House Spirits Distillery - Rooted in Craft Beer

"It takes a lot of beer to make whiskey." We're not sure who first said it but up until recently we took it to mean that distillers drink a lot of beer. While we'll leave them to say yea or nay, we've also learned that it literally takes a lot of beer, albeit without hops, to distill down into whiskey. So much that House Spirits in SE Portland utilizes 15 tons of malted barley per WEEK. Read on for a look at why they feel their beer brewing roots are integral to the whiskey they make.

Christian Krogstad and John Foyston

Founder Christian Krogstad, a Seattle native who attended the Siebel Institute and said his early years were greatly influenced by Redhook, moved to Portland in 1991. Right out of the gate he signed on with McMenamins Edgefield, which had just opened its brewery onsite. He spent quite a few years in the craft brewing world before he made the decision to apply his combination of education and experience brewing beer to distilling spirits, malt whiskey in particular. Those years instilled in him a deep understanding of the innovation that started the craft brewing movement in the Northwest and it was that innovative mindset, not Scottish tradition as one might suspect, that House Spirits is based on.

The self-funded enterprise began in 2004 in a modest facility adjacent to Roots Brewing (which closed in 2010) in SE Portland. Roots was the first, followed by many other local breweries, that allowed House Spirits to use their brewing system to make the basis for their whiskey, what is know as a wash. For those unfamiliar with the whiskey making process, a wash is similar to beer but what distinguishes a wash from beer is the time it takes to make it (far shorter) and that no hops are added. As mentioned before, however, they use plenty of grain in the fermentation of the approximately 8% ABV wash, 15,000 gallons of which is produced weekly. 

Christian's brewing background led to his choice to use all Northwest 2 Row Pale Ale malt as well as his choice of yeast. Instead of a standard distiller's yeast, the House Spirits wash is made with an ale yeast that he feels imparts a better flavor in the final product. In addition to drawing on his brewing background to choose ingredients, he has also assembled a team of distillers that, save one, worked for a brewery before signing on with House Spirits. The brewing knowledge that each member of the team brings with them is part of their lineage, linking them in a very concrete way to their brewing roots.

In 2015 House Spirits moved from their original SE facility to a much more roomy facility, intentionally selected to keep them in SE. The facility boasts a 30bbl brewing system and four 100bbl fermenters and is 10x larger than the original space. While no longer bursting at the seams and having a greater need to use the brewing set ups at local breweries like when they were making washes at Roots Brewing, Christian continues to partner with local breweries. Alameda, Breakside, Fort George, Migration and Green Dragon have all worked with House Spirits. In fact when Breakside opened their Milwaukie location they wanted to get plenty of practice on their new, larger brewing system. It wasn't beer that was first made however, it was a House Spirits wash. 

Christian pulling whiskey samples from the Frankie Claus barrel

Another ongoing relationship involves Migration's Frankie Claus, an imperial Belgian chocolate stout. Initially Migration got a whiskey barrel from House spirits and aged a run of Frankie Claus in it. Once the beer was emptied out of the barrel it went back to House Spirits where they decided to fill it with three year old Westward whiskey. After sitting in the barrel for a year the whiskey was pulled out and House Spirits released a stout whiskey. With both parties deeming it successful, this cycle has continued with the same barrel, now on the fifth filling of it. 

Just as we've found ourselves entranced listening to brewers talk about their history, their beer, their projects for the future, so, too were we entranced listening to Christian talk about House Spirits. If the brief picture we've provided you from our visit has whet your whistle for more then it's time for you to experience it yourself. Tours are available daily, public classes covering a variety of different topics occur every week or two and private classes/events are available.

Grab a Bit of the Devil Thursday

Spirits are making a big comeback these days, craft spirits in particular, and as illustrated by StormBreaker's recent Brewstillery festival and with beer and whiskey pairings being a regular sight on drink menus - StormBreaker and Migration Brewing being just two examples. So even though I'm a beer lover through and through I'm gaining an appreciation for spirits. Recently I had a chance to try out McMenamins Devil's Bit whiskey alongside a beer that spent time in the same barrels.

Every year McMenamins produces and releases a limited number of Devil's Bit whiskey on St. Patrick's Day. In response to demand and thanks to the arrival of a new still that is four times larger than the original one, this year there will be more bottles available than ever before (approximately 1,600). Nonetheless Head Distiller James Whelan expects lines at each of the retail locations where it will be available and to sell out of the hand signed 200ml bottles before the end of the day. The $17 bottles will have a two bottle limit per person.

This year's release sports a redesigned label with the Black Widow Porter spider replacing the clover in the center, harkening to the whiskey-to-beer-to-whiskey shared barrel aging process for this four-year-old Hogshead whiskey. This process, a collaboration between the brewery and the distillery is something that is made easier being that they are all part of the McMenamins family. Once the whiskey barrels were emptied they went to the brewery to be filled with the beer, then when emptied of beer, back to the distillery where whiskey sat in one of the barrels for three weeks and for six weeks in the other. The two barrels were then allowed to vat (marry) for six weeks to produce the final product.

The Black Widow Porter that spent time in the barrels between the whiskey fillings, called Widowmaker, was released last October. It's nearly gone but there's rumor that there's still one keg of it around so if whiskey barrel aged beer is your thing, keep your eyes open for it. In the meantime, if you hope to get your hands on this year's Devil's Bit, clear Thursday morning and make plans to get to one of the locations selling it early (opening times vary by location).