by Jakob Bradfield | Jan 22, 2024 | Alcohol Business, Distillery
Aggregate on Florida’s Nature Coast:
Aggregation Distilling Company’s Pending Opening,
255 SE US Hwy 19, Crystal River, FL 34429, formerly Shipyard Dog
After years of preparations, Aggregation Distilling Company is producing its first spirits to unveil at their mid-March opening in Crystal River. The local Briley family, Jim, Elaine, David, Emily, and their four-legged friend Maisey, proudly own the distillery.
“We couldn’t be happier to show the community the initial phase of our big Crystal River dream,” says Jim Briley. The small distillery and tasting room is adjacent to the Three Sisters Springs Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for threatened Florida Manatees. Aggregations of Manatees gather in these unique estuaries to recharge in the clean, fresh water.
The Manatee behavior inspires lead distiller David Briley, “The local spring water carries its pleasant flavors through to our end spirits, and the intimate atmosphere brings people together.” He chuckles as he adds, “You will love this environment for the same reasons our Manatee friends do…”
BoozeWerks has provided Aggregation business planning, process development, technical assistance, and staff training services since its idea phase in 2021. This current distillery is an initial proof of concept for the larger facility, which will begin construction in the coming years. Their unique production process will incorporate industry-leading, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly practices into a venue with a distillery, brewery, concert venue, and boutique lodging.
“When fully operational, Aggregation Distilling Company will be one of the finest purpose-built facilities of its kind,” says Devin Mills, Founder and President of BoozeWerks. “We are truly honored to be a part of it.” Take a sneak peek at the gallery below, provided by the project architect OPA Design Studio.
Come share in the success and growth of our collaboration with Aggregation Distilling Company- Cheers to craftsmanship, community, and the shared moments that are “Always with Us!“
by Booze Werks | May 8, 2019 | Distillery, Podcast
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In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills starts breaking down the basics of barrel aging. The purpose of aging, what wood brings to the party of spirit maturation, and why smaller barrels may not be the best option vs. full sized vessels.
Episode Highlights:
- Ceramic Replacements?
- Basics of Aging
- Coarse-Grained vs Fine
- Oxygen is your friend
- PH Matters
- Best Flavor Extractions
- Old Barrels vs New
- Contents of Oak
- Smaller vs Larger Barrels
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | May 1, 2019 | Business Interview, Distillery, Podcast
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Devin Mills talks with Ryan Hembree, Founder & Owner (along with his wife Julie) of Skip Rock Distillers, producers of some serious award winning Liqueurs (and award-winning Rums, Gins & Whiskeys)!
Liqueurs are an often forgotten product, but Ryan helps Devin shed some light on to what is a time-honored tradition, and how Ryan sort of fell into the Liqueur business – to great success! Their Raspberry Liqueur won a Gold Medal & Best-In-Class at the ADI Awards this year (2019), as well as “Worlds Best Fruit Liqueur” at the World Liqueur Awards (2019). And their famous Nocino (Walnut Liqueur) also won a Gold Medal at the World Liqueur Awards (2019).
Skip Rock Distillers is located in Snohomish, Washington (North of Seattle), and the distillery offers tours and has a tasting room.
This is a awesome conversation about the ins-n-outs of Liqueuers, and how time really can be the secret ingredient!
Check out all the details below.
Cheers!
Skip Rock Distillers:
Website – https://www.skiprockdistillers.com
Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/srdistillers
Online Shop – https://www.skiprockdistillers.com/store.html
by Booze Werks | Apr 24, 2019 | Distillery, Podcast, Production Equipment
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In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills gets into the history, design, and function of the 3-Chamber Still and why it was so popular in rye whiskey production prior to prohibition in this country.
Episode Highlights:
- History of Design
- Why Use 3 Chambers?
- Continuous (or nearly)
- Grain Handling
- Single & Stripping Usage
- Modern 3-Chamber Still Design
- Operation of the Still
- More Action
- Heat-up
- Basic Process Flow
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | Apr 17, 2019 | Alcohol Business, Beer, Brewery, Podcast, Production Equipment, Spirits
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In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills breaks down the various types of filters you might find in a brewery, and what each stage of filtration brings to the final product.
