Sleeping Giant Talking Terroir, with Mark Reynier of Waterford Distillery

l DISTILLERY TrueOutput Sleeping giant Talking terroir, with Mark Reynier of Waterford Distillery By Dan Griffiths growing regions of Ireland. The facility was constructed in 2004 by Diageo, to provide the Guinness On the bankside of the river Suir, on the outskirts of essence used in the production of the Waterford, Ireland, lies a remarkable distillery that is famous ‘black stuff’ worldwide. After production was relocated to St. James’ quietly preparing to make a few ripples, and perhaps some Gate in 2013 the site was mothballed waves, on the smooth waters of Irish whisky – the absent until it was purchased by Reynier and his investors in 2014 for a reported ‘e’ being just the first small pebble dropped into the pool. €7.2 million, something of a bargain considering the quality of the facility, aterford Distillery is the latest became interested in the influence that and into which Diageo had ploughed Wproject of Mark Reynier, lately the soil, climate, air quality and the around £40 million. The purchase of Bruichladdich fame, and a continu- many other factors that contribute to of the facility included virtually the ing disruptive force in the world of terroir have upon the spirit produced. entire production plant, apart from the whisky. Now turning his attention to Entering distilling from the wine world, specialised barley roasters, which had Irish whisky, where his ambition is to this is perhaps not surprising, as the been shipped up to Dublin. fully realise the work that was begun importance here is well established. The site at Grattan Quay has in fact on Islay – and to provide proof of the However, despite the success of been home to a brewery since 1792, significant role that terroir plays in Bruichladdich and its disruption of the when William Strangman built his whisky flavour. Scotch whisky market, the full extent brewery here. Fascinatingly, much of Whilst at Bruichladdich, Reynier of the project was not to be realised on the Strangman plant still exists in the Islay. This was largely due to climatic old buildings on site in a museum-like and logistical complications, but Rey- state, including the old mash tuns nier also found difficulties in attempt- from Robert Morton and Co. of Burton, ing to alter traditional practices at the which date from 1900. pace that he would have liked. After the sale of Bruichladdich to Terroir Rémy Cointreau in 2012, Reynier found Terroir is of course at the heart of Wa- himself with the means and opportu- terford Distillery’s ethos. The premise nity to attempt a second realisation of might seem deceptively simple: take this vision. The location that presented the best quality barley from around 40 itself was doubly fortuitous, for not local farms and then keep that barely only did it represent a state-of-the-art separate right the way through the production facility, it was located in production process, whilst maintaining The main distillery building from inside the compound the centre of one of the finest barley- consistency in production to ensure that 38 z Brewer and Distiller International November 2017 www.ibd.org.uk DISTILLERY l TrueOutput The purpose-built ‘Barley Cathedral’ in Kilkenny with just the 75 tonnes that makes up TrueOutput a batch from a single farm. Bulk malt handling is carried out in a separate Bringing in the harvest facility some distance from the main each batch is treated in the same way. ered to the site, and so the dedicated building prior to being passed through The one variable in the process is Alvan Blanch dryer is an essential item a cleaner and blown pneumatically to a then the barley, and the terroir in which of equipment here. Each farm pro- holding case outside the brewery prior it was grown. This should then present duces around 130 green tonnes, which to each brew in 9.5 tonne batches. itself in the glass. The execution of this becomes 100 tonnes after drying. Malt is ground to a fine grist using concept has, however, taken a great Malting is then carried out at Minch a Meura Hydromill, which mills the deal of planning, logistical wrangling, Malt in Athy, who has provided a dedicat- grain underwater to greatly aid in and precise data collection. ed stream for Waterford to ensure that hydration and eliminates the produc- “Provenance is king” at Waterford, the possibility of mixing between batches tion of dust. The 9.5 tonnes of malt and it is proud of the barley grown in this cannot occur. Malting is performed to are milled in around 90 minutes, and region of Ireland, and of the farms that Waterford’s precise specification without mashed into the conversion vessel at a produce it, including organic and biody- exogenous additions, such as gibberel- ratio