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PeteB

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Everything posted by PeteB

  1. I will be interested is seeing your final regulations. In Australia we don't have a legal definition of Single Malt Whisky but there are some pushing for it. Generally most distillers work along the lines of the Scottish regulations with the exception that quite a few distilleries purchase their fermented wash from breweries. I see your proposed regulations won't allow purchased wash. Will your regulations allow continuous distillation? FYI, Below is an extract from The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 “Single Malt Scotch Whisky” that has been distilled at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been— (i)processed at that distillery into a mash; (ii)converted at that distillery into a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems; and (iii)fermented at that distillery only by the addition of yeast; ................................... “Single Malt Scotch Whisky” means a Scotch Whisky that has been distilled in one or more batches— (a)at a single distillery; (b)from water and malted barley without the addition of any other cereals; and (c)in pot stills;
  2. Most of the slow proofing I have done is in the barrels, replacing some of the angels share with water. Up&Adam mentioned using tare weight of the barrel in calculating how much water to add. That won't be accurate because there can be several Kg of spirit soaked into the wood. The abv in my barrels increases with time, the whisky that has soaked into the wood is significantly higher than what was in the barrel. I have tested the whisky that seeps back into the barrel a few weeks after it is emptied and found it can be 10% higher than the bulk content was. I assume that in climates where proof decreases with time, that seepage would be lower ABV. If I cut to a certain proof and leave the whisky in the barrel the proof goes up quite quickly in just a few week.
  3. I have almost always done proofing in one hit. Never had a problem with saponification, but I think I might do a test. Split one barrel into 2 diluting tanks to make sure any barrel differences are not obscuring the result..
  4. I am about to send small quantities of my whisky to USA. Does TTB allow 700mL bottles? I remember the above discussion but didn't follow it closely. 750's are not a usual stock item in Australia. Cheers, Pete
  5. Welcome from one Aussie farm distiller to another. You should find this a very informative forum. Peter Bignell
  6. I also used an eDrometer until I could afford an Anton. Quite liked it because it is a flow through device, had a syphon going from the output of the still, through it into the collecting tank and it gave a continuous readout.
  7. I can't help it, I need to say that when I read the line above I thought it said "malfunctioning still"
  8. attach suction of pump to bottom outlet of tank, feed output into the top of tank. If outlet is above the liquid in the tank it will create a lot of bubbles that will assist in mixing. Also if pump outlet is at an angle it will swirl the contents and help with mixing. What is wrong with a simple canoe type paddle? 1,000 litres is not hard to mix that way.
  9. Try a regular antifoam to your wash. Works well on my continuous. Container doesn't list ingredients so can't help there.
  10. The use of plastic cups and straws have been banned at public events I have done in Australia for at least the last 10 years. I still don't feel happy about using the Bio Cups only once, but it is way better than plastic. I assume compostable cups would be available in other countries. www.biopak.com.au/products/cold-cups
  11. I am not quite sure what you are asking. Is it 25 proof or 25% abv? I think this might be what you are after. Start with 1.75 litres of 120 proof and dilute to 25%abv and you end up with 4.2 litres. To dilute 200 proof to 4.2 litres you start with 1 litre of 200 proof and make up to 4.2 with water and it will be at 25%abv. (Or are you diluting to 25 proof, in that case you will end up with close to 8.4 litres. To dilute 200 proof to 8.4 litres you again start with 1 litre of 200 proof and make up to 8.4 litres and it will be at 25 proof.) I think you are also asking if you use higher proof for your extraction liquid will it be quicker and more efficient?? In my experience the final flavour will be quite different. The alcohol is extracting some flavour compounds from your herbs, and the water is extracting different different compounds. By changing the alcohol % you will very likely end up with a different flavour profile. (200 proof is not very common, occasionally found in laboratories. As long as your alcohol is over 190 proof the above calculations are near enough for your needs)
  12. Can you send me a link to where these are sold? I think these are the best option but can't find a reasonably priced one. Like Thatch, I only need around the 25 gallons per hour. My diaphragm pump works well but the valves don't like solids.
  13. Sorry for the slow reply, I haven't been on the forum for a few weeks. I don't have any suggestions. My diaphragm pump is a second hand chemical dosing pump. Originally very expensive. The pulse rate = flow rate can be controlled with a PID .
  14. I agree with Jedd's comment above, I assume he means supply hose to the pump, after the pump it does not matter as long as you are getting enough flow. I am using a variable rate diaphragm pump, when I was using a centrifugal the rate changed too much as the level in the supply tank dropped. Also if there is any CO2 left in the feed a centrifugal will cavitate (foam around the impellor) very easily.
