Head distiller Ryan Scheswohl and cofounder Glen Sauer share insights and tips from Vermont’s Village Garage—a distillery specially designed to save energy and time while optimizing workflow and efficiency.
Based in Bennington, Vermont, Village Garage Distillery has won a reputation for balanced, approachable spirits made from local ingredients, and for an approach to energy efficiency and sustainability that began with the distillery’s initial designs. In this video course, award-winning head distiller Ryan Scheswohl and cofounder Glen Sauer explain that design as well as their process, including numerous tips for how small distilleries can make adjustments that reduce costs and energy consumption while improving efficiency, yield, and workflow.
Along the way, they explain:
And more.
Featuring:
Lessons
Ryan and Glen tell the tale behind Village Garage and how they prioritized flow and efficiency in the planning and design of the distillery.
From locally sourced grains and a programmable roller mill to a streamlined brewhouse and still, Ryan explains the efficient workflow at Village Garage—and how they can finish a brew in less than three hours, making it possible to brew twice without a long, taxing day.
From sourcing local grains to the closed conveyance from mill to cooker, Ryan explains more about their process—including why they use super sacks, the importance of preventive maintenance and having tools in every area, and why they dedicate every Friday to cleaning, organizing, and tightening quality.
The combination of clean-steam boiler and stainless-covered insulation enables a safe, quick, and energy-efficient process. Ryan explains how, step by step.
Village Garage typically lets their fermentation go for five or more days in open-top fermentors to develop a more acidic profile using local wild yeast. Ryan also explains the efficiencies of using defoamer and an air-diaphragm pump for easy transfer to the still, and minimizing water to keep the still temperatures (and energy use) down.
Ryan explains their thoughtfully designed processes for distilling, proofing, barreling, and bottling with a small team and small footprint—including easy steam control, valves and gauges at working height, simple transfer, quick cleaning, a custom-made blending tower, and making use of gravity and air.
Ryan guides us around the distillery, showing us how the system is organized for efficiency—including the automated mill, mash tun/cooker, open-top fermentors, still, steam valves, blending tower, bottling setup, steam boiler, and more.
Glen lays out many of the safety precautions included in the Village Garage buildout, including fire doors, vapor detectors, explosion-proof pipes, and more. He also explains the water system and gravity-powered blending tower.
Glen and Ryan close out the course and offer parting thoughts on a safer, more sustainable distillery’s place in the community.