TRADE: BEHIND THE BAR

Behind the bar

There are around 600 brewers and 400 distillers across Australia, employing more than 15,000 people. Two-thirds of those live in rural and regional areas, including here in Victoria, where it has become an increasingly competitive market.

Words: Anita Donnelly – General Manager Promotions and Communications

You may be asking what makes one distiller stand out from the crowd? For the below businesses, it’s the use of local produce sourced from nearby farms to create a distinctly unique drop.

Hurdle Creek Still

Owned by Simon Brooke- Taylor and Wendy Williams is located in a farm shed on a small rural property in Bobinawarrah/Milawa near Wangaratta. Wendy’s the farmer and runs a small herd of shorthorn cattle (currently 20 breeders and one bull) and also three horses and a few sheep.

Wendy also likes to implement regenerative farming methods, which influences the way they operate their distillery.

Hurdle Creek Still: The farm shed where the goods are made and tasted.

Photo by Brooke Keam Photography.

They make their own spirit for all of their products. Mainly from grain (although occasionally friendly local wineries have provided out of spec or unwanted wine that they distil and use in liqueurs).

They make two different grain spirit bases:

• 25% malt and 75% raw, chemical free, barley is used in most of their gins and liqueurs

• 25% malt, 50% triticale and 25% barley is used in their Powder Monkey Navy Strength Gin and Grain Jenever

Established in 2016 in a Milawa farm shed, Hurdle Creek Still focuses on using all local products and botanicals from their own property.

The Team at Hurdle Creek mill and mash the grain with hot water and collect a strong wort that is fermented with yeast, much the same way as beer or whisky is made which is in part, a reflection of Simon’s background as a brewer and a Master Brewer member of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. The resulting fermented wash is distilled twice, first time to strip out and collect the alcohol and the second time to refine the spirit, removing the heads and tails, collecting the hearts at up to 95% alcohol by volume (abv). If they’re making gin they place all the botanicals together in a gin basket or ‘carterhead’ after the column on the second distillation and allow the alcohol vapour to infuse through, picking up all the flavours, on its way to the condenser.

The gin is collected at around 92% abv and cut to the desired sales strength with bore water drawn from the Milawa aquifer, which also supplies the drinking water for the township of Milawa.

The spent grain from the mash is fed to the cows, who will be queued up at the gate on the morning after they’ve mashed, waiting for it! Presumably they can smell it says Simon.

Juniper Berries are grown from a species of conifer where the berries will ripen between a two-three year period. They are the main ingredient of all gin.

The pot ale, left in the still after the first stripping distillation, effectively boiled alcohol-free beer is collected and either diluted to be used as fertiliser or fed to the cows who love it.

Simon and Wendy try to source botanicals and other ingredients from their own property, or locally where they can. They also strive to be chemical free and/or sustainably grown. Any used botanicals and other ingredients they can’t find a specific use for, are composted. Simon sources juniper for his Navy Strength gin and all of his triticale, cherries, persimmons, yuzu and wine for spirit from fellow Victorian farmers.

Simon’s favourite cocktail is a (very) dirty martini made with their Yardarm Gin and their own olives. Wendy's is a gin sour made with their Powder Monkey Navy Strength Gin. Is it 5’oclock yet?

Hepburn Distillery

Began with the idea of local and drawing from the mineral-rich soil, and abundant rainfall of Hepburn Shire in Central Victoria. Surrounded by forest in cold, spud country, they were inspired to make a product that grew locally, was free of chemicals and low in food miles. They source as many raw materials as they can locally, organically and seasonally and grow some of the botanicals for their gin. VFF Member Wombat Organics provide the potatoes for Hepburn Distillery’s vodka and also the strawberries for their gin.

Hepburn Distillery began with the idea of drawing from the mineral-rich soil and abundant rainfall in Hepburn Shire in Central Victoria.

