Month: February 2026

Sustainability or Survival?

Cyndi

When wastewater projects actually pay for themselves

a wastewater treatment plan processing the waster water in a brewery

By Frances Tietje Wang

As the beverage industry moves further into an era of necessary efficiency to accommodate skyrocketing costs, wastewater management cannot be an overlooked utility function. Aging municipal infrastructure, rising treatment costs, and stricter enforcement of industrial pretreatment requirements have pushed utilities to the forefront of operational and financial concerns. Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Pretreatment Program, facilities exceeding domestic-strength benchmarks for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), or allowable pH ranges may face surcharges, permit modifications, or enforcement actions.

  This regulatory pressure coincides with broader business expectations. Wastewater performance now sits at the intersection of financial risk, regulatory compliance, and sustainability reporting. As production varies and the market remains unpredictable with cost pressure and uncertainty, sewer bills continue to fluctuate, impacting overhead costs and future planning. Compliance failures can delay expansions, harm government relations, and/or require capital upgrades under compressed timelines. At the same time, water and wastewater metrics are now standard components of sustainability benchmarking and ESG (environmental, social, governance) disclosures in the brewing sector.

  As a result, wastewater investments are no longer evaluated primarily as environmental gestures. The strategic question has become whether a given project delivers measurable return on investment (ROI) and protects long-term operational viability.

Defining “Payback” in Wastewater Projects

  In beverage production, payback extends beyond a simple comparison of capital expenditure (capex) and operating expense (opex). Direct savings commonly include reduced BOD and TSS surcharges, avoiding penalties for noncompliance, and lower costs associated with chemical neutralization or off-site hauling. These kinds of savings align with municipal cost-recovery frameworks, which are embedded in federal pretreatment regulations 40 CFR Part 403, which is designed to prevent interference with publicly owned treatment works.

“Wastewater investments are no longer evaluated primarily as environmental gestures. The strategic question has become whether a given project delivers measurable return on investment (ROI) and protects long-term operational viability.”

  Indirect value is often more consequential.  Stable wastewater systems can reduce unplanned downtime, protect discharge permits, and preserve expansion capacity. In fact, research has shown that wastewater constraints frequently become limiting factors for brewery growth before brewhouse or fermentation capacity is exhausted.

  Across utility data and academic literature, payback timelines cluster by project type. Pretreatment, solids capture, and flow-equalization projects commonly can achieve ROI payback within 1 to 3 years, whereas anaerobic digestion and water reuse systems often require 3 to 7 years. These all depend on scale, incentives, and local rate structures.

High-ROI Wastewater Projects Breweries and Distilleries Are Actually Using

Solids Capture and Flow Equalization: Upstream solids capture combined with flow equalization remains one of the most reliable ROI drivers in brewery and distillery wastewater management. Methods such as screening, settling, and rotary drum filtration reduce TSS loading before wastewater reaches municipal systems. This results directly in lowering surcharge exposure and downstream treatment demand.

  Flow equalization further improves economics in smoothing short-duration load spikes associated with cleaning-in-place (CIP), yeast removal, or batch discharges. EPA guidance emphasizes that stabilizing hydraulic and organic loading often provides greater compliance benefit than adding downstream treatment capacity, particularly for batch-driven industries such as brewing and distilling (EPA, 2000).

  This approach is reflected in brewery practice, as at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which documents wastewater treatment and solids management as integral components of its sustainability strategy. At the facility in Mills River, North Carolina, wastewater treatment infrastructure is embedded into site design rather than treated as an afterthought.

pH Neutralization and Smart CIP Controls: pH excursions remain among the most common enforcement triggers in municipal pretreatment programs. Extreme pH changes can inhibit biological treatment and damage sewer infrastructure. By using methods such as automated pH neutralization, conductivity-based diversion, and smart CIP controls, it is possible to reduce reliance on operator intervention and lower the likelihood of violations.

  Scholarly reviews consistently describe brewery wastewater as highly variable, driven by batch operations, product losses, and cleaning cycles. The best option for managing these sources is in upstream practices, which is often more effective than relying solely on end-of-pipe corrections.  Industry guidance reinforces optimizing sanitation chemistry and discharge timing, some of the most cost-effective wastewater interventions available.

Anaerobic Digestion

(When It Makes Sense)

  Anaerobic digestion (AD) can deliver strong returns when organic loading is sufficiently high and consistent. The U.S. Department of Energy identifies beverage production as a sector with meaningful biogas potential, in particular where waste streams are concentrated and predictable.

  New Belgium Brewing is a well-documented example of anaerobic digestion. Trade engineering publications and supplier case studies describe how the brewery integrates anaerobic wastewater treatment and biogas recovery. In combining these two methods, the organic load is reduced while generating renewable energy, supporting both environmental performance and long-term cost control.

  Distilleries, which typically generate higher-strength effluent than breweries, often reach economic thresholds for AD more readily. Breweries may achieve viability at larger scales or through co-digestion strategies, but it is important to note that the literature says that AD economics depend on operational discipline, energy pricing, and access to incentives.

Water Reuse and

 Process Water

Reduction

  Water reuse strategies, such as rinse recovery or reuse for non-product-contact utilities, can reduce both freshwater intake and wastewater discharge. The EPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan emphasizes “fit-for-purpose” treatment. The Plan discusses matching reclaimed water quality to its intended application rather than defaulting to over-treatment.

  Eel River Brewing Company is an excellent example of how small breweries have implemented reuse-adjacent strategies without complete reuse systems.

  By incorporating pretreatment infrastructure to reduce municipal impact and comply with discharge permitting requirements documented in municipal engineering analyses, the brewery illustrates how wastewater investment can scale to smaller producers when aligned with operational needs.

  Economic analyses indicate that reuse projects are most viable in regions with high water and sewer rates or where discharge capacity is constrained, and when integrated into broader water-efficiency programs rather than pursued in isolation.

Grants, Incentives, and Financing: The Hidden ROI Multiplier

  Technically sound wastewater projects proceeding are often determined by grants or low-interest financing if capital costs exceed internal investment thresholds. In the United States, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) remains the primary financing mechanism for wastewater infrastructure, including eligible pretreatment and reuse projects.

  Energy recovery projects may qualify for additional incentives through state or utility programs. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) is widely used to identify applicable funding opportunities and rebates.

  Producers who successfully secure funding tend to align wastewater projects with municipal objectives, such as reducing peak loading or deferring treatment plant expansion, rather than aspirational narratives. They may also use support applications with documented monitoring data rather than aspirational sustainability narratives.

Case Study Patterns: Making the Math Work, Not Waste

  Across scholarly literature and industry documentation, three recurring patterns emerge:

1.    Breweries implement solids capture and equalization, which consistently reduce surcharge exposure by stabilizing discharge characteristics.

2.   Distilleries and large breweries integrate anaerobic digestion with energy recovery. AD can offset both wastewater and energy costs when scale and incentives align.

3.   Mid-size producers leveraging CWSRF financing and state incentives frequently offsetting 30–50% of capital costs, bringing payback into acceptable ranges.

  In layering strategies, there is an opportunity for immediate and long-term cost savings.

Wastewater

as Strategic

Infrastructure

  Wastewater management has evolved from a compliance cost into strategic infrastructure. Breweries and distilleries that invest in the fundamentals of solids capture, equalization, smart controls, and right-sized recovery systems can reduce financial volatility, strengthen regulatory standing, and preserve growth capacity. As scrutiny tightens and costs rise, wastewater planning is no longer optional sustainability branding; it is a survival strategy for an operational reality.

Resources

 Fillaudeau, L., Blanpain-Avet, P., & Daufin, G. (2006). Water, wastewater and waste management in brewing industries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(5), 463–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.01.002

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (n.d.-a). Sustainability. https://sierranevada.com/sustainability

You Don’t Need to Sell Your Company – You Just Need an Exit Plan

Cyndi

Exit planning isn’t just about selling. It’s about options.

a man looking at a maze on a wall and tracing a red line through the maze in order to get out of the maze

By Sarah Hite – MBA, Certified Cicerone® & Wealth Management Advisor with Northwestern Mutual

You started your company likely because you have a passion for what you do, for the joy it brings to your customers, or because it makes money. Finding something that brings you excitement and that you can make into a career is a really special thing. I’m going to guess that when you dove into what you love, you had at least one unexpected surprise along the way in the “business-y” part of your business.

