redhand

We're working through local site planning. A question was posed as to what emissions would be expected. My thought is that there may be a slight odor of the fermented mash, but there shouldnt' be any significant emissions. What are your experiences with smell and emissions?

One of the Senate proposals on health care reform include a dramatic increase to alcohol taxes. This is from www.axetaxesnotjobs.com The U.S. Senate is considering a proposal that would dramatically raise what they call “lifestyle taxes” to pay for a huge federal health care program. Under this proposal you would be paying more for some of the simple things you enjoy, such as a soft drink and your favorite alcohol beverages. The proposal calls for a staggering increase in federal taxes on alcohol beverages of up to 229 percent! You can go to that site to submit an e-mail to your senator.

In my planning process, I've talked to a lot of distillers who are having fun and making a good living from their efforts. But I haven't heard any stories about people who made a go and came up short. Just wondering if anyone is willing to share, in general terms, stories of distilling ventures that just didn't work. Why didn't things come together? Was it a poor product? Poor marketing and sales? Distribution problems? Legal issues? There is as much to learn from those who have found success as there is from those who tried and failed.

So what are most people who use GNS to make vodka doing? Are they simply adding water and packaging? Are they carbon filtering? Are they giving it a lap through their own still? Does the quality change when doing anything to it?

Thank for all the rapid responses! RobKnode, I appreciate the advice as well. I am certainly factoring in the items you mentioned. In my analysis, I am seperating start up costs (grain handling equipment, distilling equipment, building, licensing) from working capital (insurance, legal, marketing) and then production. I am keeping production seperate as it hodls the revenue side of thigns. So I want to balance it seperately from the other expenses. But hopefully I am in the right ballpark. Please feel free to offer any other advice oyu may have. I'm sure I'll be back with more q's.

One other thing I meant to add... Should those costs of ingredients, bottling, etc. decrease per bottle as production increases over time or do they remain relatively steady regardless of output?

I am in the business planning stages of my distillery. I am using Bill's book as my starting point and moving forward. But I wanted to get some advice on cost projections for my products (vodka and bourbon). Right now, I am breaking things down to the bottle level. I am planning $2 per 750 ml bottle for raw ingredients (grain, yeast, water), $2 per bottle for bottling and labeling (glass, label) and $1 per bottle for packaging (boxes, pallets). Is this reasonable? High or low? Also, I was wondering what to plan for a tabletop bottling machine to get us started. Thanks for any advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions. I appreciate ADI and the willingness of this industry to encourage upstarts!