HedgeBird

ISC Craft Distiller Series look like they are between 18 and 24 months: http://www.iscbarrels.com/barrels Looks like buffalo trace is normally 6 months: http://www.nightclub.com/product-watch/what-s-new/news/buffalo-trace-distillery-experiments-barrel-stave-drying-time-latest-e Vicard wine barrels looks like two years: http://www.bouchardcooperages.com/usa/news/barrel_lore.html This would all be for the staves themselves. I am not sure if any of these would be dried as logs before being milled into staves.

Perhaps consider adding some details to your post. I know I would certainly find the following information helpful: Are these new or used barres? What was aged in them? How long was it aged for? Who was/is the manufacturer? What char or toast level do they have? What wood are they made from? How long ago where they made? How long ago where they dumped? What is the cost per barrel?

Really the only argument that I am making is that it is both possible and practical to design and build a steam jacketed kettle that operates at 25 psi; and that its not in anyway unbelievable or shocking to think that the still in question may well have been designed to operate with steam at that pressure.

Most commercial steam heated (jacketed) kitchen kettles are actually rated much higher than 25 psi and they do not collapse. Here is one example of a steam jacketed kettle that is designed to operate at 50 psi: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/cleveland-kdl-200-200-gallon-stationary-2-3-steam-jacketed-direct-steam-kettle/390KDL200.html I think if its rated above 15 psi then it might need to be ASME certified. One would think a 15 psi vacuum pulling from the inside would be the same as a 15 psi pressure pushing from the outside, but it seems that is not the case: http://sache.org/beacon/files/2007/02/en/read/2007-02-beacon-s.pdf

A 25 psi max on a steam jacket does not seem that crazy.. Most low pressure boilers/systems are running with 15 psi relief valves so designing/building/rating a steal appliance (the jacket on the still kettle) at 25 seems reasonable.

Used racks: Emily Hillier Country Connection (530) 589-5008 www.countryconnection.biz

I have purchased used 2 Barrel Racks @ $40 each and new @ $99 each. for steel, not stainless. I have never seen stainless ones and would not see a need for them. We are a small shop and have probably purchased about 30 of them. At this point we are looking at building larger wood racks and are hoping we do not need to purchase any more of these steel ones.

My understanding based on spending a little time doing research for private barrel sales, is that if it leaves your bonded area it must be bottled in an approved container size (1.75 liter being the largest size option available) , or be transferred to another bonded facility in whatever sized container you want.

Anyone know of a simple manual lever action machine for t-top corks? Something similar to a "portuguese floor corker" but designed for t-tops?

I was able to find one supplier with Boston Round style bottles in 50ml sizing but they are only in the Amber color and not clear glass. Anyone here have any sources for this style bottle in 50ml clear glass?

If you do some research you will quickly find that for most restaurants/bars the recommendation is that your rent should take up about 5-10% of gross sales. So if you are paying $5,000 a month in rent you should be expecting/hoping/planning for $50,000 - $100,000 in sales each month. Personally I think those standard numbers are optimistic and its still do-able at a higher percentage. Here at my distillery rent/lease over the last few months has been running at almost exactly 15% of tasting room sales. Add in off-site sales (direct to restaurants and to distributors) are we are probably getting close to the 10% mark. If I was considering a $5,000/mo rent I would be looking to be doing at least $35,000+ a month in sales. If your doing about half your sales in $10 cocktails and half in $40 bottles then you will need to be serving about 1,750 cocktails and selling about 437 bottles a month. Thats 60 cocktails and 15 bottles ever day of the month of the month. I think the point I am trying to make is that if you go with a $5,000 a month rent in a prominent location you should probably be thinking about your project as opening a bar that has the *disadvantage* of having to make all the alcohol it serves from scratch.

In our area I know there are mobile canning lines that will setup at breweries for a few days. Not sure if that would be something you could look into..

https://www.facebook.com/greenengineering/

Not really. The old condenser was totally sealed with no access to either the shell or tube. With this one we can at least easily remove the tri-clamp end caps to access the tubes. Even so I can't really imagine trying to clean it with anything other than a liquid we pump though it and do not expect to ever remove the end caps unless something goes really wrong.

Oddly enough two days after I got this new condenser installed I gave a tour to a guy who worked for a company that has made shell/tube heat exchanges in the past. I mentioned the changes we had made with this one including the baffles and he told me about ones they made that used a continuous screw of metal that forced the hot liquid to move in a very long downward spiral and not just back and forth over baffles. I guess this provides ever more length and a very even/smooth flow. Probably not something we can do in our shop but seems like a great idea!

