Rev. Rul. 55-130

Advice has been requested whether it is necessary to completely boil out spirits remaining in the stills at the time operations of a plant as a distillery are discontinued and prior to its operation as an industrial alcohol plant, or vice versa.

The Industrial Alcohol Regulations, Part 182, and the Regulations relating to the Production of Distilled Spirits, Part 220, permit the alternate operation of a plant as an industrial alcohol plant and a distillery pursuant to the requirements specified therein. Sections 182.439 and 182.440 and sections 220.706 and 220.709 of such regulations provide for disposition of the alcohol and spirits produced (finished and unfinished) excepting the residues of such alcohol and spirits remaining in stills `which it is not practicable to completely boil out,' and the materials remaining on hand which may be transferred to the successor.

The provisions of the regulations were intendedd to permit the distiller to effect a practical method of concluding distillation for an alternate operation of the plant without the necessity of terminating operations. Consequently, the beer being conveyed to the beer stills should be cut preferably when the beer wells are empty and distillation should proceed until the quantity of beer entered into the stills has been practically exhausted.

When the same type of mash is being used in the production of the same type of spirits by the same manner of operations and the alcohol and spirits produced are identical except for designation, the stills may be considered sufficiently boiled out to comply with the provisions of the regulations when the spirits drop in proof to a point below that required for the type of spirits being produced