jamesb98409 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 HI Everyone, My name is James and I looking for info on starting my own distillery of sorts. I am out of Graham, Wa. What I am looking to produce is Amaretto and Kahlua. One of my issues at the moment is how do you gauge your proof when a hydrometer will not work do to the sugars and other ingredients in the liquid. Looking forward to hearing from anyone and everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scohar Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 how do you gauge your proof when a hydrometer will not work do to the sugars and other ingredients in the liquid. You can buy an Anton Paar Density Meter with the add-ons for sugar solutions (many-multiples tens-of-thousands of dollars), or you can do bench distillations with glassware. The latter is cheap, but will take roughly an hour per gauging. Probably not going to scale to a larger business model. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scohar Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 By the way, you don't need to be a distillery to make Kahlua and Amaretto type liqueurs. You can be a humble processor buying NGS wholesale. Be sure to check out the types of TTB licenses offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesb98409 Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 By the way, you don't need to be a distillery to make Kahlua and Amaretto type liqueurs. You can be a humble processor buying NGS wholesale. Be sure to check out the types of TTB licenses offered. your first reply about a glassware proof gauging...Is there a website I can go and figure it out? Second, whats a NGS wholesale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 HI Everyone, My name is James and I looking for info on starting my own distillery of sorts. I am out of Graham, Wa. What I am looking to produce is Amaretto and Kahlua. One of my issues at the moment is how do you gauge your proof when a hydrometer will not work do to the sugars and other ingredients in the liquid. Looking forward to hearing from anyone and everyone. Hi James, When you have a product that has more that 0.6% of solids (0.6g/100ml) you have to distill a sample and use the hydrometer in the separated alcohol. If you go to www.ttb.gov in the section for laboratory techniques, they list the method with all the details of the glassware you need to use. Good luck Carlos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Forester Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Actually Scott, I think you do have to have a DSP (Distilled Spirits Producer) permit from TTB, the same as a distillery. Otherwise you can't work with alcohol or buy NGS. From the TTB "A distilled spirits plant (DSP) may be established to produce, bottle, rectify, process or store beverage spirits. Examples of beverage distilled spirits include neutral spirits or alcohol (i.e. vodka or grain spirits), whiskey, gin, brandy, blended applejack, rum, Tequila, cordials and liqueurs." By the way, you don't need to be a distillery to make Kahlua and Amaretto type liqueurs. You can be a humble processor buying NGS wholesale. Be sure to check out the types of TTB licenses offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scohar Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks, Jonathan. That's what I meant... what I meant was that they don't actually have to own a still or distill anything. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chefskee Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 your first reply about a glassware proof gauging...Is there a website I can go and figure it out? Second, whats a NGS wholesale? James Not sure if you got an answer to your NGS question. Definition below. I'd also recommend you take a workshop. Michigan State U offers a good and reasonable course. http://www.artisandistilling.org/ Neutral grain spirit also called pure grain alcohol PGA or grain neutral spirit GNS is a clear, colorless, flammable liquid that is distilled from grain and has a very high ethanol content. The term neutral refers to the fact that it lacks any flavor derived from the mash used to distill it, nor does it have any flavor added to it after distillation as is done, for example, with gin. The grain from which it is produced can be any of the common cereal grains. Other kinds of spirits, such as whisky, are distilled at lower alcohol percentages in order to preserve the flavor of the mash. Generally, any distilled spirit of 170 proof or higher that does not contain any added flavoring is considered to be neutral alcohol. Neutral grain spirit is only one type of neutral spirit also called neutral alcohol. Neutral alcohol can also be produced from grapes, sugar beets, sugarcane, or other fermented plant material. In particular, large quantities of neutral alcohol are distilled from wine, a product that is referred to as vinous alcohol. Neutral grain spirit is used in the production of blended whiskey, cut brandy, some liqueurs, and some bitters. http://www.museumstuff.com/learn/topics/neutral_grain_spirit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 James Not sure if you got an answer to your NGS question. Definition below. I'd also recommend you take a workshop. Michigan State U offers a good and reasonable course. I agree, take a course, and I would also recommend the MSU course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesb98409 Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 I agree, take a course, and I would also recommend the MSU course. I would love to take a course, but I live in Washington state. Funny though I was born at at 1 of the colleges in Michigan. From what I am understanding from all this is; 1 I need a business plan which is a definite need, understandably. 2 in order to start a business like this, I will need my business setup first before I can apply for any licenses, which includes shop,all my equipment, and supplies. 3 once i have said licenses I can produce a little to get sampled by the TTB with a label for approval. If I left anything out please let me know. This is the basic understanding I have at the moment. Do the classes teach how to do the books and documenting of the liquor you import and then make for wholesale from the said liquor; or is more of basic of distilling techniques and what resources you can use to make and process such liquor? I understand I need to research and do my own homework, but every time I go through the TTB and Washington State Liquor websites I can't seem to find what I am looking for. It is very frustrating at times. I was hoping I could probe everyone's knowledge to makes sense of it all. If I am indulging on to much on your time; I apologize. Just trying to get the hard facts. Do they make Equipment that can be heated to boiling and stir on the inside for a period of time? If so who makes it and what are the costs? Thank you for your time and patients, James Beck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panama Jack Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 TTB used to have a seminar every spring in Kentucky that has great classes for paperwork and government rules. Well worth the trip for the paperwork side of the business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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