Christmas break at the distillery
Whether its 42 degrees outside or below zero, the silent session either here or in Scotland is the time that distilleries lay dormant for a month or so. In Australia the task of distilling with steam boilers and stills is a little daunting for even the most hardy sole. Like any finely tuned machine, time is needed for maintenance and what better time to do this than in summer. The still having been in operation throughout the year needs a caustic wash to remove the build up. This caustic wash is best done by filling the still with approximately 2% sodium hydroxide solution and let time and chemistry do the rest while other maintenance tasks are scheduled.
Long forgotten paper work is unearthed, dormant web sites are updated with promises of never letting the situation degenerate so quickly again.
Summer in the distillery is time to visit other distiller friends and swap stories that the busy season doesn’t allow. This year the migration was to Tasmania to visit Bill Lark of Lark’s Distillery and Patrick Maguire from Tasmania Distillery. Once in Hobart,a delightful time was had swapping a dram or many while enjoying the culinary delights of the island. Not only was the view over Constitution Dock fantastic but the thought that the daily temperature was 8 to 10 degrees lower than what it would be back at base.
After 4 days of bliss all good things must come to an end and so it was back to the grind stone and prepare for the next year.