absaroka

The machine is electric (120V), but the actuator is pneumatic (air). Takes a small compressor to run it....

They were bought out.

LabelOne VERT labeling machine with optional optical position sensor ($8800 new). Works flawlessly. Easy to set up and operate and can be integrated in to a conveyor system for fully automated operation. Selling for $3000 FOB 59718

Updated spreadsheet located at the top....

This is the "high alcohol" version with pyrex housings as well as the filter unit. Going for $4k new from St. Pats

Updated spreadsheet as of 5/3. I will update on Monday 5/8 for any outstanding invoices and leftover equipment. I'm giving people 3-5 days to pay. Then it goes back for sale.

@JoshGreenDoorDistilling, photo links are working for me and some of the others that have contacted me. @Georgeous, brand and model numbers are in the excel spreadsheet in the first post.

MOST EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SOLD OR IS WAITING FOR PICK UP. If anything is left I will make a separate posting for it.

More details to be found here: http://www.montanawhiskey.com/whiskey/the-distillery/job-openings/

First off John, congrats on opening! 23 months isn't bad. We've definitely racked up some cell phone minutes over that time. Glad to see you off the ground. You're a guy I consider someone with their "head on straight". No BS. With that said.... I disagree with most everything you mentioned. More government, more bureaucracy, more layers of "filth" to sift through?!? All for another silly warning label?!? The feds, state, and local government do a fine job of setting enough hoops to jump through. I'm with "bioviper" here, the public will vote with their wallets. The majority of the general public are pretty good about sniffing out bullshit (especially when it comes to consumer goods). It happened with the craft beer industry. Darwinism. As far as titles, that's semantics. Nobody gains unwavering public trust with a title (within reason). If one sleeps better at night with a self-proclaimed title, so be it. I'm a "master" of many things in my own mind... my wife tells me otherwise. Qualifications/Standards I might be on board with that idea, but not exactly how you describe it. One should/could be categorized as a "distillery" or an "independent bottler" or whatever (definitions excluded for boredom's sake and for the sake of pissing some board members off). A random example: on the bottle define the grain source, distillation method, and aging technique (if applicable). If you don't make it, then define your bulk spirits source (legal preclusion may hamper this). If anyone cries foul with this, then they shouldn't be doing it. Why hide it? There's your consumer transparency. There’s your truth in advertising. Fanciful words be damned. Even clothing tags are required to mention where they are made and of what materials. BTW, I've seen plenty of "PE-stamped" projects/products that are absolute garbage. What makes spirits special? Something someone puts in a gas tank is far different than perceptive taste quality of a distilled spirit. Apples and oranges, in my opinion. Certifications of "quality" Most of us here are selling liquor, not a cancer-curing magic pill. Liquor liability insurance is already a necessary evil. Need it be more of a hassle? Furthermore, quality is too subjective. Do we need to perform some sort of gas chromatography analysis and attach the results to each of our products to prove what is/isn't in them? The consumers will quickly discard such "certifications" and pour themselves a dram. I guarantee it. Does anyone read the "Government Warning" disclaimer? Not unless they're loaded.... and just for fun at that point. The only thing I hear when I read your post is FDA regulation. Beer/wine/spirits guys and gals everywhere are shuddering at the thought. "Quality" Example: Drinking a certain major brand of beer gives me a really bad hangover after 3 bottles, and it hurts my aging body, but nobody is warning me about that except my body. Others around me can drink 12 bottles of said beer and be fine. Is that a "quality" issue? Maybe. Maybe not. Again, too subjective. In the spirit of the original post in this thread, and correlating with John's concerns about harm to the industry, yeah you're sort of on point. Talking smack isn't going to lift you up, but pointing out differences in how things are made is warranted. Maybe some DSP up the road is making hooch out of leftover feed stock, fermenting it with wild yeast they collected off of a donkey, and distilling it in their steel-toed work boot (obvious exaggeration here). Maybe the consumer hates it (to continue the hypothetical situation). Maybe another DSP is making spirits from certified local organic grain, fermenting it with the care of a brewer, and distilling it in a custom copper pot still. Perhaps that consumer loves that spirit. Points of clarification to the consumer may be in order. Maybe some other DSP is purchasing bulk products and passing off as their own while another DSP strives to form relationships with local farmers and sweats their ass off taking the grain from that farmer's field and producing a finished bottled product that they oversaw the entire way (at very minimal profit I might add). Do we just chalk all of that up to "caveat emptor" or do we tell the customer that there's better made/better tasting (or add another so-called marketing statement descriptor here) hooch out there being crafted in exceptional ways?? Micro or Macro, the point is moot. It's a two-sided coin... but I get what you're saying. Cheers! Bryan Master Tank Scrubber

