls will be accepted regarding this or any position.

Anyone have suggestions for a closure for a bottle with "entrance bore diameter" 21.5 mm?

I guess regular corks are 18.5 mm?

We use Oeneo and purchase an Altop product.

I think it could be argued that as volume increases the ability to do "craft" distilling eventually starts to decrease... but I get your point.

I agree that the term "micro distillery" perhaps not only embodies the concept better, but is also already familiar to the consumer through the common use of "micro-brewery". Folks still refer to their beers as "craft" beers, but if you tell somebody you are a "microbrewery" that pretty much immediately know what you are talking about, and when you ask a bartender for what microbrews they have, you'll get a definate answer, while if you asked them for what "craftbeers" they had, you might confuse them.

So would the terms microdistillery and microspirits be better terms to use here?

All interesting points. Is there not a difference between someone who makes their spirits from local raw ingredients, grain to bottle, and someone who uses purchased NGS? I believe there is. People have called our process of making spirits from grain inefficient, not economical, and even stupid. We call it craft distilling. Does that make us "better?" No, just different I guess. More local.

If NGS is the answer, why not take that thought process all the way and buy rum, whiskey, gin, and other finished products that you can then add a personal touch to, and market as locally produced spirits? THus the problem. Where to draw the line.

Dry Fly makes both a Vodka and a Gin, and have a Bourbon and Single Malt whiskey currently aging in barrels.

Thanks Robert!

We do make Vodka from grain and then also use that base for Gin. We also have barreled a Single Malt and a Bourbon, and will barrel a 100% Wheat Whiskey next week.

Don

Don, is this the unit you're using?

http://www.durfo.com/eng/enomaster_eng.asp

How is the consistency of fill? Can trained monkey's operate with little supervision?

That is it. Works great for us, and according to our wives we are barely above the monkey level.

We're doing some experiments with distilling beer and we're getting a LOT of foaming. We've tried mineral oil but still the foam comes like crazy! Any ideas to stop it?

We use Fermcap S which is a silicone based anti-foam product from Brewer's Supply Group.

We are in need of an accurate bottle filler that can be easily operated by monkees Also interested in a powered bottle labeler- must be able to apply a 7"x10" partially transparent label. Contact me if you have one you are trying to sell or if you know of a good supplier.

We use an Enlomaster with a glass cylinder. It is a vacuum filler and has proven quite accurate - 300-400 bottles per hour. We also use an inline filter and the small filler attachment to do 50ml bottles.

Anyone know what I would have to do to transfer beer from a brewery to my distillery and keep the goverment happy?

Guy,

We do this on a fairly regular basis. The brewery we work with mashes for us, and ferments our whiskey products. Our wheat mashes, which he also does, we ferment onsite.

On his reporting form he notes a transfer to a DSP - there is a line for this on the brewers report. On our TTB report, we note it as a "raw ingredient - other" coming in. We note volume by wine gallon, proof gallon and alcohol percentage.

This is how we were told to do this by our regional TTB person.

This is an awkward question because state/local will be so variable, but:

Is there a good rule of thumb for the amount of time to budget for getting permits - from federal to local - for a small DSP?

TTB's stated target is 60 days from receipt of a perfected app, and recent articles on micro-distilleries mention 18 month to 2 years of permitting. I'm in the process of doing my homework on this disparity as well as state/local requirements and contacts for my area. While I figure things out more accurately, I was wondering if there was a "general" time expectation useful to plug into a business plan.

Regards,

Andrew

Took us 18 months to get planned. permitted, and open.

Don Poffenroth

Dry Fly Distilling

Now this is a good idea!

Thanks Bill.

I am Don Poffenroth and I own and operate Dry Fly Distilling with my business partner Kent Fleischmann. We have been producing about 2 1/2 months and are about 400 cases behind on pending orders. We also are broke and have no time. We used to fly fish, now we dream about it!

Look forward to this communication tool!

DGP