EZdrinking

Spirit Reviews, Tasting Events and Consulting

Searching for the world's best drinks and what makes them extraordinary. EZdrinking is a drinks blog by Eric Zandona that focuses on distilled spirits, wine, craft beer and specialty coffee. Here you can find reviews of drinks, drink books, articles about current & historical trends, as well as how to make liqueurs, bitters, and other spirit based drinks at home.

Filtering by Tag: Bull Run Distillery

Yeast & Fermentation Class for Distillers a Success

On October 4th and 5th I attended White Labs' Yeast and Fermentation class for distillers down in San Diego. The class was packed full of good information and it was attended by about a dozen new distillers. The attendees ranged in experience from professionals brewers to home beer and wine makers interested in starting a distillery. Overall the class was very well organized and the talks were professionally presented.

The main take away from the class was, treat your yeast well because it creates hundreds of flavor and aroma compounds that will concentrate in the distillate...

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Upcoming Yeast & Fermentation Workshop For Distillers

Image from White Labs

On October 4th and 5th I'm going to be in San Diego, attending White Labs' 4th annual Yeast and Fermentation Workshop and Webinar for Distillers.  The two day workshop will cover a broad range of topics related to yeast, such as, basic biology, how to select strains for specific distillates, and the sensory impact of yeast on distilled spirits. The first day of seminars will be at White Labs, and the second day's practicum will be held at  Ballast Point Spirits.

Lee Medoff of Bull Run Distillery in Portland took the class last year and I talked with him to get his impression of the class.  Lee has worked as a brewer, vintner and distiller for quite some time and told me he was interested in picking up some tips about low nutrient cane sugar fermentations for rum.  Lee said that he particularly liked the hands on yeast hydration and culturing lab.  And, in his opinion, one of the best parts of the workshop were the unstructured times he could talk one on one with the White Labs staff and the other distillers, trading tips and best practices.  Like with any two day workshop there were a couple of topics he wanted more of.  But, when he returned to Bull Run, Lee brought back some new yeast protocols that required some trial and error to get just right for his distillery.  However, he seems to feel that the workshop helped him improve his fermentations for rum.  Lee told me that since he has taken the class, he has recommended it to all of the members of the Oregon Distillers Guild. That sounds like a resounding recommended to me and I'm excited that I can attend.

For anyone interested in improving their yeast management and or learning about good fermentation practices particular to the needs of distillers, this sounds like the workshop for you.  To find out more details about the class call White Labs at 1-888-5-Yeast-5 or check out their website.