  In the decade I spent working in sales and quality within the beer industry, I realized that most brewery owners’ primary struggles stemmed from not knowing what they did not know. This isn’t some sort of inception-coded concept, just the reality that most beverage company owners don’t come from business or finance backgrounds.

  With the sharp turn that the industry has taken in the past several years, the chief planning gap we are seeing is the lack of exit strategies. Many companies are running into losing revenue due to changes in drinking habits, tariff costs, or general economic slides. It’s heartbreaking for me to watch these long-standing companies run up against challenges like these with no safety net and no plan to navigate through it. Now, the challenges I just named are generally out of your control. Exit strategies are not about controlling the uncontrollable, they’re about safeguarding everything else.

  Establishing and maintaining a solid exit plan that accounts for many of the possible outcomes, but most importantly the outcome you want, is as essential to your business plan as your marketing plan or cash flow management.

  Many brewery exits are accidental (and painful) but with proper financial planning, they don’t have to be. Financial planning gives you leverage in your business and with your money – even if you never sell. One strategy that my clients have used is implementing tax-advantaged cash-value permanent life insurance. Sounds weird, right? It’s not! Let me explain…

Tax-Advantaged Cash

  We all know that we need to plan for operations, cash flow, and retirement planning but the gap we find most often with our business-owner clients is that they have done no planning for the time between near-term and long-term. Implementing a safe place for funds that is guaranteed not to lose value and can grow tax-advantaged can mean the difference between failure and survival (or a graceful exit). By planning for what happens between now and when our retirement dollars are accessible, we close the gap. This is, of course, best discussed with your financial planner as this insurance is not available for everyone; however, based on a recent Earnst & Young study, financial plans with this type of tool outperform investment-only (and term life plus investments) strategies every time.1

  Most of our clients will implement this piece of their financial plan as part of their buy-sell agreements; there are many ways to structure cash-value life insurance and depending on how many people you have at the helm of your business, these policies can be a great source of capital when times get rough.

  Speaking of a buy-sell agreement – do you have one? I would venture to guess that most of you, the readers, do have something in place, but have you reviewed it with your financial planner? Many of our new clients come to us with agreements in place that lack vital components like disability overhead insurance, a current business valuation, or clear funding mechanisms because they did not have a meeting of all of the minds. So, let’s talk about it.

DOE! 

  Disability overhead insurance protects a business’ ability to keep the lights on, the beer cool, and the employees paid even if an owner or a key person becomes disabled and can’t work. Disability can encompass a wide range of situations beyond physical injury. We’ve observed full disabilities due to mental health concerns, temporary disabilities following a cancer diagnosis, and various others arising from life events experienced by our clients. Rather than your cash flow and revenue grinding to a halt while expenses continue to pile up during a key person’s disability, this type of policy steps in to cover essential costs like rent, utilities, payroll, supplies, insurance premiums, and professional fees. With this protection, instead of shuttering the business, burning through cash reserves, taking on debt, going through panic layoffs when a key person receives a horrible diagnosis or injury, you can allow that person to focus on a full recovery and keep cash flowing as normal. This protection buys you time, stability, and options so that one person’s health crisis doesn’t turn into an existential business crisis. In terms of your buy-sell agreement and exit plan, having this protection in place can determine whether you get to choose your exit strategy or if it chooses you.

  Now, I know a lot of this is incredibly morbid. It’s no fun to think about – it’s the beverage industry for cripes sake! We’re here for the party! That’s where a good financial planner can help you focus on the parts of the business you want to focus on. A good financial planner will likely be not only one of the most positive people you know, but also someone who genuinely considers you, your business, your team, and your family. Simultaneously, they are unafraid to tackle the less glamorous, non-sexy aspects of planning to ensure your financial well-being.

Business Valuations & Your Financial Plan

  When planning an exit strategy, a business valuation is not just nice to have, it’s the foundation for smart decision-making. A good business valuation will tell you what your business is actually worth, not what you hope it’s worth. This matters for everything from your buy-sell agreement and succession planning to insurance coverage, financing, and potential exits. Without a credible valuation, you’re flying blind, risking disputes, and risking being underinsured. A clear defensible valuation turns guesswork into strategy and gives you a stake in the ground of reality.

  A solid exit strategy is built long before an owner is ready to walk away; it can only be made by implementing a diversified and holistic financial plan that grows with you and your business so that you can guarantee control of the controllables. A strong business valuation is going to set the baseline by defining what your beloved business is worth on paper, which will inform how your financial plan will perform and subsequently how many options you have for your exit strategy. Cash-value life insurance can fund your buy-sell agreements, create liquidity for your heirs or partners, and prevent a forced sale at the most harrowing of times. Disability overhead insurance protects the business’s day-to-day viability along the way, ensuring an unexpected health event doesn’t erode value before an exit ever happens. A unified approach with all these players on your team will protect the business, protect your leverage, and foster the outcome of your dreams.

1 Earnst & Young, 2024. Benefits of integrating insurance products into a retirement plan. 2411-10068-CS_ey-benefits-of-integrating-insurance-products-into-retirement-plan_v22

Planning Your Capacity

Cyndi

Starting your brewery on sound footing  

a black and silver photo showing a row of brewery tanks and components

By Erik Lars Myers

One of the biggest challenges a new brewery owner has when starting up seems like the simplest question of all: What size brewery am I starting?

There’s no fool-proof method to get this crystal ball prediction perfectly correct, but a commonsense approach can help target the outcome so that you can plan your investments wisely.

  The first decision begins with determining the size of your market. Ask yourself: Are you in a small town or a big city? Are you in a location that people can walk to, or do they have to drive? Do you have parking space? How much? How many seats do you have in your establishment? How many hours are you open? Are you distributing your product in kegs? Cans? Bottles? How many distribution customers exist within a half-hour drive of your location? How many of those will realistically put one new beer on tap?

  There are no easy answers or simple math, but going through those questions can give you the first gut check: Realistically – is this a relatively small operation serving your own neighborhood? Or are you building a manufacturing plant with plans to service a large metro area?

  When in doubt, don’t be afraid to undershoot a little. While you want to be able to make enough product to cover cost of goods, overhead and debt service, having to increase capacity because you have a high demand and great sales is a much easier – and nicer – problem to solve than having too much product or, worse, old product moving into the market because your brewing capacity and inventory outstrips demand. This is 2026, and we’re no longer in a market in which “if you brew it, they will drink.”

  However, be wary of 1- to 2-barrel operations which put a high demand on factory time without creating a reasonable amount of product. Making one barrel of beer takes roughly the same amount of work as making ten barrels of beer or thirty barrels of beer. The difference is economy of scale. For any commercial operation, even an exceedingly small one, be wary of anything smaller than five barrels.

  Once you determine your relative market demand, the first limiting factor you must consider is the size of your production floor. As a rule of thumb, the maximum yearly capacity of your brewery will equal one barrel per square foot of floor space. For example, if you have a building which – after offices, storage space, loading dock, and forklift parking – has roughly 2,000 square feet of space dedicated to your production floor (brewery, cellar, packaging), the most you’ll be able to get out of that space is approximately 2,000 barrels per year. Note! You will definitely make less than that, but over time you probably won’t squeeze out more.

  Next, it’s time to figure out the balance of system size to production space and what you’re planning to offer. If you intend to sell a couple of solid and consistent offerings in a planned distribution, you can lean towards a larger system that will allow you to make a higher volume of those few offerings while brewing less frequently. If you are planning a wide slate of varietal, seasonal beers – or less traditional beers with experimental ingredients – consider a smaller system with higher turn capacity.

  In today’s market, shooting smaller is not necessarily a bad idea. The difference between a 7-barrel brewhouse and a 15-barrel brewhouse can be measured in hours. In other words, a 7-barrel brewhouse can be used to create 15 barrels of the same beer but it will take twice as long on the brew deck to do it. On the other hand, the difference between a 15-barrel brewhouse and a 7-barrel brewhouse can be measured in days. As in, the number of days you will have stock to sell from a 15 barrel batch is twice that of a 7-barrel batch.