Episode Highlights:
- History of Filtration
- Why Filter?
- Clarity
- Increase Stability
- Prepare for Wider Exportation
- Types of Filtration
- Filtration Stages
- Primary
- Trap (Particle)
- Fine
- Final
- Filtration Downsides?
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | Apr 10, 2019 | Alcohol Business, Business Interview, Distillery, Podcast
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Devin Mills talks with Stephen Gould, Founder & Head Distiller of Golden Moon Distillery, a facility that specializes in herbal liquors and other liqueurs. Stephen & Devin talk all things gin, absinthe, historical recipes, and how palette development is so important to a distiller. This is a great conversation that was recorded at the Golden Moon facility a number of weeks ago (and you will hear some background noise in certain sections). Check out all the details below. Cheers!
Golden Moon Distillery:
Website – https://goldenmoondistillery.com Spirits List – https://goldenmoondistillery.com/ourspirits Golden Moon Speakeasy – http://www.goldenmoonspeak.com/
by Booze Werks | Apr 9, 2019 | Alcohol Business, Brewery, International
Greg Koch, founder of Stone Brewing, is a little heart-broken over the sale of the ‘Stone Brewing Berlin’ facility – but he knows it’ll be taken care of in new hands: Scotland’s Brewdog hands!
In this farewell letter/blog on Stone’s website, Greg goes into some detail about what happened, how bureaucracy played a role in the need to sell, and how glad he is that friends are taking it over. The Berlin project was announced in 2014, and has since been a catalyst for craft beer growth in the German capital city.
Stone Brewing will continue to distribute to Europe, and the facility there in Berlin will change hands beginning in May. Greg admits that the Berlin project may have been a bite that was a bit more than they could chew!
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | Apr 3, 2019 | Distillery, Podcast
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In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills heads out into the fields to get into the dirt about potato distilling, and why is hasn’t always had the best reputation as an ingredient.
Episode Highlights:
- More Starch than Grain
- Potato Processing
- Industrial vs Standard Potatoes
- Cleaning Before & After Milling
- Starch Conversion Debate
- Fermentation & ABV
- Vodka Purity Issues
- Methanol
- Using Charcoal to Filter
- Chill Haze & Sediment
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | Mar 27, 2019 | Brewery, Podcast
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In this episode of the BoozeWerks Podcast, Devin Mills gets into the details about craft brewery cooling systems and how to calculate what size & type of equipment you’ll need.
Episode Highlights:
- Why Do You Need A Brewery Cooling System
- Continuous vs. Instantaneous Loads
- Boil Kettle Cooling
- BTU Load Calculation
- Water vs Glycol
- Cold Liquor Tank Usage
- Fermentation Control
- Yeast Generate Heat
- Room Heat Gain
- Jacketing
- Cold-Crashing
- Brite Beer Tanks
- Cold Room vs Jacketed
- More Room Heat Gain
- Total Cooling Needs Calculation
Cheers!
by Booze Werks | Mar 26, 2019 | Alcohol Business, Distillery, International
With the UK continuing to try to figure out its upcoming ‘Brexit’ deal with the European Union, other post-Brexit deals are already being agreed upon & signed. And this latest deal with Caribbean rum has us in good spirits!
According to this story in Drinks Business, the Rum will continue to flow into the UK from the Caribbean. A partnership agreement was put into place last Friday (22nd of March):
There will be no tariffs placed on all goods imported into the UK from those states [Barbados, Belize, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, The Republic of Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines] that have signed the deal. Caribbean states will also continue to gradually cut import tariffs on most of the region’s imports from the UK.
For the UK citizens who have a taste for Rum (as well as bananas, sugar cane, etc.) this means they will still have the ability to acquire those goods without too much hassle as the rest of the Brexit deal continues on and the international trade re-organization figures itself out. Hopefully this also helps to strengthen the job markets and industry in the Caribbean as the demand for product grows.
Let the [legal] rum running continue!
Cheers!
