jwymore

In addition to distillery row (House, East Side, New Deal, Vinn & Stonebarn) cross the river and check out Bull Run and Clear Creek. All are within 5 miles of each other. If by chance you can get over to Bend then Bendistillery and Oregon Spirit Distillers are good to visit. Several are members here.

Iron content is another thing that can be an issue. Rarely a problem in tap water but worth testing or asking your source about. It's more likely to be a problem if you are located in an old building or an area with older distribution piping. I worked in a building once where iron content was high enough they would not allow it as potable drinking water and had to bring in bottled water. My plan is to at least have some level of particulate and chloramine filtration for any water used in mash processing and most likely RO water for cutting spirits to proof. Systems are not super expensive and seem like good insurance against potential off tastes.

Yes, this is a big part of the equation ..... whether you need to run each seperataly or both at the same time

That's what I was hoping to hear. Still working toward the lease and the still order but getting close. Luckily the city & county are anxious to have me on board so they are being very helpful so far with the local stuff. Incorporation and registration are done. Sounds like I can do the TTB & OLCC concurrently. Reality that this is happening is setting in!!

As one starting through the process I am curious how early on you can actually submit your TTB application. Assuming you have a building, a floor plan with equipment locations detailed, a still serial number, a bond and local permitting taken care of can you then submit your license application or do you actually need the equipment on site?

Sounds about right. I was told by a manufacturer that 1,000,000 BTU should heat 600 gallons of mash to 180 F in roughly 1.5 hours. This was for a jacketed mash tun w/ agitation.

With the number of craft guys doing un-aged (whiskey) it seems like we may need a new category added to the definitions. Until then the word whiskey is taboo .... Specialty makes way more sense than neutral though!! Thanks for posting the revision .... This begs the question ..... If i put it in a barrel for a day is it then whiskey?

Just curious at what proof others are filtering their vodka at. Seems very dangerous to filter NGS at 95% and not very efficient to filter after fully diluted. Is there a magic number for this? I am thinking in the 150 to 160 proof range makes sense?

I have kind of been looking at this but pretty expensive. Researching getting something similar fabbed locally. It does not have a screen though, designed for doing grain in fermentations. http://www.kothecomp...talog/item/test I have been doing some small scale experiments and it seems like corn meal doesn't work that good through a screen and flaked corn pretty much not at all. Would be interested in hearing if other folks are doing corn without grain in ferment and how they are getting the grain separated efficiently. A little more information here: http://www.kothe-distilling.com

Thanks for posting this, I am pretty much in the same spot as you and have been a bit confused by the whole bond thing and how to best get it handled.

Just checked out the Kothe web page and that is indeed what I was thinking of ..... THX!!

Good to hear, getting very close to having a real serious chat with you about a still. Maybe we need to talk mash tun as well!! Thinking more in terms of cost, space and sanitation. Agitation is a must but I don't see where it would be much different than a jacketed still? I would be looking at a mash tun with rotating rakes anyway. Cooling efficiency is certainly a factor to consider though as well.

Is anyone utilizing a mash tun with a steam jacket for heating and a water or glycol jacket for cooling? I have been told these exist with the heating jacket typically on the bottom and the cooling jacket around the sides. Seems like a good way to operate versus pumping through a heat exchanger for cooling.

I like that square one .....

Brad, having been to you place I have to say it's one of the best smelling distilleries I have been in!! :-) Also, seeing where you are located I can't see where this guy has a legitimate complaint. I know that doesn't help the problem but thought I would give me two cents. I am looking for space in Portland and have rejected a couple spots based solely on the proximity of neighbors and what type of business they are running.

Hey Panoscape, Where is the Oregon State tax information documented. Have been looking online but can't seem to find anything. Is it under OLCC or do I need to look at Department of Revenue? Thx

Where you guys located?

Nice video, but man, they need a grain conveyor!! :-)

I'm from Portland but unfortunately not in town for this. Give us a report ....

Sorry to bring back an old thread but is anyone using a wine press to separate out solids?

I have a single spigot model Enolmatic filler here and the plastic guide that is below the tapered gasket looks to measure right at 15mm. The bottom of the gasket blends right to this so at the very smallest point it would also be 15mm. Not sure if all models use the same size gasket but it looks like you might be able to squeeze by.

7-10 barrel brew system, just talking brew/wash batch capacity not spirit output. 10 barrel equal approx 300 gal.

Excellent point about the direct fire, it's common in brewing but maybe not so sensible for spirits. Thanks for your input ....

I am currently working on sizing some equipment and am looking at needing mash tun capacity in the 7-10 barrel range. I have a good understanding of the brew process but this would be my first shot at working with equipment in this size range. Questions are as follows: 1.) It seems I can buy 2 smaller 150 gallon mash tuns for roughly the same or even less than a larger 310 gallon unit. Two smaller units seem like they could give a bit more flexibility to my process and certainly be easier to deal with in some ways than the larger unit. Wondering how others have approached this and what the real world pros and cons are? 2.) If I go the larger rote I have the option of adding motorized rakes to stir the mash. Wondering how much efficiency is gained with having the rakes in place. 3.) On the larger unit there is also an option to go direct gas fired. In this case I assume the rakes would become mandatory. Wondering if others have gone this route and by doing so can one realistically eliminate the need for an HLT. Thanks,

What distillery are you interning at? I'm from the Portland area ....