Professional Equipment and Advice (moved here)

[CaolanDix]

Hello,

I started brewing mead in 1993ish when the internet was very limited and the only online resource available was a text document (which I still have someplace). Since then I have brewed many a recipe, trying many things and have finally settled on recipes that I like a lot and so do many others. I have won quite a number of accolades in my own community and set of friends.

Recently I came across some business people who tasted my wares and feel that I would be good enough to actually sell it, and they want to give me money to do so.

I would like to know if anyone could help me out with coming up to speed with what it takes to be a primetime brewer.

The main issues I have had with my meads are these:
- Even after rigorous filtering, even the five year old batches get residue on the bottom.
- There still seems to be fermenting going on after a few years because I can still hear a hiss when I pop the seal on the bottles if they have been sitting for awhile.
- What is a basic setup of professional equipment needed to brew approximately 25 gallons of three products staggered out over the course of the year so that I can always be no more than three months without ready product. This I imagine would be a filtering setup, small bottling facility, heated fermentation tanks, but not sure what else would be needed.

Thanks!

Caolan Dix
(soon to be) Valkyrie Mead Co.

 

[CaolanDix]

Disclaimer... et. al...

Just read the FAQ. Silly of me I know...

Okay, so I am not looking for anyone to answer my brewing questions for me. Just asking for tips on stabilizing for bottling. I try to keep everything as natural as possible without a lot of stabilizers so I have approached my mead making as such but for the commerical market that takes it to a whole new level.

Thanks!
-Caolan.

 

[wayneb]

Good catch, CaolanDix, and welcome to the "GotMead?" community!!

There is a place on the forums to ask commercial meadmakers about their particular experiences and knowledge about going pro, and that would be here:
http://www.gotmead.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=149

However, should you want to bottle without chemical stabilization it is possible if you're willing to invest in sub-micron filtration equipment. You'll also need to ensure a completely sanitized work environment is maintained throughout your process, which is no mean feat. But it is doable - just a little expensive, even for us homebrewers.

 

[wayneb]

BTW - We moved the thread over here, so it can more easily catch the attention of some of the pro meadmakers on Gotmead!

 

[dr9]

Three 25 gallon batches over a year, that doesn't seem like alot of mead. I may drink half that amount myself.

 

[IanB]

Hobby Winery

For a meadery that small, you are really in the 'hobby' winery space. Remember that you really aren't doing it for 'real' money at that batch size.

For equipment, you should probably just have a conical fermenter such as the "Ferminator" (which can expand up to 42 gallons). Racking is easier and you can always crash cool (which will help reduce sediment in the wine) and filtering from a conical should be better as you can remove sediment.

If you think hard about profit, you may want to expand to something larger for any real commercial distribution.

Good luck!

 

[Smarrikåka]

Have you spoken to your potential investors about the quantities?

I think smaller quantities like that could be made to work commercially, but only if it's a joint venture such as a meadpub, that is selling it's own mead (and the mead of others too!).

 

[Brad Dahlhofer]

If you think hard about profit, you may want to expand to something larger for any real commercial distribution.

Good luck!

We produced about 5000 gallons last year and we're still what I'd consider small.

 

[DaleP]

The company I work for makes the "Brewhemoth", a half barrel stainless steel fermenter for under $400. It might be worth checking out. Phone number is 877-877-3774