of 2.5:1 water to grain. namic farms. These cover 19 different lic acid. 75 tonnes of malt are produced Water is drawn from the distillery’s soil types and are located on a variety of from each batch, which is delivered own on-site well, which taps into a vol- aspects and micro-climates, contribut- directly to the distillery for production. canic aquifer. One of the original rea- ing to the unique flavour characteristics sons for Strangman constructing his that are displayed in the spirit. Wash production brewery here, the water is excellent for The details of the terroir are The production of spirit occurs at the brewing and requires no adjustments recorded in meticulous detail, as the ‘Facilitator’, as the old Guinness es- for pH or mineral composition. first stage in a comprehensive digital sence brewery has now been renamed The mash is held at 48°C for 60 fingerprint that will be available for – due to the state-of-the-art equipment minutes, rising to 65°C for a further each bottle of whisky produced. left behind by Diageo – which has ena- 60 minutes, after which a conversion The specifications required are bled Waterford to extract the maximum check is performed. If the mash has tough, however, and so each year not amount of flavour from its barley. converted, the temperature is increased all of these farms’ barley will make Malt is stored in three silos, each to 68°C for 25 minutes, or if not, is held it through to distilling at Waterford. with a capacity of 125 tonnes, but filled at 65°C until conversion is completed. However, by approaching the project as a collaboration between farm and distiller, Reynier hopes to enthuse the farmers and to produce ever more outstanding harvests. Inviting the farmers on this journey and getting their ‘buy in’ to the concept has been something that Reynier sees as a vital piece of the machinery. Being able to present a sample of new-make spirit to the farmer, from their own fields, is a very powerful gesture, allowing for a new and intimate connection to the land. Barley is stored near Kilkenny in the purpose built ‘Barley Cathedral’, which provides separate storage bins for each farm. Over a four week period, almost 4,000 green tonnes of barley is deliv- The dedicated on-site malt handling facility www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International November 2017 z 39 l DISTILLERY The Meura 2001 mash filter Distillation The two stills were acquired during The Meura Hydromill the Bruichladdich years, as part of a Mash separation is performed via job-lot of assorted equipment sourced a Meura 2001 mash filter, producing from the defunct Inverleven distillery. an average of 42,500 litres at a specific This Scottish lowland distillery existed, gravity of 1.067. As one would expect Russian doll like, inside the sprawling from a mash filter, efficiency is high, Dumbarton complex that was primarily being always over 95%. Two brews go dedicated to grain whisky production. into each washback, taking a total of Constructed by Blairs of Glasgow eight hours each, with two brews per in 1972, the stills were built in the day and eight over the week. Speyside style, with long tapering The mash filter is a rarity amongst necks designed to give a light, fruity single malt whisky producers, but Rey- and floral character to the spirit. nier believes this is one of the key factors Originally designed to produce single that enables him to extract the maximum malt for Ballantine’s blends, the spirit terroir contribution from the barley. produced apparently never found last- Wort is cooled to 24°C on the way ing favour with the blenders – and by The yeast store and propagation facilities to the washback and pitched with 1991 the distillery was mothballed. producing an average 6,600 litres of re-hydrated Pinnacle distillers yeast The stills had been earmarked for low-wines at 25% ABV when com- from AB Mauri. The temperature is use in a revival of Islay’s Port Charlotte bined with the foreshots and feints of allowed to free rise to 33°C, where it is distillery, but that was not to be, and in- the last spirit distillation. A low-wines held by the washbacks cooling jackets. stead the spirit still lay on the dockside, receiver collects two wash distilla- Primary fermentation lasts between while the wash still sat for many years tions for spirit distillation. 60-70 hours, with a further 70-100 as ornamentation outside Bruichlad- The 17,000-litre spirit still is hours for secondary fermentation. The dich. The stills were refurbished by charged with 11,600 litres at a time, wash has an average final gravity of Forsyths, which also managed their again allowing for increased copper 0.9995, resulting in an ABV of 8.5%.

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