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Griffin Claw

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Everything posted by Griffin Claw

  1. I've heard of wineries using gasoline nozzles like you would find at any gas station. Explosion proof I assume, auto-shut off. Not very expensive. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200611439_200611439?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Fuel%20Transfer%20%2B%20Lubrication%20%3E%20Fuel%20Nozzles&utm_campaign=Roughneck&utm_content=37658&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=37658&gclid=CImppO3Y7McCFQ-PaQodnGEK0Q
  2. Not to hijack the thread, but the whole lost coast hike along the King Range is amazing. Hard to believe you're in the most populous state in the union walking all alone on the beach for HOURS. I missed out on seeing the Lost Coast brewery when I was there and now that there's a distillery opening nearby I'll have to make point of going back.
  3. As far as human contact with radiant heat goes, there is nothing to worry about. Infrared heat has nothing to do with the "dangerous" ionizing radiaiton, (UV, xrays, gamma rays,...) the human body readily accepts and emits IR. However IR heaters are inherently NOT explosion proof and should not be used in a class 1 explosive environment like a distillery.
  4. There are various markings that are required depending on what product is actually in the barrel. At a minimum 27 CFR §19.484 applies but it would behoove you to familiarize yourself with not only this link but all of Part 19 of the CFR. http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=81ecd87483f485b14a6bf1d52fe326bf&node=27:1.0.1.1.15&rgn=div5#sg27.1.19_1479.sg61 As for excise tax, it is determined based on your production gauge, but it isn't actually assesed until you remove the contents of your barrel from a bonded area (for sales purposes). Again, check out the CFR.
  5. This is not true. Every product sold in Michigan needs approval through e-quote. If you choose not to distribute and sell through your tasting room only, you still need an approved e-quote. This includes a federal COLA ID# and an acquisition price, from which the commission sets their base price and therefore your tax rate. Your product will then have a state minimum price which you cannot sell below. There is nothing stopping you from setting a low quote and therefore a low state minimum then selling for 29.99 or 39.99, since you control the market for your product. However, you can't just go and sell a friend a bottle for $5 or anything to anyone below your state minimum price.
  6. A 55gal. drum with two standardized bungholes will give you plenty of options. A 3/4" faucet style tap and a forklift to elevate the drum laying on its side it shouldn't make gravity feeding too hard. But like 3d0g said, a schrader valve and 5-10 psi to help push would be a big help. One thing to note is that it's not really a question of how to avoid a mess; it's a question of how to minimize the mess you make. Like most things in life, a little forethought goes a long way. One thing I did my first time working with molasses (on a cold day in spring to boot) was pour the syrup into an intermediate 40L stainless bucket that had a tap on the bottom and flowed from there into my fermenter. I could mix the molasses with hot water as necessary to maintain good drainage from my bucket into the fermenter. Once it was all in I simply added enough cold water as was necessary to get it to an adequate ferm. temp. and volume The bucket allowed me to mix my solution easily and add things like yeast nutrient or dunder "inline".
  7. It looks like it just references the wrong cell at the end. The formula for C25 reads =IF(AND(ISNUMBER(F10),AND(ISNUMBER(F11),ISNUMBER(F12))),ROUND(C21,1),"INVALID"), When it should read =........,ROUND(C22,1),"INVALID"). All of the temperature corrections are performed, the final output cell simply points to the wrong place. Is this correct?
  8. A little info on your process would be helpful. The relationship between true proof and temperature is not easily modeled. How are you interpolating points in between given values? Are you using regressions? A formula you created or one taken from elsewhere? There are various dilution calculators out there, none officially sanctioned by the TTB as far as I know, but providing results accurate enough to satifsy gov't requirements. These all use proprietary formulas to calculate true proof.
  9. I'm sure you'll have a more definitive answer from some licensed ID distillers soon, but this link is at the bottom of the www.liquor.idaho.gov page: http://www.liquor.idaho.gov/distilled-spirit-sampling-bill.html If you do indeed have a state manufacture's license and a DSP permit then you are allowed to provide samples out of your tasting room and you cannot charge (but people can always tip, and I'm sure that's encouraged). It appears that these samples must be sold first to the state liquor division and then purchased back after tax payment.You can sell full bottles of spirit for off-premise consumption under your manufacturer's license. Take what I say with a grain of salt. This is only what I've gleaned from looking at the state website, I believe the folks at Grand Teton helped push this bill through. Any input Teton?
  10. Hi Steve, You've found a good resource in this site. The TTB does try to facilitate new distillers but they are tragically backlogged and even a return phone call can have you waiting days. Be sure to ask around on here if you have a nagging question or concern but be aware that many of us have gone through the same trials and tribulations as you. Search the site well before posting and see if your question has been answered before. Opinions vary on this site, but an alcohol attorney (a good one) can be a valuable resource. Dealing with state and federal ABC's is like many other big industries; it's not what you know it's who you know. An experienced lawyer or consultant can streamline approval processes and licensing and can save you vast amounts of time but at great $$$. Decide where your trade off is time vs. money and go that route. If you are looking to start small and don't have any time-sensitive aspirations I would definitely advise going it alone and figuring things out the hard way. As for COLA's they are just like the beer industry: Certificates of Label Approval. These are proof that your label on your product has been vetted by the TTB and passes it's rules which can be found in the Beverage Alcohol Manual (BAM). Depending on the State (not sure about TX) you will need one on file for every product you sell, even if it's not distributed. The major difference between beer COLA's and spirit COLA's is that the current wait time for spirit COLA's is ~40 days. Get them submitted ASAP, even before your product is ready so that when the time comes and you have a green light you aren't waiting on piece of paper. Good luck.
