Monthly Archives: May 2022

Call Your Product What it Really Is…

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Hmmmm. Still puzzled by this Gin. Recently while in the Okanagan assisting with a new craft distillery startup, I was offered a sip of this Lighthouse Gin which comes from the town of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. My initial reaction was that this Gin was the most vile piss I have ever tasted. The back label mentions something about 4 generations of craftsmanship have gone into this Gin.

OK. So…evidently Dad, Grand-dad, and great Great Grand-dad were distillers. But, the taste….how does one account for that? This past week-end, I suddenly had a brainwave! I could not see how a distiller could knowingly put such a wretched product in front of people. And then it hit me.

This Gin is NOT a product failure. This Gin is a marketing failure.

I am now convinced that this product is not Gin at all. This product is Genevre – the original expression of juniper flavored alcohol as created by the Dutch in the 1600s. The distiller is probably just (unknowingly?) following the old family recipe.

In 2015 I took an Alaska cruise on a Holland America cruise boat. One day at the bar I was offered a wee dram of Dutch Genevre. The bartender claimed people of Dutch heritage love the stuff. I thought it was piss!

My cruise boat memory now reminds me the Dutch product on the ship tasted very similar to the Lighthouse Gin from Ucluelet. If I am correct in my analysis, what needs to happen quickly is for this product to be re-named for what it is – Genevre! While the average Canadian Gin drinker will never embrace Lighthouse Gin, I have no doubt there are thousands of people of Dutch heritage across Canada who will immediately recognize this product as being a craft expression of Genevre. Thousands of people clamoring after a traditional product translates into $$$$.

If my memory is serving me wrong and this is not a Genevre recipe, then hmmmmm…I am still at a loss and looking for help…..

Technology – No Thanks!

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For several years now I have heard about the iStill and more recently the Genio still. I have made it a point in my various Workshops to stress that these devices have been made for “dummies” – for people who lack the scientific understanding to comprehend Raoult’s Law and fractional distillation. The people behind the iStill and Genio still recognized that there were “dummies” trying to enter the craft distilling playing field. They recognized that “dummies” will buy a still if all that is required is to turn on the green switch and hit GO on the touchscreen. Brilliant! And I am sure that a good many of these idiot-proof stills have been sold around the world. My hat goes off to the folks behind Genio and iStill for sensing an opportunity and then monetizing it.

During a recent start-up in southern BC, I had the opportunity to come face to face with a Genio still. I read and re-read the skimpy instruction pages. I watched YouTube videos which all seemed to feature the same American bullshit artist crowing about how distillation is so simple. It soon became clear that the operator is required to add a fermented liquid to the still, taking care to ensure the liquid is less than 40% alcohol. The operator is required to input the temperature at which the machine would switch from flowing distillate down hose #1 (heads) to flowing distillate down hose #2 (hearts). The operator is required to input the alcohol strength of the liquid left in the still pot at the end of the process.

During the attempted distillation run, a water valve was mistakenly opened which allowed water to trickle into the still pot as the pot was heating. This ended up creating massive pressure inside the still because the valves governing flow out of the still were told to remain closed by the computer chip algorithm. Moreover, the pot temperature sensor malfunctioned. The digital display was showing 65C, but what I was not aware of was that the temperature was well in excess of that. Finally, the algorithm showed a warning message that there was high pressure in the still pot. When I cracked one of the closure bolts on the lid, it soon became clear that yes… there was massive pressure in the pot. I was now standing beside a veritable “bomb”. There have been issues over the past number of years where stills have exploded. In one case in Tennessee an explosion killed three people. In a more recent case in Newfoundland, nobody was killed but the provincial government has blocked any further craft distillery openings as a result.

After allowing the still to cool down, I was able to remove some liquid from the pot. I then proceeded to run the still again. Part way through the algorithm, the still suddenly shut down due to low water pressure. Literally three seconds prior to this error massage there had been plenty of water pressure to the condenser. Apparently another sensor had malfunctioned. I had to hit the green button and “re-boot” the system. The algorithm then had to go through all of its steps again. On this attempt, the algorithm did execute properly and I was able to obtain 96.5% alcohol.

