BoozeWerks Podcast

Devin Mills breaks down the basics of barrel aging. The purpose of aging, wood & spirit maturation, and why smaller barrels may not be the best.

Devin Mills talks with Ryan Hembree, Founder & Owner (along with his wife Julie) of Skip Rock Distillers, producers of some serious award winning Liqueurs (and award-winning Rums, Gins & Whiskeys)!

Liqueurs are an often forgotten product, but Ryan helps Devin shed some light on to what is a time-honored tradition, and how Ryan sort of fell into the Liqueur business – to great success! Their Raspberry Liqueur won a Gold Medal & Best-In-Class at the ADI Awards this year (2019), as well as “Worlds Best Fruit Liqueur” at the World Liqueur Awards (2019). And their famous Nocino (Walnut Liqueur) also won a Gold Medal at the World Liqueur Awards (2019).

Skip Rock Distillers is located in Snohomish, Washington (North of Seattle), and the distillery offers tours and has a tasting room.

This is a awesome conversation about the ins-n-outs of Liqueuers, and how time really can be the secret ingredient!

Check out all the details below.

Cheers!

Skip Rock Distillers:

Website – https://www.skiprockdistillers.com

Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/srdistillers

Online Shop – https://www.skiprockdistillers.com/store.html

BoozeWerks President Devin Mills talks about the history, design, and function of the 3-Chamber Still and why it was so popular in rye whiskey production before prohibition.

In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills breaks down the various types of filters you might find in a brewery, and what each stage of filtration brings to the final product.

Episode Highlights:

* History of Filtration

* Developed in Germany

* Why Filter?

* Clarity

* Increase Stability

* Prepare for Wider Exportation

* Types of Filtration

* DE (Diatomaceous earth)

* Sheet Filter

* Cartridge Filter

* Membrane Filter

* Cross-Flow Filter

* Filtration Stages

* Primary

* Trap (Particle)

* Fine

* Final

* Filtration Downsides?

Cheers!

Devin Mills talks with Stephen Gould, Founder & Head Distiller of Golden Moon Distillery, a facility that specializes in herbal liquors and other liqueurs. Stephen & Devin talk all things gin, absinthe, historical recipes, and how palette development is so important to a distiller. This is a great conversation that was recorded at the Golden Moon facility a number of weeks ago (and you will hear some background noise in certain sections). Check out all the details below. Cheers!

Golden Moon Distillery:

Website – https://goldenmoondistillery.com Spirits List – https://goldenmoondistillery.com/ourspirits Golden Moon Speakeasy – http://www.goldenmoonspeak.com/

In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills heads out into the fields to get into the dirt about potato distilling, and why is hasn’t always had the best reputation as an ingredient. 

Episode Highlights:

* More Starch than Grain

* Acreage to Grow

* Potato Processing

* Industrial vs Standard Potatoes

* Cleaning Before & After Milling

* Starch Conversion Debate

* Fermentation & ABV 

* Vodka Purity Issues

* Methanol

* Using Charcoal to Filter

* Chill Haze & Sediment

Cheers!

In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills gets into the details about craft brewery cooling systems and how to calculate what size & type of equipment you’ll need.

Episode Highlights:

* Why Do You Need A Brewery Cooling System

* Continuous vs. Instantaneous Loads

* Boil Kettle Cooling

* BTU Load Calculation

* Water vs Glycol

* Cold Liquor Tank Usage

* Fermentation Control

* Yeast Generate Heat

* Room Heat Gain

* Jacketing

* Cold-Crashing

* Brite Beer Tanks

* Cold Room vs Jacketed

* More Room Heat Gain

* Total Cooling Needs Calculation

Cheers!

Devin Mills talks with Itsara Ounnarath, President of White Tiger Distillery, producers of the ONLY rice-based whisky in the United States!

Itsara talks about his family’s history in coming from Laos and how that has inspired what they produce at his distillery. Located in Forest Hill, Maryland (outside of Baltimore), the distillery offers tours and has a tasting room.

This is a very cool conversation about the history of booze in Laos, the traditions of who used to make the liquor, and how rice as an ingredient can be very different. (This interview was recorded via the web a number of weeks ago, so please excuse some of the audio tweaks on Itsara’s portion.)

Check out all the details below.

Cheers!

White Tiger Distillery:

Website – http://www.wtigerd.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wtigerd/

Online Shop – https://squareup.com/store/white-tiger-distillery-llc/

In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills talks about cider apples and how you go about making hard cider.

Episode Highlights:

* Common Fermentation Problems

* Types of Apples

* Sharp, Bittersharp, Bittersweet, Sweet

* Acidity

* Sweetness

* Concentrate vs. Crushed

* How to Crush

* Mill Types

* Pressing

* Treatment for Wild Yeasts

* Best Cider Fermentations

In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills goes into detail about a Distillery Thumper, or Doublers.

* What is a Thumper

* How do they work

* Tuning a Thumper

* Initial Charge

* Goals of a Thumper

* Low-Proof

* High-Proof

* Shrinking Volume

* Depth

* Running Fast