PROCESS 

Our process is carefully designed and implemented to fulfill the stringent standards applied by both the Federal Bureau of Tax and Trade (TTB) and the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA). We take it a big step further, our process is certified Organic by the prestigious California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).

Organic Neutral Grape Spirits:

1)      We begin with a supply of fresh, certified organic wine with 12 percent alcohol processed by a certified vintner from certified organic grown grapes.

2)      We quickly distill 325 to 400 gallons of this wine in our stainless steel still with a yield of approximately 50-gallons of  120 Proof alcohol in an 8-hour shift. Note: The natural distillation process, or run, starts with the heads. The very first heads are discarded because of their high fusel content. The heads gradually give way to highest yielding portion of the run, the hearts. Approximately 60-70 percent of the run, measured in proof gallons, is made up of the hearts. Eventually, the yield slows and the proof drops; the remainder of the run is the lower proof tails. The art of distillation is in managing the collection and redistillation of these three portions of the typical run.

3)      We then carefully redistill up to 375 gallons of 120 proof, first run, to yield 40 to 70 gallons per shift of what we are looking for, 190   proof Neutral Spirits.

4)      Before the 190 proof Neutral Spirits are collected from the hearts during the redistillation run, we collect the lower proof heads after discarding the fusel rich portion and add them to the subsequent tails for further redistillation.

5)      Our Organic Neutral Grape Spirits exceed the TTB standards as a consumable Industrial Grade Alcohol, but we prefer a smoother, Pharmaceutical Grade product. We achieve this by using a mixed bed de-ionization filter.

6)      We further purify our product by using a 0.2 micron solids filter to remove any residue. Note: this is the same size filter that is used in the medical laboratories to purify water to be used in their blood tests.

Organic Neutral Grain Spirits:

            Although the distillation process is essentially the same as the one described for the Neutral Grape Spirits, there are a couple of important differences in the process. We start from scratch to make 10 percent Alcohol Corn Beer and there are Distillers Grains to be separated from the first run.

1)      We start by putting 700 gallons of cold water from nearby Mount Ashland in one of our two 1000 gallon stainless steel Fermenters.

2)      Then we add carefully measured amounts of  naturally occurring calcium carbonate and potassium carbonate to adjust the pH of the mash and provide the Calcium needed by the process.

3)      Using our Power Mill we grind the corn as finely as possible into the feed hopper of our portable 21 ft. long  4 inch diameter Grain Auger which deposits the ground corn into the 10 inch opening in the top of one of our Fermenters.

4)      Our Fermenters are clad with custom dimpled jackets that allow us to heat the ground corn and water while it is being mixed into a solution by the agitator.

5)    This corn mash is heated to 150 degree F and then we add a non-GMO Glucoamylase. This addition of enzyme prevents solidification of the mash at temperatures that would make it mush instead of mash!

6)      We heat the corn mash to 200 degree F and hold it there for 15 minutes to begin the process of breaking down the starches and converting them into sugars.

7)      We add 100 gallons of water to cool to 180 to 185 degree F and add more of the same enzyme to complete the liquefaction process: converting the available starches into sugars. This takes another 3 hours or so.

8)      Using cold water in tank jackets, we cool the Mash to 90 degree F. When the mash cools to 130 degree F, we add a non-GMO alpha-amylase that converts the sugars into the type of sugar readily consumed by the yeast – the byproduct of this process is the alcohol that we are looking for. We also add Citric Acid to adjust the pH so that it is optimal for the Yeast growth that is the central event of this process of making corn beer.

9)      We inoculate the yeast in 103 degree F water for 10 minutes and add it to the 90 degree F mash.

10)  We continue to cool the mash until it gets to 85 degree F as we continue stirring the mash for the first 24 hours, aerating it for the last 2 hours using compressed air bubbled up through the bottom of the tank to optimize yeast growth.  Note: Healthy yeast growth leads to complete fermentation. Complete fermentation results in maximum conversion of sugar into alcohol.

11)   We let the mash ferment for 3 to 4 days, monitoring the temperature. It has a delightful yeasty smell and bubbles merrily until it forms a thick, pock marked crust on top that resembles a miniature lunar escape complete with poisonous gasses which occasionally gurgle up from the still active process below.

12)  The mash is mixed  for another 24 hours to insure complete fermentation and to make the mash homogeneous for the critical next step.

13)  We pump this viscous mash across the room into the still for the first run.

14)   We Distill this corn beer as described in the Neutral Grape Spirit Process but with one dramatic difference!

15)   We pump the hot, 200 degree F, spent mash directly from the still into a large separating tank of our own design. A local Organic Turkey Rancher picks up the Distiller’s Grains and feeds the protein enriched byproduct to his flock.