This experience has left me shaken and very pissed off. All of my warnings in Workshops about these computer controlled, idiot-proof devices have now taken on a real dimension. Distillation is an atmospheric process. There should be no valves that prevent the escape of vapors from the still. The degree of heating should be operator controlled, not computer controlled. The purity of the distillate should be a function of the number of plates in the still column and the amount of operator-applied steam energy.

In my Workshops, I make it very clear that at every craft brewery there will be people who are either very skilled home brewers and/or people who have attended a brewing college somewhere. Equipment makers supplying the beer industry have made NO effort to control the brewing process by way of a computer algorithm. Brewing is completely reliant on operator skill.

Somehow, people entering the craft distilling sector have decided that they are above having to learn anything about distillation, fermentation or basic math. Is it just me or is society getting lazier? Have people given up wanting to learn new skills? Have we regressed to the point where people just want to flip a green switch and hit GO?

It is my prediction that somebody, somewhere is going to get seriously injured when running one of these computer chip stills. This tragic event when it happens will be a major setback for the image of craft distilling.

You cannot take the human element (taste and smell) out of distillation. You cannot remove the atmospheric parameter from distilling.

At the risk of offending readers of this post, let me conclude by saying that if you are too lazy to learn the science behind distillation; if you lack the ability to learn new scientific principles; if you absolutely cannot comprehend Raoult’s Law; if you think that taking a Workshop is a waste of time; if you think that distilling is as simple as hitting GO on a touchscreen, then please, I beg of you – do not get involved in craft distilling.

There are 11 global corporations that control the worldwide alcohol trade. Craft distilling has managed to scalp maybe 5% of the market share over the past 10 years. Craft is a fragile industry. Consumers are very prone to reverting back to their “go-to” commercial brand of beverage alcohol at the first hint that the craft stuff they have bought does not meet their taste expectations. Now with the economy slowing and mortgage rates rising, the consumer does not feel as wealthy and secure as they once did. Less secure consumers are cost conscious. Suddenly the consumer realizes they can buy 1 bottle of craft Gin or 2 bottles of Beefeater Gin.

The reason craft has failed to capture a commanding market share is quality. People at the craft level think that if they make it, people will automatically buy it. This is a flawed attitude. Making beverage alcohol is not easy. Even a humble bottle of Jack Daniels is a carefully controlled blend of multiple ages of barreled distillate. A humble bottle of Crown Royal whisky is a blend of 5 different distillates.

I reckon that maybe 30% of craft distillers have figured out the science and the art of making a solidly good product. But these success stories are facing a constant headwind from all the other operators who are making shoddy product.

Until such time as people start reading and learning about the science of mashing, enzymes, yeast, fermentation, and fractional distillation – the craft distilling industry is going to continue blundering along at its single digit market share. If you are reading this blog and if you are among the 30% who understand the science, maybe it is time to start applying verbal and written pressure to the 70% who are providing headwinds to your success. Enough is enough. This industry is now over 10 years old, but has failed to make a dent in the bottom line of the big commercial distillers financial statements. And now with computer controlled distillation devices that encourage even more untrained people to enter the alcohol business, I fail to see how things get better from here. This is all truly sad, in my opinion.

The Importance of Sunlight

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During a recent craft distillery start-up in southern B.C., I had one of those ah-hah! moments. I realized that events in our atmosphere can negatively affect distillers (and brewer’s too).

At issue is forest fires. Each summer, B.C. is over-run with forest fires that release massive amounts of smoke into the atmosphere. The smoke makes its way into the troposphere portion of our atmosphere. The layer of smoke reduces the amount of solar energy that passes towards the ground.

Plants, such as cereal grains, grow by way of a process called photosynthesis. The leaf structure on a cereal grain plant absorbs CO2 and the plant structure takes up moisture through its root system.

Sunlight hits the leaf structure and the photons of solar energy make their way into the thylakoid layer of the leaf. The H2O moisture is oxidized (loses electrons) into O2. The CO2 is reduced (gains electrons) and becomes glucose (C6H12O6). The glucose units link together to form chains of starch which comes to reside in the endosperm cell structure of the kernels of grain.

