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Craft Distillery

ed demand in growth for the next 5 years?If the area or rickhouse is a must when planning to oper-
answer to this question is no then it is worth con- ate a continuous column.
sidering jumping into the big leagues of distilling
whiskey with a continuous column still. What is the Best Choice for You? First off, let’s
take a moment and celebrate! You have built a suc-
Big Distillery Growth: For many distilleries that cessful distillery with growing demand. Hats off to
are making good spirits, they hit a ceiling rather you and your team as this is a massive accomplish-
quickly in their whiskey production that requires ment.
the consideration to build a new, larger facility to
produce enough. If your distillery is on a growth Where to go from here is a daunting decision as
track that many distilleries are currently seeing of the long term success of your business very well
+100% growth of sales year over year, the addi- hinges on it. Careful planning and consideration is
tion of another batch still may not meet your long key here as you plan to make this critical decision.
term demand. Sales growth at this rate requires a There are plenty of options and ways to go to cre-
massive jump in output of spirits that the addition ate the opportunity for your distillery to grow. Long
of another still can not meet. You can look up to term strategic planning must be employed if the
nearly any whiskey producer in America where next stage of growth is going to work to support
their products are found nationwide and you will your business. If you are unsure which path is the
find they distill their spirits on a continuous column right one for you, drop us a line and let’s talk about
still. A continuous column still has a proof gallon it. Dream big and plan well for it.
output level that far exceeds the daily output of
even the largest batch stills. There are many unique Kris Bohm runs Distillery Now Consulting and has
challenges that come with operating a continuous helped oversee expansions for several distilleries.
column still, but their capacity is massive in com- When he is not distilling Kris can be found racing
parison to pot stills. If your distillery needs large cyclocross or defending his beer mile record.
production quantities to keep up with fast growing
sales, a continuous column should be considered.

The Mighty Continuous Still: The output of a Brew•Spirits•Wine
single pass continuous still can easily produce
seven hundred proof gallons of whiskey in 8 hours. Tank, Door & Other Gaskets
Continuous column stills are extremely efficient and
require less labor and energy cost per proof gallon
produced. More proof gallons per pound of grain Including:
can be distilled on a continuous column still versus Coffee, Fruit, Juice,
with a batch still as well. Distilleries running a con- Milk, Pop, Powder,
tinuous column often have excess capacity and can Pulp, Tea & Water.
use that capacity to contract distill and create addi-
tional revenue streams. This means you have room
to grow in your own production as needed.

Downside of the Continuous: The manufacture,
build out, and installation of a continuous column
is a much more expensive project than the simple
addition of a batch still. Producing large quantities
of distilled spirits requires large amounts of raw
materials and its downright expensive to operate.
Distilling spirits on a continuous column requires G-M-I, Inc.
an abundance of operating capital to purchase Willoughby, Ohio 44094-4634 USA
grain and barrels to keep the still running. When
running a continuous column and producing dozens Website: www.gmigaskets.com
of barrels weekly, the need to store those barrels Email: gmiinc@msn.com
becomes a new challenge. A large barrel storage Phone: 440-953-8811 • Fax: 440-953-9631

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