Distilling "season"?

[Medicine_man]

Hello all,
I live in a very seasonal state and as such most of the distillers I know prefer to run with a bit of snow on the ground as the snow can be added to the water reservoir to help cool the worm. This got me thinking and I was curious if anyone else has a time of year they focus more on the still than others?

[Yummyrum]

For me it’s the oppersite

I like the summer months . Nice for Rum fermentations and Sugar shines that don’t need heaters or blankets .
I got a 3000litre water tank . It’s heaps big enough to handle stripping and spirit runs all year round including Summer .


Maybe get yourself a bigger flake stand then you won’t need to be shovelling snow into it .

[Bushman]

I have a large outbuilding and run on electricity so with plenty of ventilation and usually a mild enough season that it is mostly year around.

[Bradster68]

Year around baby. I wouldn't be able to build up stock if I didn't.

[Deplorable]

I run from fall to spring. It's easier for me to keep a fermenter warm than it is to keep it as cool as my preferred yeast requires.
This also gives me plenty to do when the weather outside is less than hospitable, and keeps my summer months open for outdoor activities.
I can make more product than I drink, so the aging stocks are starting to build up quite nicely.

[Dancing4dan]

Everything is indoors so its year round.

Really more dependent on how much time I have and how aging low stock is getting.

[sadie33]

I start my ferments when we start the wood stove They LOVE sitting close to the fire and take off in about an hour. I can also put the ferments downstairs (we don't run the heat down there so it's pretty cold) to cold crash or cool. I also had a cheap Vevor so my condenser was not big enough and I had to add snow to cool the water.

But now I have a still I could run all year long. But I have too much other stuff going on in the summer (vegetable gardens, canning what comes in, yard work and then fun stuff like fishing, hiking, shooting, canoeing etc).

[howie]

summer time is neutral time.
fermenters in the open, some in fridges with the power off.
winter is better for yeasts that need 20-25°c
pretty busy all year round.
PS what is this snow you speak of?

[OlympicMtDoo]

I used to do most of mine in the winter because of being too busy with other outdoor stuff in the summer. But as I get older and don't do as much as I once did, I prefer summer. I use propane so I run the still out in the yard which is much more pleasant in the summer. OMD

[Stump Lake]

It's winter time for me. My wife and I run a campground. As any of you that have seen "The Shinning" know, the winter in a campground can get long and boreing. I try to make enough product to last us through the spring-summer-fall. Then run a new batch next winter.

[Salt Must Flow]

You do what you can do with what you have to work with. I do it any time of year I want. Some only do it outdoor therefore they are obviously limited. Who cares what other people can do ... ask yourself what you are capable of doing. Can you figure out a way to lessen any perceived restrictions?

[The Booze Pipe]

Winter time is my “time to shine” I have a lot of freed up time versus the summer and fall

[FuzzNFroth]

Winter time is my “time to shine” I have a lot of freed up time versus the summer and fall

Same for me. From April on I am tied up with our vineyard and maintaining the surrounding property. Once the grapes are harvested and the wine made I can spend time with other things.

[The Booze Pipe]

Winter time is my “time to shine” I have a lot of freed up time versus the summer and fall

Same for me. From April on I am tied up with our vineyard and maintaining the surrounding property. Once the grapes are harvested and the wine made I can spend time with other things.

It’s fighting fire and saving lives for me! Then off hunting when I can

[TwoHedWlf]

I feel a little bad running hundreds of liters of water through my still while we're under water restrictions.
On the other hand, it's going into my pond which could use the water change and we don't have kids so probably use a 100-200L less per day than people with kids. So we'll pay back the 400L by not having crotchfruit in less than a week.

Getting to be winter though, need to look at keeping my fermenters warm now.

[Yummyrum]

I’m changing my mind .
We got the electricity bill from hell for this quarter over summer . $945.00
Mostly that was due to having aircons on . We just had our old broken solar system replaced with an 8kw one . I've been watching our usage and even when the sun is shining ,the aircons take most of it so there isn’t much left for running the still .
So I’m thinking now that I will wait until summer is over and the aircons aren’t needed . Then I should be able to run the still for free.

[TwoHedWlf]

So I’m thinking now that I will wait until summer is over and the aircons aren’t needed . Then I should be able to run the still for free.

How much power does your still use and what's your rate?

Here it's about $.30nzd/kwh still is 2.2kw so running it for about 10 hours like I did this weekend would still only be $6.60 Every second weekend that's basically $14/month.

[Yummyrum]

So I’m thinking now that I will wait until summer is over and the aircons aren’t needed . Then I should be able to run the still for free.

How much power does your still use and what's your rate?

Here it's about $.30nzd/kwh still is 2.2kw so running it for about 10 hours like I did this weekend would still only be $6.60 Every second weekend that's basically $14/month.

I have alwasy done stripping runs and Pot Thumper on Gas , but I am converting to electric boiler with 6kw element .
On my reflux still which I use for Nuetral , I use a 2400w element .
@30c AUD per kwh , similar to you.
I know it doesn't sound all that expensive , but it does add up .Gas is super expensive here now days , hense the desire to go electric and hopefully tap into some of the plentiful Queensland Sunshine .