  Unless you are the only game in town, incredibly lucky, or exceptionally good, sales will be your largest production bottleneck.  When it comes to figuring out how many fermenters and brite tanks to purchase, and what size, start by looking back over all the other decisions and considering turn time.

  On average, a good rule of thumb is approximately 16 – 18 days between a beer being brewed and it being ready for market. That is one day in the brewhouse, 10 – 14 days in the fermenter including cold crashing, 1 – 2 days in a brite tank, and 1 – 2 days for packaging. That timeline can be extended for lagers by a few days or a few weeks.

  Can beer be produced faster than that? Without question. But as a rule of thumb, at start up, plan to take your time. Give yourself time to get it right.

  Now take a moment to revisit the idea of throughput and your market size and how quickly you might move through product.

1 barrel of beer = 31 gallons = 2 half barrel kegs = 6 sixth barrel kegs = ~240 pints.

With a 15-barrel brewhouse every batch would produce

465 gallons OR 30 half barrel kegs OR 90 sixth barrel or most realistically a combination thereof.  All that equals 3600 pints of one sole product.

  In a regular taproom setting you can expect to sell, on average, 1.5 to 2 beers per customer on a visit. In a 150-seat taproom at maximum capacity, if all the seats turn over twice per night you can expect to sell approximately 300 pints, or just over 1 barrel of beer. Over the course of any given week, in a high-volume taproom, you should aim to turn over a minimum of 1 turn of your brewhouse in a 1-week period. In other words, plan to brew at least once per week, on average, to begin with. Again – as you grow, you can always add more brew days and more fermenters.

  It is also good to remember that the numbers of beers that you offer will not correspond to a higher volume of sales, but rather it will spread those sales across a wider number of products with the largest volume concentrated on 2 – 3 beers, probably your IPAs and Pilsener (or Pilsener analog). To put this another way: if you have 6 beers on tap or 12 beers on tap, you will still sell the roughly same amount of beer per week, but all of the beers will move more slowly, with the possible exception of your fastest selling beers.

  This all means that a mix of fermenter and brite sizes can be helpful when planning capacity. A mix of fermenters that match your brewhouse size and fermenters that are double your brewhouse size is a good idea. Double-batch your high-volume beers and single-batch your slower moving offerings to manage inventory well. If something turns into a high-volume beer, you can always make more. If something is moving slowly, there’s nothing worse than having so much that it isn’t just unpopular, but also old and stale.

  If you are brewing at least once per week and have a 16-day turn on your fermenters, then you should have a minimum of 4 fermenters. However, give yourself room to get ahead of inventory and take your time with beer, or the option to make more of your high-volume beers. An easy recommendation is 4 fermenters that match your brewhouse size and 2 fermenters that are twice your brewhouse size. Thus, a startup with a 5-barrel brewhouse might start with four 5-barrel fermenters and two 10-barrel fermenters. 

  Since turn time in a brite tank is much smaller than in a fermenter, you need fewer brites. You will want one brite tank for every 3 – 4 fermenters of any give size. In this scenario, two 5-barrel brites and one 10-barrel brite would be sufficient. At a 16-day turn on each fermenter (a little under two turns per month) that gives you an initial maximum brewing capacity of approximately 700 barrels per year, depending on fermentation efficiency, work weeks, holidays, and sales. Your final volume for the year will almost certainly be less than that.

  Finally, the last piece to consider is cooperage. Kegs are one of the highest cost, highest value assets in your operation and are often overlooked. To begin with, if you are only providing beer to your own taproom and you are not using serving tanks, you need enough cooperage to hold all your volume in inventory… and then some. For every individual product you offer you will need empty kegs waiting to be filled, kegs filled with beer waiting to go on tap or be sold, kegs on tap, and empty/dirty kegs waiting to be cleaned. If you are in distribution you will need to add two more scenarios: kegs at the customer waiting to go on tap and empty kegs at the customer waiting to be picked up. You will also lose a small percentage of your kegs each year in the marketplace as they get lost or stolen.

  For each 5-barrel batch of beer, you need the equivalent volume of 20 – 30 barrels in cooperage. Half-barrel kegs (120 pints) are much more efficient but take up much more space and are clumsy to work with. They also typically sell at a lower price per pint than alternatives. Sixth-barrel kegs (40 pints), or sixtels, are much easier to work with and allow for more variety but are much less efficient on the production floor. You will probably maintain an inventory of both halves and sixtels at roughly an equivalent internal volume. For each half barrel keg, keep three sixth barrel kegs. For a 5-barrel startup brewery offering four distinct brands out of the gate, with limited distribution, starting with 100 half-barrel kegs and 300 sixth-barrel kegs would not be out of line.

  Of course, if there is a plan to do packaging in other formats (bottles or cans) that reduces the need for cooperage, so plan accordingly.  It is better to have more kegs than you need and have the luxury of cleaning them when you can – remember, each keg takes three minutes minimum on the keg washer – than to have too few kegs and not be able to package beer or brew because you are short on cooperage and have nowhere to put ready product.

  There is no perfect answer to what equipment you will need in a startup scenario – every brewery, location, taproom, and distribution model will create diverse needs, but a good examination of these points can start you off on the right foot. Breweries are expensive, particularly at initial stages, but it is worth the money to have the right assets in place rather than to spend the life of your business trying to catch up.

Have You Considered Co-packing?

Cyndi

How to fast track your new spirits brand

a bottle of Velocity spirits

By Kris Bohm, Distillery Now Consulting

The spirits industry is growing and this growth has enticed newcomers to enter the industry and start unique brands. Starting a new beverage alcohol business and entering the industry is challenging, to say the least. There are regulatory, financial, and technical hurdles that make starting a new alcohol beverage brand complex and challenging. Starting a new business takes an immense amount of time and more money than most people expect. Even if you spend many hours budgeting and planning to build a distillery it will likely take longer, and cost more than you thought. An aspect of a successful brand that is overlooked and underappreciated is that high-quality brands spend a great deal of energy on marketing their products. There is a faster and cheaper way to start a new brand you may not be aware of. The path to a quick start up is called co-packing. Co-packing puts the strain, stress and capital expense of production equipment on someone else and lets a new brand focus time and money on marketing and promoting the brand.This article will cover how co-packing works and weigh the pros and cons of launching with a co-packer.

  The common path we see taken to starting a new spirits company is by building a business that manages all aspects of manufacturing and sales. While managing everything from start to finish is a noble goal, it is also expensive. When you manage production, packaging, warehousing, marketing, sales, and even distribution it is easy to flounder in the complexity of such a business. For a new entrant to the industry, learning all these aspects of business and succeeding at them is a huge challenge. The faster and cheaper way to launch a new beverage alcohol business is with a co-packer. This is done by working with an existing manufacturer who will make your product for you. By outsourcing the production of your product, you can focus on the two critical aspects of a beverage alcohol business which are sales and marketing.

  Co-packing in simplified terms is outsourcing the manufacturing of your product. In a broad sense a co-packer is a group or facility that produces beverages and offers services to manufacture products for other brands that are not their own. A co-packer can be contracted to manufacture and produce your product for you. Whether you want to make bottled whiskey or  canned vodka soda, any sort of beverage alcohol can be produced by a co-packer. Co-packers can package distilled spirits, ready to drink cocktails, liqueurs or nearly anything else you can imagine.

Why spend years building a distillery when a co-packer can produce a product in months?

  There is far less capital outlay needed when working with a co-packer as you do not need to buy specialized equipment for bottling and then also learn how to operate it. By removing the capital-intensive aspects of manufacturing a product, the owners of a new brand will have more time to focus on selling their product. You can create a product and bring it to market quickly when the co-packer does the manufacturing for you. A good co-packer will help you avoid mistakes and manufacture your product ready to sell. Let’s explore the process step by step you take to bring a new brand of whiskey to the market with help from a co-packer.

12 simple steps to creating your own bottles of whiskey

•    The first step toward creating a product is to decide what you want to make.

