Newsletter No. 16
November 2025
Operating a distillery gives one a deep appreciation for stainless steel tanks. Our stills are copper, but the rest of our tanks are stainless steel, ideal for its durability and sanitary quality. Tanks are built to purpose, and while our fermentation tanks are specifically designed for our production, we’ve thus far deployed four 240 gallon stainless steel “totes” to serve a variety of needs throughout the distillery.
These totes are ideal for some, but not all of our day to day tasks. They are fairly bulky, and can be difficult to access given their design. We’ve recently added two new purpose-built tanks to help streamline our operations and ease some of the physical burden of moving liquid from place to place.
Our spirits receiving tank entered service last month, and nests comfortably under the spirits still outlet to receive new-make spirit. Previously, we captured new-make in a stainless steel five gallon bucket, dumped every twenty minutes or so into the aforementioned totes. This arrangement had two disadvantages. The first being the transport and pouring of the five gallon bucket which, when full, weighed close to thirty-five pounds, and had to be lifted and poured into the center mansway of the tote - an awkward, body contorting maneuver. The second, less frequent but more serious disadvantage, was the potential for overflow when the distiller, distracted by an unexpected barrel delivery, for example, lost track of time and allowed the bucket to overfill and overflow, new-make spirit could be lost down the drain.
The new spirits receiving tank eliminates both of these drawbacks. With a 90 gallon capacity it can accommodate the entirety of a spirits run, with additional volume for the “proofing down” of new-make spirit to barrel-entry strength. It is also mobile and fork-lift compatible, which makes for easy transport and eventual discharge into barrels.
Another addition to our tank lineup is our custom-fabricated barrel dump tank. Though we’ve yet to dump barrels for bottling, we do dump barrels monthly to marry them together. Previously we’ve used our 240G totes and a forklift to accomplish this task - a reasonable, but time consuming and somewhat precarious operation. The barrel dump tank, built for us by S&S Fabrication in nearby Ghent, is specifically designed to hold a 53 gallon or 30 gallon whiskey barrel on casters, so it can be rotated easily for dumping. It has also been fitted with screens of decreasing size to filter out the charcoal from freshly dumped barrels, and an outlet valve to pump contents into a larger tank for marrying or for bottling.
September through October is harvest season for most of the Hudson River Valley, but on our farm it’s the start of the quiet season. As a small grain grower, focused primarily on winter grains, our active farming window is a short and intense three month period - generally from July through September. By October our grain harvest is well behind us, fields have been plowed, tilled and planted, and our 2026 crop is greening up to overwinter.
This year was our largest planting season to date, with 70 acres of small grains and 60 of cover crop. The varieties we planted include:
35 ares of Danko rye
15 acres of Hazlet rye
14 acres of Violeta barley
6 acres of Lake Effect barley (A new varietal specifically bred by Cornell for suitability in our harsh and variable upstate New York climate.)
In addition to the grain crop, we modified our cover crop program. In previous years we planted clover, Mammoth Red clover, to be specific. When seeded correctly, and given ample rain, this clover is indeed mammoth, growing up to three feet in height. The challenge with Mammoth Red is in getting it off the field prior to planting. Our general practice is to cut the cover crop and bale it into the large round hay bales that dot the fields in summer. However, Mammoth Red’s thick stem holds water, and is difficult to dry. Thus cutting and baling it is not always an option. This year we are trying a different crop - a mix of white clover and alfalfa - which is more suitable for baling.
Like any specialty field, distilling has it’s own jargon and shorthand, sometimes confusing to the non-initiated, and the term “mash bill” is a good example. In whiskey, the “mash” is the starchy, sugary slurry of hot water and ground grain that will be fermented and then distilled. The “mash bill” describes the varieties and proportions of grains in the mash itself. Four different grains are permissible in whiskey, including corn, rye, barley, and wheat. And each grain brings unique contributions to the finished spirit: barley is typically nutty, rich and malt-like; corn is sweet and round with caramel notes; rye spicy and bold; and wheat creamy and smooth.
There are certain labeling constraints that guide mash bill decisions. For example, the mash bill for rye whiskey must contain at least 51% rye, and bourbon whiskey must contain at least 51% corn, and single malt must be 100% malted barley. But those constraints aside, a distiller has latitude to chose their mash bill as suited to preference.
At Silver Brothers we currently make three types of whiskey - American Single Malt, rye, and bourbon. Of these three, American Single Malt has the most basic mash bill given the requirements of the category: 100% malted barley. We can, if we choose, add a portion of smoked barley into the mash bill - as is typical in Scotland with their many peated whiskies. To date, however, we have chosen a more pure expression of our barley, without peat or other wood smoke.
With our rye whiskey we have more latitude. With four grains to choose from, we use only two in our rye: rye and barley. Of note, we eschew corn in our rye mash bill, as corn’s singular sweetness can overpower rye’s complexity. Rather, we prefer the pure expression of rye - bold, spicy and grassy - complemented by malted barley to give it body and depth. Our typical rye mash bill is 50% unmalted (or “raw”) rye, 30% malted rye, and 20% malted barley.
Occasionally, either by choice or by necessity, we use a simpler mash bill with no malted rye: 80% raw rye and 20% malted barley. Holding all other variables the same, there is a noticeable difference in this mash bill from our standard, the finished spirit lighter, spicier and grain-forward. At present, we prefer the standard mash bill for a contemplative sipping whiskey, while the 80/20 version excellent in cocktails.
For our bourbon, we use corn, rye, and barley in a 60/30/10 ratio. The amount of rye in this mash bill is high by Kentucky bourbon standards, and thus considered a “high rye” mash bill (industry jargon, again). We prefer the rye portion high in our bourbon, both because its the crop we grow with most conviction, and also for the flavor profile, where rye spice and grassy notes add complexity and nuance to our bourbon.
Of final note, the term “mash bill” is originally an accounting term - literally the bill for the grain in the mash. To put this into perspective, using 1100 lbs of grain per mash, the current costs of our standard mash bills in real-dollar terms are as follows:
American Single Malt: $1,210
Rye (50/30/20): $742.50
Rye: 80/20: $462.00
Bourbon: $256.30
If one were looking for a theory to explain the overwhelming dominance of bourbon in the US whiskey market, economic determinism would satisfy.
Farm & Field Natural Pigment Workshop (Ghent). November 8th, 10:00am - 4:00 pm.
5th Annual Holiday House, Old Austerlitz. November 8th and November 9th, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.
Baroque! Splendor and Elegance, Concerts in the Village at Kinderhook Reformed Church. November 9th, 3:00 pm.
Basilica Farm & Flea Holiday Market. November 28th - 30th, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm each day.
NightWood 2025 at The Mount. November 21st – January 3rd.
Winterlights at Naumkeag. November 28th – January 3rd.
We hope you enjoyed our free newsletter. Be sure to subscribe and please share with a friend if you think they would enjoy it as well. For more information about Silver Brothers, visit silverbrothers.com and follow us on Instagram @silverbrotherswhiskey.