Dehner Distillery

On 7/26/2017 at 4:54 PM, kelbor said:

Hey Joe, I really like you and often applaud your self proclaimed success in this industry.... but this advice you gave sucks in this context. I feel like this is exactly why our industry is in inner turmoil with true craft distillers trying to find a way to set our selves apart from rectifiers who claim to make "small batch" "locally distilled" " hand crafted" products from bulk spirits.  Yeah, ya could just buy the flavoring and be done with it - pour that flavoring into your bulk purchased NGS (I highly doubt you would want to ruin something that you put you heart and soul into) and sell as a craft produced product. Which is the equivalent, in my mind, of a small bakery decorating homemade cake with Betty Crocker frosting and calling it homemade.  Don't you make flavoring Joe, I remember a thread a while ago where you said you were producing one I think?

I guess the direction you choose will determine if you intend to make a unique craft product and sell at craft product prices. Or if you intend to make a mass-produced product you plan on marketing like a craft product.  

Yes, we can make flavoring. It spiced rum or any thing really it is much easier to make a "concentrate" and the add that to you batch for a way better control of your taste profile.

On the flip side, and I very much get your point about craft. You have to be able to make money. You can hug trees and distill only on full moons and stuff but if you don't make money....... well you just may have more time to hug trees.

We do both, make are own and buy flavors. We use only all natural flavors never any NA flavors, or A flavors. Like I said before we make a lot of money mixing flavors for people everyday (contract bottling work) I have about $15,000-$20,000 worth of flavor on hand at any given time. some by the gallon and some by the 5 gallon pail, as little as $135 per gallon and some as much as $995 per gallon..... but it gets the job done. 

PS - the $995 per gallon jug will flavor about 85,000 750ml bottles...its super concentrated. 

I can make any type of gin you want with my super gin flavor, about 2-3 cups of flavor into 330gallons of vodka, POOF!!!! the best darn gin you have ever tasted.........

Look to each there own, but I seen it take so much time doing it the hard way that would have been easier to not even make the product. I helped one company make a blue berry liquor one time (it was very good). They used a little over $5 per bottle production cost in wild hand picked blue berries, and to make a 35 gallon batch took 45hours worth of my time....... I felt bad so I used all natural flavor and had a blind taste test with the owners. LORDS TRUTH, they thought they had picked theres because it was so smooth, and the other was harsh and smelled and tasted fake..... but they really picked the one that I made with the flavoring. Guess the one they went with? Right, there high dollar one, now they are struggling because they have to sell it for so much money to pay for the production, plus it is made by hand in 35 g batches so they can't commit to new distributers because they don't have the capacity of production. The cost of the flavor sample I put together for them was about .18 - .22 per 750ml (far from $5+) plus I could make a 500 gallon tank full in about 30minutes.

It is all in what you want, and what you think your customers will pay for.

Please keep in mind the average customer could care less. just look at the flavored vodkas, flavored whiskeys, flavored anything...

In my biz I stopped saying I was CRAFT long ago. After I about went out of biz about 3 times in the first 2 years bring to be craft. I learned that it is about making money, so great products, great production methods, low over head, and some other magic. I reinvented my self and my business model, to be this "The craftier side of craft". Anyways, I just expanded for the 4th time now since starting 5 years ago.

Thanks and sorry for the long rant.

On 8/8/2017 at 2:04 PM, Silk City Distillers said:

Or just label as "Produced and Bottled By", and skip the pouring through the still entirely.

I am with this guy! No one even really knows what the wording on the back of the label means anyway.......

Ironton,

Good view. But you can drink a lot more beer than you can cocktails. Plus sounds like you are not serving beer.... 

I have not given in at all, as a matter of fact we just expanded again for the 4th time. I am one of the highest production distilleries in the mid-west. Not going to lie contract bottling is a great thing.

If we can just get this FET down..... O MAN..... let me spend some money......

Southernhigh..... seems like your guy needs a continuous still not pot stills.

I really like Glens rant.... I guess its how you look at it. I am super careful, but then you have people that just dive right in thinking they know everything. I have seen time and time again new distillers come into my place and see some of my used of re furb'ed equipment and think "gross or something like that" they go and buy brand new stuff.... now most are out of biz or on there way out, meanwhile I'm chugging along.

Best of luck to everyone. I never would wish anyone out of biz because that is not a road I would ever want to go down.....

buy the flavoring and be done.

don't be a super hero..... make money, don't waste time.

I just tell them what I want and they put them in. I normally go with 250f around the still. and normal 145f everywhere else. If it gets up to 250F you will pass out first...  :0)

never mind . problem solved.

bought a couple containers...

