Farm distilleries harvest value-added spirits

By Matthew Wilde

Wildcat Distilling Co. was named for Wildcat Cave, 臭名昭著的亡命徒邦妮·帕克和克莱德·巴罗抢劫了附近的一家银行后就躲在那里. At least that’s the story told around Duncombe, Iowa, say distillery owners and siblings Brad Lemke and Alissa Nelson.

“Our grandparents told us the story about Bonnie and Clyde,” Nelson says. “We’re not sure if it’s true, but it makes sense, 因为他们经常躲在僻静的地方，抢劫了该地区的三个加油站. 这个故事是当地传说的一部分，当顾客问起酿酒厂的名字是怎么来的时候，讲这个故事很有趣.”

Another on-farm distillery with a unique claim to fame is Far North Spirits. Only miles from the Canadian border near Hallock, Minn., 作为美国本土最北端的酿酒商，这家皇冠hga010安卓二维码名不虚传.

“我们拥有这片土地的所有权，因为我们种植威士忌用黑麦的农场比Baudette的一家酿酒厂要往北几度, Minn.,” says Cheri Reese, who owns Far North with her husband, Michael Swanson. “We’re one of only a handful of U.S. distilleries that grows our own grain.”

野猫酿酒厂于2020年开始酿造威士忌，远北酿酒厂在此之前7年开始酿造威士忌，目标是相同的:增加收入，为子孙后代保护家族农场. The best way to do that, each determined, was to add value to grain by turning it into whiskey and other liquor.

莱姆克说:“我们是一个规模较小的农场(460英亩)，单靠产量是无法竞争的。. “If you look back through history, 不作为食物或牲畜饲料出售的谷物的主要用途是酒精.”

他说，顾客喜欢从农场到玻璃的故事，他们称之为“耕种、研磨和蒸馏”.”

Brad and Amanda Lemke, co-owners of Wildcat Distilling Co.他准备在爱荷华州韦伯斯特市的酿酒厂的品酒室里为顾客服务.

Wildcat way

Lemke started farming his family’s land in 2014, a few years after his grandfather, Alvin Isakson, retired. In 2017, Lemke remembers selling corn for $3.10 per bushel, well below breakeven for the state.

That tough year is seared into Lemke’s memory. “We needed another steady income source to survive.”

Lemke, 纳尔逊和他们的配偶决定利用他们的才能和洞穴的营销手段，在手工烈酒的热潮中赚钱. U.S. craft spirits sales are growing 10.4% annually, according to the American Craft Spirits Association.

Lemke, a former operations manager with a fertilizer manufacturer, is the head distiller due to his knowledge of chemical processes. 他的妻子阿曼达·莱姆克(Amanda Lemke)在爱荷华州韦伯斯特市附近经营Wildcat Distilling品酒室. Nelson and her husband, Tony Nelson, have full-time jobs in creative design and marketing and sales, respectively, and use their skills to promote and support the business.

About 20% of the farm is devoted to growing grain for whiskey, including yellow corn, Jimmy Red corn, hard red winter wheat, cereal rye, barley and sorghum. Corn is the primary grain used.

“We pride ourselves on being a farm-to-bottle distillery. 酿造一批威士忌并不需要太多的谷物——大约600磅或刚刚超过10蒲式耳,” Lemke says. A batch typically fills 24 to 48 750-milliliter bottles, sometimes more. Whiskey yield varies due to corn starch content and fermentability.

“There’s quite a bit of value [turning grain into whiskey],” he continues. “如果玉米每蒲式耳值3美元，我们可以让它的价值接近每蒲式耳80美元.”

在简单的玉米-大豆轮作中增加特种作物和小谷物是有学习曲线的, Lemke says. Agronomists with Landus Cooperative, based in Ames, Iowa, help the operation acquire seed, fertilizer and other inputs and provide agronomic advice.

“I planted grain sorghum for the first time this year to make a new whiskey. When I had questions about seeding depth and rate and crop protection, Landus came through,” Lemke says.

Landus总裁兼首席执行官马特•卡斯滕斯(Matt Carstens)表示，帮助农场主取得成功是首要目标.

“我们以农民为中心，我们的工作是为他们提供他们需要的一切，”他继续说. “Whether it’s a value-added venture or not, we remain diligent on providing opportunities to help family farmers.”

Wildcat Distilling出售六种威士忌，每瓶价格从28美元到42美元不等, with plans to expand production to include bourbon and other spirits. The team’s production goal is 380 bottles per week. Wildcat products are sold by regional retailers, including Hy-Vee stores.

Cheri Reese and Michael Swanson own Far North Spirits, an on-farm distillery and tasting room near Hallock, Minn.

Far North dreams

Reese grew up in tiny Hallock and Swanson was raised on a farm near town. While they loved the quiet beauty of the Red River Valley, 两人都梦想生活在一个繁华的城市，拥有有回报的事业和无尽的娱乐选择.

After more than two decades of living that dream, most recently in St. Paul, Minn., the couple yearned for a “simpler life.多年的公共教育咨询工作和斯旺森的医药营销工作让他们倍感压力.

“We needed something that would feed our souls,” Reese recalls. “We wanted to do something with the farm, but it’s hard to be profitable with 1,200 acres and we didn’t want to scale up.”

斯旺森在2009年为MBA课程撰写的一份手工酿酒厂的商业计划激发了他的另一个梦想:将本土谷物酿造成世界级的烈酒. 这对夫妇辞掉了工作，搬到了家族农场，建造了一家酿酒厂，并于2013年开业.

他说:“我们的想法是，从一小部分土地上提取粮食，制造并销售成品，其产生的收入与整个农场销售粮食的收入一样多，甚至更多,” Swanson says. A neighbor rents the rest of the land.

Swanson grows several varieties of rye — mostly Hazlet, which gives whiskey a unique flavor — and some heirloom corn on 200 acres. Far North makes several kinds of whiskey, gin and rum. 所有的产品都有斯堪的纳维亚的名字，比如Roknar，以拥抱他们的传统. They retail for $30 to $50 per bottle.

“Our brand is solid. 农场是我们的优势，帮助我们在国内和国际上竞争，”里斯说.

Products are sold at retailers and restaurants throughout the U.S. and on the company’s website through a third-party vendor. Viking, which runs ocean and river cruises in the U.S. and Europe, is a Far North customer.

这对夫妇指出，销售很强劲，但日益激烈的竞争和监管是一个挑战. The number of U.S. craft distilleries nearly doubled to 2,290 from 2015 to 2021, according to the American Craft Spirits Association.

Michael Swanson, left, and Cheri Reese, right, co-owners of Far North Spirits, talk to Harlen Iverson, CHS Ag Services, about future propane deliveries. The business uses about 14,000 gallons a year. A propane-fired boiler heats the building, stills and mash cooker.

斯旺森说，掌握最新的农业技术和技术是令人生畏的. CHS Ag Services in Hallock provides advice and ag inputs. CHS每年还供应1.4万加仑丙烷，用于加热酿酒厂及其蒸馏器.

“When it’s 30 degrees below zero, you can’t run out of propane,” says Reese. “Our stills run almost all week to keep up with demand. Harlen Iverson, our propane delivery driver, doesn’t let us run out.”

The couple has embraced the return to their ag roots, sporting T-shirts that say, “Who’s your whiskey farmer?”

“我们有一个独特的中西部故事，”里斯说，“很多人都想听.”

Check out the full summer 2023 C Magazine with this article and more.

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