Seth

I have been reading older posts about using oil for anti-foam and wondering if I am planning using a pot still for whiskey what type of oil and what amounts work best. I am trying to get a cost per bottle and this is an added expense that needs to be considered.

Thanks

Seth

At 1000 gallons of mash at 10% OH and 100% efficiency, you would have 100 gallons of OH, or 200 PG. At 65% efficiency, that's 130 PG or 108.3 WG@ 120 proof.

At 500 gallons of mash at 8% OH and 100% efficiency, you would have 40 gallons of OH, or 80 PG. At 65% efficiency, that's 52 PG or 43.3WG @ 120 proof. (maybe you were rounding to 45 gallons?)

Thanks and yes I rounded up for ease of posting. Again thank you to everyone for their help and patience with this topic.

by the way, I believe Bill Owens took his input from distillers in the field, so perhaps the guy with 1000 gallons of wash was not really at 10%, maybe he was taking big fat cuts on each pass, who knows. in an ideal world of 100% efficiency, he would fill 3 barrels. if he only gets one, that's called alcohol abuse.

So this might sound be a dumb question and I'm not the greatest at math but am I right in figuring at 65 percent efficiency I could expect 45 gallons of 120 proof spirit to go into the barrel. I am just wanting my math checked, I could be totally wrong.

Thanks

Seth

OK, first of all, Seth, mea culpa!

I read and reread the message thinking to respond, but I misread it every time: I thought it said 500 gallons generates 1 GALLON! I missed the unit change from gallons to 1 BARREL! So, thinking you were asking whether it is either 500 or 1000 gallons of wash to get a GALLON of spirit, I wrote my reply, which in that context might have been at least somewhat understandable. But even then, perhaps I could have been more helpful. So again, mea culpa.

No harm no foul and again thanks to everyone for their helpful responses. Hopefully someday I too can contribute to the forum with my experience to help the next group of hopeful distillers.

Seth

500 gallons of wash x .08 = 40 gallons of absolute alcohol. this is the theoretical yield of this 8% wash, and nobody gets that much.

40 gallons of absolute alcohol / .60 = 66.6 gallons of 120 proof juice going into the barrel. again, this is theoretical.

53 / 66.6 = ~80%. this is the efficiency with which you have to operate your equipment in order to fill a 53 gallon barrel with the distillate from this wash. you will be operating at a lower efficiency.

good luck,

will

Thank you all for your responses. I had figured it on 100 percent efficiency. What is a practical figure for figuring distilling efficiency?

Seth

The answer is: it depends.

What's the abv of the "500 gallon batch"?

What's the entry proof for the spirit you wish to put in a barrel?

I should have been more specific. I intend to start with a 10 percent wash, I will be double distilling and putting it into the barrel at 120 proof. Vendome suggests that a 500 gallon batch at 8 percent starting abv will yield 33 cases of 12 750ml bottles per batch. I have read Bill Owens' book Craft of Whiskey distilling and unless it is a typo he says 1000 gallons of wash yields two barrels. I just want the right info for my business plan.

Seth

You should do some simple educational reading first before posting. Your values are so far from correct it suggests you have not read any of the layman introductions to production, many of which are on the web. Once you have done that, come back to this forum with more detailed questions. Good luck.

Actually blue star the information I received is from Vendome Copper so if you think they don't know what they are talking about maybe you need to do some more reading. Don't insult the intelligence of those you don't even know. The purpose of this forum is for educating those who want to become successful distillers. What's your purpose here?

I have a question, I have received conflicting information. I have figured the reduction ratio and it seems that you get a barrel of spirit from a 500 gallon batch. But I have been told that it takes a thousand gallons of wash to get a barrel of spirit. I am just wondering which one to believe. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Seth

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I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many craft distilleries are operating currently compared to last year? Or even five years ago. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Seth

I was just wondering if anyone has used the infusion spirals from the barrel mill? If so what are your thoughts? If you would rather pm me that is okay as well.

Thanks

Seth

Hello there I am looking for someone to hire as a consultant to help make my distillery plans a reality. Any recomomendations or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Seth

I am still in the research phase but could you use a plate and frame filter to remove the suspended yeast post fermentation or would this somehow harm the final product?

Hello I am also in the planning stages for a distillery in Illinois. What part of Illinois are you going to be in?

Seth

Seth, That really depends on what type of system your using for filtering and how big a lot is being filtered. Often you can push most of the remaining spirit out of the filter using neutral gas or water if its plate and frame of cartridge, but what you push you don't want ending up in the final product. Recently I've been using cartridge filters (large ones) and when filtering you tend to lose about 5 gallons +/-. So when filtering if you can run big lots or daisy chain smaller lots together(segregating the overlaping spirit) since the cartridge is primed that might work for you. Cheers, BW

Thanks

Seth

i was wondering if when using active carbon for filtering product how much loss if any will be lost to not being able to get all the. Product out of the carbon? Thanks Seth

I would agree with you on this government agencies are the wrong people to have against you in this situation. Very good advice.

I am by no means an attorney or an expert on this but I am sure there are ways around this if you know the loop holes well enough.

If I read the Illinois Liquor Control Commission website correctly you can't hold a distributors and producers permits.

Just wondering if this is still for sale? Thanks

I was just wondering if anyone is using open top fermenters for whiskey production? If so are there any benefits or downfalls to using them instead of closed top fermenters? Just Wondering

Thanks

Seth

Thank you guys for all the leads on the mashing equipment.

I was just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of some manufactures of mashing equipment? I am looking for a mash/lauter tun. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Seth

I too would like some information on revenoor stills. I was possibly considering purchasing one. I have talked to Terry at revenoor but would like some outside opinions. So am I gathering that if I want an ASME approved still do I have to spend $50,000+ to get one. I know a rather successful distillery in Iowa is using a revenoor still to produce their whiskey. I was just wondering being that I have little knowledge of ASME codes.

Just Wondering

Seth

Again, I just want to thank everyone for thei input and information on this subject. I am putting it all to good use.

Thanks Again

Seth