— FROM OUR BLOG —
Yeast and Babies
Yeast and babies enjoy the same things. Mostly, they like to be warm, cozy and well-fed. This past weekend I continued work on our peach honey mead. The mixture of warmed peaches and honey told me when they were ready for the yeast. It just looked right: warm and...
First Fermentation
Last week we started our first fermentation. We bought honey from a beekeeper in Snohomish County and made a peach honey mead from last summer's late harvest peaches. We pitched the first yeast early in the day and a second yeast in the afternoon. By nightfall it was...
We Are Open!
January has been a very good month for us. The Mason County Building Department gave us our certificate of occupancy, the Department of Labor and Industries gave us our final electrical, and we passed the Liquor Control Board inspection today. WE ARE NOW DISTILLERS....
Snowstorms and emergency lights
Last week Chuck met the Mason County building inspector at the distillery for the final inspection. The work we have done was approved, but there is one new item: emergency back-up light in the basement, where we will be storing our barrels. Chuck immediately drove to Olympia, bought the light, and returned to the distillery in the emerging blizzard of heavy wet snow. The lights went out, and he installed the emergency back-up light in the dark basement.
Our second still
With all of the work we have had to do for the Mason County Building Department, we have not had a chance, until a week ago, to begin assembling our second still. This still is from Artisan Still Design in Canada. It will be used for our gins, and many other spirits....
Can Chuck find his way out?
The Mason County building department is slowly adding to its list of requirements for the Certificate of Occupancy for the distillery.
The front of the Distillery has two double doors. These doors were custom made, and we like them very much. One of the double doors opens into the production area. We have no employees, and Chuck and Jan will be distilling in the production area. Usually, it will be just Chuck, while Jan works in the tasting room.
Originally, when we started the project, we had thought the big expense for the doors would be the locks required by the federal TTB. Early in the project we had these locks installed. But that was the least of the door requirements.
Mary places the first Distillery mail order
As of today (Dec. 12), we still do not have our certificate of occupancy, and cannot distill, so we have no liquor to sell. However, we do have t-shirts, aprons, and other items with the Hardware Distillery logo. We were excited to have our first mail order request...
We’re in the inaugural issue of Artisan Spirit Magazine
We are lucky to be in the inaugural issue of Artisan Spirit Magazine.
When will we be open
Fire Sprinkler and Delays
We are still hopeful that we can be open by the day after Thanksgiving. However, here are the reasons for our delays and what we must accomplish in order to start distilling. I read Franz Kafka’s The Castle in high school. I feel like I need to re-read it, because we are living that life.
This is a photo of the fire sprinkler that was finally installed last week. The Mason County Building Department is requiring our little distillery to have a fire sprinkler system. The alternative is to have firewalls and learn to live without windows. We chose the fire sprinkler system.
Rules of the Seattle Post Office
For many years I had a Post Office box in Seattle. I opened it in 1999 with a friend. We shared the box for a year or two, and then she decided she did not want to use it anymore. We notified the Post Office, and I continued to use it. When I opened a Post Office box...