•    Find yourself a company (co-packer) who will make the product for you

•    Talk with the co-packer to understand the constraints and limitations of their equipment

•    Select packaging that works and fits your brand and your copacker’s equipment

•    Sign a contract with your co-packer and start putting the pieces together.

•    Design the brand, logos, names, artwork, labels, and bottle selection. (have a pro help you)

•    Take a break and enjoy a tasty cocktail

•    While you are stopping for a refreshment, select the whiskey that will go in your bottle

•    Navigate federal and state approval process (your co-packer should handle this)

•    Order and secure raw materials so your co-packer can manufacture the product.

•    Co-packer will bottle and package the whiskey

•    Launch your brand.

  Just like that you have created your very own brand of whiskey that is ready for its debut. A co-packer usually has a minimum order quantity and will likely produce at least a few hundred cases of bottled spirits. When the copacker is done packaging the product you will now have several pallets of whiskey that are ready to sell. While the simple 12 steps all sound straight forward, there are many critical aspects of work underneath this list. Behind every step there are decisions, details, licenses and permits that are required prior to the product being produced. Let’s dive a bit deeper into these critical decisions and how best to work through them.

  The liquid in the bottle must taste good but more important than the whiskey is the brand itself. Creating a professional looking package takes experience and extensive design. There is much more to design than just selecting a bottle shape. You will need to create a brand with logos, label artwork, and many other design elements. Unless you have experience in branding and marketing beverage alcohol, the creation of a new brand is best managed by experienced professionals. Your product must have a polished look and feel for it to succeed. The way your product looks is the biggest opportunity you’ll get to sway consumers to consider tasting the product. If you take a moment the next time you are in your local liquor store you will likely find a few bottles that do not look professional or polished. These not-so-great looking bottles are often created when someone starts a new spirits company without design professionals on their team with alcohol branding and design experience. Hiring a professional designer is a worthwhile investment to help your brand put its best foot forward.

  There are an abundance of distilleries that will sell you their spirits in bulk that can be packaged up into your own brand. Whether it’s Tequila, Vodka, or Bourbon Whiskey, all types of spirits can be bought in bulk. There are a few licenses and permits needed to buy barrels of whiskey, but those are easy to secure with the guidance of an industry professional. Taking the time to taste a variety of spirits will guide you to find the right whiskey for your brand. It is also important to look closely at the cost of the whiskey you are considering purchasing. The whiskey cost will impact what you will charge for your bottle and how much profit you will see.

  While I believe that co-packing your first products is the smart path to launch a brand, some folks would argue that co-packing is not the best choice. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of co-packing to consider it from both angles.

  What is the good side of collaborating with a co-packer? It takes extensive time and financial resources to launch a brand. A generous amount of time and money needed for a brand to launch successfully must be allocated to marketing and sales. This is essential to get a product onto store shelves and people buying the product. Co-packing affords a new brand the chance to conserve money, time and energy that would otherwise be put into manufacturing and direct that energy into selling the product. Co-packing affords a new entrant into beverage alcohol the space and time to learn the nuances of the business with much less overhead cost. Mistakes are not cheap to make and having a co-packer oversee the production work of your product ensures that you will make less mistakes when it comes to making and packaging the product. The largest advantage of not producing your own product is that you do not have to carry the high overhead of funding and operating a manufacturing facility.

  Now it’s time to talk about the bad part of Co-packing. Plain and simple.It is expensive. Co-packers mark up the cost of their service to cover their costs of overhead, labor to, of course, make a profit. When working with a co-packing company, you pay a premium for them to manufacture your product. It will cost more per unit to produce a product with a co-packer than it would if you manufactured the product yourself. Some folks do not like working with co-packers as they find there is a lack of control. When a co-packer is making your product, you will not have direct control over every aspect of the manufacturing process. A key step to reducing the risk of quality control issues is collaborating with your co-packer to define their production standards. A good co-packer will define their quality standards in their manufacturing process and track it to make a product cleanly and correctly. One other potential downside to co-packing is the lack of a store front. Most brands launched via a co-packer do not have a tasting room or cocktail lounge to serve drinks and sell bottles. Selling products made via a co-packer will require wide distribution which has smaller margins when compared to direct-to-consumer sales.

  It can be hard to decide what is the right way to create and launch a new product. Many factors must be taken into consideration to make an informed decision. While co-packing is perfect and cost effective for some it can be a bad fit for others. A distillery consultant or person with extensive industry experience is the best way to make an informed decision on how to launch your brand. Creating a new product and selling it can be a challenging and rewarding business endeavor. Launching a product the right way and finding success will make the creation of your product much more rewarding.

  Kris Bohm is from Distillery Now Consulting. When Bohm is not helping new distilleries launch you can find him defending his beer mile record and exploring the world by bicycle.

Core Brewing & Distillation System Components

Cyndi

The basic components & systems are similar, they both start with some version of grain or neutral grain spirit handling

photo shows a copper still next to mash tanks in a distillery or brewery

By Gerald Dlubala

Whether you choose copper, brass, stainless steel, or another alloy, understanding the details, quirks, and ins and outs of your production systems is critical to running a successful brewery or distillery. A general understanding of the core brewing and distilling components of your craft beverage production facility leads to better-quality, consistently replicated products. That replication and consistency of a quality product help to build customer following and trust.

Core Brewing Components

•     Grain Storage Area: If the beverage producer grows its own grain, storage silos may be needed. If purchased in bulk, a designated grain storage area is required.

•     Grain Mill:  Brewers will need a milling station to mill the grain to fit the recipe required for the beer they are brewing that day. The grain is crushed and sent to the Mash Tun.

•     Mash/Lauter Tun:  Crushed grain gets mixed with hot water and allowed to rest, ensuring the starches are broken down into sugars by the natural enzymes. By controlling temperature and time, the mash and lauter tun convert grain starches into fermentable sugars, which can directly affect your beer’s final body and brewing efficiency. The resulting liquid, or wort, is separated from the mash and spent grain and pumped over to the brewing kettle.

•     Brewing Kettle:  Once the wort is pumped into the brewing kettle, it gets boiled to concentrate flavor, sterilize the liquid, and develop color. The brewing kettle stage is where the beer develops its character, bitterness, taste, and aroma profile through the addition of hops at various times and combinations. Once completed, the flavored wort is sent to a heat exchanger.

•     Heat exchanger:  The hopped wort is sent to a heat exchanger/cooler to cool and take on oxygen in preparation for delivery to the fermentation tanks.

•     Fermentation tanks:  Once in the fermentation tanks, yeast is added to start the magical fermentation process, converting the sugars in the wort mixture to alcohol and CO2.

•     Cooling and Filtration:  After the proper amount of fermentation time and the removal of excess yeast, the beer is chilled in conditioning tanks to mature before moving through the filtration system. Filtration can be minimal or multi-phase, depending on the style and desired finish or polish level the brewer is after. From here, that perfectly brewed beer is ready to be consumed and can be moved to a brite tank to await packaging.

•     Packaging System:  Depending on the choices of the brewer, the beer is ready to be packaged in bottles, cans, or kegs for distribution, retail sales, or taproom sales.

Core Distillery Components

  Distillery systems are like brewing systems in that the distiller has a choice about what the system should look like. Distillers who want to show off the production area may opt for the wow factor of large copper or brass stills, while those with production facilities out of public view may choose stainless steel to help keep costs down. Additionally, although some distillers grow their own grain, most craft distilleries do not. They purchase their grain for crushing or buy neutral grain spirits for their own use.

•     Grain Cookers:  Cookers are needed to cook the grains and turn the starches into sugar to feed the yeast.

•     Fermenters:  Fermenters are the vessels where yeast is added to ferment sugars and produce the first “distiller’s beer” before it heads to the still. The type of still is the distiller’s choice.

•     Pot Still: The pot still is a single large kettle-shaped vessel in which the fermented liquid, or “wash,” is heated. It is the original method of distilling. Pot stills can be customized for optimal performance in distilleries ranging from small craft operations to larger commercial producers.

