Old Glory Distilling Co.

Tom, What make/model spirit pump are you using?

Thanks, Tom. Looks like exactly what we need. We also use a flexible impeller so hopefully this does the trick!

We're using 2" Glidetech Butyl hoses for transferring mash/wash and over time they've become stained from the molasses washes. We use 100% molasses for our rum, and the same type of "film" or "dirt" that is left behind in the fermentation tanks is what seems to be in the hoses as well. We are able to easily clean the fermentation tanks with PBW and a brush ... but not so much the hoses. Anybody have any suggestions as to what chemicals or "pipe cleaner" of sorts that we could run through the hoses to scrub them a bit? Thanks in advance.

Good to hear. Thanks, Indy.

Question for everyone using molasses for rum: What are you finding your ending gravity reading to be? For some background, our SG is 1.065 and we're finding that ours has been stalling around 1.020. I know molasses has some unfermentables in it ... but that seems like an awful lot of unfermentables. Before we pitch the yeast, we're adding a little less than a gram of DAP per gallon of wash. Right now we're using 100% molasses, but we may start experimenting with backing down the molasses % and using granulated sugar to make up the difference. I'm open to any and all comments and suggestions. Thanks.

Where are you located? We bought ours used from Zwirner Equipment in Hartsville, TN. It came from the dairy world, was fully insulated and jacketed, had an agitator already mounted, and they added a steam sparger to it for us. If they've got something on hand, I doubt the lead time on it will take you into 2017.

Great info. Thanks, Kris.

Thanks, Andy. About how hot is your water coming off the condenser?

We're working on putting a closed chilled water loop in place, but since it's taking us longer to get going on than we'd planned, we're going to go ahead and get started by hooking up our city water supply to the still condenser and dephlegmator just so we can start production. For those of you that are running your Vendome condenser off of city water, what size pipe do you have running to your condenser input? We have a 500 gallon pot still system, and the condenser input opening is 1-1/2". On top of that, Vendome only specs a working pressure of 15psi. I don't feel that running 1-1/2" copper pipe to the condenser is necessary (not to mention it's $$$), and if I can choke it down to maybe say 3/4", I think I'll get closer to their recommended operating PSI. Thanks for any thoughts and recommendations. -Matt

We're one big step away from being physically operational - the chilled water loop. After getting back a couple bids that were well over double what we'd budgeted, we've decided to take this one on ourselves. Right now, I've got one big question, but I'm sure there will be plenty more. The question is ... Do I need pumps on the return line to get the water back to the holding tank? Let me explain the system to help you better answer the question: The chilled water will be stored in a 3000 gallon poly tank that sits outdoors. The water will be chilled by a 35 ton glycol chiller and heat exchangerWater pumped from holding tank ---> into heat exhanger (with glycol loop on the other side of the heat-x) ---> then out to the distillery equipment ---> then returning back to the holding tank We have 8 pieces of equipment that need chilled water:​ 500 Gallon Vendome Pot Still (Dephlegmator and Condenser) 22' Dehner Continuous Still (Dephlegmator and Condenser) 1000 Gallon Jacketed Mash Cooker (Steam Sparged) (5) U-Jacketed Letina Fermentation Tanks Mike Gronski is helping me with the main pump and heat exchanger. I'm planning on a 3" main chilled water line. We will "drop" off of this main line to each piece of equipment. Depending on the pressure of the main pump, we may add pressure reducers before each piece of equipment. To keep everything nice and clean, everything needs to run overhead just like the steam pipe. The return lines also need to run overhead ... otherwise I'd let gravity take care of the issue. So ... Do I need pumps on the return line to get the water back to the holding tank? If so, any recommendations? And I'm all ears to everyone's 2 cents on the whole system. Big thanks in advance for any advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get into this. P.S. Don't try to drag-and-drop pictures onto a post. Your browser will simply open the picture ... in the same window/tab that you've been diligently writing your post in ... and you will have to start everything all over.

We used many of Donald's tools before he integrated them into his online platform. Having these tools was essential to forming our business plan. Highly Recommended.

2nd what Donald said! This is going to be BIG! Steve - could you post up another thread just for your website? I think some people may look over/never open the "Hello" posts. Thanks for putting this together!

Big thanks to all you guys for info and heads up. This is not exactly something I can upgrade (easily) down the road either. I think the 8" cast iron is the route we're going to go.

For the people using them, are 4" trench drains sufficient? We were planning on 6" to be on the safe side, but the only sizes the supplier we're dealing with sells are 4" and 8". We aren't planning on dumping spent mash or solids down the drain.

If I were to do it again, I'd try to strictly use Google Sheets. We used Excel and had the files shared across multiple computers through Dropbox. The problem we ran into was that multiple people/computers would have the file open, but only one person could make changes/see the changes (without saving, closing, reopening the file). If both people/computers made different changes on the file at the same time, we would end up saving over each other's work. I think Office 365 would fix this problem, but we were only working with Office 2013. With Google Sheets, all changes are live the moment they're made. Everybody can work on and see the changes others are making as they're happening. Not to mention - Google Sheets is free.

Thanks, James. I found the unit you use and it looks like the cream of the crop. Very nice. Thanks for the info on the temperature ranges as well. Very good to know.

What temperature does everybody keep their hot water for equipment washdown hoses? And what type of water heater are you using? Tankless/On-Demand? Tank Type? We'll be using natural gas whichever route we end up taking. Thanks

Hey Andrew, I think the general consensus from everybody is that it's going to depend on your location. When I estimated for my traffic, I polled distilleries with a location similar to mine. I was also very fortunate to have a winery located right down the street from my location that was able to fill me in on their estimated tourist and tour bus numbers. After I felt I had a conservative traffic estimate, the percentage of people who bought a bottle was next. I consistently heard 50% to 75%. For my business model, I'm using 60% and feel like I'm being conservative. I'm not up and running yet, so others on here who are can probably give you a better idea. Hope it helps.

Since the EU has very strict GMO regulations, are there issues with using genetically modified grains with spirits you plan on selling overseas?

First of all, my introduction is long overdue. This forum has been instrumental in guiding me through everything from the initial idea to where I am today. Ideas are finally coming off paper … and consequently, money is leaving the bank account! It’s definitely an exciting time. Old Glory Distilling Co. will be located in Clarksville, TN. Bourbon will be the primary product, but as with many of you here, unaged spirits will be what keeps the lights on while the bourbon ages. I’ve had the opportunity to meet or speak with a few of you already, and I can't wait to meet many more of you in the near future.