Skaalvenn

We only run a valve on the dephleg water inlet, the outlet is completely open to atmosphere. Any reason others do it differently?

Those engine turned columns at Sly look amazing! Bravo!

I get that they are one time use, but if I did have one rupture it would indicate a serious problem with the still likely requiring a complete teardown. Granted, like a K-type hydrometer it would always be a good idea to have a spare in case of accidental damage.

I don't really think startup budget is something which people can use, as we all have different wants and needs. I started for under $100k, but I'm also willing (and able) to not pay myself, work 18 hour days, work 7 days a week, not be in the coolest area of town, and not have employees. This may or may not be feasible for others. Someone else may not have the desire or ability to hang around for a 150 gallon still to do a couple runs in a day, and they need a 400 gallon still running once a day. This is just the tip of the variable iceberg. I think the more important question is "What are the expected and unexpected costs of opening up a X size distillery?" Just because I expected an expense, doesn't mean someone else also expected it. Did I expect to make 60 trips to Home Depot to buy needed odds and ends? Nope, but thankfully it's just a few blocks away and not 20 miles! (And even though some of those trips were for a $3 connector, 60 trips adds up really quick!) As far as finding financing, one just needs to keep revising their budget, plan and meeting with lenders. Lenders have all kinds of people coming to them with business plans "guaranteeing" profit in all kinds of industries, and they have to be choosy about who they finance. There are lenders out there willing to finance a distillery, but it's going to take some work to find them and it's going to take some work to win them over.

So glad to see this progressing from basically bullying by one party to others providing multiple avenues of approach in adding a safety device. I like the idea of a sanitary rupture disc as it provides a nearly fail proof option (as well as easy to add to a triclamp port). Is there any downside to using one? Thanks!

I get a yellowish tint to my early heads but it goes completely clear well before the hearts cut. When I saw it for the first time I panicked thinking that something had gone wrong, but after speaking to a few other distillers it appears to be a normal occurrence.

Manual. Can't remember the model number off hand but it's not the basic one. I can't see us wanting to upgrade anytime soon as the labeling is the fastest part in our bottling line.

Just thought I'd share my recent experience with Race Labeling Concepts, makers of the Race Labeler lineup. Recently had a minor issue (possibly operator error?) with one of the labelers and have received some of the best customer service I've ever encountered with a company. They not only resolved the issue, but went far above and beyond what I would have ever expected any company to do with a minor issue like mine. They have even followed up a few times since the resolution to ensure that everything is going great. http://www.racelabel.com/

Look into over the side immersion heaters from companies like Wattco or Tempco. I have a dairy tank that we use specifically for this. Get the strike up to temp and pull the elements. It might work best to cut the top off (save for later use) and make a lid for it and wrap insulation around the tank to reduce the energy loss. You'd need about 15-20k watts of juice to heat it up in a couple hours. Having an open top will be your enemy as the BTU loss by the steam creation will be fairly substantial if you need to achieve high strike temps.

While I am not in an area where a wood boiler would work, I've been wondering the exact same thing. Seems like it could be an incredibly inexpensive heat source for some folks?

I give a lot of credit to Hawaiian rum, they are right up there in quality with Viking themed rum distilleries from Minnesota. I'd be interested in knowing what the rumors are of this rum category. I'm guessing it's a classification for aged or spiced?

Your interesting news (from 2003) of the day. Can't believe I never saw this. http://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-kentucky/the-weather-channel-reports-on-firenado-on-lake-brimming-with-bourbon "According to the Weather Channel's report, the lightning strike caused some 800,000 gallons of bourbon to flood the nearby retention lake."

How long does this typically take to happen? We've been on the shelves for 3 months and havent seen the problem (yet). Using Priamal glass (each bottle manufacturer, internal neck shape, and glass mold is different) and synthetic corks from Paulson Supply and we couldn't be happier with the stoppers and quality of service from Pauslon. We hand cork and also want to make sure that the cork is easy for customers to remove. The fit seems perfect and we have yet to run into any issues. I'd hate to be a cork manufacturer as there's so many variances in bottle design and production. If a cork doesn't work well it may be the bottle's fault, yet the cork guy gets all the blame.

Personally I'd probably just buy a condenser from a reputable builder. I recommend Dehner as he actually owns a distillery, uses his own equipment and has enough experience with seeing first hand what works better. A general fabricator probably has no idea what works best for a distillery and is just shooting from the hip (which probably costs you more money and time). Or (and please don't take offence), you could keep trying to reinvent the wheel.

In stripping I'll get a little cloud from the deep tails, but not all the way. In the spirit run I don't get cloudy spirit until I hit those deep tails, and it's where I stop collecting.

Those of you under 1mil BTU size, what kind of prices are you getting for installation? I know each and every install is different but I'm starting to plan for future expansion. Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately with distilling being a booming industry it's going to draw in the smooth talking storm chasers and the shady crooks. Everyone should be a little cautious when dealing with newly emerging suppliers.

Wish there were an option for people on a tighter budget. Looks like a slick setup, but for me Whiskey Systems is a luxury, not a necessity. I'd consider paying for a more limited system as I don't have a whole lot to keep track of. Hint hint.

Having a filter (doesn't need to be carbon) in line with the bottler will basically eliminate the chance of foreign debris entering the spirit.

MN dept of Agriculture will require that the walls of your production area are washable. Different inspectors will interpret that phrase differently, but I think a very porous and uneven surface like that would be a no-go without building something over it. Basically, they want to see your production area so that if something got splashed or spilled on any surface that it could be easily cleaned.

Welcome! I've wondered why there aren't more distilleries and breweries in St Paul...

Correct. Formula and labels come after TTB approval. Plan on 35 to 45 days for label alone. Also, the way they work is that they find one thing they don't like and send it back to you. A few days later they find another thing and send it back to you (instead of reviewing the entire label).

Your rent alone is more than our loan, rent, insurance and utilities combined. I'm not saying "Don't do it" but give it some thought. That location might be the best decision you ever made, or one of the worst.

It's going to depend on your city, state and other regulatory agencies. We went into a rectangular, single room 2000 sf space and changed nothing except for adding a little plumbing outside the walls and having a few electrical cords run outside the walls. Still had to have the signed plans for the basic layout of the space sent to the city and to a local government office that you (thankfully) most likely don't have to deal with wherever you are.

All I had were GPS coordinates from someone who told me "you have to go there and camp on the beach". Finally got there around 11:30PM, set up a $30 tent we got from wal-mart and cracked open a bottle of wine and a bag of cheetoes before I popped the question under the stars (kind of romantic?). Waking up and seeing the scenery for the first time was one of the best experiences of my life and we can't wait to go back.