Tom Lenerz

It depends on your product and state, but most likely unless you are really affordable in distribution you probably want a 6 pack. Shelves usually hold 6 bottles in a single facing and many distributors charge an up charge for split bottle cases. This is something you should really have a discussion with your distributor with. If you are going to be mostly or exclusively tasting room sales it won’t matter other than your preference. In the spirits industry it is pretty standard to report things like sales or production in terms of 9 liter cases, but this is just done mathematically because of the different sizes, (1L, 1.75L, etc…) it helps correct for volume. We are a winery as well so internally we refer to 6 packs as boxes and 12 packs as cases to help keep it clear what number of bottles and volume of liquid we are talking about.

For small run infusion/storage I would recommend looking at either corny kegs or "topping" keg, "yeast brink" keg that has triclamp ports and no stem (https://www.tcwequipment.com/products/stainless-steel-tri-clamp-kegs?taxon_id=11) Fustis seem appropriate for amaro production in there own way as well. https://www.gourmetitalian.com/fusti-container-s/181.htm

Morning -- Not sure about your spreadsheet, but if you really used 850 pounds for 250 gallons of water you were too thick and your yield most likely has something to do with that. What size batch are you targeting? Do you have live steam or is this jacketed? Are you using a roller mill or is this hammer milled?

Just use RO/DI water, while your well water may have been stable and providing low TDS water in the past it isn’t anymore. It seems like you are looking for a solution for a problem you already solved.

Not sure if this answers your question, but what is your goal with this number? Are you trying to calculate mash efficiency or overall process efficiency? Is this a theoretical exercise or are you using it to make decisions? How many PGs are you getting from distillation, what about PGs of hearts? To be honest, the only number that really matters from a business perspective is PGs/LAA per bushel/pound/whatever unit. I do everything in PGs per bushel, it is quick, easy, and relevant -- I buy bushels and I sell PGs. This month I am averaging 4.8 PGs per bushel for my high-rye bourbon. I once heard ethanol plants average the equivalent of 5.3, so that is my target ceiling, and I know from history I can get as low as 4.5 with my rye whiskies. If something is outside that scope I know something is wrong.

Seconded on explore mobile canning.

When we do a single barrel bottling I test a bottle at the beginning and then at the end again. For our larger batches I test a bottle about once per hour, which is usually just one 2 or 3 total off the automated line.

Yes, it is strictly by volume, ABV doesn't change it, just product type.

You should check in with your state DNR (or equivalent) to find out what is the requirements for land application, we work a 3rd party that land applies and they do quarterly sampling and the DNR gives them an application rate (x gallons per growing season per acre) depending on the makeup.

Don't rush into it with something too small thinking you will add a second location to expand unless you are super well financed. Just do it right once, nothing about this industry is fast, and buildouts always take longer and cost more than you think.

Are you talking about R&D of a new product to see how it works in the market or are you talking about production level quality controls for an existing product? There is lots of different sensory testing you can do but what you do will depend on your goals. As far as something like gin in a cocktail, I would try it in a wide range of the most popular cocktails and see which drinks make it shine and which ones it doesn’t work well in, then you can make your suggestions appropriately. I’ve never heard of using tap water at a 50/50 for testing, and personally wouldn’t find the information too useful. Yes it would dilute the strength like you would do in a cocktail, but the things you are diluting a cocktail with contribute flavors so it would be more useful to test it in various cocktails in my opinion. For QC in production we use True to Target daily on new make and blends, flavor camp grouping of barrels for building blends, and a side-by-side tier ranking against previous releases for single barrels. We occasionally do triangle tests and other blind testing.

Bump - these are still available, I have some corks and capsules I can throw in with this order.

SlickFloss is right, it is specifically prohibited, if you read the regs. Reading the rules, explains the rules. See definition of distillation: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-19/subpart-L/subject-group-ECFR3229fff77eb967f/section-19.301 "However, the quantity and proof of any unfinished spirits must be determined and recorded before any mingling with other materials or before any further operations involving the unfinished spirits outside the continuous system". Since you are breaking the continuous system, i.e. changing mash bills and starting another production run you need to identify the unfinished spirit and place it into storage. See identification of spirits: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-19/subpart-L/subject-group-ECFR3229fff77eb967f/section-19.305 "When the proprietor intends to enter spirits into storage on bonded premises for later packaging in wooden packages, the proprietor may identify the spirits with the designation to which they would be entitled if drawn into wooden packages, followed by the word “Designate,” for example, “Bourbon Whisky Designate.”" See definitions of whiskeys: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-5/subpart-I/section-5.143 "Fermented mash of not less than 51%, respectively: Corn" means just that, not a blend of distillates that result in that.

We've sold part of the original lot, original post updated to show new quantity.

Yeah, or if you're just logging data on the warehouse, fill a barrel with water and put the sensor in that instead of potentially risking your spirit.