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…..
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.
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?
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.
In my travels to Scotland from 2017 to 2019 for my M.Sc. studies I noticed a common theme. The academic professors (wonderful people, love them all!!) had little if any real world experience. They had all variously worked in industry for a small handful of years until they realized they were smart enough that the day-to-day tasks of working in a brewery were boring. So, they made an exit and headed for the hallowed halls of academia.
The other thing I noted was none of these people were engaged in some back-yard distilling activity on week-ends. None seemed to talk about brewing beer in their kitchen on weekends.
These observations were highlighted recently when I was alerted to the notion of using field peas to make alcohol. An entire paper had been written in 2019 and published in an environmental type journal.
When I read this paper, I quickly realized that the paper was conjecture. No actual alcohol from peas had been made.
At issue is the fact that peas are classed as legumes. There are tiny hairs on the root system of the pea plant. These hairs interact with the air that penetrates the first few inches of the soil in the farm field. The net product of this interaction is Nitrogen being added to the soil. Legumes are thus referred to as “Nitrogen fixers”. The benefit of this is if a farmer grows peas in season 1, by virtue of the Nitrogen added to the soil, the farmer will have to add a reduced amount of fertilizer to the soil in season 2. This is favorable for the environment because the Haber Bosch process for ammonia fertilizer manufacture is not exactly eco-friendly.
The 2019 paper argued that growing peas will be eco-friendly, the alcohol could be used for making Gin, farmers will benefit economically, blah…blah…blah.
But, here is what most people don’t know. Peas are very much subject to blights and mildews. If a pea crop becomes infected, the bacterial spores can remain in the soil for several years. Subsequent crops planted in the field will be negatively affected. Hence, a farmer faced with an infected pea crop will resort to spraying the field with a harsh chemical like 2-4-D. This is some nasty shit! We are talking scorched earth policy. Bacterial spores and any living microbes will be killed dead by the 2-4-D. Any surface run-off after a rainstorm will carry residual 2-4-D into the surrounding environment. Birds and animals will be at risk.
Looking closer at the notion of legume alcohol, it is important to remember that legumes have less carbohydrate than cereal grains. A way less! Moreover, the alcohol from legumes will have a unique taste profile. Consider my experience with lentils – a legume plant. In 2019 I made some lentil-barley distillate (50/50 grain mash bill). I barrel aged the distillate in a small oak barrel for 6 months. The “whisky” had a zesty, zingy profile. Many people enjoyed sipping it. For serious whisky drinkers, it was a no go. Whisky, they said, should not be zesty. As for peas, there will be a residual flavor of some sort that gets imparted to the distillate. To get rid of this flavor will require distilling the alcohol through multiple plates in a tall column to get 96% abv product. Even then, there still might be a trace of unique flavor.
I am going to try to make some pea alcohol in the coming weeks. I have access to organic field peas that have not ever seen any added chemical or pesticide. I will mash using enzymes and ferment with Lallemand distillers yeast. It is my understanding that peas have perhaps 20% carbohydrate content. Maybe this number is not totally accurate, but in any case peas will have less fermentable starch than cereal grain.
I will post again on this site when I have some alcohol made. Stay tuned. In the meantime, when you hear about using “novel” ingredients to make alcohol, exercise some skepticism. Cereal grains are not going to be replaced any time soon… Anyone with some common sense knows that…..
Here is another stunning example of a flavored libation. The banana and caramel notes are deep and robust. This is a real testament to the quality of flavoring compounds available to the craft alcohol industry.
As I enjoyed a series of Banana-Caramel + Egg Nog drinks last evening, I could not help but to feel sad for what the craft distilling industry has morphed into.
To be very candid, people who got into craft distilling certainly were brimming with passion. But they were lacking in scientific knowledge.
As the industry was emerging, I had the distinct advantage of spending time in Scotland pursuing my M.Sc. degree in Brewing and Distilling. I had the good fortune to be able to travel around Scotland. One day I had an oh-oh moment. Maybe it is better to say I had an oh-shit! moment. I suddenly realized that the world is drowning in alcohol. Distilleries I visited were cranking out 10, 15 and even 30 million liters a year using only a small handful of process operators.
