In late April, 2022 I assisted with the start-up of a new craft distillery in southern BC. When I arrived on site, I was shocked at what I saw.
If you are planning to launch a craft distillery, remember that all electricians are NOT equal. All plumbers are NOT equal. Trades-people have areas of focus, such as residential building construction. Asking an electrician to take a break from installing electrical receptacles in a new-build house to come and install temperature controllers to control the temperature on a fermenter tank is a big ask. You have now taken that trades-person out of their comfort zone. Asking a plumber to take a break from installing a toilet and a shower in a new-build house to come and hook up the water lines to your still condenser is a big ask. Asking that person to help design and install a glycol cooling system is an even bigger ask. You are taking that person out of their comfort zone. They have no idea how a distillery operates. They have no idea how a still condenser works. They have no idea how a glycol system should function in a distillery setting.
Maybe it is my imagination, but somehow I doubt it. I am seeing too much evidence that equipment makers simply don’t give a rat’s ass anymore. Maybe the COVID pandemic has changed the attitude of equipment makers? CO2 relief valves that do not allow the CO2 pressure to release from a fermenter tank was one issue I faced. Analog thermometers that did not properly insert into tank thermo-wells (thus giving grossly inaccurate temperature readings) was another issue. Temperature sensors that did not fit into glycol inlets/outlets on tanks (more inaccuracies) was another issue.
As part of planning your distillery project, take time to travel to other craft distilleries. Find out who they used for plumbing, piping, and electrical installations. I continue to see far too many craft start-ups focus on the still. What escapes people is the importance of all the things that come before the still. If you cannot accurately make a mash and ferment it because of poor and faulty temperature control or CO2 pressure control, then it does not matter what type of still you have.
Also, remember that all of the bits and pieces that come before the still will cost money. Boilers and associated piping, steam traps, and condensate return lines do not come cheap. Mash tanks and fermenter tanks that are properly made do not come cheap. Glycol cooling systems do not come cheap. Mash transfer pumps and hoses do not come cheap. Figure out what these costs will be before you start looking at stills. After all, a still is just a pot that heats liquid so as to create fractional distillation.
Before deciding on a still, it is further imperative that you travel around to not only other craft distilleries, but also to places like Kentucky, Ireland, and Scotland. Decide what taste profile you want for your whisky distillate. If you want the typical Scottish or Irish taste profile, then buying a still with large columns and plates will serve you no purpose. If it is a rich, robust, flavorful Gin you seek, then buying a still with a Gin basket will not help you in any way.
Starting a craft distillery is not easy. Much thought is required. Failure to think will be costly and very likely financially fatal. Failure to engage proper contractors will likewise be another nail in the proverbial coffin.