Just did some quick searching, and it looks like credit for that idea should go to Southernhighlander. In this thread he gives a ton of great info that I was able to directly implement on this build. Specifically swapping the vapor/cooling sides, adding baffles, extending the baffles past half way, sloping the baffles, etc. It also looks like user Falling Rock was the first to bring the problems with copper condensers to my attention in the same thread. http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=5692&page=1

Our still is 150 gallon capacity and fully steam jacketed. On a typical run we are collecting something like 40 gallons of distillate. (we do a pretty a-typical distillation process here) We are hoping to be able to change out our water lines this week so we can run at the higher temp and get a true idea of how efficient we can be. We have absolutely noticed a difference in the product with the new condenser. Previously our spirits always had oils that would float on the surface and sometimes a slight blue tint (copper salts) particularly in the foreshots and tails. This is with us always flushing the condenser after each run and regular cleaning. Now you have to look very hard to find any oil floating on the surface. The spirit is much cleaner with no noticable negative impact on taste/odor.

We used about 240 gallons yesterday, but with the current ball valve in place on the water input we are just not able to get the flow as slow as we want it. I have a gate valve on the way that I think should solve this problem, but if not I will look into a needle valve. Most of the current hosing is also only rated to 160F so I don't want to push the exit water past that until I get it replaced. We use an old water meter on the input to give a visual on the flow and keep track of the gallons used. I think it was the cheapest (and coolest looking) flow meter I could find back when I did the control panel. I do have an adjustable (140F-240F range) thermostatically controlled valve I might try plumbing in place. For those that automate their condenser water flow are you using the condensers outlet water temp as the input variable to control the flow rate? If so, what temperature do you maintain on the outlet? Anyone using parrot temp to control condenser water flow?

When I originally built our 150 gallon / 4 plate still I also built a 6" x 5' tube in shell condenser to go with it. The original condenser was all copper and had the vapor going through 23 inside tubes and the cooling water in the shell. For a typical distillation run we where going though about 300+ gallons of cooling water. This water is recaptured and used for cleaning and as the mash water for the next run; but as we are only mashing 150 gallons this meant half the collected condenser water was just dumped down the drain. New condenser is all stainless, 6" x 8.5' (makes the old one look tiny in comparison) has 16 inside tubes, has the cooling water going through the tubes and the vapor though the shell. We also added about 11 internal baffles to force the vapor on a longer path and prevent vapor/condensate from dropping straight down the tube. Big thanks to whoever it was about a year ago who shared pictures of their condenser build and pointed me in the direction or swapping the vapor and coolant and the trick of adding baffles! We ran it yesterday for the first time and are pretty pleased with the results. Big improvement on water usage and a very noticeable impact on the clarity and oiliness of our distillate, particularity in the feints we are collecting. We now need to get a more sensitive valve to control the cooling water flow as we are using so little and and the current ball valve does not work well for making very small adjustments to the flow. We also need to replace our hoses to ones with a higher heat rating as the water leaving the condenser is now so hot. I was going to add photos to the post, but the forum keeps telling me I am not allowed so here is a link to the gallery. Starts with a picture of our original condenser, then images of the build in progress and then a few of the new unit in place on the still. Total planning/design time was about 8 hrs, fab and welding was about 10 hrs. Internal plates where laser cut. http://imgur.com/a/79Jat Cheers!

Perhaps a better question would be: Could one get label approval for a Liqueur class product (with no type designation) that contains 50% wine by volume, has an ABV of 20% and says "Vermouth" on the label?

Can anyone provide any insight on what class/type options might work for a vermouth? Anyone out there currently bottling a vermouth?

Perhaps take a look at this chart: https://datahero.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DataHero-Liquor-Sales-by-Month-of-the-Year.png

Looks like I can shut my beak now. It really is a nice package and I look forward to the day I can get my hands on a bottle!

So you obviously outsource the fermentation then?

Check the used equipment sites if you have not already. Our 150 gallon used kettle came from a used equipment place in Texas. Something like this perhaps: http://www.aaronequipment.com/usedequipment/tanks/stainless-0-499-gal/walker-n-a-87458 http://www.aaronequipment.com/usedequipment/tanks/stainless-0-499-gal/valley-stainless-47254001