Costs and Requirements
To start a small distillery, the initial costs are around $30,000. This includes the lease, licenses, equipment like stills and fermenters, and supplies, with total costs ranging from $13,000 to $33,000. The largest expense is renting a distillery space, followed by insurance, and a vehicle. Essential equipment includes:
- Mills
- Fermenters
- Stills
- Bottling machinery
Essential Distilling Equipment
Basic Equipment:
- Mash Tun: For mashing grains.
- Fermenters: To convert sugars into alcohol.
- Stills: The most crucial equipment for transforming grains into alcohol.
- Packaging: Including bottling machinery, labelers, and heat tunnels.
Specialty Equipment for Different Spirits:
- Whiskey: May only require a simple pot still.
- Vodka: Needs multiple tall columns for high purity.
- Gin: Requires a separate still to avoid flavor cross-contamination.
Renting space, buying used equipment, and obtaining licenses could establish a small distillery for approximately $30,000, with the significant cost being the lease of the distillery space.