Not long afterwards, in Canada I could sense the ground starting to shift. Craft distilling had aroused the sleeping bear. The big boys with their commanding market share woke up and started to fight back. They doubled down on their advertising and product creation efforts. At my house, my wife who enjoys my home-made Gin started coming home with bottles of Tanqueray Rangpur Gin. Initially I laughed this off. But then I tasted the Gin. Oooohh! The big boys can deliver a knock-out punch when they want to. The Gin was seriously good. I headed off in search of exotic citrus fruits to up my home distilling game. Thankfully I found a spice vendor in western Canada that provided me with what I was looking for.
Consumers then became enlightened. In the beginning, craft distilling was new and shiny. People wanted a piece of it. But as the big boys fought back with credibly good products, the consumer realized that there was no need to give up allegiance to the brand names. Besides, the brand names were cheaper.
Craft distillers then faced the dilemma of having to get prices down to counter the big boys. That is a tall order to fill when your rent plus equipment loans plus raw material costs can be north of $10,000 per month. For many craft players there was precious little wiggle room for price reductions.
So craft distillers started to embrace bulk ethanol made by large, industrial ethanol makers. These ethanol makers could provide the craft operator with vodka, whisky and even rum distillates at a cost of around $6 per liter. Cheaper than a craft distiller grinding his own grain or handling jugs of molasses could make it for.
As we get set to start 2022, I predict that the road ahead will be a rough one for craft operators who are financially ill-prepared. Covid has been tough on small business and it ain’t done yet. Add to this scenario the fact that the big boys have been stirred and riled up and they are not backing off.
Vodka is nothing more than ethanol and water diluted down to 40% abv. The market is drowning in vodka. The consumer will seek out a cheap vodka because they mix their vodka with something else. A craft distiller grinding his own grain and singing the virtues of being craft and grain to glass will find himself singing to an empty room.
Whisky in Canada is nothing more than a blend of 2 or 3 types of distillate (wheat, barley, rye, maybe corn…) aged for a handful of years. Factories in Lethbridge, AB, Gimli, MB, and Windsor, ON are cranking the stuff out 24-7. They know that Canadians are mixers. So, crank it out, market the hell out of it, and sell it out. Along the way maybe hire a blow-hard to name your Whisky the best in Canada. Hell – why stop there? Pay him more money and call it the best in the world. The consumer will lap it up like a kitten with warm milk.
Herein is a stellar opportunity for craft players. Make a deep, robust whisky expression. Why stop at one? Make several different expressions. Use the double pot distilling technique. Age it for 5 or 6 years in oak. The big players will not be able to challenge you. To do this will require some solid financial footing on your part. Time is money as the old adage goes. Barrels ageing at your distillery don’t pay you right away. A classic example is the just-released Rye Whisky from Tumbleweed Distillery in Osoyoos, BC. Expensive? Yes – its $85. Good? Damn straight it is. And you don’t dare ever mix this with coke or ginger ale. A tiny splash of water and your taste buds will be dancing happy with every sip. That’s what whisky appreciation is all about. Craft whisky offers serious potential….
Gin also presents another opportunity for craft players. The big boys tend to have a small portfolio of gins. Yes, they might be tasty, but it takes time to make them and concoct the marketing programs. A craft distiller can easily have a new gin recipe designed today and made tomorrow. Gin is a very personal thing. Some people like the aromas of citrus in a gin. Some like it a bit spicy on the finish. Some like to experience lavender notes on every sip. So – make one of each. Have an entire family of craft gins. Something for everyone. Yes, it will cost money to carry multiple gins in inventory. The cost of sourcing different labels and registering different SKUs with the liquor authorities all add up. But, if you stand on firm financial footing, you can make an impact.
Rum is another area to look at. When I was initially scoping out M.Sc. thesis projects I came to realize that there are a number of rum makers in the Caribbean cranking out rum distillate 24/7. They are only too happy to sell a licenced distiller some distillate. In 2018, one rum that was catching attention was BumBoo. I found a bottle and was pleasantly surprised at the bouquet of aromas. This was distillate from Barbados flavored with spice and flavor compounds, bottled and marketing very smartly. All by a group in New York State. As a craft distiller, perish the urge to start fermenting molasses and standing in front of a still. Buy the distillate and age it, flavor it, market it. Yes it will cost you money as your piece together your supply chain. Yes, it will take time. But, in the end it will all be worth it.
