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Some girls like shopping clothes, but...

this girl like shiny things in copper and steel :)

I received my stuff from StillDragon today. Now unboxing with an euphoric feeling. Celebrating with a glass of wine. Cheers!

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Comments

  • I can see that something great will come from this one! :-bd

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  • I can see it clearly too :) Nice rum will come out of this still I hope.

    Everything in the boxes was fine packaged. I was anxious about the glasses but they looked fine as well.

    I started planning for a new distillery in November last year. In July I got hold of my place in the old factory in Vivstavarv in Timrå. Now I have a bunch of craftsmen helping me to get it in order. Hopefully I can start out in February or March.

  • Congratulations.

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  • Go you good thing MotherofDragon. Go for it.

  • Super that everything went well! :bz

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  • Very jealous! Congrats on the new bling.

  • Thanks! I am really a Mother of Dragon now :D

  • edited November 2016

    Always nice to see happy faces around here (but who isn't when being around here). :)

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  • Hell, I did the happy dance when my 5" tri-clamps came from overseas! Thanks again Sunshine.

  • thanks, but that was ages ago... ;) but I am glad I could help!

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  • How you going @MotherOfDragon - still on track for a start soon?

  • Yes I am! :-D My place is refurbished enough now, so practically I am just waiting for the electrician. As I am living in EU one of the problems has been to find heaters at reasonable cost. All things labeled ATEX are extremely costly.

    When I started planning for the distillery this time last year, I made a deadline to be ready in February. It's March now and it will probably become April before I make my first run. But I am proud anyway. Some distilleries take a lot longer time to start up.

    Pictures are coming soon!

  • Stick at it MOD. I have been close for the last 5 months. Still waiting on my boilers and maceration tanks. I keep trying to tell myself in my desire to set up a distillery the destination is the journey. You dont hear anyone on any of the web boards saying it was easy. Sounds like you are doing very well. Most guys take 24 months from deciding to do to starting up. I made the decision in May 2015. I might make it by July this year. Maybe. You doing very well.

  • @DonMateo said: Most guys take 24 months from deciding to do to starting up. I made the decision in May 2015. I might make it by July this year. Maybe. You doing very well.

    Oh dear, I'm hopelessly optimistic - I decided to go pro three weeks ago and want to start bottling in two months time - which is about how long the Customs department takes for the paperwork plus a week to get the stills. ;-)

  • MOD Question - did you have to get the still certified for an ATEX rating and any mods required etc or did you just have to use certified equipment and what zone. I would have thought a low level liquid cutout might have been required so as to not expose the elements.

  • @squeakclean. Go for it. Good luck to you.

  • @GD50: I only use ATEX rated components for the still. All electric items in the room must be for zone 2, even the thermometer. Inside the still it is zone 0, so the heaters must be zone 1. It is hard to live in EU with all our rules. I wish I could buy the Camco heaters.

    @squeakyclean: I am also a time optimist. But I should have been ready months earlier if I wasn't so lazy :-D I got my licence within two months. I applied in September and got it in October. Ordered my still in November. But I have had problems with the electricity also. Good luck to you! Maybe I will visit you when your distillery is ready :)

    @DonMateo: You are quite right. Building up is the best thing. I hope you get your boiler soon.

  • how does the EU explain the making of cognac in the required way, you know, with an open flame?

  • I really don't now. Good question!

  • @MotherOfDragon : I must say I currently spend around 30 hours a week on getting this operation started, I'm in a hurry. Ordering the stills and buying in some ethanol are the only things I can't do in advance of receiving the license.

    There's a risk to this, if for whatever reason I can't get the license I've already spend a lot of money: mixing and bottling tools, electronic pH/temperature/alcohol measurement tools, ultrasonic cleaner, label design, solid ink printer so I can make my own labels in small numbers, training, consultancy... Luckily the chance of not receiving the license is quite small. And my time right now is essentially free, as is the building which I'm going to use. Once started I probably still have some income out of my current activities so I'm not totally depending on distillery profits, and the cost of a distillery that does almost nothing is negligible: no rent, no employees.

    Once I've started you're more than welcome to visit my little distillery, now that you mention it I should plan a few days of distillery visits myself. All in the name of science of course ;-)

  • @CothermanDistilling said: how does the EU explain the making of cognac in the required way, you know, with an open flame?

    Interesting question. Do remember that laws in European countries are not always the same, and the way they are interpreted may vary a lot more. Example: in the Netherlands the authorities don't seem to demand use of ATEX rated anything in a small distillery. Heck we don't even require an environmental license, unlike small beer brewers. Paying excise, that's what interests the authorities over here. And food/drink safety, but that's secondary.

  • edited March 2017

    Can we PLEASE have MORE government CONTROL of our lives?!

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • @squeakyclean said: Interesting question. Do remember that laws in European countries are not always the same, and the way they are interpreted may vary a lot more. Example: in the Netherlands the authorities don't seem to demand use of ATEX rated anything in a small distillery. Heck we don't even require an environmental license, unlike small beer brewers. Paying excise, that's what interests the authorities over here. And food/drink safety, but that's secondary.

    I wish it were so here too. In Sweden the authorities has interpreted the ATEX directive to the fullest. Besides the distilling licence I have to notify Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the municipality and the National Food Administration.

    Do visit! I live in an area with three great distilleries besides mine. Hernö Gin for an example. A distillery which has won loads of competitions around the world. What kind of still do you have in mind and what spirits do you want to produce?

  • @MotherOfDragon : I was supposed to go to (the south of) Sweden this summer but I've canceled that plan opting to work on the distillery instead and have a few shorter vacations closer to home.

    Plan is to buy several stills with different capacities:

    • Air Still (2,5L) for gin/jenever recipe development
    • T500 boiler (25L) with StillDragon 2" pot still for up-scaling recipes and very small batches (concours)
    • 120L SD pot belly with agitator for small batches
    • 380L SD pot belly for larger batches

    Gin and (young) jenever will probably be my first and main products, but I've got lots of ideas for more. Whisky is not a priority but I do intend to make some grain based drinks. No rum, I had training for that and I can't get the smell of molasses and dunder pit out of my nose since :-(

  • @motherofdragon. I am starting with 3 x 200l boiler. One for Gin. another running a 3" pot still and another running a 6" glass still or a 16 plate Vodka Column. Just waiting on my boilers to be fabricated and find a location. I am going to focus on Whiskey, gins and vodka.

  • @CothermanDistilling said: how does the EU explain the making of cognac in the required way, you know, with an open flame?

    In the Netherlands it is not advisable to use open flames in your production facility due to strict fire safety regulations. If you have an old historical artisinal set up you maybe can get a special license for it. But if you start from scratch it will be rejected.

    If you have a location in a rural area ( old farm barn ) such an set up could be granted on a historical artisinal re-enactment license. But then you will be limited in your industrial / professional day tot day business.

  • Having been in France last year it is my option they don't give a rats arse about occupational health and safety and compared to Australia are totally uninterested in procedures and safety.

    Each EU country must be totally different. I would think they could use anything they like to make cognac.
    I could be being a little harsh as most of my working time was in Monaco which may be different.

  • On the 17th of March I wrote that I thought it would take about two more months to get started with my distillery. Result: got the excise license on the 17th of June, so it took exactly one month longer than planned. Pot belly still arrived two days later... I'm in business!

  • Go for it squeaky. I am heading back to Mendoza to see if my boilers are done. Happy happy happy.

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