Jane and Basil’s commitment to being sustainable is at the heart of their lives and Hepburn business. Their stills run on renewable energy, packaging and labels are made from recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved paper and they compost all organic waste onsite. One of Jane’s passions is closing the loop and focusing on turning waste into something useful, they provide the pulp to a local pig farm in return for bacon and pork. For Jane and Basil, living close to the earth and the cycles of nature means that every batch of spirit they make is unique.

Being small and seasonal gives them the opportunity to forage, experiment with flavour, make use of gluts in produce and collaborate with other producers, chefs and business owners. In autumn they pick blackberries for the gin, in winter they harvest excess lemons. Each season provides new opportunities for experimentation with new flavour combinations.

A Gold Medal winner in the World Vodka Awards 2021, Hepburn Distillery’s organic potato vodka is fermented and triple-distilled onsite, from locally grown, organic potatoes from the nearby Wombat Forest. Super smooth, fragrant and viscous with a peppery finish - their vodka is the essence of the mineral-rich waters and red volcanic soil of Hepburn captured in a bottle. Used as the base for their Saffron and Aged Vodkas, their flagship range encapsulates the essence of their philosophy - to create handcrafted, world-class spirits from local, seasonal and sustainable produce. Served straight over ice or mixed with soda or into sophisticated cocktails, their vodka range is sure to delight the most discerning vodka drinkers.

Adam Bremner, VFF Member who is the Owner of Wombat Organics is a sixth-generation farmer, based near Daysleford. His farm has been certified organic for more than 30 years. Adam supplies Australian Organics Food Co with a delicious range of carrots, beetroot, potatoes and strawberries that are used in a range of products including soups, purees and juices, in addition to Hepburn Distillery.

Is there anything better than relaxing at the end of a long day on the farm with a gin and tonic? At Hepburn Distillery they ferment and distil their own base spirit from scratch, creating a unique foundation for their gin blends. They favour complex flavours, made in small batches from seasonal ingredients. If you love smooth, full-flavour gins with soda, tonic or as a cocktail base, you can now enjoy informative and personal tastings and events at Hepburn Distillery.

Adding potatoes to the still at Hurdle Creek Still.

They provide pre-booked, guided tastings on Saturday afternoons which can be booked via their website and there’s a great range of stockists across Victoria: https://hepburndistillery.com/

Starward Whisky

ditch the airs and graces and focus on flavour instead. That's why they use red wine barrels to mature their whisky. They source all their whisky ingredients from just a day's drive away including their barley from VFF Member Colin ‘Jock’ Richmond. Then, in the wildly varied Melbourne weather, Starward’s whisky draws out its signature fruity, delicious flavour in just three short years. Colin loves working with Cryer Malt and Starward because he’s proud to know his toiling goes into making Victorian spirits from his paddocks. Colin is always on the lookout for opportunities to expand the fourth-generation family farm.

Founded by his grandfather in the early 1930s near Geelong, Rose Grange Pastoral Company is now a beef, prime lamb, dairy and cropping business spread across properties in Victoria and New South Wales.

In Jock’s own words, Rose Grange’s success is rooted in passion. “We eat, sleep and breathe agriculture and we’re always excited by what lies ahead, whatever the challenges might be,” he says.

Orchard of Mountain Yuzu

He also credits success to the family’s long-term relationships with everyone from staff, suppliers and processors to retailers – including some relationships that date back several decades. “We have great respect and appreciation for them all,” he says. “These key relationships are still helping us build a quality, sustainable business.” Colin’s favourite cocktail is a Dark and Stormy.

To experience a whisky tasting and tour when next in the new Melbourne suburb of Fishermans Bend, check out what’s on offer here: https://starward.com. au/pages/tastings-tours

ANOTHER TIPPLE?

While you’re at next month’s VFF Grains and Livestock Conference, be sure to head to Ballarat on the weekend prior and try Sly Grog at Sovereign Hill. This new gin includes botanicals that are sourced from plants onsite at the tourist attraction. Lemon, cinnamon myrtle, banksia and rosemary grow really well onsite, blessing Sovereign Hill with unique provenance.

To find out more, visit: www.sovereignhill.com.au/sly-grog