Cream based libations are another area to look at, but the playing field might be getting a tad crowded. Making cream based products demands some rudimentary knowledge of Stoke’s Law. Fat globules like to glom together and separate from the cream. Calcium casseinate will slow down the process.
RTD products have literally exploded across the beverage landscape. My first hint at the tidal wave coming was when I stopped at a Tesco supermarket near my hotel in Edinburgh. Every flavor and mixture of alcohol imaginable was in a can, carbonated and ready to drink (RTD). I urged people in my Workshops to jump on the RTD tidal wave. They yawned and looked at me glassy-eyed and said nope… we just wanna’ distill booze. Wow! Opportunity missed. The big buys are now muscling in on the scene and taking market share. For craft distillers, it may not be too late. Find some unique flavors that the big boys have overlooked. Go for it!
Flavored Vodkas leaves this story back where it started. The big boys have a vast array of flavored vodkas on shelves. But these vodkas are all clear. The flavors are all chemical in nature. They do this for mass-production product consistency reasons. A craft operator has a window of opportunity to source some natural flavoring compounds from places like Food Arom. The result can be something like the Banana Caramel libation pictured atop this post. You can bend and twist with ease, offering seasonal variations of flavored vodka. But, you will not be alone. All your competitors will be thinking alike. Money for marketing then enters the picture.
When I first set foot in the craft arena in 2013, I had high hopes. I had visions of craft distilleries grinding their own grain and thoroughly embracing the field to flask ideal. But, a lack of scientific knowledge presented an insurmountable barrier. You have to understand the science of food and drink if you are expecting a consumer to ingest your product. Chucking a bunch of un-hydrated yeast over your shoulder into a vessel of hot mash of unknown temperature just doesn’t cut it. Not being able to solve an algebraic expression so you can proof alcohol doesn’t fly. Craft has been shoved back into a corner. The big boys reign supreme. And the craft movement has itself to blame.
Can craft come out of its corner and fight another few rounds? Certainly it can. But, people have to embrace science. They don’t have to wander off in search of an M.Sc. degree. I can help anybody grasp the science. On the surface, it all appears daunting. It really is not. I can help you. Once you wrap your head around the science of what you are doing, you will be able to deliver a few stiff upper-cuts to the big boys. You will send them reeling back against the ropes.
If you are reading this post and contemplating an adventure into the craft beverage industry, I do hope we can cross paths at one of my 2022 planned 5-day Distillery Workshops to be held in Cawston , BC. The details are elsewhere on this website.
Even if you are not contemplating a full-blown craft adventure and just want to learn about beverage alcohol, one of my Workshops will raise your knowledge bar and make you a very discerning customer of beverage alcohol.
There are some incredible flavor-manufacturing companies in existence. One that I highly recommend is Food Arom.
I recently asked Food Arom to send me some sample vials of Rum Spice flavor so I could experiment with making a spiced rum.
The vials are shown in this photo.
I took 20 mls of rum ( the bottle in the photo is 63% alc Hi Proof rum from Jamaica) and added 10 mls of a spice solution. The next result was a mixture that measured 42% alc.
I repeated this exercise with each of the other vials.
This is a very efficient way to arrive at a recipe formulation.
For the record, two of the vials had what I detected to be a high AllSpice/Clove content. A little over the top for my taste buds. The third vial however, was bang on ! It was aromatic and the spiciness was smooth. When I mixed my 30 ml sample with a splash of Egg Nog, I was in nirvana.
Food Arom has the N. American continent divided into sales territories. Here in Saskatchewan, I end up dealing with a sales guy in St. Louis. Wherever you live, Food Arom will look after you.
If a flavored beverage libation is your goal, let Food Arom take care of you…..
In my upcoming 5-day Workshops I will go into more detail on flavor additives.
I normally steer clear of commercial London Dry Gins. The other day my wife brought home a bottle of Tanqueray Rangpur Gin because the supply of my homemade Gin was depleted (geez! wonder how that happened?). I had a sip of Rangpur and was blown away! The citrus profile is beyond delicious. The label hints that the rangpur lime is rare. It is actually not.
