Are you thinking of building or starting a distillery? This is a dream requires hard work and dedication because it is not easy.
THE PRIMARY SETUP
It’s pretty much the bare minimum and depending upon what you’re distilling and how much you want to distil, you’ll need to adjust as needed.
WATER SOURCE
A good source of water for you still. A water source is usually limestone-rich water from streams or aquifers, but you can use tap water if that’s what you want, but some high-quality H2O isn’t dangerous.
COOKER
Primarily, a cooker is something you put your grain in along with some H2O to bring everything up to a particular temperature for a certain amount of time. It helps to have some plumbing in the cooker that will send the cooked mixture to a fermenter, in this case, the pump will suffice.
FERMENTER
Fermenter will be a large vessel where you can ferment your mixture (grain, yeast, water slurry). However, the yeast eats the sugar and poops out alcohol and after a few days, you can take all that and distil it.
STILL
You will need a still to make drinkable alcohol.
DISTILLING WORKSHOPS
There are intensive workshops taught by professionals in the field. People in these workshops are people who have decades of experience on whatever subject they are teaching. The basic goal is distillery education we’re not an operating distillery adding on a class to fill time or generate a second form of revenue, our basic focus is education, through these workshops lots of Colorado distilleries around the world have become professional.
BRANDING
There are lots of things that people count as unimportant, but one of the overlooked ones is branding. Lots of people think after you make a good product that people will be beating down the doors to get it at once, not knowing things doesn’t work that way. You’ll need good packaging and branding to draw out, make it known to people and also think of who is going to be outselling the brand. Selling your products should always be in your mind, this will be an additional cost on top if actually opening the distillery.
Most people don’t know what it takes to open a Colorado distillery, in the below paragraphs I will be starting down some answers that will assist you to become a good distiller.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL DISTILLER?
There is no examination or certification to becoming a professional, I will simply just say earn it.
IS THE MARKET SATURATED OR IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR GOING INTO DISTILLERY?
Actually, there is a huge room for that presently, but that’s not to say there isn’t room for more.
IS IT REALLY DIFFICULT IN OPENING A DISTILLERY?
Sincerely speaking, it is very difficult to commence, not only costs nut you’ll also need to adhere to more codes, which more inspections per se. And because of the higher proof of spirits, as opposed to beef, everything in and about your building will definitely help to a higher standard of safety, which turns out to more time and capital. You’re going to be paying way more taxes on liquor than of a beer.
WHERE CAN YOU GET USED EQUIPMENT?
Used equipment is often to get, it didn’t come to the market that often but as much as Colorado distilleries start to scale up their operation will be surely up for sale. A good source of equipment is The American Distilling Institute (ADI).
SHOULD YOU COMMENCE DISTILLING IN YOUR HOME?
You should never try this, it is totally illegal. It doesn’t necessary matters what the law says in your start or what you heard from someone in your country government, it is totally illegal to distil at home and there are no chances of that changing anytime soon. These are because of two reasons. Firstly, safety, unlike beer and wine, it’s possible for you to make poison if you don’t know what you’re doing. Definitely you’ll have high proof alcohol in vapour form in a pressurized vessel which could be called a bomb, and it is not very safe for you when you don’t know what you’re doing. Secondly taxes.