The Alembic

New opportunities in education abound.  The last hurdle is satisfying the good folks of health and safety.  I get to learn about all the regulations the county must enforce and fortunately, the people in charge are patient to a fault.  And as the recent past has demonstrated, I have dear friends willing to help me out. (Kudos to Justin and his heavy equipment skills, this time)  Ridge will need a few more things and a few more approvals but it’s all moving in a timely fashion.   What’s another month or two or even three?  It’s all good.

Formula development is also moving along.  The most recent runs of the Absinthe Blanche and Verte show real promise.  I need to let both “rest” a little while longer, taste again and then decide if this is “it”…the final formula I submit for approval.  The last gin was wonderfully flavorful but that delicate balance went slightly askew and the product is a bit hazy.  Seriously, one more test run and I think I’ll have the gin formula I want.

Finally, the labels are coming along very nicely.  Our designer and good friend is thrilling me beyond words I can express.  Beautiful, detailed work that captures everything I ever imagined.  I can’t wait to officially launch the label work.  That will also happen very soon.  Patience.

Santé

Very tasty work!

Today was a good day for one last “junk run” on the 200 liter still. It once again, worked like a champ and this time, the distillate ran clean and pure, extracting over 2 gallons of 80% alcohol. At the same time, in the 30 liter still we ran a absinthe prototype. We’ll have a better idea about that in a few days.

Here are a couple of photos from today.

But the best time today was spent taking care of the cute little guy…

Santé
j

Hopefully, we’ll have some very cool Season’s Greetings coming in just a couple of days as the excitement at Ridge Distillery continues to grow. This last week saw a visit from the Regional Building Inspector and the Montana State Deputy Fire Marshall. Ridge received the seal of approval from both offices with only the most minor of recommendations. I had been stressing about the visits (not having done this before) but all is very well.

We are expecting our first delivery of Grain Neutral Spirits early this week, too. Until this delivery, we have only been able to dink around with our formulas. Once we have the spirits, we should be plenty busy for a while. It’s hard not to make Christmas Spirits jokes, lemme tell ya. Santé

We had some heavy work to do today so I invited a couple of friends over.  Stout hearts!  Jaz, Rich and Zach are as dependable as anyone could hope from a friend.  They jumped right in helping with some basic construction, moving heavy concrete blocks and helping to make a spirits storage facility.  Not wanting to be out-shown by any old boy, Jules also grabbed concrete blocks, helped to prepare the loading dock surface and made an additional mad-dash into town for more blocks and fire resistant mortar.   Everyone should have friends this good.  Cheers, guys!

Today was the first test run of the 200 liter still and a first test of the Montana Juniper. A few family members and friends were handy to lend support, make fun of me and bring lots of food for the ’stillery picnic.

The first problem appeared last night as we were setting up. There was a tiny leak in the seam of the big condenser. I patched it up with a smear of silicone but apparently I didn’t smear the right place. We placed a plastic pitcher under the dripped and it served us fine for today. I’ll fix that later.

I needed a lid for the waterbath not only to hold the still down but also to help contain the steam. A nice piece of 2″ styrofoam, cut to size provided great insulation while a piece of 1/4″ sheetstock (with a hole in the center for the still) made a great lid. 4 cinder blocks held the still down and the lid tight against the water tank.

Jules loading garbage into the still.  Our main goal was to make certain the system worked and to flush out the still.

Good friends Rich, Shirley and Gunter watch while I double-check connections (and generally look confused).  Note the two plastic pitchers on the floor under the condenser.  I gotta fix that.

My ‘Stillery Wench: The only reason anyone should ever consider such a venture.

Dr. Gin…er, Dr. Jaz!  Working on Montana Juniper Berries in the 30 liter R&D still.  Our initial impression was favorable.  The berries are slightly mild with a hint of pine-tree freshness.  Jules proclaimed, “No Hydrogen Peroxide taste!”  I can’t wait to try our little sample run in a couple more days.

Is that a thing of beauty?  The 200 liter still worked like a champ and flushed tons of gunk out of the never-before-used condenser.

Everything about the still worked beautifully.  I kept waiting for something to go wrong but from start to finish, the system never missed a beat.

I was also worried about my design for the water bath, fearful it wouldn’t reach a high enough temperature.  At 98.2, it was still climbing but my garbage run was finished so I ended the test.

So, am I happy with the day’s events?  Well the stills worked great.  The Montana Juniper shows promise of a slightly unique gin.  I had a wealth of family and friends around me.  Am I happy?  What do you think?

Official Approval of Ridge Distillery’s DSP Permit by the TTB. What can I possibly add to that?

Only a year ago this coming weekend, Jules, Bill and my Evil Sister Brenda arrived in Portland to toast Gwydion’s launching of Marteau. We had lots of great food, excellent drinks, Voo Doo Donuts and crashed out at the infamous Jupiter Motel. It was a joy from start to finish thanks in large part to Bill’s willingness to be the company’s Mario Andretti.

Gwydion and Jules in front of a wall of Marteau.It was a sight to behold.

Bill has such a way with the ladies.  She only gave him the cold shoulder because Brenda was nearby.

But Jules was all about the hole and we helped her find it.

So a year has slipped away, resplendent with changes.  We have a building where there wasn’t one before.  The herb farm has grown like crazy.  The building is filled with equipment, herbs, stills and bottles waiting to be filled.  Our friends have pitched in again and again to help us shoulder the labor and laugh at our foibles.  It’s been a great year and I’m looking forward to the coming challenges.

Still.  It’d be nice to hang with Gwydion, Bill and Brenda in Portland this weekend.   Santé.

Changes are coming.  News is coming.  Soon.

Everything is coming along just fine at the government’s own pace.  Each day a little closer.  On that note, I have to add that the people at the Federal and State level have been first class, helpful and friendly every step of the way.  They could have made this arduous project so much more painful and difficult but in fact, everyone has gone out of their way to be of service.  The process is imposing but the journey has (thus far) has been pleasant.

Santé