The rangpur is a natural cross between a female citron fruit and a male mandarin fruit. In fact, our citrus type fruits all can trace their origins back to the citron fruit.
citron fruit
The rangpur lime grows in south east Asia and even in the USA. The rangpur lime is called canton lemon in China; hime lemon in Japan; limao galego in Brazil; and mandarin lime in the USA.
rangpur lime
If you are a craft distiller or even a home distiller, try to source some of these limes. The Gin you create will be truly elegant!
When making a mash of malted grain in a distillery, it is critical to engage in two temperature rests (64 and 74 C). The goal is to thoroughly break down the cell structure of the grain so as to release the starches and proteins from within the endosperm cells. The heat energy of the mash then further breaks down the starches into smaller constituent bits of sugar. The protein contained in the endosperm cells is also broken down into smaller peptide and amino acid bits. Smaller bits of sugar and peptide can be assimilated by the yeast and the net result will be a ferment with good alcohol yield.
This same two-temperature rest is also applied when making a lager type beer. A lager beer by definition will be clean and refreshing without the residual maltiness that is typical of an ale style of beer. A brewer making a lager style of beer will subject his wort to a boil that is longer than that applied to an ale. In fact, a lager boil should be a solid 90 minutes, perhaps longer. The goal is to get the proteins and peptides to drop out of solution and fall to the bottom of the kettle. At issue is something called the Siebert Model, advanced by Cornell University professor Karl Siebert in the late 1990s. His work built on earlier work from the early 1990s by Kirin Brewing in Japan. The model says that protein bits in the fermented wort can interact with polyphenols in the wort (arising from the hops added). The net result is a visible haze which any beer judge will regard as a serious defect. Beer judges aside, consumers too will regard haze as a defect. Think about all the commercial lager beer you have tasted (ranging from Coors to Bud to Labatts Blue to Kokanee….). Have you ever encountered one that is hazy? No you have not.
In June 2021, I happened upon a craft brewery in Calgary that had a number of different beer expressions on offer. I bought a 4-pak of their Pilsner. Imagine my shock when the liquid that poured out of the can was hazy. Imagine my further shock when I realized the beer had been excessively hopped to the point of being not enjoyable. When I contacted the brewery, I was met with a brick wall. I offered to engage in some discussion concerning this product. There was no discussion to be had. I can only conclude that the folks at this brewery were afraid of my in-depth brewing science understanding. I am growing very wary of the craft beer scene in Canada. It seems the lack of science is a serious issue. So much so that when one brewery releases a new product, others will quickly try to emulate. What started as a sour beer expression by one a few years back soon spiraled out of control to deliver recent abominations like key lime pie sour and blueberry, raspberry, vanilla, chocolate sour. Now I am sensing a consumer-led shift to lager styles of beer. I am sure there will be craft brewers that unleash some truly amazing lagers. But, if those trying to emulate have not attained the knowledge to make a suitable lager product, there could be some abysmal failures to be had. The key take-away is – before you grab the 4-pak and run, be sure to taste some at the brewery first. A little taste beforehand is what I should have done in Calgary. Then I would not be sitting here pissed off writing this post….
Bacteria in a distillery can quickly proliferate and become a serious problem. As a real life case in point, consider the distiller who bought some pails of grape juice only to find they were contaminated. The juice was dumped and the pails tossed in a corner. Several weeks later, some fermented wort from the distiller’s large fermenter tank was pumped into one of these empty pails for planned use a day later. The next day came, and so did a surprise. The pail of wort had transformed itself into vinegar overnight. Evidently, these empty pails had acetobacter bacteria alive in them. Adding the wort and introducing some oxygen during the liquid transfer created ideal conditions for acetobacter to thrive. Acetobacter will oxidize ethanol (and leave higher molecular chain alcohols alone) into acetic acid. When the spoiled wort was distilled in a small 20 L A’Lambic still, what came off the still was higher alcohols only and no ethanol. This lack of ethanol confirmed that acetobacter was the culprit. So, the bottom line is, do not keep empty pails laying around that can harbor bacteria. If you need it, keep it and keep it clean. If you don’t need it, throw it away. Distillery cleanliness is crucial. A distiller shares his distillery with bacteria. The bacteria can be kept in check by regular and thorough cleaning and by ridding the premises of items like unwanted pails where bacteria will thrive.
