Contact: Maryon Attwood, Special Projects NABC 

Phone: 360-336-3727\Toll Free: (888) 707-2021

RE:    Northwest Agriculture Business Center and WSU's Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources at the Northwest Research and Extension Center will host a two-day Artisan Distilling Workshop with National Experts in June.

(MOUNT VERNON, WA)  The Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) and WSU's Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources at the Northwest Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon will host an educational workshop for producers interested in micro-distilling. The workshop will run from Friday June 20^th through Saturday, June 21^st at the WSU-Mount Vernon Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon, WA. 

The NABC is bringing nationally recognized distilling experts to Washington to teach the basics of small-scale artisan distilling. Nicolas Haase, CARL Distilleries, Director of Technical Sales, B&D Technologies and Alexander Plank, Director of Operations at CARL Distilleries, Germany will be joined by Professor Kris Berglund from Michigan State University where he teaches in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science. Dr. Berglund has been a faculty member at Michigan State University for over twenty years and holds the rank of University Distinguished Professor in Michigan State University's Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science. He holds numerous patents. In addition, Dr. Berglund holds the position of Professor of Biochemical and Chemical Process Engineering at Luleå University of Technology in Luleå, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, his M.S. from Colorado State University, and his B.S.A.E. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Campaign.

Professor Berglund has done more than most to introduce and encourage a new value-added industry: micro-distilling. Transforming Michigan into a top producer of European-style brandy has been academic for Berglund. As head of the MSU's artisan distilling program, founded in 1997, Professor Kris Berglund has helped bring Michigan to a second-ranking behind California in the number of artisan distilleries. According to Maryon Attwood, Special Projects for NABC, "We are very fortunate to have Kris and the technical experts from Germany's Christian Carl Distilleries coming to western Washington to get our producers started in this new value-added industry. There will be demonstrations with local fruit juice in a portable still and opportunities for discussion and questions throughout the workshop", added Attwood.

          Like his Washington sustainable agriculture counterparts, Berglund saw fruit brandies as a possible answer to farmers' lingering question of what do to with the portion of the state's fruit crop that can't be sold on the market. His expertise with "boutique" liquors is a key

component that is enabling communities to develop brand-new economies. "We agree with Professor Berglund and hope that working together with the NABC we will be able to assist growers in Northwest Washington the way Michigan State has over the past several years", stated Héctor Sáez.  Héctor Sáez is the new BioAg Value-Added Economist for the Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources at the Northwest Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon.

The June artisan distilling workshop is occurring as a result of the passage of new legislation passed this month in Olympia. Arlen Harris, Director of Washington's Brewery Guild, spear-headed this successful legislative change with support from the NABC and producers throughout Washington State. The Northwest Agriculture Business Center joins others in the agricultural sector in praising the new changes that will make artisan distilling possible for producers in Washington. Support was strong in both the House and the Senate for this new agricultural opportunity, which passed virtually un-opposed in both legislative bodies. Sponsors of the bill included Senators Marr, Honeyford, Kohl-Welles, Hewitt, Haugen  and Representatives Wood, Ormsby, Springer, Conway, Linville, Barlow, Walsh, and Quall.

According to David Bauermeister, Executive Director of NABC, "Trends in the wine and microbrewery industries suggest that locally produced high-quality products are being accepted and sought after by consumers.  ‘Small batch' distillation is occurring in states throughout the country, like Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, California, and most recently in Nebraska," said Bauermeister.  "It's great news that Washington's legislative leaders have made it possible for small producers to compete regionally in an emerging new industry" he added. 

Passage of the new ‘craft distillery bill' makes it possible for Washington growers to join the micro-distillery movement going on throughout the United States. The new annual distilling license defines ‘craft distilling' as an agricultural practice and will drop the licensing fee from $2,000 to $100, allow for on-site tastings, sales of up to two liters per person per day, and allow production of up to 20,000 gallons of spirits per year.

          Washington, one of the largest producers of apples, berries, grapes and potatoes in the United States, is the latest state to deregulate a part of its liquor industry.  There are currently about 100 distilleries throughout the United States today, including Washington's first distillery, Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane.

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