Time for a brew:
Whisky starts life as beer, so whether a distillery makes their own wash on site or buys it in from a local brewery, the start of the flavour journey of the eventual dram begins life here. But how much does the brewing process affect the eventual whisky and how are breweries and distilleries across England embracing the flavour challenge and pushing the boundaries of what this simple first step can add to their products?
Brewing is a dual process of mashing, which involves steeping grains in hot water (liquor) to extract the sugars and make a wort (sugary liquid) – followed by fermentation, where yeast converts those sugars into alcohol. Although a relatively simple process, many factors at this stage could affect flavour in the new make spirit and eventual whisky.
Grain Expectations
From malted barley to Rye, Wheat, Corn and even Oats, the grains chosen to make up the recipe (or ‘mash bill’, for want of an American term) is the beginning of the process of making whisky. Larger distilleries will often use high yield barley or grain varieties to maximise alcohol production – but craft distilleries are often opting for heritage grains or mixed mash bills to sacrifice yield in search of flavour.
Brewery-distilleries like The Cheshire (Weetwood Brewery) and Lancaster Spirits Co. (Lancaster Brewery) utilise the likes of chocolate malt or crystal malt in their mash bills to add flavour – while The Cheshire’s remaining grains are floor-malted Maris Otter (a brewers barley renowned for its gentle malty flavours). Mashed with ‘Burton-ised water’ (water chemically altered to match that from the Burton area, renowned for making great beer) the grains are gently mashed to extract maximum flavour and sugars – before being fermented over many days with standard distillers yeast at The Cheshire – and a live brewers yeast at Lancaster.
Other breweries play a bit-part in the whisky making process. Theakstons provide the wash in its entirety for Eller’s Farm Distillery in Yorkshire (a banana bread flavour that carries through into the new make as banana sweets, before transforming into banoffee pie and flambeed banana as the spirit ages in cask – proof if ever I needed that flavour from wash does indeed exist in the final product). Dartmoor Brewery in Princetown make the wash for The Dartmoor Whisky Distillery and recently resurrected Rosemaund Farm Distillery (nee Chase) will once more obtain their wash from Hobson’s Brewery nearby until they build their own brewery on site.
Back to Brewer-distilleries, Grasmere in Cumbria started life as a small brewery run by Paul Abbott. He’s adamant that because he can’t afford the most expensive casks he has to generate flavour at every other touch point – leading him to brew with malts like Munich, Vienna, Caramalt and Best Ale Malt – each delivering unique flavours into the wash – and eventual new make spirit. He’s also using a ‘sour mash’ technique, which involves adding leftover fermented grain to the next mash, for consistent flavour and acidity. Paul’s aim here is to create flavours that are usually derived from casks, but he believes, can be’front-loaded’ into the liquid and just accentuated in casks, ending in his planned solera system for even more consistent releases down the line.
Yeastie Boys
An interesting collaboration exists in Derbyshire, where Thornbridge Brewery provides live brewers yeast for White Peak Distillery (Wireworks whisky). Even though the entire production operation takes place at the distillery – even this link creates a unique flavour profile that couldn’t be created with lab-made varieties or standard distilling yeasts. It also cements a strong regional connection and pride in their sense of place – geographically and amongst other local businesses and products.
Many distilleries are playing around with Yeasts in the fermentation process to create flavour as well as alcohol. West Midlands Distillery often pitch yeasts like Kveik Voss, Kveik Hornindal and Hercules to their wort – extracting different flavour compounds for different cask types – like a drinks menu for maturation… “Would sir like a creamy & sweet Kveik Voss wash for his Bourbon cask today?” vs. “We’d highly recommend the toasted oak & spice notes of Kveik Hornindal for your Quarter Cask madam”. OK, I’m personifying wood, but you get the picture. These choices matter – for the brewer / distiller – but also for the end drinker.
Circumstance Distillery align their yeasts not with cask type, but grain type. Their wheat beers often include Saison and Bavarian beer yeast strains to accentuate the wheat flavours, whilst their oat, corn and rye whiskies frequently include Mead yeast to contribute floral sweet notes in the end spirit. Extracting flavour early doors is the name of the game and with the perfect triumvirate or great grains, targeted yeasts and long fermentations brewers and distillers are generating oodles of delicious flavour compounds ready to be distilled into a purer form ready for maturation.
I could go on and list something interesting about every English distillery and their approach to brewing their wash (even The Lakes, who famously focus heavily on the cask influence of their whisky spent a long R&D phase refining their wash and have changed the recipe along the way to improve the desired flavour compounds in the new make spirit). But the fundamental fact exists that flavour can be, and is made through a combination of great grains, exciting yeast strains and the care and attention of brewers in making flavoursome wash – flavours which distillation select and refine into the new make spirit that goes into casks for 3+ years to become whisky.
Whatever your stance on the impact of brewing on the final flavour of a dram, you would be hard pressed to argue that the distilleries above aren’t generating any flavours through this process distinguishable at the end of the process. And if you insist upon making that case… well, let’s sit down over a brew (and a few drams) to fight it out – because this is one whisky hill I’m willing to die on (but I don’t want to cause a brew-ha-ha!) – sorry!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below – as ever the discussion continues on our members Discord channel, social channels and when we have the pleasure of meeting in person. Cheers !
