ebstauffer

Had a problem reported to me this morning (please don't laugh). Got a call that operator neglected to dose rum "mash" with nutrients and yeast last Saturday. They came in this morning and batch was bubbling away. Clearly a sanitation or wild yeast issue. I suggested they dose with 20 mg/liter of K metabisulfite, let sit 24 hours then add nutrients and pitch yeast at normal rate. Clearly yield will suffer. I was tempted to have them let it ferment out, distill, and see what they came up with.

I'm just curious what others might have recommended in this situation.

Re: Mike & TCW -- great guy / business to deal with. Highly recommended. Not affiliated other than a happy customer.

>> but cam lock is even better for anything that is disconnected or reconected on a daily basis.

I must agree with Steven 110%. Although the initial investment is greater, purchasing equipment, hoses, pumps, etc with camlock rather than triclamp is money very well spent. It's infinitely easier to connect camlock fittings by yourself that triclamp.

With all of the new suppliers coming online my biggest concern is how the wood from which the staves are made have been aged. I'm certain I've read somewhere that wood should be aged at least three years before being milled into staves. I'll see if I can't find the reference.

Edit: I can't find the reference. Anyone?

25 psi? I call bullshit.

>> but in my opinion it's 90% marketing

Only 90%?? ;-)

>> So yes, you might want to increase some of the hyssop for increased initial color, to anticipate the fade.

We found hyssop increases thujone levels more than pontica. Have you found that to be true?

To what volume of distillate are you adding the coloring herb bill?

Welcome to making absinthe. Fun isn't it. At what temp are you conducting your coloring step? That seems like of lot of botanicals in your coloring step.

Does it spread like the dickens by seed as well, or would potting it keep it neatly contained?

Pontica spreads by creeping rhyzomes. I've had about the same luck controlling roman wormwood has I have with lemon balm and mint.. that is to say "very little".

PET bottles for craft spirits? What am I missing?

Your own garden! Seriously, it grows like a weed -- a vicious weed. If memory serves you should plan on about 10 grams / liter of distillate for coloring. I too had a very difficult time sourcing. Artemisia absinthium (grand wormwood) is trivial to find. Petite (also called roman) wormwood -- Artemisia pontica -- is a challenge. I'm in USDA Zone 5 and have no problem with it wintering over. My only challenge is keeping it contained. Let me know if you want a start once it comes up here in a few weeks.

As for sourcing, search for a few of the gin threads here regarding vendors and try contacting them.

I bit of googling yielded: http://www.absintheherbs.com/Imported-Pontica-5-per-1-ounce.htm

Just did some quick searching, and it looks like credit for that idea should go to Southernhighlander.

Read Andrew Jefford's Peat Smoke and Spirit. Scots have been doing it for while.

Check out herb hammer mills on amazon.

I have tried hitting the still with full steam without much luck.

That's certainly not what I expected you to say! I would guess one of two things. If you're running a plated column perhaps your turndown ratio is too high by overcooling the dephlegmator. Otherwise, I'd look to your boiler: make sure it isn't flooding or dry firing (more accurately not firing if the LWCO has activated). Check that all valves are open (I would imagine you'd get horrible water hammer if they weren't) and that your condensate return pump (fickle bastards that they are) is working correctly.

Tell us about your still. As the kettle contents drifts more toward water the BP will increase. If you're unable to progressively add more heat to the pot to meet the demand of boiling the contents that which you describe coudl occur.

Using an RO system will be faster and cheaper than distilling your own water. You also need to consider opportunity cost of producing your own distilled water.

If we're throwing out names, Forsyths in Scotland is the way to go -- http://www.forsyths.com/distillation/pot-stills/

Edit: add link

Questions you need to be asking:

1. What product do I want to produce

2. How much do I want to produce

3. What's my budget

Check with your local municipality, our sewer agreement has the following clause:

Solid or viscous substances and/or other Pollutants which may cause obstruction to the flow in a Sewer or other Interference with the operation of the Sewage Disposal System such as, but not limited to, grease, Garbage other than Properly Shredded Garbage, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, tar, asphalt residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud or glass grinding or polishing wastes, or tumbling and deburring stones;

I'm assuming from your spelling of "ton" you're from either up north or way to the east and are referring to the "long" ton (tonne?) which is 2,240 pounds. A US gallon (128 oz) of etoh weighs 6.59 pounds. 40,000 long tons of etoh = 13,596,358 gallons of ethanol. You're probably posting in the wrong forum.

>> All I am looking for is corn in sacks available in the cracked "grind" for lautering purposes.

Unfortunately, that's never going to be possible. Once corn is gelled to make starch accessible, it's a pudding-like mess. Traditional / beer lautering methods simply won't work. As for corn, you need to know Indiana produces something like a billion bushels (seriously) of corn annually. Is it intended for animal feed? Well, yes, as is all corn that used in distilling. It's most likely #2 yellow dent corn some of which goes to the cows, some of which goes to making ethanol.

I cant fathom why you would using anything but corn for, well, corn. Here in Indiana we get it milled, bagged, and delivered for about 15 cents a pound.

>> It's obvious, I know, but you'll also want to insulate your condensate return lines.

Shit. Never even considered this. And they're trivial to insulate compared to steam supply lines. Thanks!

>> One of the pigs is pregnant. The Brix reading shows no alcohol content but the farmer is still nervous about giving her any. Anyone dealt with this?

Brix is a measure of grams of sucrose per 100ml of solution. It has nothing to do with alcohol content. The farmer we work with takes absolutely everything, stinky or not.