•     Continuous Column Still: Distilling using a column still can speed up the distillation process. The wash is continuously injected into the column with rising steam, stripping the alcohol, and leaving the undesired, or bad, compounds behind. Column stills require less cleaning while allowing more columns to be added when needed. Repeated distillation in column stills yields more neutral, higher-ABV spirits than pot stilling. Additionally, column stills can offer greater control and consistency in high-volume production facilities.

•     Hybrid Still:  Hybrid stills combine the best qualities of both pot and column stills into a single unit, used for distilling all spirits.

Needs Versus Wants

  Rick Morris is the Owner and President of Brewhaus Distilling Experts in Keller, Texas. Brewhaus is the oldest manufacturer of small-scale distilling equipment and supplies in North America. They manufacture, cut, weld, and test all their systems in-house.

  While Morris hasn’t seen any significant trends in systems over the past 10-15 years, he has some thoughts on systems and what commercial distillers should consider before buying or updating their core production equipment.

  “Multiple smaller systems can be better,” said Morris. “Depending on what a distiller wants to do, I’ve had startups with as little as a one-gallon pot still and then added another and another until they had about eight of them lined up. It’s one way to keep costs down at startup. In general, it can be beneficial to use a couple of smaller systems rather than one large one. Yeah, you’re monitoring two systems instead of one, but redundancy isn’t a bad thing when you consider downtime. If one system breaks or needs to be down for cleaning, you’re not down, just reduced, and that can be huge for a small craft distiller.”

  “We’ve also had distillers use 55- or 85-gallon drums and put multi heads on them”, said Morris. “They cap the heads they don’t need, and as capacity increases, they open those heads up for use. If they only want to use two heads to start, we can set it up for four and cap two. It allows a distiller to scale up when needed. You don’t want to jump into a quarter-million setup on startup if you can avoid it, especially as volatile as the liquor market is right now.”

  Morris says that budget and space requirements always factor in which system components a distiller chooses. “A larger system means more warehouse space,” said Morris. “Typically, the systems we provide craft distillers are basic and not as computerized as larger systems. That means less breaking down. But if, say, a heater goes out, that’s where the idea of two smaller systems can help. Reduced capacity over complete downtime is huge for a small producer.”

a copper still in a distillery

  Morris tells Beverage Master Magazine that frequently potential distillers get caught up in seeing those massive, beautiful copper Vendome systems that run a quarter- to half-million dollars and become obsessed with them. When he sits down and looks at their needs, he can often put together a system for them for under ten thousand dollars.

  “We all like to drool over the copper eye candy, but what is needed is usually not aligned with that vision,” said Morris. “If that money is truly in their budget, that’s great, and they can save the money for when growth occurs. Just don’t jump into the deep end immediately because it looks great behind the tasting room glass. You can buy a 4-inch copper system with copper plates, or a 4-inch stainless column with copper plates, and they will do the exact same thing, function the exact same way, and produce the exact same quality product because you have the same copper in both systems. But wanting everything in copper will be 60-70% more expensive. If you have copper in the vapor path, you are good with either system.”

  Morris says he hasn’t seen a meaningful change in system choice, but they are being tailored specifically to the distillery’s projected needs. “It’s a way to keep costs down upfront,” said Morris. “Is this a full-time distillery or weekends only? How many hours of running time will the system be in use? Get the system you need and maybe get a little larger kettle upfront. That’s a small expense, and you can set it up for a couple of 3-inch systems. Then, scaling up may be as easy as replacing those columns with 4-inch systems. You’re replacing the column but not needing to replace the entire system. Choices like that enable cheaper scaling later. The initial smaller columns can be tuned a little more for smaller volumes, while the larger columns don’t manage smaller volumes as well.”

The Future: More Fads Rather Than Trends

  Morris says that rather than trends, they notice little fads that come and go. Trying to speed up the aging process is a big one because of the cost involved.

  “The product sits in barrels for so long,” said Morris. “You’ve got the barrel cost, the product cost, and the warehouse storage space cost, along with the extended length of time involved. There’s been a lot of movement and potential technology over the years trying to speed up that process. We see things spike as the next wonderful thing, and then six months later, they’re gone. All the different flavor profiling is big as well. The NA market is increasing, but that doesn’t change the distilling process. It’s the same process, separating the bads from the goods.”

  Morris said that the type of brewing or distillation system a craft beverage producer really needs depends on the quantity and type of products being produced, as well as the owners’ future production and expansion plans. The Brewhaus team encourages makers to adopt a system that, instead of being replaced, can be adapted for a fraction of the cost when needed for volume or product expansion.

Bar vs. Restaurant: The Difference is in the Details

Cyndi

What owners need to know when opening a liquor-focused concept

photo of Still Barrel bourbon bar in phoenix az

By Eric Butrull, Knife and Fork Media Group

Across the country, the hospitality industry continues to be a major economic powerhouse. As 2025 came to a close, the National Restaurant Association reported that restaurants alone added 150,000 jobs in 2025, and eating and drinking places added a net 27,200 in December (on a seasonally-adjusted basis, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

  Most hospitality personnel — from owners to staff — know that operating a business in this industry is not for the faint of heart. Whether a bar, brewery or distillery, the hours can be long, fast-paced, stressful and exhausting. However, owning and operating a bar or restaurant can also be extremely fulfilling and rewarding.

  Repeat customers of these types of establishments are often extremely loyal, finding solace and a “home away from home” at their favorite neighborhood bar or brewery. But there are some rather distinct differences in owning and operating a food service establishment and a bar, brewery or distillery, where liquor is the focus of sales.

  Dennis Shaw, owner of Phoenix City Grille, a successful restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, since 1997, and co-founder of the soon-to-be-opened Still & Barrel bourbon bar in Phoenix, Arizona, offers some insight, based on his more than four decades in the hospitality industry, working across restaurant and bar operations, in leadership and ownership positions.

  “A liquor-focused bar is much more about curation, education and experience than volume. With a restaurant, food drives the visit; with a bourbon bar, the spirit selection and the story behind it are the draw,” said Shaw. “Inventory management is more complex, pricing strategy is critical and staff knowledge has to go much deeper. Every bottle has a purpose, and every pour should feel intentional.” Intention is key in any business, of course. However, Shaw notes that when it comes to bar businesses in particular, patience and relationships matter more than anything.

  “Whether it’s securing rare bottles, navigating licensing or building the right team, nothing happens overnight,” he said. “I’ve also learned that guests today want authenticity — they want to know why a bottle is on the shelf and what makes it special.”

  Still & Barrel’s General Manager Cliff Cragg, who has been in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years, echoed those sentiments.

  When it comes to his takeaway while building Still & Barrel, he said: “I have learned that patience and relationships matter more than speed. Building a strong spirits program takes time, trust and consistency. There are no shortcuts.”

  Prior to helping open Still & Barrel, Cragg previously operated a concept where he built the whiskey program from the ground up, which was recognized as one of the top whiskey programs in the United States by the time he left. Over the last few years, he has focused on building and managing spirits-forward beverage programs, barrel selections, and restaurant and bar operations.

  One crucial factor to keep in mind is that today’s customers are knowledgeable and yet thirsty for more. Rather than simply ordering a fine spirit or rare wine, customers want to feel connected — to the establishment, to their experience and to the spirit itself. Providing them with knowledge or history about what the bottle holds can provide value for guests beyond what’s in the glass.

bottle of straight bourbon whiskey from Gallery

  When opening a bar in today’s market, Cragg emphasized the importance of having a clear vision from the start — and remaining disciplined.

  “Understand your costs and invest in your staff,” he said. “A great bottle does not mean much if the service and execution are not there.”

  Knapp followed that advice up with his own: “Educate yourself relentlessly, invest in your staff’s knowledge and understand your market before you buy a single bottle. And be prepared: capital requirements, licensing timelines and inventory costs are often underestimated.”

It is of the utmost importance to ensure proper liquor licensing and air-tight insurance policies. Most knowledgeable, highly credible insurance brokers will advise bar and restaurant owners to work closely with an agent that is well-versed specifically in the language, the inclusions and more importantly, the exclusions that are often written into policies for establishments that serve alcohol.

