“
WE CAN JUST LOCALLY SOURCE GRAINS MORE READILY AND WE CAN GET IMMEDIATELY SOURCED GRAINS RIGHT FROM THE AREA.” LUKE DAVIDSON, MAINE CRAFT DISTILLING Luke Davidson of Maine Craft Distilling
aren’t good enough—they certainly are—
in Portland had the same issue. Davidson
it’s that they are able to do more and gain
is able to floor malt all the Maine-grown
flexibility with those grains when they malt
Newdale barley he needs for his whiskey,
in-house.
40 tons a year, which is something he could
“It’s the philosophy but it’s also to be
easily buy from a good maltster, except for
able to make products that adhere to what
one thing: he kilns his malt with Maine-
we’re trying to do,” Kinstlick explains.
harvested peat and seaweed. After aging
“We do a green malt product and we are
that whiskey in barrels coopered in town
the only ones doing that. We could not do
with Maine-grown white oak, Davidson’s
that unless we malted our own grain, just
product is a completely terroir whiskey—
because you have a window of about 12 to
something he couldn’t do without malting
24 hours.”
his own grain.
Green malt never sees a kiln, but is
“We built an in-house system specifically
instead mashed while it’s still sprouting,
for our malt,” says Davidson, explaining
which Kinstlick describes as “like trying
that his unique whiskey is selling rapidly,
to mash a salad.” It is one-of-a-kind,
so fast that he doesn’t have any malt
extremely rare, and only possible because
to spare to sell to breweries or other
they malt in-house.
distilleries. “We’re really having trouble keeping up with our own needs.”
Malting in-house is also beneficial because it gives the distillers control over the malt they want to use, and immediate
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access to it. Kinstlick says that there is only one malt house in New York that will
“One of the reasons we really made
malt rye, and their malted rye is almost
the commitment to do our own malting
always spoken for. He says if he delivers
is because it would allow us to make a
them raw rye from a farmer they will malt
100 percent corn product,” tells Michael
it for him, but at a certain point he and
Kinstlick of Coppersea Distilling in West
Distillery Manager Christopher Williams
Park, New York. “To be able to make a true
thought they should just do it themselves.
100 percent corn whiskey we need corn
Davidson in Maine says that type of
malt, so we’re figuring that out. That was
control is invaluable, saying that beyond
really a motivation for us.”
having control over the malt’s character
Kinstlick says that while they are moving
and flavor, he also appreciates being able
towards malting all their grain in-house,
to control how much malt he has, when he
which will soon include grain they grew
has it, and where it comes from.
themselves at their recently purchased
“We can just locally source grains
farm, they still gladly purchase outside
more readily,” he tells, “and we can get
grains for some of their spirits. It’s not that
immediately sourced grains right from the
the grains they purchase from maltsters
area.”
PHOTOS FROM TOP: COPPERSEA DISTILLING PHOTO BY PETER BARRETT. MAINE CRAFT DISTILLING PHOTO BY PETER GUYTON. LEOPOLD BROTHERS PHOTO BY TARYN KAPRONICA. COPPER FOX DISTILLERY PHOTO BY AMANDA JOY CHRISTENSEN.
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