ebstauffer

http://www.ttb.gov/rulings/87-3.htm

IIRC, you can a label is a "colored and flavored with oak chips / staves / dust /". I'll see if I can dig it up.

Are you running the whiskey column and the vodka column in series? Regarding the bottom trays stacking, often if there isnt a trap on the return drain you can get vapors coming up through the drain naturally condensing on the the bottom few trays. What brand of still is it?

If you're making whiskey on a 4-tray column you can get away with a 14' ceiling. I'd be hesitant to sign a lease with much less as it makes dealing with stacking / forklifts / general maneuverability a challenge. Can you give us a bit more info on the type of equipment your considering?

Very good point about the husk -- no lack of "boiling husk == astringency" comment in the brewing fora. We do in fact use a 4-tray column but only stack them for heads compression and to hold back the tails. I'll see if I can regrind our crushed malt into somethign resembling flour and run a test batch. Thanks for all the thoughts.

I dont know of anyone who boils their mash ( or at least brings to 170F after sach rest). Am I missing something here? Obviously I do when cereal mashing but I certainly dont with malted (or raw) rye/wheat/barley/etc.

Ahh I see what you mean. We buy molasses after the first spin -- TSAI between 69 - 71%. The low grade, what you would call blackstrap is between 45 - 50% TSAI. I've never been able to get a molasses flavor from a cane sugar wash.

I assume (but havent asked) that he would prefer not to have unsanitized wort go through the chiller -- they're not exactly pleasant to clean. You really don't want to denature the enzymes; you want them to keep chugging along converting every spec of starch to sugar.

To date we have produced both our peated and unpeated single malt spirit by making wort in a traditional "beer-for-drinking" method -- add crushed grain to mash tun, sach rest, drain, sparge. We've partnered with a near-by brewer using his brewhouse as our cooker doesn't have a false-bottom. Wanted to see if anyone here has done a methodology comparison between a "scotch style" lautered mash (wort?) and a grain-in mash using the same grain, yeast, and fermentation. Frankly it's a bit of a pain to haul the grain to the brewhouse, mash, transfer to totes, cool, then haul them back and transfer to a fermenters. The brewer is a bit reluctant to let us use his chiller / hose as the wort is (obviously) never boiled. Fair enough I suppose. Thoughts?

We use Terraspice: https://www.terraspice.com/ Couldnt be happier.

>> You have to remember that when it is heated up some of the sugars will caramelize. Can you help me understand the above? Heated up when and to what temp? Edit: Just looked at my candy thermometer -- sugar doesnt start to carmelize until well above 300 F. Im more confused than ever.

1020 seems high. When the fermentation stops what is the pH and temp? Perhaps the temp as Skaa says drops too low or your pH is bottoming out. What's the TSAI of the molasses? What nutes are you using? Yeast? I generally always have rum from molasses stop at 1000. Remember although there are solids in molasses that skew the gravity up, you're also producing ethanol with a SG of 0.787.

I assumed (wrongly perhaps) that he was flavoring 40% which would make it a flavored vodka rather than a liqueur. Regardless, he's not adding caffeine citrate or something like that. Thanks for the reference.

Although no expert Im generally familiar with the contributions Mr. Coffey has made. However I can't figure what cooling the column would do. Wouldn't that just induce more reflux in the column? Did the cool the stripping or rectification section? I dont think I've ever seen a continuous column with tray bypass mechanisms but it's not beyond imagination. Suppose I should just head over to Cincy for an afternoon and check it out. Eric

Can you give up some info re: current mash bill & procedures?

There are two flavors -- either direct immersion (an impossibility for grain-in distilling) or bain marie. Generally you'll get a 2" triclamp ferrule tigged to either the pot or the jacket and then some flavor of element guard. I dont think you can beat the StillDragon kit: http://stilldragon.com/index.php/accessories/element-connections/element-guard-kit.html Nice heavy NPS threaded TC endcap for the element, other endcap with hole for cordgrip and a tiny slot that lets you know if you have any leaks. Only complaint I could come up with is that it's a wee bit bulky. It's what we use for our 30 gallon recipe development bain marie still.

>>Try Donald at whiskey resources. using his program and it just keeps getting easier I second this.

>> For my part (being something of a purist) the idea of producing whiskey from a 60' column still strikes me as heresy. How in the world are they pulling it off at under 160 pf?? Must be pumping in beer at around .05% ABV.

Duly noted. Thanks Ned. Most of my BAM reading occurs during bouts of insomnia -- it's a sure cure. I appreciate the clarification. Re: New Riff -- seems the marketing department substituted "distilling" for "mashing". Thanks.

Jeff, What got me onto this tangent was that I was reading the website of New Riff Distilling in Newport, KY. There is an odd little blurb saying: The part that intrigued me is But we also have a unique side conveyor that allows us to add any grain at will into the distilling process What exactly does that mean? Are they dynamically mixing/matching mash as it's pumped into the column? That doesn't sound correct as they mention storage silos. Perhaps they are dynamically augering grist into mash cookers?? As for the mixing new make -- you're onto exactly what I was thinking -- mix the best 100% spirit for bourbon and as long as you don't overstate the age (e.g. age statement would be the lowest of the constituent spirits) I would think it fine. I'll see if I can get a definitive response from TTB (I know, humorous). Eric

I certainly am aware of the regs per BAM regarding bourbon. Over the Memorial Day weekend I got to thinking about the 51% requirement (and this could go for any name whiskey -- rye, wheat, malt). Must the mash meet the percentage requirements or does it only matter what goes in the bottle. For example, can I ferment, distill, and store individual new make spirits then blend (to the appropriate percentage requirements) / proof immediately prior to bottling and meet the BAM definition? Furthermore what does the 51% actually mean? Grain weight pre-mashing? If so I can find no definite supporting statement. Your thoughts?

>> and include a Speedy aging process Good luck!

Replying to my own post... We considered the 60° to accommodate the rum & single malt styles as it would be useful to leave the yeast cake behind. I suppose we could have another TC fitting tigged to the 15° to pull the beer out from above the cake.

Caveat lector http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm234109.htm

Our small distillery is expanding and are ready to order fermenters. Previously we used HDPE totes which have served us quite well (we'll have a dozen free for pickup once these are delivered). We're moving toward 2500 L stainless fermenters. Looking for some input on bottom design. Our primary products are a single malt style whiskey, grain-in whiskeys, and rum. We're considering: 60° conical 15° conical slope bottom We're leaning toward the 15° conical. Any input on these styles?