  11. I'm sorry I don't know of a wholesaler, but aren't those stones just granite? You should have plenty of that out in the Tetons. Maybe contact a statue yard out there and see if they can custom make you some cool designs? Or you could get some laser cut stainless steel made.
  12. It's a question of economy and safety more than anything. The higher the starting charge, the lower the flash point yet the better the yield. Good practices reduce risk. Proper HVAC, explosion proof pumps, keeping your condenser working hard, always inspecting for vapor leaks can make the environment quite safe, yet there will always be a risk when ethanol vapor mixes with air, particularly at the very beginning of your run. Accidents don't occur when everything is doing it's job, but you have to be prepared for unexpected failure be it operator or machinery. http://distillers.tastylime.net/library/Diluting_the_still_charge/index.htm
  13. Your motor holding up depends on the thickness of your mash and therefore your desired yield. It's a single phase .75kW motor so I wouldn't plan on going too thick with it. Did you have any batch sizes planned yet? A three phase wouldn't have you drawing so many amps, and I assume if you have an instantaneous water heater that would be three phase already. An electric element would be problematic too since your mash would burn itself on. You linked to a 2" TC element and it looks like the only TC port you have is a standard 1 1/2" on the very bottom. You could buy a 2" ferrule and weld it on in place, but it's sitting in a drainage channel and even though all the liquid would convect up, even with constant mixing I imagine you would get a lot of solid corn particles collecting down there and therefore a lot of burning.
  14. Sorry, Shindig. I screwed up some calculations on the state side of things as I was trying to do that off the top of my head. I sat down at the office this morning and checked my work realizing I used some of the wrong formulas. My original number is off but not by much. Once you submit a case quote to the state they approve it and send you a tax rate schedule, but the gist is as follows (Rounding to three decimals as the state does): Case quote/12 = PER BOTTLE QOUTE X Per bottle quote with 65% markup is BASE PRICE = 1.650X Licensee discount is 17% of BASE PRICE = .17*1.65X = .281X The MLCC's SHARE is BASE PRICE - (PER BOTTLE PRICE+LICENSEE DISCOUNT) = 1.650X-(X+.281X) = .369X The SCHOOL AID TAX is 4% of the BASE PRICE = 1.650X*.04 = .066X The GENERAL FUND TAX is 4% of BASE PRICE = 1.650X*.04 = .066X The CONVENTION FACILITIES TAX is 4% of BASE PRICE = 1.650X*.04 = .066X Thus the total tax rate per bottle owed is MLCC SHARE+SCHOOL AID + GENERAL FUND + CONVENTION FACILITIES = .369X+.066X+.066X+.066X = .567X or 56.7% of your per bottle quote. Please confirm this with your tax rate schedule but those are the numbers I use. Believe me, this is the state's convoluted language they are using, not mine. Now, to determine your state minimum price you can use the MLCC's calculator found at http://www.cis.state.mi.us/mlcc/excel/shelfpri.xls%C2'> They use some different arithmetic from what is found on the tax rate schedule but these numbers are mostly for liquor stores to use. Bottom line is a case quote of $191.35 will get you a shelf price of $29.99. Calculate your taxes then off of a case quote of $191.35. Distributors must charge you at least $8.32 per case of spirits but the state reimburses you $6.97 for every case they buy thus you will be paying the distributor $1.35 per every case.Theoretically, you may enter into a distribution contract with your ADA and negotiate that they will charge you $10 a case and then you will be paying ($10-$6.97=$3.03) per case. This contract negoation is up to you and the number may be higher or lower but at minimum $8.32/case. Direct sales out of your tasting room avoid this case fee, but you still must sell your spirit for no less than the state minimum.
  15. The federal system is easy. $13.50/proof gallon. If your spirit is 80 proof = $2.14/750ml bottle. 100 proof = $2.67/750ml bottle etc. Michigan, being a control state has some of the highest and most complicated taxes around. The state buys your liquor from you, then sells it to your distributor and you pay them almost as much back in taxes. You will need to work backwards from your desired retail price to find what taxes will be owed. The MLCC system works by you submitting a per case quotation, basically, what you want to charge the state to buy your spirits. You submit a quote X. then then state marks that up 65% and takes that for profit. They then take that number (X*1.65) and mark that up another 12% (also taken for various taxes). This is then the state minimum price that you see on store shelves. Thus if you say a case will cost them $24. This computes to $2/bottle. The intialmarkup is $3.30 and then the addition 12% brings you to $3.69/bottle. However, if you want your state minimum price to be $30/bottle (more realistic, the $2 was just an example), your intial case quote would be $194.75. Each bottle would be $16.23. After markups the shelf price comes to $29.99. Bottom line: State taxes come to $13.76/bottle. A little ridiculous, no?
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