HedgeBird

Interesting. I always assumed that the more water you would add to your low wines the less flavor you would get as you are "watering down" the source flavor. I water mine down to 50% before a spirit run. I suppose the more water you add at this step, the less you may need to add when proofing, so perhaps it all balances out assuming you adjust your cuts on the spirit run..

Looks like these pictures are on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/confederate.stills Very cool! Also like that "Heavy copper pot heads" and the oak and copper stills! But why no vent on the parrot? And will the overflow tube on that be large enough to prevent the flow from pushing up the hydrometer? I ask because I have this problem with my parrot and have to "throttle" the flow with the drain valve to get a good reading.

I used a cheap plastic flow meter to measure the volume of my water.. (you can see the thing in the photo I posted attached to the hose) I did/do not expect it to be perfect, but I tested it at 5 gallons and it was spot on. I would not be shocked if it was off, but would be if it was 10 gallons off over 145 gallons..

hard to calculate its volume based on measurements what with the man-way and sloped bottom and all. Ill give it a try tomorrow with the old sewing tape measure though..

What are the horizontal ring pairs on all your tanks? Are they weld lines where you overlapped copper sheets?

I purchased this Letina tank for bottling: LETINA Closed Top Tanks--Conical Bottom— wine storage / ZR 620 / 620 Liters / 165 gallons I then filled the tank, marking every 5 gallons on the sight glass. I topped out at 154 gallons filled to the brim. So do you think this Letina tank is smaller than the advertised 165 gallons, or is my volume calibration off? Thoughts?

my mash tun has a steam plate on bottom and cooling jacket on sides... similar to this guy: http://www.kothe-distilling.com/newsite/additional-equipment/mash-tanks seems like a lot of work/cleaning/fittings to use/create a dual purpose jacket..

No, not blended.. I casually called it 1.5 distilled because about 50% of what you would collect from each distillation run gets added into the next distillation run. This was a suggestion for sweetT14 who said he is doing single runs on a copper pot and would prefer not to double distill. (so its just a suggestion he could try, not something I am stating will make good whiskey) This is similar to what I do, but I do stripping runs with no cuts first, then basically follow the outline I described. I run a four plate still but run no cooling water through the top condenser. Basically running it like a pot still. And just to make sure we are understanding each other, when I say run it down to 20% ABV i mean run it until your hydrometer on the parrot shows that you are collecting 20% ABV. Perhaps i need to push further into the tails past 20%. I am very curious how far/deep other folks on here run the tails?? I do this because at that point 80% of what I am collecting is water, it comes out slower and my boiler has to cycle more frequently. So i stop because I am spending more time and energy to collect less whiskey that is at a dramatically lower ABV..

we use a coffee filter inside of strainer. just need a few drops for refractometer and iodine test.

When I started filling out these forms I also though they may go into processing as it asks for amount moved from processing back to production (for re-distillation, etc). After thinking about it for a bit longer I realized that would not be practical to record. But I think its that "for re-distillation" question that causes confusion..

You could try this.. Do the math on expected yields for your size wash and ABV you are putting into the still 1. Take a large cut of foreshots (something like 3x what you normally would) and discard. 2. Collect the next 1/4 of expected total yield as heads and save. 3. Collect the next 1/2 of expected total yield as hearts. (on the first batch of the cycle you might want to take even less as hearts) 4. Collect the final 1/4 as tails and save. Run it all the way down to 20% ABV.. On the next batch add the heads/tails into the still with your new ferment. Do the math on expected total yields again including the feints you added. Repeat steps 1 - 4 but this time adjust your cuts to taste. So... Your take big foreshot cuts each run because this is where you get rid of the burn that builds up. You take big heads cuts because you don't need to worry about losing product as you will recover that alcohol next time. You run all the way down to 20%ABV because that is where most of your flavor is. It essentially works out to a 1.5 distilled product.

Awesome. Nice work Matt. Im sure those added manways come in handy!

It is very common on the show moonshiners for the distillers to do single run pot distillation, without a thumper. I have also learned from watching the show that you do not need to make heads or tails cuts and that some prefer to include the foreshots as well. Their stuff obviously tastes great. </sarcasm >

Its true that Smiley makes a distinction between a "pot still" (that he says is no good) and a true "whiskey still" (a still with a gooseneck, but non fractioning) that I do not fully understand. Most people just use the generic term "pot still" for anything without a column. I think most people on this forum would call the still depicted on the cover of the book a "pot still" but apparently Smiley wants to call it a "whiskey still". If that is your only gripe with the book it would seem to be one of only semantics and I would argue not to throw out the baby with the bath water!

By traditional do you mean all-grain? And what do you consider too low of yields?

Unless you are running a mash with a crazy high alcohol content, you cant really get a high enough proof product out of a simple pot still in a single distillation. One solution is to double distill. Read these: http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/double http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/strip and buy this book http://www.amazon.com/Making-Pure-Corn-Whiskey-Professional/dp/0968629210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389711023&sr=8-1&keywords=ian+smiley Another solution is to add a thumper, or "doubler". Read this: http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/use_pot Or, you use multi-plate stills and continuous stills, dephlegmators, and whatnot... Cheers!

I just started production and we are running a 150 gallon still making double distilled whiskey. We are trying to keep a schedule of mashing/fermenting/distilling three batches a week, plus one spirit run/bottling run a week. That should get us about 1,000 bottles a month if we can keep this pace up. We are also open to the public for bottle and drink sales 11 hours a week. I am putting in about 60 hours a week and have one employee putting in about 40 hrs. I think we could squeeze in a fourth mash/distill a week, but I am not sure we can fit four stripping runs into one spirit run. My mash tun/fermenters are 300 gallon so with the addition of a dedicated 300 gallon stripping still we should be able to double production without adding (many) any additional hours. In my opinion/experience starting with a 150 gallon still is practical but you may end up like me; starting to make plans for a larger still on the day you open.