  One of the key differences that surprised Knapp during the process of opening Still & Barrel is how complex and restrictive liquor licensing and insurance can be, especially when dealing with high-value inventory.

  “People are also surprised by how much capital is tied up on the shelves,” he said. “Some bottles sit for months or years, but they’re essential to the identity of the bar.”

  Knapp encourages new bar owners not to chase trends but rather build a point of view. Upon developing the concept and the inventory for Still & Barrel, for example, Knapp said he largely relied on Cragg’s extensive knowledge of whiskey to build the brand’s inventory around balance — allocated and rare bourbons alongside exceptional everyday pours.

  “We focused on producers with strong heritage, craftsmanship and consistency,” he said. “Some of the bottles we’re most proud of are those that are nearly impossible to find on-premise, paired with staff who can explain why they’re special, not just expensive.”

  This explanation of importance or rarity, rather than price, further adds value to the product being sold and gives more meaning to the drinker.

  For Cragg, that meant building the bar list at Still & Barrel with balance in mind, including approachable pours, premium options and a small number of truly special bottles.

  “The ones I am most proud of are our private barrel selections because we tasted and chose them ourselves,” he said, adding, “They reflect what we actually like to drink.”

  Offering rare and hard-to-find bottles gives a bar an edge. Offering something that not everyone has on their bar list makes it feel exclusive, even if the environment is as casual and welcoming as any other neighborhood bar on the block. Creating the proper connections in order to obtain those special pours is a key part of the business.

  “Sourcing rare bottles is mostly relationship-driven. Allocations are earned through long-term support and trust with distributors and suppliers,” said Cragg. “Private barrels take time, travel and a lot of tasting before the right one is selected.”

  Knapp agreed that long-term distributor relationships, purchase history and trust are essential.

  “Allocations aren’t something you can buy your way into overnight — you earn them over time,” he said. “We stay engaged with distilleries, tastings and industry events, which helps us identify unique opportunities before they hit the broader market.”

  This goes back to the idea of intention.

  “In a liquor-focused concept, the bar is the point, not the support,” Cragg said. “The selection is tighter and more intentional. With fewer options, consistency and attention to detail matter even more than they do in a traditional restaurant.”

  Ultimately, there are nuances with each individual establishment. However, overall success comes with putting hospitality first.

  “Great bars and restaurants aren’t built on menus or bottles alone,” said Knapp. They’re built on people, consistency and attention to detail. If you get those things right, everything else follows.”

  Cragg added, “I have learned that consistency and honesty go a long way. Trends change, but good hospitality, a well-run bar and a team that cares will always matter.”

  Dennis Shaw took ownership of Phoenix City Grille (PCG), continuing the legacy that founder Sheldon Knapp built when he opened the restaurant in 1997, while elevating the guest experience through food, service and beverage programs. Shaw co-owns Still & Barrel with Knapp. He calls the opening a natural extension of that journey—taking everything they have learned at PCG and applying it to a more focused, spirit-driven concept.

  Cliff Cragg is the general manager of Still & Barrel. He has more than 20 years of hospitality experience, previously operating a concept where he built the whiskey program from the ground up, which was recognized as one of the top whiskey programs in the United States by the time he left.

What’s Your Brews Resolution

Cyndi

Another year, another resolution.

two beer mugs clinking together in front of a clock about to turn midnight on New Years Eve

By Hanifa Sekandi

What are your brand’s goals this year? What do you want to achieve? Did you meet your goals last year? When most people think about a New Year’s resolution, they think about personal goals and solutions to improve their lives. Your brand is always looking for fresh solutions. It may be a complete revolution—an overhaul of what once was for something new and inspiring.

  The beauty of this time of year is that it forces everyone to dig a little deeper and think critically about what kind of impact they would like to have. Seeing your brand as a movement, a cultural wave that people desire to be a part of, will allow you to see your consumers authentically. Understanding how your beverage fits in their lifestyle, their personal brand ethos, particularly for those who imbibe mindfully.

  As you draft this year’s creative brief and refine your band guidelines, change your approach. As a team, come together and create a resolution board. A visual tool that will allow you to dream up ways to be an industry disruptor in the best way possible. Think big and be bold. Include places around the world that inspire you, food, culture, fashion, and every facet of life that will help your beverage become more than just another drink, but a lifestyle brand.

  This allows you to see your brand in motion. Perched on a table at a cafe by the beach or poured while dining on a gourmet meal at a high-end restaurant in Paris. While you create this vision, do not think about trends. You are the trend; you are the movement. When you visualize your brand this way, you will not get lost in the race because you will focus on who is running next to you. Also, remember, having a community of other beverage brands is important. Do not compete, disrupt.

The Shift is Possible

  It is easy to believe that, as a brand, you are stuck. The notion that you need to move full steam ahead with the way things are and have always been. Why would you purposely implement a brand shake-up? What about all the time, money, and effort spent on past initiatives? Should you abandon them? Remember, you are always stacking your brand wheel. Even during a brand revolution, you keep elements that have worked for your brand. It is not a complete elimination of everything.

  A good example is when you decide to embark on a wellness journey. Yes, you are shedding parts of yourself, but the good parts remain intact. It also allows the best parts of you to shine. We often hide the best parts of ourselves beneath the things we do not like. Brands do this when they refuse to change. They refuse to make bold moves that, eventually, will prove to be beneficial. Do not change identifying markers that make you unique. Instead, think of ways to take the good and make it impactful.

  So how do you get started? How do you make the shift? Look at your product performance. Review campaigns that had a great ROI. Then analyze areas where you missed the mark. Your answers are always found in the steps you have already made. You do not need to hire an agency or consultant to tell you this. A vision board will help you visualize this. This is a visual anchor to remind you of where you want to be or plan to go in the next 5 to 10 years. If you decide to hire someone to help you bolster this vision, you will avoid those who don’t see it and try to convince you to go in another direction.

  Not all experts are gold stars. Even great advice can be bad advice. So many people had great ideas but then were steered away from them because they trusted someone else’s vision. Your vision was planted in your heart for a reason. So, remain clear and steadfast. Stay the course, like the best of the best who were beverage innovators of their time.

You’re Not Stuck

a chalkboard showing the steps from vision to mission to strategy to action plan

  Once you have decided to make the shift and start devising a plan to make your beverage stand out, do not limit your possibilities. You are never stuck; you are just afraid. People often confuse fear with being stuck. With limited budgets or teams, it can appear this way. Fortunately, we live in a world where communication is at your fingertips. Your entry into the market is made easier, and barriers can be overcome.

  Did you know that the founders of Airbnb first started their business by renting air mattresses to pay their rent? Or that John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s, started with rented equipment in a broom closet, his goal was to make enough money to date? You could be the next Ben Weiss, who launched his beverage brand Bai in his basement. His brand was acquired for $ 1.7 billion. When there’s money, there’s a way, of course, but when there is a WILL, there is a way.

  The problem most people face is that they are not running their own race. Competition will always exist. Consumers will always have choices. Spending your time worrying about this will set you back. Look ahead and be thankful that the market exists. Imagine a world where only one beverage existed. Only one flavor by one brand. Life would be quite boring. Like nature, a forest full of trees is a forest full of trees, each with a unique story and distinct markings. Your beverage is a tree in that forest, and the people going on a hike through it will see you. They want to know what your story is and how you contribute to the beverage ecosystem.

Start the Beverage Revolution

the people's brew and beer revolusion poster

  It is exciting to think that there is a founder somewhere crafting a new beverage idea from their kitchen. It is exciting to know that there are beverage brands that are bold enough to try something new, to be the rebels of the beverage industry. What do you have to lose? There is so much to gain if you approach this with a fearless mindset. There are so many reasons why you should not start. If you ever ask someone in the beverage industry, they will often tell you all the reasons why it is a bad idea.

  Isn’t it funny that someone who is doing something you desire deters you? You can see this as an opportunity to propel yourself forward into the unknown and write your own beverage brand story or give up. Look back and realize the what ifs you had control of.

What if you tried? What if you did things a little differently? What if their story is not your own?

  No one will know unless you try. What is in a world-class beverage brand is the person who believed in their product. That never doubted that theirs is nothing like the others, just one sip, taste buds enlivened, and an industry transformed by you and your beverage.

