DyerWolf

I am finalizing an approved label.

We have printed a front and back label on vinyl that I like.

They printed a tape to seal the top on a tamper resistant substrate. They are struggling to match both the colors and the sheer.

Is my tape required/ recommended to be "tamper resistant" or can/should I use the same quality vinyl as the label?

Thank you for suggestions.

Brad Irwin

Oregon Spirit Distillers

I am looking for cobalt or black glass 750 ml bottles with a cork finish for a liqueur I am producing in pallet quantities. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Brad Irwin

Oregon Spirit Distillers

Bend, Oregon

For clarity my foaming problem is in the fermentor. I am using wheat and rye flour for my mash. I am giving my ferments 50% head space and still having some blow off.

Thanks again,

Brad Irwin

Oregon Spirit Distillers

I am considering using an antifoam for my mashes. Can anyone suggest a brand and supplier. Do people have opinions on use of antifoam?

Thanks all,

Oregon Spirit

Thanks everyone for your help so far. I though I would post an update.

I went back and forth with city planning a few times. We are going to install an exhaust system. We are going to have a fixture above the mop sink that will work as a shower. We were able to use windows and doors as return air.

Our permits were approved.

I was lucky my equipment was delayed to give me time to resolve these issues.

Brad Irwin

Thanks all for your help so far.

I received a response from the building department that contained 18 line items that they want addressed. Some of them are easy. Some...not so easy.

They are requiring me to provide a Mechanical hazardous exhust system and "make up air system."

They are requiring a shower for exposed skin contamination.

Do these requiremnts seem reasonable?

Brad

My current status is:

I expect my DSP in one week.

I have been paying for 4200 square feet for months zoned light industrial.

I occupy 2 suites in a 10 unit industrial complex, with neighbors on both sides.

I regestered a small still to TTB but a larger still (400l Kothe) and equipment just left Germany and will be here in 4 weeks.

I have satisfied the Department of Aggriculture (wow).

I have Oregon State approval.

Suddenly, my local building officials are concerned my building is not adequate for occupancy because I am classified as H-2 (storage of more than 30 gallons of flamable liquid). I have two hour fire walls with sprinklers but my city officials feel that this may not comply to International Fire Code.

Does anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Brad Irwin

soon to be... Oregon Spirit Distillers

I am looking for a supplier for bulk straight whiskey. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

dyerwolf

I had Masterplans help me with mine (www.masterplans.com). I would highly recommend using them if you don't feel like you are able to write your own. They are not cheap but it is a solid investment, particularly if you need help funding. I could not have come close to the proffessionalism of the document they prepared for me. Additionally they have written plans for other distilleries so I think they have gained experience.

I don't know what kind of beer or whiskey you boys brew in Missouri but the brewers in Oregon would take offense to your claim that 75% of them use malt extract.

That's an interesting take on the subject.

I shouldn't be seen as a shortcut. It's use of a known ingredient. When you purchase a grain brand, you don't know the region the grain is grown in, so characteristics may be different and out of your control. You don't grow the tree to make the barrel. When you find an ingredient you like and want to repeat a profile with don't you depend on obtaining that same brand/type of item each time, not experimenting once you have something that works?

Same goes here. There's no shortcuts to a profile here, just obtaining a product of know characteristics.

When you say this is a shortcut to craft distilling, you are making the same statement to 75% of the brewing industry as they also use extracts as their baseline ingredient. Take a look at Briess and ask them what their sales of extract is yearly. When they deliver via tanker truck, their moving some volume.

And if you don't want to use extract, that's fine, but small timers need to maximize profits. In a 2 or 3 person shop time and labor means profits, even if it costs more up front.

I am trying to design a gravity fed carbon filtering sytem for spirits.

I would like a pump to lift the spirit 10 feet to a resevoir at a rate of 5 to 10 gallons per minute.

Does anyone have thoughts on a explosion proof pump?

Thank you,

Brad Irwin

(DSP on the way)

I attended the fall workshop that Kothe hosted. It was a certainly time well spent. I learned a great deal.

I would highly recommend attending, if you are considering distilling.

Brad Irwin

China isn't really a relaible source for safe or even reliable products. Not buying American while trying to sell products to Americans who don't have jobs isn't really a viable long term economic model.

Do you know of any U.S. glass manufacturers? I can only find Europe and Asia.

The cheapest potato vodka available in Oregon is Monopolowa Potato Vodka. It retails for $14.95. My quick math guess is that they sell it for 7.08 per 750 ml bottle. I've never tried it.

Dyerwolf

I saw some at Tricor Braun in Portland, Oregon, last week.

http://www.tricorbraun.com/

f

We are considering producing absinthe. I have produced small test batches that are good.

Are there places we can send samples to be tested for levels of thojune?

I assume testing requires gas chromatography. There is no litmus paper for testing thujone levels.

How often does the TTB test product?

What are the consequences of exceeding the 10ppm threshold?

Thanks in advance,

Brad Irwin

I am forming a LLC that will have seven investors.

One investor (who will own less than 10%) also has ownership interest in a bar that will not carry my spirits. Will this create an issue with my TTB license?

Are there other issues that I should screen my potential investors for (DUI, bankruptcy...)?

Thanks in advance,

Brad Irwin

My first still was a 50 liter from milehidistilling. I have learned a great deal. I have always been happy with the quality of the still.

Dyerwolf