Yes. Already have their replacements online.

We make whiskey from local grains all day, every day. The end.

***SOLD 2/10/2012*** Specs: 400 gal fermenting capacity each Dish bottom Cooling jackets (only used water in them, but are rated for glycol) 1.5" TC center and bottom outlets Open tops with stainless (hinged) lids Leveling feet Oak clad (decorative) with copper retaining hoops One temp probe port in the back and one temp probe port on the front Used to ferment all-grain whiskey mashes from 2007 (new) until Dec 2011. Dimensions: 78" tall with legs/tops 55" outside diameter 48" inside diameter 62" inside height (to top of dish) Weight: 1050lbs each $3800 each or $7000 for the pair FOB Bozeman, MT 59718, skid mounted/shrink wrapped/ready to ship. ***SOLD 2/10/2012***

This sounds simple, but, start with a trademark attorney. Also: http://www.uspto.gov/

I'll put my recommendation in for Label One Connect in Beaverton, OR. Great unit, very well built, and made right here in the USA. We are using the VERT machine. Check them out: http://www.labeloneconnect.com/

I have a pdf with the IFC/IBC codes for storage and operations.... too big to post here apparently. PM for the file.

Nope. Their pots are, indeed, used. For their regular Woodford product, it is a mix of what is made on site there as well as Old Forester (made in Shivley/Lousiville). Basically it's the same bourbon mash, just one is made in pot stills and the other in a continuous column. The "Master's Collection" releases from Woodford are pure pot still whiskey.

Interesting. We've never had issues with this so-called "bloom" with our stored bottles. A manufacturer told me it was a film leftover from the production process and not cleaned off properly/fully.

Who says it's a "shot across the bow"? I've met the good people at Woodford. Several times, in fact. They have pot stills. Their operation is small (comparatively speaking). They produce a "Master's Collection" that is decidedly outside the box (compared to many industrial distilleries). They're output is small, and it would be even smaller if not for their parent blend of Old Forester. I would venture to guess that a few ADI members could be well on their way to produce as much, or more, than Woodford. Who cares?

Please explain...

Hey Phil, We've had that before... and "don't worry about it" is not the route you want to go. We had to rinse all of the bottles in a water/vinegar (I think a 3 or 4:1) solution and then an RO water bath to rid them of the haze, or "bloom". Just a quick dunk and they were crystal clear... but it added some unnecessary long hours to bottling. You could always try to fill a few of them and see how they look. Film on inside could potentially cloud the product. Film on the outside looks like shit, IMHO.

When we first started up we had several "issues" with local compliance officials. This instigated a prolonged educational process on the distilled spirits world to our code officials and eventually everything worked out. One thing that was brought up by the ICC official and forwarded to our local officials was exactly what you are talking about, EU vs US certifications for equipment. Basically they said one certification doesn't automatically mean it will pass for the other (like our DOT and the EU's TUV). The only reason we side-stepped this issue was that our equipment was made by Vendome and all certifications could be traced back to them (either on CAD drawings or other digging). I can post the exact email from the ICC rep sans the direct references to our operations and names of individuals involved if that helps. Good luck!

Check this thread out: http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=1687 Also look to Stranahan's as their mash bill is similar to a Scottish Ale.

There are some plate and frame chillers out there that can handle solids (either in plate design or gasket thickness). They can be pricey depending on you cooling medium (water or glycol). Tube in shell coolers, in my experience, are about the same price or a bit cheaper but at the expense of size (again, based on cooling medium). A cooling jacket/coil is your cheapest route.