A distiller will expose these grains to heat and to proteolytic enzymes to break the starch into smaller glucosyl residues. Yeast will assimilate these residues and generate alcohol type molecules.

But, what if the amount of sunlight impacting the plant is reduced?

If it is, the photosynthesis process will be compromised and the amount of starch in the grain kernel will be reduced. A distiller trying to use these grains will experience a reduced amount of alcohol yield.

If the distiller is required by law to use B.C. grown grains (as B.C. craft distillers are….) the economics of the distillery operation will be challenged. About the only alternative will be to incorporate some more expensive malted grain into the recipe mix. Malted grain in B.C. comes from the Rahr Malting/BSG facility in Armstrong, B.C. This facility sources much of its grain from neighboring Alberta, but because the grain is malted in B.C. the liquor authorities regard it as being of B.C. origin. This raises another issue – 2021 was a dismal year for grain growers in Alberta thanks to drought and hail. There is a shortage of malted grains. Commodity shortages invariably lead to price increases. Add to this argument the grain price increases that have come about because of the Ukraine situation and one can easily see more expensive craft beer and more expensive craft spirits on the horizon.

Sunlight is something we take for granted. But our climate is changing. Annual moisture accumulations are not what they used to be. Smoke from resulting fires is affecting the amount of sunlight reaching the ground, This is creating a clear and present obstacle to the ability of cereal grain plants in B.C. to generate adequate amounts of starch. Wow! Who would have ever thought that such a situation would develop?

The Contractor and the Equipment Maker….

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In late April, 2022 I assisted with the start-up of a new craft distillery in southern BC. When I arrived on site, I was shocked at what I saw.

If you are planning to launch a craft distillery, remember that all electricians are NOT equal. All plumbers are NOT equal. Trades-people have areas of focus, such as residential building construction. Asking an electrician to take a break from installing electrical receptacles in a new-build house to come and install temperature controllers to control the temperature on a fermenter tank is a big ask. You have now taken that trades-person out of their comfort zone. Asking a plumber to take a break from installing a toilet and a shower in a new-build house to come and hook up the water lines to your still condenser is a big ask. Asking that person to help design and install a glycol cooling system is an even bigger ask. You are taking that person out of their comfort zone. They have no idea how a distillery operates. They have no idea how a still condenser works. They have no idea how a glycol system should function in a distillery setting.

Maybe it is my imagination, but somehow I doubt it. I am seeing too much evidence that equipment makers simply don’t give a rat’s ass anymore. Maybe the COVID pandemic has changed the attitude of equipment makers? CO2 relief valves that do not allow the CO2 pressure to release from a fermenter tank was one issue I faced. Analog thermometers that did not properly insert into tank thermo-wells (thus giving grossly inaccurate temperature readings) was another issue. Temperature sensors that did not fit into glycol inlets/outlets on tanks (more inaccuracies) was another issue.

As part of planning your distillery project, take time to travel to other craft distilleries. Find out who they used for plumbing, piping, and electrical installations. I continue to see far too many craft start-ups focus on the still. What escapes people is the importance of all the things that come before the still. If you cannot accurately make a mash and ferment it because of poor and faulty temperature control or CO2 pressure control, then it does not matter what type of still you have.

Also, remember that all of the bits and pieces that come before the still will cost money. Boilers and associated piping, steam traps, and condensate return lines do not come cheap. Mash tanks and fermenter tanks that are properly made do not come cheap. Glycol cooling systems do not come cheap. Mash transfer pumps and hoses do not come cheap. Figure out what these costs will be before you start looking at stills. After all, a still is just a pot that heats liquid so as to create fractional distillation.

Before deciding on a still, it is further imperative that you travel around to not only other craft distilleries, but also to places like Kentucky, Ireland, and Scotland. Decide what taste profile you want for your whisky distillate. If you want the typical Scottish or Irish taste profile, then buying a still with large columns and plates will serve you no purpose. If it is a rich, robust, flavorful Gin you seek, then buying a still with a Gin basket will not help you in any way.

Starting a craft distillery is not easy. Much thought is required. Failure to think will be costly and very likely financially fatal. Failure to engage proper contractors will likewise be another nail in the proverbial coffin.