In my Distillery Workshops, I usually start with a small quiz. The quiz presents the workshop attendee with a series of tasks associated with launching a craft distillery project. It is remarkable to see practically every quiz taker stating that the #1 task to be completed is to sign a lease on a building (or buy the building outright).

I continue to get inquiries from people across Canada who are interested in starting a craft distillery. In two recent inquiries, I stressed to the people inquiring that they MUST get in front of their local fire inspector to determine whether or not he will approve the building being considered. In both cases, I was told – ” no worries, we know the fire inspector, he will approve…”.

The key point to remember is that the fire inspector has to sign off on the distillery project. If the building ever did burn down, that inspector is potentially liable.

I can now reveal that in both these recent cases, the fire inspector DID NOT approve. In one case, the building being considered was a 2 x 4 wood framed building. No fire inspector will ever approve a wood-framed building for a distillery project. In the other case, the fire inspector took a clever tactic and stated that the building under consideration would have to be zoned ‘industrial’, which triggers a whole bunch of building code/fire code/electrical code considerations, not to mention town council reviews and public commentary periods.

So before you get excited at the prospect of becoming a craft distiller, arrange for a meeting with your fire inspector. Get to know him. Maybe ask him what areas of town he recommends for a craft distillery. Focus your search efforts on those areas. If you are contemplating building a facility from the ground up, engage an architectural technician to help you in your design considerations. In 2020 when I was thinking about a distillery in Mossbank, Sask, the engineering consultant I engaged spelled out how walls, studs, and even insulation would have to be made of non-combustible materials (ie metal studs, extra dry-wall layers, metal cladding etc…).

Once you have engaged your fire inspector and clarified what is required in terms of a building, call me for further discussion. I look forward to hearing from you.