I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here with some contradictory advice. It seems to be the number one piece of advice given to aspiring commercial distillers, but I do not think that visiting as many distilleries as you can is all that helpful. I think there are two categories of people who should consider starting their own distillery: A distiller who wants to become a business person. - If you are distiller you should know how to build and or acquire the equipment you need to distill. You should know this because you have either worked at another distillery and leaned it there, or done it yourself on a small scale and have the understanding of what is needed to scale things up. Obviously your not going to know everything, but you will at least know what questions to ask. A successful business person/entrepreneur who wants to become a distiller. - You already know and are familiar with creating and/or running a business. (incorporation, trade-marks, getting a website up, doing social media, record keeping, taxes, liability insurance, workers comp, payroll, etc, etc,) - follow fldme's advice and hire a consultant or team up with a distiller as described above. I am sure there are plenty of people out there who have, and or will, start successful distilleries that do not fall into one of those categories. It just seems to me you are much more likely to be successful if you meet one or both of the above descriptions. Also, You are asking a forum filled with commercial distillers how to get other commercial distillers to answer your questions. Perhaps you should just consider asking your questions here?

Looks awesome. Nice work!

We are in Lancaster, PA, so an easy trip from Philly, Baltimore, DC or New York. Just got our first two batches in the bottle this past week. Definitely starting on a tight budget with a self build 150 gallon still. Would be happy to host as well.. https://www.facebook.com/ThistleFinchDistillery

Just checked me email, and had this same request.. lol..

Foaming I can understand as a potential source of pressure build up, but I still find it hard to image that no cooling and vapor/steam going out a 1/2 inch collection pipe or parrot would create pressure. My 350,000 BTU steam boiler will not build pressure when I open the 3/8" steam strainer drain (the smallest valve on the system). My pressure relief valve on my still is currently located at the top of my column. If I get foaming in that tank that was able to stop-up the column then my valve would be just about useless. I am buying another valve today to add to the dome of the still. Also going to add vacuum valves to the still, mash tun steam heat plate and still kettle jacket. When I piped in my steam units vacuum was not something I was well aware of. I am now very much aware of it.. Here is the vacuum valve I am looking at using: http://www.amazon.com/Watts-Water-Technologies-N36-M1-Service/dp/B002ZQ0OY4/ref=pd_cp_hi_0

PeteB, Can you elaborate on how not turning on cooling caused a pressure build up in your system? My thinking was that not having cooling on would result in steam/vapor exiting the still but not a pressure build up? tipk99, This is the relief valve I am using on my still. Pressure and vacuum combined, but a bit pricey: http://www.glaciertanks.com/Pressure_Relief_Vacuum-Pressure_Relief_Valves_Vaccumm.html I also put these valves on my mash-tun cooling jacket. These could be nice as you can put a pipe on the exit to direct potential escaping vapor to a "safe" spot like the floor. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KTZB4Y/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KU0WV0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just to be clear, that quote is from wikipedia. And I actually ran into a few articles about folks duplicating the KFC recipe when I Goggled this.. It is pretty amazing how well KFC (perhaps even more than Coke) has built up the secret recipe legend! lol.. I for one appreciate this forum and community specifically because of the openness and the attitude of helping others that so many members demonstrate. Fifteen years ago you might have been able to get away with keeping new comers out of your industry by not sharing information and processes with them, but not anymore. The advent of the internet and so called "information revolution" has simply changed that. You want to make whiskey? You don't need an old uncle with a secret recipe he is willing to share anymore. You want to make vodka? You don't need someone who was in on the ground floor of Tito's to tell you if they are using GNS, you can just Google it yourself and find a former employee who shared "By the way, I didn't say Tito's wasn't distilled 6 times, I just said that it is distilled 2 times at Tito's distillery." If your willing to put the time and energy into researching, all the info you need is there. This forum certainly makes it easier, but if fldme does not want to share with me some suggestions on how much back-set to put in my rye mash a few hours researching and I can get ratios used by lots of old moonshiners and most of the major bourbon makers as well. I simply believe that in today's world its not about having more secrets/information than the other guy, but more about how well you can apply that information and put it into practice.. Apologies for the thread hi-jack..

Businesses don't succeed because they have a better secret recipe than other companies. And as has been noted on this forum before a better product rarely translates to higher profits or a more successful business. No doubt the secret recipe tripe worked well for Sanders and his business as a marketing ploy, but even Sanders knew and admitted that there are better recipes. It is well attested that Harland Sanders asked Bill Summers of Marion-Kay Spices in Brownstown, Indiana, US to recreate his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. While alive, Sanders recommended the Marion-Kay seasoning to franchisees over the corporate version, as he believed the latter had been made inferior by its owners. In 1982, after Sanders' death, KFC brought a lawsuit against Marion-Kay and the latter was barred from selling its mixture to KFC franchises. The Marion-Kay seasoning is still sold under the name "99-X," and according to Sanders biographer Josh Ozersky, it is indistinguishable from the original KFC recipe" Well, thats a shame as am I sure the rest of the distillers on the forum have just been sitting around waiting for someone to show up and tell us all why Grey Goose tastes so good. Guess I won't try to make Vodka as I am now doomed to failure without your secrets.