whiskeytango

can you reverse the pump and suck it back out?  

14 minutes ago, KRS said:

Irradiation is done with microwaves.

The definition of organic is not the issue.  The issue is labeling a bottle of spirits "organic."  The spirit is not organic--the ingredients used to make it were produced with organic methods.  The resulting spirit is not superior to a spirit produced with non-organic ingredients.  Irradiation, "organic spirits," etc, are misleading in terms of the benefits or detriments.  Because people want it, doesn't make the customer right.  Ignorance is just as endemic as alternative facts--undoubtedly linked to each other.  Additionally, many farmers produce "pesticide free," which means exactly that, but don't go through the difficult process of getting their "organic" designation.  Are the farms in their vicinity spraying madly, spewing into the atmosphere where they infiltrate the "pesticide free" crops?  Possibly.  I do think making the effort to produce crops and raise livestock in ways that limit the detriment to our earth is admirable.  I don't think those who make the effort have the right to imply that it's a superior method that results in a superior product when it's not.  People are being tricked into believing that they are getting a benefit from the product itself, not that purchasing the product is one more for Mother Earth although not intrinsically different from any other spirit they could have bought.   I do believe I'm getting too annoyed about the fact that the central issue  has not been addressed by the distillers that use organically produced ingredients.  

Good to know i cant label my product "organic" thanks for the info and i guess time to get my labels re printed. 

We use roughly 2 cubic feet of granulated carbon and filter about 10,000 gallons.

But seriously you do see your asking a un answerable question.  What might be filtered enough for you may not be enough for someone else, or vise versa. Your distillate might not be as pure as someone else or more pure.  How do you ferment? fast and hard? Slow with lest off flavors? How many plates are you running? How good are you at running said plates?  Or do you just think your good at running your still? 

Just do what you think works for you and call it good the thing with this business is there are very few hard yes and no answers. 

Where is the push coming from for the state to make this change?    Its always hard going agains the state.   

So you can basically act like a bar now without having to have a bar license?  Thats a sweet deal.  

Seriously the spam is insane. 

so you think most are not using real botanicals just extracts?  When i have tested mine with real botanicals i get a really funky yellow opaque colored spirit.   

So are most amaro's macerated then re distilled like you would a gin?  

Where are you guys getting your food grade caustic?  I see lots of sources on the internet but I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for and want to make sure i grab the correct food grade stuff 

2 minutes ago, nabtastic said:

Since we are reviving an old thread... get a pH stabilizer or be prepared to continually adjust your pH up with a strong base. There's not enough chalk or baking soda in the world to balance out a sugar wash 

any recommendations?

Ok so there is no down tube inside the still kettle that pushes the reflux form the column back down into the wash? There usually is a p trap at the bottom of each column and a down tube into the kettle. 

 Have you contacted the manufacture? 

3 hours ago, ThatDrunkenBird said:

I have a consistent problem with vapor traveling from my boiler to my column via the return pipe. There is no P-trap on the return or downspout in the boiler. The vapor causes flooding in the lower plates and oddly enough plate 7 of my DYE 16 bubble plate column. Because of this I have to constantly drain certain plates and this throws the entire system off and effects my collect rate, temp and proof. I have, through a lot of babysitting, chainsmoking, hairpulling and valve manipulating, gotten the system to run smoothly without flooding any plates. However, I feel like a downspout in the boiler or a P-trap just outside the return line would immediately remedy these issues. 

Does anyone have a system that also lacks a downspout or vapor trap? How do you prevent vapor from creeping up the return?

When you say "boiler" are you talking about the still kettle or the actual boiler that is providing steam to your still?

Got it,  So the drain line back to the kettle was not designed properly allowing vapor and mash to go up it.   Yeah that could cause problems  

Thats nuts.  How did it build up enough pressure to blow the hatch open?  

If its just for your family and your not hoping to distribute just ship it to them.  Not like your family is going to run to California ABC and turn you in.  

4 minutes ago, vsaks said:

@whiskeytango,
  we are just running water now for testing, and the condensed water is cool to touch. So I doubt any of the vapor is not condensing.

 

The vapor can push strait through the the condenser without spending enough time in it to even heat the water.  Just because you have cold condensing water coming out doesn't mean its cooling all the vapor.     What is the condenser look like?  Call the still maker and ask them WTF.  

It looks like maybe its not cooling all the vapor back down to liquid and its forcing a bubble out the parrot.  As mentioned a breather would help but it might just start spilling out vapor into the air.   Id put a breather on first and see if all the vapor is condensing back down and if it is still pulsing then add a surge breaker. 

Good luck that looks scary

Has the still maker had any advice?

15 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said:

Guy who manages cooling systems told me to treat it like a fish tank.

Hope the fish don't get sucked into the hose.

So far they have been great to deal.  Still should be here in a couple weeks so we will see. 

What does the still manufacture have to say? They might have some advice. 

Sales projections are going to be nothing but a shot in the dark.  I have seen distilleries open after 5 years of planing and spending millions of dollars with less than 50 cases of sales per month after a year and distilleries opening in less than a year of planning under 60k and selling a hundred cases after the first 6 months.   Not saying its a crap shoot but there is a lot more that goes into a successful distillery than a well written business plan and a bunch of money.   

Plan yes but don't let the business plan hold you back.  

1 hour ago, Silk City Distillers said:

It would be near impossible for a newcomer to be able to pull off that kind of workflow project, they just don't have the context and experience necessary.

It's probably how most of us would approach building our second distillery though.

Totally agree.  Our first location we started with just a open area and let thing live where they ended up the most.   For our second location i have had tape makes on the ground for months making sure it will flow.  

Sorry i posted my last comment before i saw your response.   Boiling chips.. Hm i agree never would have thought about needing them.  Are you thinking that it was boiling then stoping then boiling then stoping?  Causing the pulsing? 

I get this a little bit when I’m running to much heat to the kettle and also real cold water to the condenser.  

who made your still. Do they have any recommended fixes?