Sorghumrunner

I love the Panela sugar. It's definitely different than molasses based rum, likely not for everyone. It really does have similarities to Agricole. We've been aging for 16 months and will be releasing it soon. I also have a true rhum agricole that I'll be releasing later this year.

Logistically speaking, I think it should be totally possible. You would need to find a frozen storage warehouse near the cane farmer, and arrange the transportation and such. I sometimes send fresh pressed apple juice to a nearby frozen storage facility. I pay something like $20/tote for check in processing, $20 for flash freezing, $20/month for storage, and another $20 per tote for removing them from storage. Then of course you would need to ship refrigerated up to your facility. I find that a frozen tote in room temp seems to take 7-9 days to thaw to the point I can get a heat spear into it. One interesting thing that happens with the apple juice is that the sugars concentrate when frozen, then sink to the bottom when thawed. Then the top of the juice is very low brix, and the bottom is higher. I can pull off some of that 'water' and have a higher brix juice for fermenting.

Thanks guys, that is helpful to clear it up. I like the second suggestion, that product is proofed to bottling strength in storage, then only what is sent to the bottler enters into processing. Therefore what is leftover stays in storage and goes back to a barrel comingled with other product in the same account. Does that follow guidelines DHDunbar? If not, then having 2-5 PG that stay in Processing not commingled with storage spirits would work, though I couldn't keep them in a barrel.

Hey y'all, I've been trying to figure this out. At the end of bottling runs, i sometimes have several proof gallons left over of a spirit. I can't figure out the proper way to send gauged proof gallons back to storage. It seems that I either have to send them back to production for 'redistilling', or possibly hold them in the processing account until the next time that I bottle. I'm talking about aged spirits that have been transferred to processing, proofed down to 80 proof, and are left over after a bottling run. I try to get as precise as possible when transferring barrel proof spirits to processing, but sometimes end up with more than I wish to bottle. Why can't these be dumped back into storage?

I think the Panela has a bit of a briney taste, similar to a rum agricole, at least depending on the yeast used. I find a lot of customers don't have a wide knowledge of spirits, so things either taste like tequila, whiskey, scotch, or moonshine. I like the panela, but it doesn't have the same bottom end as a molasses rum. I wonder if some folks are blending. I've had mine in barrel for 13 months, and it is getting close, but does seem hotter than my other spirits even with longer aging. Has anyone else had issues contacting Sugardaddy recently? I've been waiting for a while on an order...

Drink recipes are allowed? What about a recipe that includes another brands spirit?

Read about the fuss from the religious community in your area. That looks ridiculous! Any reason they decided to focus on your distillery? I wish that our brand had enough market penetration to actually be a significant cause of degradation in the community! Just kidding, but seriously, do they have any idea who is buying craft spirits?

So, if you were going to produce an infused (Flavored) Vodka from purchased NGS would you: 1. submit a single formula where you take 190 proof NGS, carbon filter or redistill it to create Vodka, then infuse the vodka with your flavoring 2. submit two formulas, one for making Vodka from 190 proof NGS via filtration or redistillation, and another for infusing the vodka with your flavoring how much detail does TTB require of your NGS --> Vodka process?

mind sharing what route you decided on for vodka filtration?

Get a 2" mpt to slip pvc fitting from the hardware store, that goes in the bung in the lid of an IBC. For initial heavy fermentation I just cover the hole with cheese cloth to keep out any vectors. When the fermentation slows down, if i need to hold the mash for a few days, I use a Silicone fitting from the home brew store that fits into the 2" PVC Slip fitting, and a standard homebrewers airlock.

I did not mean to suggest he was a scammer, and I shouldn't speak before I've actually reached out. but i do feel like there is a lot more PM'ing going on the forums nowadays, when it used to be that real info would get posted. any time I see PM me, I assume it means you're about to get signed up for some paid consulting. i think there is a lot of value in paid consulting, but this forum used to be much more about spreading knowledge through the distilling community, and now it seems to be mostly newbies and consultants. rant over.

I am selling to them with my wines. They weren't too bad to deal with, or haven't been so far. Start with corporate, and then you begin dealing with the store managers. Much easier than Whole Foods, so far!

It seems like these forums have taken the jump over the shark, from a great place to share ideas and experience between distillers, to a hunting ground for consultants and salesman. No offense to InsuranceMan, I'm sure that you do have some great info I can purchase. I reckon it's the growth of the industry, and the first to get paid are the consultants. of course, i'm the one fishing for some free knowledge, which perhaps just doesn't come cheap.

so cost includes... feedstocks, what else, some amount of labor costs, utilities, rent, etc? or just feedstock inputs?

Working on inventory for end of year with the CPA. Trying to figure out how to value spirits aging. Feedstock cost? plus labor/utilities? Something less than wholesale value? IS there any sort of industry rule of thumb for this?

sounds like a deal, and I reckon I'd need to come over to Hawaii to pick it up, yeah?

And there is a pretty wide range of Amaro liqueurs with other colors, many are just caramel brown. Suze uses yellow five for that nasty yellow color they have. There are a couple of red Absinthe's on the market, Atelier Vie and others, I wonder how they're getting that red color.

Take a look at the BAM Chapter 7. Rum may contain Harmless Flavoring Coloring Blending Blending Material not to exceed 2-1/2% by volume of the finished product with no label disclosure required. http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam/chapter7.pdf

I also can't imagine that dunder would be used to color finished product. I use it in my rum and sorghum fermentations, but no way I'd put it in finished spirit. That being said, I am interested in production of caramel for coloring. If anyone with experience could share any tips on that I'm all ears.

here's some pricey options... http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_material-handling+bucket-drum-tote-heaters

I'm looking for a source for less than a pallet of Apple Juice concentrate, must be domestically produced. Any ideas? 1800-2200 lbs.

Mile Hi in Colorado sells copper mesh by the lb. as well as Amphora Society in Washington.

i use a 5000lb forklift that I borrow from our friendly neighbors, for offloading trucks and moving totes. But I want a very small 1-2000lb forklift that can navigate my tight barrel rooms. maybe even a walk behind. seems like anything less than $10k is gonna be well used. even the used forklift dealers I've talked to don't deal with lifts less than $10k.

$2.75/gallon or so seems to be what you can find for nc juice. Most all of it is up in the mountains, and there are very few if any orchards doing 'traditional' cider apples.

wow, that's a good price. I think it must be pretty dependent on where you are located, what the orchards are like in your area.