Miss Brewbird

I sit down with Jesse Willson ‪@StillIt‬ from the hugely popular home distilling channel, Still It: Chase the Craft, to talk about how he got into home distilling and his YouTube journey thus far. So grab a drink, get comfy, and let's learn more about Jesse.

I sit down with Mark Townsend, one of the owners of Silver Fox Distillery in Ontario, Canada. Mark is also the Master Distiller at Silver Fox Distillery. You may be familiar with his Youtube channel ‪@STILLinCANADA‬ which documents his journey establishing the distillery. In February 2020, Silver Fox Distillery started selling its spirits to the public. Two weeks later, Ontario went into its first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Mark had just finished production on his first batch of new make spirit for whiskey. However, he and his wife decided to donate this spirit to make hand sanitizer to help front line workers in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Let's hear how the new distillery has been coping during this period and dive a little deeper into Mark's background.

I sit down with Steven Liesch the owner of Bräu Supply, ​a home brewing equipment store. Steven started his career cutting hair and slowly worked his way up to become a hair salon owner. From a young age he had an interest in hydroponics and marijuana, and became involved in the growing marijuana industry in Canada. One day his friend invited him to a home brew, which led Steven to turn his passion for designing automated systems for marijuana production into designing automated systems for home brewing. Thus began Steven's journey designing and manufacturing several home brew systems (UniBrau, HERMS) that would bring professional level brewing equipment to brewers at home. You can find Steven on his own YouTube channel @Bräu Supply, where he demonstrates how to use his brewing equipment.

I sit down with Bearded from the YouTube channel ‪@BeardedBored‬. You may be familiar with his facial hair, which is undoubtedly the source of his humble and understated charm, or from watching one of videos on making spirits such as hard cider or pineapple rum. We discuss how he was inspired to start his YouTube journey with the help of ‪@BarleyandHopsBrewing‬, ‪@StillIt‬, and the liquor fairy; and his thoughts on the legalization of hobby distilling in the USA. So grab a drink, get comfy, and let's learn more about Bearded.

I sit down with Brendan who worked as brewer for Driftwood Brewery in BC for five years, before moving to Scotland to work as a whisky blender for Brown-Forman. We discuss his journey from brewing to distilling and blending, and his role at Brown-Forman working under Master Blender Rachel Barrie. He worked as her assistant to blend whiskies and develop new recipes for the Benriach, Glenglassaugh, and Glendronach Distilleries. He gives us the dirt on what it's really like working at a global company to produce spirits. So pull up a chair, grab a dram, and listen to Brendan's story.

I sit down with Nancy More, one of my old brewing instructors, and a certified legend in the brewing industry. She started her career as a trainee with Labatt Brewing Company in Canada in a time when brewing was still a very male dominated profession. She went on to be Canada's first female head brewmaster, before making her way to Europe and then Africa to improve the quality and production processes of beer worldwide. Her career has inspired many young woman (like me) to follow in her footsteps. When I was a brewing student, I loved to hear Nancy tell stories about working around the world to make better beer, so I am pleased to have her share some tales from her fascinating career. So pull up a chair, grab a beer, and prepare to be wowed.

I sit down with Sho Ogawa, the head brewer at Mountainview Brewery in Hope, BC. Sho is originally from Osaka, Japan, and before embarking on his brewing career, Sho spent his time working in academia. He holds a Ph.D. in film and media studies, where his research focused on the representation of queer men in Japanese softcore porn. We discuss beer culture in Japan, softcore Japanese porn, the Asian identity, and how Sho transitioned from being a Ph.D. student to a head brewer.

I sit down with Tarquin Melnyk, a bartending consultant, and professional mixologist. Tarquin grew up in a cult believing that the world would end sometime in the '90s. When the apocalypse did not come about as expected, Tarquin realised he had no real job skills. Not knowing what to do with his life, he was later inspired to become a bartender and traveled the world to improve his techniques and knowledge. In this video, we discuss Tarquin's journey to becoming a professional bartender, what he does as a bartending consultant developing cocktails for various restaurants, and "Ms. Better's Bitters", a bitters company he created with his partners.

I sit down with Vanessa Braxton, the first female African-American Master Distiller in the United States. She is the founder, master blender and distiller at Black Momma Vodka in New York. After working as a structural engineer for two decades, she decided to open a distillery in her retirement. She used all her retirement savings, and some of her husband's savings to finance her dream of owning a drinks brand. 2022 marks the 10 year anniversary of her distillery. In this video, we discuss everything money, from how Vanessa financed her distillery to the costs involved with the day-to-day operations of Black Momma Vodka.

I'm starting my own drinks brand. I've made the drink, designed the labels, and packaged the bottles. It turns out that making the alcohol was the easy part. I'm currently driving from liquor store to liquor store trying to get my product on store shelves. It has been a difficult and sometimes demoralizing process for me so far. Luckily I am speaking to Gursimran today, the head distiller at Heritage Acres Distillery. He started his career in sales and marketing, and has worked on brands such as Forty Creek Whisky, Campari, Beam Suntory, and Social Lite Vodka. I'm asking him for advice on how to approach liquor store managers to get my product on shelves. I'll also discuss my journey creating a liquor product and getting it to market.