From Distilleries to Destinations

Cyndi

Exploring the whiskey tourism trend

Water tower with Buffalo Trace Distillery on it

By Alyssa L. Ochs

In recent years, there’s been a rise in whiskey tourism experiences as people seek to dive deeper into whiskey-making traditions and experimentation. Whiskey tourism is a travel experience that goes beyond basic tours and tastings, offering enthusiasts immersive journeys that pair rich local history with artisanal craft, and perhaps even food pairings and special events.

  Industry experts have been predicting a boom in whiskey tourism in 2026 and beyond, as more distilleries explore the possibilities of becoming weekend getaway destinations. Rather than just stopping by for a tasting, there’s a push for authentic, hyperlocal, sensory travel experiences, such as behind-the-scenes tours and themed educational sessions.

  Beverage Master connected with a few distilleries to learn more about whiskey tourism offerings and what whiskey lovers are looking for in their next big adventure.

Buffalo Trace Distillery – Three Unique Experiences 

  Based in Frankfort, Kentucky, Buffalo Trace Distillery’s general manager, Tyler Adams, told Beverage Master about their three unique tour experiences for guests. He said that all tours are complimentary and include a tasting at the end.

  Adams explained that the Trace Tour is Buffalo Trace’s introductory tour that covers history and production methods.

  “Guests will walk the path of rolling bourbon barrels and be captivated by the smell and atmosphere of bourbon in the air,” Adams said. “Highlights of this tour include learning how the barrel gives flavor to the bourbon, stepping inside aging warehouses to discover aging techniques and seeing bourbon being dumped from barrels before heading off to see the craft of hand-bottling in in our Blanton’s Bottling Hall.”

  The second option is Buffalo Trace’s Old Taylor Tour, which offers a deeper exploration of the history of the distillery.

  “Guests will visit the Old Taylor House, the O.F.C. Building, O.F.C. Fermenter #7 nicknamed “Old Taylor” and finally Warehouse C, where you will see both the remnants and still-standing structures of what Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Taylor built,” Adams said. “Those on this tour will learn about Taylor’s desire for perfection and purity in the bourbon making processes and how he helped craft the industry as it is today.”

  A third option is the Hard Hat Tour, a behind-the-scenes journey through the entire bourbon-making process.

  “Guests will see the distillation process first-hand: from the grain delivery and mashing in our recently installed 20,000-gallon mash cookers, to fermentation and distillation,” Adams said. “The tour includes a stop at the E.H. Taylor, Jr. Microstill, where the Distillery’s unique and award-winning Experimental Collection whiskeys are made, and finishes in our state-of-the-art Dryhouse in the repurposed Warehouse B, built in 1881.”

  For guests who don’t have time for a full tour, Buffalo Trace Distillery also hosts guided tastings every day, and walk-ins are welcome.

  When asked about the favorite parts of customers’ visits, Adams shared the variety of after-hours events, such as seasonal experiences and brand programming.

  “All events at Buffalo Trace Distillery are designed to be welcoming to all guests, whether bourbon enthusiast or bourbon curious,” Adams said. “We believe our guests most appreciate how up close and personal they are with the distillery’s operation. Authenticity is very important to us, and we love that our guests can be ‘in the action,’ seeing barrels rolling, barrel dumping and hand bottling.”

A. Smith Bowman Distillery –An Immersive Stroll Through History

tour guide speaking to tourists at A Smith Bowman Distillery

  Beverage Master also asked David Bock, head distiller for A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia about his opinions on whiskey tourism. The A. Smith Bowman Distillery is a small craft distillery and the oldest distillery in the state. Until the 1950s, it was the sole producer of legal whiskey in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

  Bock said that his distillery tour takes guests on a stroll through time to learn all about the distilling, barreling and bottling processes.

  “See up close the details on every process, from fermentation of our mash to filling our stills – nicknamed ‘Mary’ and ‘George,’ which pay homage to the parents of the Bowman Brothers. At the end of the tour guests will enjoy a delicious, guided tasting of our award-winning bourbons and other spirits.”

  Bock has found that guests are drawn to A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s interactive cocktail classes, behind-the-scenes access, small-group settings, and direct interaction with the distillery staff. He said these are favorites because they make the experiences feel immersive and intentional.

  “Small hands-on demonstrations give guests practical skills they can use at home, which increases their knowledge of our products and enjoyment beyond the event itself,” Bock explained. “During these events, they enjoy the opportunity to engage directly with distillery staff, making the brand more approachable and memorable. Select events offer access to areas of the distillery not typically offered on a standard tour, which fosters a deeper connection to the craft. This exclusive access is especially favored by our repeat customers because it keeps the experience feeling new and exciting each time.”

Kings County Distillery – The “Why” Behind the Craft

tour guide showing tourists Kings County Distillery

  Another distillery, Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn, New York, also shared its take on whiskey tourism with us. The distillery’s co-founder and distiller, Colin Spoelman, told Beverage Master Magazine that they offer two different tours, the Distillery Tour and Top-Shelf Tour.

  “The Top Shelf Tour is a little longer and goes into the history of distilling in New York City and includes a tasting of our more high-end spirits,” Spoelman said. “We also offer a whiskey tasting class twice a week.”

  “We also offer seasonally inspired thematic tours, including our Dead Distillers Tour, Bluegrass in Brooklyn, pirate tours, and women’s, Irish-American, and Black history-focused offerings,” Spoelman continued.

  Spoelman said that for most distilleries, the tour is a creation that follows an existing brand, whereas Kings County Distillery began with education to help consumers understand how different they were from the standard whiskeys.

  “We make all our spirits in house, something that was rare for distillers when we first launched 16 years ago,” Spoelman explained. “So, understanding why that was important and different was crucial — we led people down a rabbit hole that clued them into the idea that everything they had learned about whiskey, all the small batch, and down-home marketing was really a pretense from global, often absentee owners that didn’t really know American whiskey consumers and what they wanted. We were happy to give it to them: both in the form of the what but also the why. That was particularly important to our visitor experience. We also put a lot of focus on our physical space, in historic buildings in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, next to the former distillery district of Brooklyn in Irishtown.”

Whiskey’s Appeal to Weekend Travelers

  Adams from Buffalo Trace Distillery shared with Beverage Master Magazine that there are excellent opportunities in the industry to attract visitors beyond loyal locals.

  “Travelers are often looking for little getaways and it’s important to offer something that goes a little further than a standard tour offerings,” Adams said. “This could be an exclusive tasting, chance to buy a special bottle of bourbon or meet someone from the team. We also think there is a great opportunity to welcome those who are bourbon curious but might find a distillery experience intimidating. For this, curating an experience that meets these guests wherever they are in their bourbon journey is key.”

  Bock from A. Smith Bowman Distillery has observed that guests are looking for an immersive experience that engages in as many senses as possible.

  “At A. Smith Bowman Distillery, we offer guests the opportunity to see up close how our spirits are made, to speak directly with tour guides to ask questions about our history, to taste our spirits in a guided setting and to leave with their favorite bottle in hand,” Bock said. “Attracting guests beyond local whiskey enthusiasts can come in many forms, such as signature tasting events, cocktail tastings or events that incorporate music or food. We believe the key is to offer an experience that meet guests where they are, either bourbon novice or bourbon curious.”

  Spoelman from Kings County Distillery told Beverage Master Magazine that it has been more challenging to attract travelers post-pandemic, but that they are finally starting to see a more adventurous mindset return.

  “We’ve also seen less interest as wellness trends push people away from alcohol,” Spoelman said. “Still, we think knowing about booze and being educated is the best way to be mindful and thoughtful about consumption, and to that end, we do think we can attract more of the general population. It’s a challenge to be able to offer an experience that caters both to total novices but also great enthusiasts, and yet the very best immersive tours and experiences manage to do this — you could argue it’s the fundamental challenge and how you organize speaks to the ambitions of a brand.”

Whiskey Tourism and Local Economies

  Travelers are increasingly seeking the next exciting thing when planning a trip, and whiskey tourism is often a unique and enticing option. Adams from Buffalo Trace Distillery explained that, where they are in Kentucky, whiskey tourism is a major driver of the state and local economies.

