captnKB

we just run the spent stillage from a spirit run down the drain

Hi Charles, The sour mash process is typically utilized in corn based distillers beer ie bourbon or corn whiskey. the addition of backset helps to lower ph and shorten the fermentation time. with a barley based beer for whiskey you would want a ph around 5 for a healthy ferment adding backset may bring your ph too low

it would be helpful if that relates to application of OSHA and safety practices was made publicly available for those who are still in the planning phase and not yet a member

Hello Goat, welcome to the forum, best of luck with your venture

Straight from CA ABC https://www.abc.ca.gov/trade/INDUSTRY%20ADVISORY_CraftDistillerLicense.pdf https://www.abc.ca.gov/trade/Craft%20Distiller%20FAQs.pdf Looks like a big win for those distilling in house. Bummer for those sourcing their spirits. but in the name of creating local jobs I think it is the right way to go

Scrounge, I have heard the same thing and I also heard some folks say that there is an exception being worked in to allow those who buy GNS or source whiskey for their spirits

It seems to me that to simply require every bottle of spirits regardless of type of spirits to state Distilled by [Distillery], in [City], [state]. Redistilled and/or Bottled by [Company], in [City], [state]. is a simple straightforward solution to create complete transparency in all spirits

Love the label Pete! complete transparency

great article to go with the debate the ends with a simple solution to a complex problem http://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/7/7/8903167/sourcing-labeling-lawsuits-why-american-whiskey-should-improve-its

There seem to be more and more craft spirits appearing on the local liquor store shelf that proclaim on the bottle that the spirit was distilled and bottled by this distillery. When i have visited some of these distilleries and pressed questions it turns out their vodka that proclaims distilled and bottled by actually is bulk GNS and their gin is bulk GNS that was redistilled. But on their bottle is say Distilled and Bottled. Im interested to hear others opinion on whether or not distilleries should be able to do this. It this legal? If it is legal then is it time to change the laws to require more truth in labeling? If it is not legal how are distilleries getting away with deceitful marketing?

Any of our fellow california distillers applied for their craft distillers license yet? I heard there were some last minute changes made to the bill but have not been able to find any info online about it

Neven, welcome to the forum and best of luck in getting your distillery up and running

amounts will vary dependant of if you plan to vapor infuse or macerate. For maceration on that small of a batch 15 grams or so of juniper berries would be a good starting point for you. +1 on glisades remark. Get a good scale with low resolution as when the day comes you go to scale up your recipe .01 grams will make a difference

Lots of fresh shiny copper in the vapor path during your spirit run will reduce to nearly eliminate sulphur smell. Sulphur will bond with fresh copper but in the case of a wine with lots of sulfites you need a good bit of fresh copper to off set it.

Hi Charles, welcome to the forum. there is a lot of red tape to get through but with due diligence and enough money it is possible

Middleofnowhere. What was your water chemistry like? (enzymes are highly dependent on specific water chemistry to convert) Did you crack you rye? or Mill it? or ground to flour? Typically rye is distilled on the grain as lautering or the separation of liquids from solids is not easily accomplished with rye. All of these factors play an enormous role in your distillers beer being fermentable and easy to work with.

typical brix on our 100% corn mash is around 20

Nepa we use novozymes and yes the smallest container they sell is a 5 gallon jug

check out Old 4th distillery Atlanta

at the end of the day the man always wins

We do 100 corn whiskey and pump the stillage straight from the still into IBCs liquid and all. He then takes the IBCs full of stillage from the distillery to his farm and dumps them then brings the IBCs back on the same day so we can refill them again the next day

Alan, Welcome to the forum and congrats on getting your distillery going. Capitol Reef is some beautiful country and a good name

The farmer we work with takes everything. 400 gallons of spent corn stillage goes out the door nearly every day

Hi Chris, Welcome to the forum. I took a look at your website but I could not find any into about american oak barrels that are charred. Do you guys offer barrels charred? If yes I am very interested to hear about what sizes are available and at what cost?

60 ft is perfectly fine. insulation helps alot but is not necessary as long as you size your boiler properly taking into account heat loss based on travel