Artisan distilling in Indiana: It's about brewers, too.

This is what happens when the information comes from the wine lobby.

But seriously, it's worth remembering that (a) the artisan distilling legislation involved lobbying efforts on the part of the Brewers of Indiana Guild (not taking anything away from Ted Huber and Ed Clere), and (b) it allows for brewing companies to have the "same opportunity" to distill as Huber had already. Leaving the beer folks out is telling only half the story, although Van Hoy correctly notes that the oft-heard lament of "we can't buy beer on Sunday" actually is not true, given that Hoosier breweries (and wineries)  can sell off-premise on Sunday.

For Starlight Distillery, it's all about the grain being legal in addition to the grape. "Vodka, gin and whiskey" obviously are grain-based distillates, where previously only fermented grape and fruit juices could be improved through distillation.

I wish them good fortune in expanding the distilling operation. Gin, anyone?

VAN HOY: Antiquated Hoosier ways slow to vanish

By Shea Van Hoy (NT)

Huber’s Starlight Distillery has a nice, shiny still, ready to crank out spirits to its loyal, thirsty customers.

Owner Ted Huber plans to add another one now that a new law is in the books, and that’s good for business and tourism in Southern Indiana.

In short, House Enrolled Act 1293 provides artisan distillers with the same opportunity that small breweries and wineries already had — to bottle their products and to sell them by the glass.

Sticking a toe in the (distilled) water at the ADI annual conference.

Lew Bryson's in town for the American Distilling Institute's annual conference. The ADI gig runs through Wednesday at Huber's Orchard, Winery, Vineyards and Starlight Distillery, and ironically, after Lew returns home, NABC will be having much fun with Session Beer Day on Saturday, April 7.

My friend Jared Austin from The Big Easy came up to attend the conference, and as Lew explains in this posting at Seen Through A Glass, we three coincided at Bank Street Brewhouse on a beautiful Sunday afternoon: Run-up to ADI: Mecklenburg Gardens, and Louisville beers.

Lew gave us a ride to the Brown Hotel for ADI registration, and he continues the story at the Whisky Advocate Blog, where this week he'll continue to file reports on the conference. It's always such a pleasure to see Lew, and it was quite the scene outside the English Grill at the Brown, with three big guys drinking and laughing (prior to becoming a quartet when New Holland's Fred Bueltmann sat down on the adjacent upholstery).

NABC's Richard Atnip will be pouring beers for attendees tomorrow (and perhaps lunch on Wednesday) at the Huber Plantation Hall. I'm enjoying a couple of semi-vacation days (daze) and will provide reports if the mood strikes.

Calendar check: 2012 American Distilling Institute Conference in Louisville, and at Huber's.

The objective of Eileen Martin's internship is to make whiskey.

Louisville metro readers know Eileen Martin from her brewing/sales/beer advocacy career in Louisville. Eileen informs us that she's scored a cool internship just up the road, described below and in this .pdf file from the American Distilling Institute.

We are delighted for Eileen, and offer warmest congratulations!

--

Dear Eileen:

Congratulations. The Board of Directors of The Michael Jackson Foundation has awarded you the first-ever AIWF-ADI Michael Jackson Craft-Distilling Internship.

The distillery chosen is Ted Huber’s Starlight Distillery. We hope you will find collaborating with Ted and Associate Distiller Jason Heilegenberg to be a rewarding introduction to craft distilling.

The objective of the internship is to make whiskey. An important part of the internship will be the completion of a workplace journal that charts the critical events and decisions in that process. The journal will be excerpted and published by ADI, and a presentation made by you in person on May 4th at the 2010 ADI Conference in Louisville.

Financial arrangements for material, labor, travel and lodging expenses will be made with Starlight Distillery once the mash bill and the distilling-and-casking schedule has been established.

Again, best wishes on your spirited adventure.

Most Sincerely,
Penn Jensen,
For the AIWF-ADI Michael Jackson Craft-Distilling Internship

Starlight Distillery: I told you so … sort of, anyway.

Major league props to Huber’s Starlight Distillery, a division of the family’s renowed Orchard & Winery, which made the Sunday edition of the New York Times not once, but twice, and in the main section, no less!

In an article about the rise of microdistilling that begins on the newspaper’s front page, legendary local vintner and distiller Ted Huber gets a nod and a quote:

Farmyard Stills Quench a Thirst for Local Spirits, by Susan Saulny.

“There was no way for me to have an artisan distillery the way Indiana law was written after Prohibition,” said Ted Huber, who runs the Starlight Distillery on his farm in southern Indiana and who helped draft the law that was passed six years ago. “I can’t make whiskey, but can make anything that would come from raw ingredients for wine. I’m experimenting with grape vodka now.”

Mr. Huber also runs a winery, and it attracts a half-million tourists a year. But he finds that his copper pot still, imported from Germany, “is really a crowd pleaser, even when it’s not running.”

Eric Asimov, the NYT’s drinks writer, then considers several microdistilled products: THE POUR; Just Don’t Call It Scotch. Or Irish. Or Tequila.

Speaking of rugged stuff, grappa, distilled from the residue of the winemaking process, generally has all the appeal of a flame-throwing punch to the stomach. Most are harsh and unpleasant, though there are significant exceptions. A grappa made by the Starlight Distillery in Borden, Ind., is one of them. It is smooth with a fruity, floral aroma, and would be highly enjoyable after a heavy meal.

Since our visit to the winery and distillery a couple of weeks ago, I've also been praising the Grappa. I remembered the beverage from Italian excursions chiefly as lighter fluid or fuel additive, but like Asimov, I found Starlight’s version to be delicate and aromatic.

What are we going to have to do to the Indiana state law (burning it springs immediately to mind) to allow Ted to distill Hoptimus into schnapps?

Speaking of legalese, I learned earlier today that our Brewers of Indiana Guild was visiting Indiana's legislature in an effort to gain support for legislation that would allow the state's brewers to promote their breweries on state highway signage. It's something that wineries have been doing for two decades, but is currently denied to breweries under the wisdom ... well, under no discernable wisdom whatsoever.