captnKB

@AnthonyM what kind of humidity are you maintaining around your barrels? Low humidity levels can cause leaking on otherwise good barrels.

Most legal for trade floor scales rated for a 1000 pounds will only show a resolution of .5 as that is as accurate as they get. The same display is used for many different scales so even if the display can show 1/10th it is unlikely that the 1000 pound rated scale can read those accurately.

Rosehips contribute some nice floral aroma without being overwhelming

Hi @Steve Robello, I set up a brewstillery in Arizona and know all the legal ins and out of the paperwork to get licensed as well as the reporting for both the brewery and distillery side. Shoot me a PM with you phone number and ill tell you all about it.

My name is Kris and I am Distiller and distillery engineer, who can help you get your distillery started faster and at an affordable rate. My business Distillery Now Consulting offers a wide range of services and assistance to craft distilleries. We can provide the tools and expertise to design, start up and grow your business. We partner with our clients from start to finish by focusing on their needs to deliver easily implemented solutions. Whether you need complete distillery design, build out, startup, troubleshooting or help with equipment and recipes I am here to help you. Please contact us at Distillerynow@gmail.com

our sight glass gaskets are silicone

The Letter of Commencing you are being asked for is in reference to TTB form F 5110.34 This is a form that all distilleries are supposed to file with the TTB when they start producing. see link below to the form. https://www.ttb.gov/forms/f511034.pdf

Ill second @PeteB start with a hydrostatic test. Fill your whole still + column with water, you will find out very quickly if you have any leaks

There are a few companies out there that make 15 gal stainless milk cans, that might work well for you

a few pics of the continuous I installed and ran in Texas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmkLY3VILqc

Im curious to hear how well it works for you. What kind of mash are you attempting to dewater? How fine of a grind is your grain?

Yes, the GNS used in rinsing is reported as a loss. On a given bottling run for 1500 bottles we lose about 1.5 gallons of 80 proof GNS to rinsing bottles

Using GNS over the type of spirit being bottled saves us a bit of money on spirits. Using GNS also allows us to leave the rinser assembled and full, with out having to tear it apart and clean it after every bottling. @Lorenzo The TCW rinser has a timer on it bottles are placed on the rinser neck down over the spouts and the bottles are rinsed for a few seconds. We rinse with GNS at the same proof of the spirit we are bottling. I would not reccomend rinsing with water as residual water in the bottle will reduce the proof of your spirits. Ive seen other folks purge their bottles with just compressed air or Co2 but this does not always completely clean out the bottle

call up the folks at Kelvin Cooperage. They can get you an assortment of used barrels

Most glass always has some kind of particles in it. (dust, bits of cardboard, dirt, residue from the manufacturing process. I use GNS to rinse the bottles at the same proof as the spirit we are bottling. The removes all of the above TCW equipment makes some great affordable, semi auto rinsers.

Ive run a few different types of pumps as beer feed pumps on continuous stills, including flex impeller, centrifugal impeller and lobe pumps. Ive found centrifugal to work best while metered by a valve. As long as your solids are not huge, the valve can meter flow and maintain flow to within 0.1 GPM no problem. For a centrifugal pump to work properly in this application if must be mounted below the beer well. The head pressure of beer above and head pressure of the outlet will prevent any cavitation from occurring. @PeteB if you are looking for a turnkey pump solution with pump motor and VFD the folks at TCW equipment have a few good options they can sell you.

@PeteB for your beer pump ive found that a standard centrifugal pump works best, and then meter your flow rate with a valve. This will yield the most consistent flow rate as long as you are pumping consistent mash.

Hi Toddy, I have never encountered a 12" column from Vendome before. Is it a single pass or just a stripping column?

Hi Victor, Ive always set aside one third of my operating budget to go towards the sales team. Dont count on your distributor selling a single bottle for you. Your distributor is there to distribute your product, it is your sales team's job to make the sell. On the compensation side of things I have found a pay structure that is heavily performance/incentive based for a sales person will yield the highest ROI.

Hi Loren, Welcome to the forums. There is a wealth of knowledge to be learned here. If you every need some specific help feel free to reach out to me any time. Cheers, ---KB

tube in shell, easy to use works great

This is likely going to be determined by your state. In AZ we hold a specific craft distillers license that allows On Premise sales (drinks) and off Premise sales (bottles to go) Nowhere in our state laws is the word retail used to define what our tasting room business is. My two cents: When I hear the word retail it is commonly associated with off premise sales. Typically a place serving on premise drinks, would be classified, as a tasting room, tavern, pub or bar.

Hi @Dry Point Distiller This yeast works great if you tailor your mash to the yeast. A few questions What is your starting gravity/brix? What is your mash bill and mashing process? Ive used this yeast extensively and here are the optimal conditions ive found for it. PH of 4.5-6 is ideal Starting at a cooler temp and letting the ferment free rise will maximize yield. We pitch at 70f and let it free rise to 85f We mash with a beer gallonage of 27 which yields a starting brix of 18.

Hi LJD. Welcome to the forums. There is an immense wealth of knowledge to be learned here as you journey down your distilling path. Best of luck ---KB

I love Georgia boots. Comfy out of the box and they make a waterproof, chemical resistant non slip boot. I get about 18 months out of a pair