Falling Rock

I think I worry more about the city than the state. The feds and most states have been there and done it. There is an example to be followed. However, it will be a NEW endeavor for a lot of cities. This is where your demeanor kicks in. Be easy and ready to bend or the city will break you financially. Water, sewage, fire, tax division,...

Beautiful...as always!

If it is a stripping run on the same recipe, add all you got. I set a max of 25% of the total alcohol in the pot.

O.k. let's go...this article should get it going. If not, I have other research papers on EC. Whiskey Science ...Saturday, October 18, 2014 Copper Product Condensers http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com/ "Ethyl carbamate (EC, urethane) was a hot topic in the 1980s, as it was found to be carcinogenic and to increase during maturation phase of spirits. At the time various whiskies, especially grain or bourbon whiskies from stainless steel column stills were producing spirits with way too much EC and the concentrations seemed only to increase during maturation. It was found that copper in the ascending phase on still decreased EC dramatically and copper was (re)introduced into column stills. Adversely copper salts in the new make does catalyses the EC formation during the maturation, so most grain distillers use only stainless steel in the condensers to diminish the amount of copper residues in the new make. " Best, think copper in ascending and Stainless in descending. You can buy a SS Product condenser far cheaper than you can build and they are stack-able. A 4" x 24" product condenser may or may not handle vapor from a 700 gallon boiler, but two or three of them will!

The Break Outs were "fluid" right up to start last year. That doesn't mean some of the last minute replacements won't be good. Besides, we now know the InsuranceMan will be there!

Can't you obtain your "unique microbiome" by having wood in the ferment tank rather than the tank being of wood?

Tell him to get that wrench away before he scratches that beautiful thing!

Very nice, option, Teton.

I don't buy the idea that an employee should have to make the case for a raise. If he's nothing more than physical labor, and has to be supervised...min wage is fine. If he's valuable to you, you the employer, should take care of the employee. Hire the level you need, and pay them what you'd expect to get paid! You get what you pay for!

27 lbs is a little much... A growing beef cow should eat 4-8lbs a day in grain. Depends on how good the grass is. Good grass, less grain. And grain should be no more than a third of it's total diet. We have three cows...in the summer they get about 80 lbs grain total a week, in the winter 120 lbs. Chickens and pigs can eat more % grain in their diet. Here's a study on feeding cows stillage. Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) 400 page PDF with chapters specific to pigs, sheep goats, chickens, horses,... http://www.ddgs.umn.edu/prod/groups/cfans/@pub/@cfans/@ansci/documents/asset/cfans_asset_417244.pdf Basically says it's all good and gives the specs and rates of feed. I want to keep it for my animals, expand the herd, but trying to figure out how to dry it and store it economically. Doesn't mean you can't have some hippie girls...sexist!

Congratulations

Yes...I didn't at one time, but now I do. I used to stop my collection a lot earlier than I do now. I now keep a higher percentage of heads & tails from a spirit run for redistillation, except when I catch an oily container of tails. I believe there are a lot of "larger" operations that forgo collecting in smaller containers. Tell me if I'm wrong. I imagine segregating and storing distillate for re-distillation becomes a burden when the quantity gets above gallons...they just make a fores, terrible heads, hearts and tails collection. I now see a great value in dissecting the tails into smaller containers. There are tails and there are terrible tails. Some of the good tails come off after the terrible. If I collect tails into multiple containers, there is usually one that is worse, sometimes blue tinted, oily, pure crap. If I catch such, I toss it with fores and rerun the other with the next strip. I've actually watered and redistilled the good tails, by themselves, just to prove to myself that they were worth keeping for the next strip. Again this is a very easy experiment once you save a decent quantity saved.

Those are some great charts and links to even more info...thanks! I'm within a radius of 30 miles of two states that have taxes a third of my home state. Guess I should look for wholesalers in those two states.

Yes, but not as deep as 10%. I collect everything in smaller containers and when I get a tails container (between 40-35% ABV) has oils in it, I toss it. There are usually good containers (tails smell reduced) after that point. And in the middle of the hearts...if I get a perfect container...I'll keep it out and blend it back in after the other has been through a spirit distillation.

Consider multiple pot still or reflux distillations this way...every distillation after the first, you dilute the distillate back to 40-50% ABV. So, you have the chance to reduce some of the elements carried over from the previous. The added water is a great filter. Every time you do that you reduce the elements carried over during the new distillation. You also have the chance to make a "finer" cut, if you made some cuts from the stripping distillation. Some do and some don't pitch fores from a stripping distillation. But if you do, there will be less smeared into the spirit run. I think the same happens with tails. I may not cut tails from a stripping run, but in the spirit run I feel some lower end oils were trapped in the additional water. Simple test...take a final spirit you're just not quit happy with, dilute it and pot still it! With or without cuts, I'll bet it's better...

I have seen pictures of the aftermath of a modified washing machine gone wrong...when it went out of balance it sprayed the room with spent grain before he could pull the plug. Link www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4581 Lessons would be, bolt it to the floor, have a safety plan...

Beautiful and practical setup Roger...

There are three posts here about coolant and distillate temp within a few hours and none of the same people involved, hmmm.... Safety says that the coolant outflow from the PC should run between 125-140 deg F (test your PC) to assure all vapor being condensed. Water/energy conservation says maximize water temp to save on water and/or power circulating the water. Again "supercooling" (anything colder than needed for 100% reflux or Product Condenser) the water in a delpheg or reflux coil is another energy waste. Temp of distillate collection vs product quality or refinement. This would almost be the basis of reheating to remove unwanted fractions or ultrasonic aging.

There are three posts here about coolant and distillate temp within a few hours and none of the same people involved, hmmm.... Safety says that the coolant outflow from the PC should run between 125-140 deg F (test your PC) to assure all vapor being condensed. Water/energy conservation says maximize water temp to save on water and/or power circulating the water. Again "supercooling" (anything colder than needed for 100% reflux or Product Condenser) the water in a delpheg or reflux coil is another energy waste. One of the other topics has to do with product quality and refinement. I want to hear comments on that!

Use the lead check kit...but remember solid sterling silver tarnishes black!

Roger...exactly why a vendor needs the chance to defend or fix a bad transaction.

Get the data of how many pounds, cubic feet, the pickup/delivery addresses and call a trucking company or freight forwarder. They will tell you fairly quickly!

Edwin knows about CSST, Corrugated SS Flex Pipe...inside joke...

I like the idea...

As a relatively small and "CRAFT" industry, this is a difference from other commercial efforts. In my other businesses, I would check a companies D&B rating, Chamber of Commerce standing, references from the vendor, etc...and the sketchy operators would be weeded out, usually based on their history or credit history. In this business where the vendors are somewhat limited, there are few legacy vendors, the distilleries are somewhat isolated and startup resources are limited, references and contracts seem to be more "word of mouth." Word of mouth, is generally a bad way to do business, but needs to be accurate and verifiable. Again, in my other endeavors, one of the responsibilities of the professional organizations would be to insert themselves into these disputes by offering to be the mediator. If we, the organization, believe there is a questionable vendor operating among the membership, perhaps we should contact the vendor and work for a resolution. This could easily just be a form letter (email) inviting the company reviewed (good or bad review) to the forum, giving them a chance to reply. This would do several things that keep all parties honest. 1. It airs the possibility of a good or bad vendor. 2. It prevents a member from taking one sided revenge (defaming) on a potentially good vendor who made a mistake. 3. It gives the vendor a chance to reply/resolve the issue. 4. It promotes the organization as a force for better business. Sending a form letter to a reviewed company, is far easier than vetting all companies who want to participate in the industry.