  “Distilleries like Buffalo Trace play a meaningful role in sustaining this year-round, as visitors come to experience the history and craftsmanship of Kentucky bourbon at any time,” Adams said. “Most often, visitors build entire trips around visiting Kentucky distilleries, which drives extended stays and supports hotels, restaurants, transportation providers and small businesses throughout the region.”

  Bock agreed that whiskey tourism is a powerful economic driver because it attracts visitors from across the country and around the world to spend time and money locally.

  “Guests who come for a distillery tour often extend their stay to dine at nearby restaurants, shop local retailers and stay at hotels,” Bock said. “When done thoughtfully, whiskey tourism strengthens the connection between a distillery and its community, while contributing to long-term growth for the region.”

  “I’ve always felt that we have something in common with breweries and baseball teams — we help define a city’s culture and hold a much more important role in that than sales always determine,” said Spoelman from Kings County Distillery. “That’s also a great responsibility.”

  He explained that when you make whiskey for Brooklyn or even all of New York City, you must speak to the entirety of the community.

  “Fortunately for us, New York is a city that is ambitious, smart, savvy, creative, gastronomical, infused with history, brash, bold…all the things you could ever want in a whiskey,” Spoelman said. “So, to be able to embody that spirit – in our spirits –  is a great opportunity that we enjoy and a great challenge we are excited to meet every day.”

Welcome to the New Future of Whiskey Tourism

  As distilleries like these three have discovered, whiskey tourism is more than just a fad – it has become a thriving sector of the travel industry. Distilleries that are now open to innovating their offerings offer a rich menu of experiences to explore. Meanwhile, tourism initiatives like the American Whiskey Trail, which spans multiple states, are combining education and cultural heritage with the history of American spirits.

  For experienced spirits enthusiasts and adventurous travelers alike, the whiskey tourism of the future promises a journey that’s just as memorable as the pour.

American Single Malt Whiskey

Cyndi

Celebrating the first anniversary of American single malt whiskey

A bottle labled Copper Works distilling co laying in a bed of barley

By Becky Garrison

January 19, 2026, marked a historic milestone—the first official anniversary of American Single Malt Whiskey’s (ASMW) federal recognition as a distinct category, the first new whiskey type added to U.S. regulations in over 56 years. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially added the new Standard of Identity to Part 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations on December 18th, 2024. This regulation went into effect on January 19, 2025.

  According to Jason Moore, Managing Director, Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA), given that American Single Malt has always been at the core of who they are, seeing it formally recognized as a category feels like a milestone not just for Westland, but for everyone who’s been working toward this for years.

  Steve Hawley kickstarted the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC) while he was at Westland, along with co-founder Matt Hofmann, who is currently overseeing the whiskey program at Talking Cedar. Quickly, they recognized that, as a distillery exclusively dedicated to ASMW, they would face major challenges competing commercially without a formal category to hang their hat on.

  They put out an invite to those distilleries they knew were making ASMW to join them for a meeting in Chicago in March 2016 during the American Craft Spirits Association’s  annual convention. The goal was to outline a definition for the category and discuss what steps we could take to not only petition for that definition to be adopted by TTB but also what other activities we could do to establish and grow the category in the marketplace.

  According to Hawley, “Without our petitioning the TTB for a formal definition and the nearly nine years of education, advocacy, and pressuring, this would never have happened.” Among the challenges the ASMWC faced in getting this designation approved were the need to draft a Standard of Identity (definition) that met the expectations globally of what single malt whiskey is but still leave room for American creativity. As expected, they received pushback from those who own brands in Scotland and insisted that ASMW needed to follow the strict rules established for Scotch in order to use the word “single malt.”

  Ultimately this definition needed to be in line with how TTB defined the broader classes of whiskey and conform to the way regulations for whiskeys are articulated. The criteria for a whiskey approved by the TTB to be designated as an American Single Malt can be found in this article (Beverage Master, February/March 2025).

  Another key challenge was the need to gain industry census among fellow distillers as to how to distinguish ASMW from other whiskeys. While most distillers concurred with the criteria for a whiskey to be designated as an ASMW, a few distillers producing a single malt at over 160 proof objected to being excluded from this designation that requires that ASMW are distilled to a proof of 160 or less. In addition, some distillers producing other single-grain whiskeys indicated a desire for these whiskeys to achieve recognition as well.

  Also, those distillers who blend whiskeys from barrels distilled at multiple locations expressed concern that whiskeys not originating from the same distillery location could not be labeled “single malt” even though they were produced by the same company or brand. Under the final regulations, the wort can be produced elsewhere but any whiskey labeled “single malt’ must be distilled at one facility.

  Along those lines, the ASMWC needed to educate key staff at TTB about the nuances of ASMW, and how this whiskey differed from the other whiskeys already approved by the TTB such as corn, rye, rye malt, and wheat. Finally, they needed to demonstrate that their petition was in the best interest of consumers, especially those accustomed to Scotch Whisky.

How This ASM Designation Impacted Pacific Northwest Whiskey Distilleries

  For Caitlin Bartlemay, Master Distiller for Clear Creek Distillery and Hood River Distillers (Hood River, OR), the ASMW designation was the final hurdle in legitimacy for McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt, the first single malt whiskey distilled in the US by Steve McCarthy over 25 years ago. As she proclaims, “The passion that formed the ASMWC, the creativity that has spawned over 250 entries to the category BEFORE it was an official category, and it’s an incredible thing to be part of the continued drive we all share to see American Single Malt flourish across America.”

  Jason Parker, co-founder of Copperworks Distilling Co., recalls feeling relieved when the TTB announced the news of this new category before the close of 2024. “We all just felt it was really important for the TTB to publish the final rule before the end of the year, because who knew what was coming next year.” Following this ratification, Copperworks spent the next year celebrating this news by educating consumers and whiskey distributors along with bars and restaurants, about this new category.

  While the distinctive characteristics of a “good bourdon” have been standardized, Parker notes how American Single Malt Whiskey doesn’t have that requirement. He reflects, “With American single malt whiskey, the consumer can experiment even further with flavors.”

  The Pacific Northwest’s focus as a hub for growing barley creates opportunities for considerable innovation for both brewers and single malt producers with a sizable number of distillers coming from brewing backgrounds. For example, Parker was the first head brewer for Seattle-based Pike Brewing Company when it opened in 1989. Also, this region’s strong food and drink culture focuses on local products made using organic and sustainable means including ASMW.

  Moore has observed how this destination gives whiskey consumers clarity. “Before, American Single Malt required a lot of explanation. Now there’s a shared language that helps people understand what they’re buying and why it’s different. We’ve seen growing curiosity and confidence from both consumers and the trade. The category feels more legitimate, more discoverable, and more future facing, which has helped accelerate interest in a meaningful way.”

The Future of

American Single Malt

  While American Single Malt remains a small percentage of the overall whiskey sales, it appears to be the one category not impacted by the recent downturns in whiskey sales. Parker attributes this in part to their focus on supporting local producers and making community connections. “Unless you’re one of the big brands that can continue to fight by lowering prices, becoming a national brand is too expensive to win.” But by maintaining their regional focus, Copperworks along with select other Pacific Northwest distilleries like Westland can offer flavor-focused single malts unique to this region. As Moore notes, “This opportunity isn’t just to grow volume, but to build a category that earns long-term trust and relevance.”

  Bartlemay adds that in this challenging marketplace ASMW is winning its fight for shelf space. “There is more consumer interest, which is driving media interest, which drives consumer interest!” She observes how ASMW events are getting bigger and taking place more often, with events happening across the country. “It is an amazing position as a category to be standing at the crossroads of tradition, innovation, creativity, and flavor,” she adds.

  Moving forward, the ASMWC has several trade-focused programs in the works and continued consumer education programs as well as working to spread the word for their members. According to Hawley, they’re also looking to engage new distilleries all the time. Currently, they have 116 members in the Commission but there are about 250 distilleries or so in the U.S. currently making single malt. They hope they can grow their ranks in 2026 to make their voice even louder.