Any way...

Time to steer this train back on its tracks.

Prepare for the fallout..... 

I see it happening now. People selling off they equipment before they even use it. Other people snacking it up like candy only to maybe suffer the same fate because they are some how smarter.

Does the average person realize how many bottles it take to pay the monthly bills and pay for the loans and running cost. If you were to only pay in bottles how many would that be? Now how many bottles can you sell in a month, it is on thing to get your new product in the store but to get it out is another.

I know people that put so much money is making Bourbon, now it is starting to get over oaked so they are dumping and storing in totes because they can't sell there product very fast. They over produced. Think of all that money just sitting there....

I can't imagine someone thinking there going to hit it, they are going to do something thats never been done before...... more power to you.

call packing logistic  in MN they can get you a hand crimper. They can get you the pre- rolled caps also. 763-754-9461 Ask for Jim and tell him "Joe Dehner" sent you.

I got a semi auto one from UKS it is bad ass!  I have two heads, one for 750 and one for minis.

www.uksinc.com

I like it better than anything else because it is built in Italy, and Like a brick $hit house. And most important----- the head lowers to the bottle not the bottle raving to the head like the cheap china crap. When the head drops to the bottle then I can automate it in a line if i want.

I did have to buy it a plane ticket from Italy to the USA but it is so with it. I have done over a hundred thousand with my machine. And it is so easy to change sizes.

questions please call me at 515-559-4879

I have seen the same thing happen. That thick card stock is not good on round bottles.

I have a Surfox machine for doing just what your looking for.

I am spooling up to have a lot of fresh dumped barrels.

Mash, I would like to say that I am very sorry that you had to go through all of your hardships and the ups and downs. If feel it takes a very big man to tell a story as you did. I think very highly of you and always will. You are welcome at my place anytime. I truly wish great things for you in any new adventures.

Thanks &

Take care.

Duh, Of coarse they are there to protect.

My point is there is no set standard set by the city or the states. There are code books but the ones who sign off on the permits are not the same.

There is a reason I am where I am. Because across the street is a different town and they had a distillery classified one level above Nuclear Waste, and I am not joking. My city said something like "I have know idea what the heck they are thinking over there". 

On another note, We have a massive safety program our selves. "codes keep us safe" more like "We keep us safe". Like I want to blow my self up.......SIGN ME UP.....knock on wood..

Some cities are great to work with, some you will go broke tring to meet all the demands... Same goes for states, Iowa is awesome, Minnesota is an insane pain in the aspirin.

Just saying.

Take care, and good luck. 

Corn OIL.

Did you use RO water or what kind of water did you use?

does it settle out?

Looking to move these bottles. 

On 5/9/2017 at 1:31 PM, mcceramic said:

Hi. I'm interested in one of your plate chillers that is 4'x5'.  Is one still available?

yes it is.

We use several Sand Piper pumps, SS with teflon plates.

45gpm or more

Continuous still.

Get ahold of me if you want one.

man that code stuff sucks.

it is a biz killer

You could just destroy it.

If you are planning to fail right out of the gate then I would say don't start. 

I say that in a nice way. It is not a good mind set to have.

good luck.

It is shelf stable. We just completed the one year trial. It will last longer if you put it in the fridge.

We can make any proof. But the normal is 34 proof @ a certain thickness. If you go higher on the proof then it has to be thicker or when you thin it down it will be watery.

I have about 14,784 bottles to sell. 14 pallets, 88 cases per pallet. The cost is .30 cents and comes with a new White cardboard box, 12-pk case.

Bottles are 750ml. The cap is a standard 28mm TE cap. Kinda like a coke bottle cap.

I have caps too, or get them from BERRY.

This is the same bottle as "DI AMORE"

Please call or write.

515-559-4879

joseph@dehnerdistillery.com

des moines iowa

man o man......I fill 50ml bottles all the time. And that sounds like both ways you just said suck! The name of the game is you have to fill 50ml bottles just as fast as you fill a 750ml or it is not worth it. If you can fill 6 x 750ml in 30sec lets say then that means you have to fill 90 50ml bottles in the same time. It is all about time and profit. You are trying to pick up pennies while tripping over dollars.

We can fill and cap about 7500-9000 per hour. The profit is different then a 750ml. I find a lot of people that want to put there product in 50ml bottles for an all the time sell, but what you should do is just do it for samples.

I know a couple of craft distilleries that bought all kinds of old junky 50ml equipment, problem is it is old and junky and does not work, and the cost of retooling is more than they can afford. So now it sits in there distillery collecting dust and not making them any money.