Category: Spirits and Distilling
The distillation process
News ADI to Hold Annual Craft Spirits Conference & Vendor Expo in Baltimore August 27-28
The American Distilling Institute will hold its 21st annual Craft Spirits Conference and Vendor Expo in Baltimore August 27-28 at the Baltimore Convention Center and Hilton Inner Harbor. Early Bird registration rates are now open.
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News Sales of Spirits Fall by 4.2% in First Half of 2023
A report from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) shows that sales of spirits in the US fell by 4.2% during the first six months of 2023. Sales of premium spirits took the biggest hit with products over $100 per bottle falling by two digits.
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Expanding into Craft Distilling for the Craft Brewer
The wine industry has a saying: it takes a lot of beer to make good wine. When it comes to spirits, there is actual truth in the saying. Distilling and brewing share a common production core, one that is synergistic in ways that are less applicable to wine. The commonality has intrigued many brewers and the industry has seen many beer and spirit operations open around the country. There are some hurdles to the process, unsurprising in the world of beverage alcohol, but the potential for expanding markets beyond beer are worth exploring.
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Sponsored Thirty-Three Questions on Taste Rich Distilling… Answered.
It provides you with answers to some of the most important questions surrounding distilling. In an easy and concise way. It may take away some of the “magic” other teachers have thrown at you, but I’ll replace that with real and tested answers and solutions you can use in your day to day distilling operation. It’s the questions I had when I started out in this industry. And this article is about sharing the answers I found with you.
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Sponsored Tales From the Work floor: How Loki Distillery Works Magic on Stale Beer
The Covid crisis has had a big impact on businesses all around the world. The hospitality industry, in many countries, has been hit especially hard. At Loki Distillery we have been fortunate enough to see our business grow during the pandemic. The reason we were able to switch gears and change production is due to the adaptability of iStill technology. We’ve gotten similar reports from iStill colleagues all over the world; they easily switched to distilling hand sanitizer when there was a shortage or turned to different products when sales dropped, or demand changed.
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News New Report Shows Craft Spirits Continuing to Grow
The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and Park Street released the Craft Spirits Data Project (CSDP) at its annual Craft Spirits Economic Briefing, which was held at New York Distilling Co. last week. The report finds that the U.S. craft spirits market share reached 4.9% in volume and 7.5% in value in 2021, up from 4.7% in volume and 7.1% in value in 2020.
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News Firestone Walker Collaborates with Calwise Spirits to Create ‘Old Tom Big Sur Gin’
Calwise Spirits and Firestone Walker Brewing Company have collaborated together to create “Old Tom Big Sur Gin,” using a special mash made at the brewery. According to a press release, Firestone Walker generated a mash of traditional brewing grains with a complement of wine grape juice, all fermented with native yeast and bacteria.
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Distilling Primer: Scott Vaccaro Covers What Brewers Need to Know Before Opening a Distillery
As brewers of all size think about growth, diversification of offerings, and creativity, the idea of opening a distillery component has crossed most minds. While beer and spirits share a lot of the same space, there are a lot of practical, financial, and logistical issues to overcome with distilling that just do not exist in beer.
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You Have a Brewstillery, Then What?
Maturation Post Distillation: You can use your brewery tanks for spirit storage. Since you do not need to control temperature or hold under carbon dioxide pressure you can substitute much simpler, less expensive tanks for this step. The liquor at this point will need to be held in a separate bonded area for tax purposes, and you must have fire suppression measures in place according to local code. Maturation depends on the particular product being made. White spirits can go immediately to finishing and packaging. Others must be allowed to mature in casks. Aging in new, charred, wooden barrels is the most common procedure. This is sometimes followed by a shorter, second aging in used wine or fortified-wine barrels.
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What type of still is right for my operation?
While sourcing the correct still may seem a little daunting, here are a few things to consider. Most equipment manufactures understand not all prospective brewery/distillery facilities are created equally. Some manufacturers are willing to customize the equipment to fit the brewer’s specific needs and space. Another thing to consider is how often you plan to operate the equipment. In some cases, bigger is not better, and if it’s too small you may have and issue with keeping up with demand. When choosing a still and project production volume, pay attention to the increased loads on your existing heating and cooling systems. Some start-up craft distillers report overloading of existing brewery systems during peak production periods.
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Adding a Distillery to a Brewery – What would I need to add or change?
Will my current Grist or Grain Mill work? A variety of malted grains can be processed with a grain mill. You can probably use your existing mill to crush the malted grains or purchase pre-gelatinized flakes of cereal adjuncts from your malt supplier to add to your mash to increase the alcohol content allowing the operator to have a higher yield in the distillation phase.
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What could I make with a Distillery?
CQ – What types of spirits do you make?
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Distillery – Adding craft liquor production to your brewery
Probrewer.com thanks the following Brewstillery content contributors:
Brandon Wright, The Depot Brewery & Distillery
Clark McCool, McMenamins Inc.
Yusuf Cherney. Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits (Now CutWater Spirits)
Eric Howard, Sinister Deluxe Brewery & Distillery
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Distilling Beer Schnapps
Microbreweries, now having been successful outlets of palatable, aromatic and distinguished beers, have planted their roots, established their legacy and are ready for some fresh air. Well, these brown bottle pioneers need look no further – their spirited cousins are gaining speed and ready to join forces.
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Distilling Brandy
“Brandy” originates from the Dutch brandywign, which means, “burnt wine.” Dutch traders introduced the secrets of brandy making to Northern Europe after learning about it in France and Spain. It is said that Brandy was spread to these western Mediterranean countries by word from the Arab alchemists of Muslim states back in the 7th and 8th centuries. After so much traveling, one can imagine the variance among brandies across Europe. Brandy can be categorized in three ways: grape brandy, pomace brandy, and fruit brandy.
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