Jonathan Forester Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Hi Folks- I'm Jonathan Forester of the future Penobscot Bay Distillery & Brewery in Winterport, Maine. Just back in late November 2007 I got in touch with Bill Owens to ask him a few questions and to write some articles for him. Basically I am a food and beverage writer and consultant (www.SlashFood.com and other places online and print) who got the distilling bug when visiting a local small farm winery and distillery. Well one thing led to another and within days I was partnered with Winterport Winery to open a distillery and brewery. Soon my savings was flying from my accounts, stills were ordered, I was attending artisan distilling workshops, visiting distilleries, and getting the license application sent off. We just finished the electrical wiring of the facility last week and hope to have the plumbing, gas, and drainage finished eventually. Then I guess I'll just twiddle my thumbs until the still arrives. I expect to be up and running within an eon or so. I wanted to stay low budget and buy American so I am getting a hand made copper pot still and having a stainless and copper pot stripping still made to my design. I plan on making a plethora of products starting with rum, whiskeys, aged fruit brandies, gin, and fortified wines. I am going old school and will be using a direct fired pot spirit still, and a steam stripping still. I am shooting for limited amounts of premium product. Basically it will be a 2-3 man operation to start and then we'll see where it goes from there. We also just started making hard cider and have several small, 250 gallon batches of English style dry cider that are currently aging on wood. For my personal use I have put some intoo used whiskey and rum kegs as a special reserve hard cider for the holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles@AEppelTreow Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 We also just started making hard cider and have several small, 250 gallon batches of English style dry cider that are currently aging. I hope to get them into used whiskey and rum kegs soon for some time in wood. I'm also a cider producer. Are you a subscriber to the Cider Digest, or involved in the national cider community (what there is of it?) Do you have access to the English cultivars? (Note to self - track down some scion for 'Parmar' apples - traditional mid-atlantic cultivar grown specifically for distilling) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Forester Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 I am just getting into cider commercially. I brewed some a few years back but there was a fire at the ciderworks and everything was destroyed. I haven't heard of Cider Digest but will look into it. These first batches are made with desert apples which is why I want to put them on wood to get some tannins. In the future we will be sourcing bittersharps and bittersweets from some local and regional orchards. Is there a national cider organization? I'm also a cider producer. Are you a subscriber to the Cider Digest, or involved in the national cider community (what there is of it?) Do you have access to the English cultivars?(Note to self - track down some scion for 'Parmar' apples - traditional mid-atlantic cultivar grown specifically for distilling) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles@AEppelTreow Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 The Cider Digest is an email based forum. http:\\www.talisman.com for info. Members run the range from complete beginners to a UK food chemist who has one of the (current) top reputations in cider. There isn't a national cider organization - but there are a couple of regional forums that reach out to cidermakers across North American. One is Colrain County Cider Days in Massachusetts. Slow Foods related. There is a competition in Michigan that specializes in cider and perry (and their derivatives, including pommeau (fortified) and spirits). There is a regional group in the process of forming in the Great Lakes area, a bit Michigan centric, but participation from WI to NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Forester Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Sad to say, but after almost two years of repeated delays by my partners, it looks like construction of Penobscot Bay Distillery will never be finished. I removed my equipment from the facility and put it into storage in Bangor, ME. I have been invited to move it to a distillery in NY next spring, but may just sell it instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom's Foolery Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Jonathan- You have been an important and much appreciated part of this forum. I wish you the best in you move. I look forward to hearing about your next distilling venture. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Forester Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Tom- I'll still be helping administer the forum, and working with ADI. As for distilling, several places have gotten in touch with me, but I may take a year or two working in others parts of the industry until I am ready to jump back into a distillery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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