  15. I have found the answer to the unexpected results, the lab stuffed up. I sent another sample of the same batch without telling them it was the same and the result came back at 44.7%, I think that is also wrong. the first test report was 43.1% that's a 1.6% variation. We have labelled and packed up a pallet for an international order with the wrong ABV. We will have to re-label the bottles when we find the correct ABV. A lot of time and expense to fix and I won't be paying for it.
  16. Golden Beaver are those barrels varnished or is it a trick of the lighting?
  17. I have an Anton-Parr Snap 41. I tested the ABV of a diluted 3 year barrel aged whisky and it reads right on 44% as expected. Extracts dissolved from the barrel could possibly cause obscuration but I would not have expected much in 3 years. I would also expect any dissolved substances to increase the density of the whisky which would cause the Anton to give a lower reading than the true reading. I sent a sample off to be tested by distillation method at a certified Lab and their result was 43.1%. As mentioned I would have expected the lab reading to be higher. I did a re-calibration of the Anton and still got same answer and also measured several commercial whiskies and got the expected readings. Any ideas about the unexpected readings?
  18. If you want very cheap green energy, good options are waste fryer oil burners. I have 4 of them in my distillery for direct flame heating stills, and steam and hot water production. About to install 2 more. Used engine oil also works in these burners, it is not so green but maintenance is easier. With the waste oil burners you need a boiler that has a firebox that is easy to clean out, the waste motor oil makes a bit of white ash and the veg oil eventually causes a crusty build-up on the heating surface. My electricity bills are very small.
  19. I have seen this topic discussed quite a few times on this forum over the years (I have been on this forum for a long time, I think this is my post 1,000 I am reasonably sure it is caused tiny amounts of oils in the spirit that float to the top and forms a thin film on the glass. The oil doesn't allow the spirit to spread out as it evaporates and condenses on the glass, so droplets form. I recently experimented with a wide neck bottle of Ailsa Bay Scotch that had condensation inside the neck. I wiped half the inside of the neck with a paper towel where the droplets were, upended the bottle for a moment and all the condensation vanished as expected. Some time later the condensation re-appeared but not on the area I wiped. I assume it was a thin film of oil I removed with the paper towel. Oils contain a lot of flavour, lots of spirits from all around the world have condensation in the neck, don't worry about it
  20. I did read somewhere, possibly on this forum many years ago, that silicon based antifoam will coat the copper surface and reduce interaction with sulfur !! Does anyone know if this is true?
  21. Thanks for the above advice. I have purchased a personal monitor RK GP-03 for AU$400. It has been set for initial alarm at 5% LEL then a second level 10% LEL. I sat it in the lowest point of my bond store this morning and it read ZERO. There is a small amount of natural ventilation in there. For the rest of the day it sat on the floor next to the still while it was doing a stripping run. It read zero all day except when we poured a small amount of the output onto the floor to mimic a spill and it indicated 1% of LEL for a minute or so. Very encouraging results. My still is direct flame heated, burning waste fryer oil. The burner has a reasonably large fan to assist correct air mixture so it continually removes volatiles from the still area and into the fire box. I did lower the sensor into the air space in a drum of 45% whisky. The alarms sounded at 5% and 10% as I gently lowered it. When it was almost on the surface of the whisky the readout was 88% LEL. Very interesting observations. I will probably end up purchasing one for each of my employees to wear. They are designed to clip onto clothing.
  22. I do add extra water the flask after the 250 mL but maybe not as much as you have suggested. I will try with more water and see what happens. My condenser does not usually become contaminated as long as I switch off heat soon after that cloudy distillate stage. One time I measured the ABV of a cloudy sample of distillate, then re-distilled it and the distillate was clear and the apparent ABV increased.
  23. Our state Workplace Regulations says 5% of the LEL. That is 5% of 3.3% = 0.165% I would assume without further tedious reading that that means anywhere workers are going to be. Our National Regulations says the same 5% but that is only in cool stores (where there is almost no ventilation) I am quite sure I will need to get a alcohol meter to do tests, possibly one with a logger so I can record what happens over a period of time. Any suggestions on buying one that won't cost too much?, I have a very small operation.
  24. My distillery is being audited by our Australian work-safe government agency. A report I was given says I must not allow the alcohol vapour to be greater than 5% of the LEL (lower explosive limit) I have seen on this forum that in USA that is 25% of LEL. Is that correct?
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