Newsletter No. 4
Newsletter No. 4
Holiday greetings from Silver Brothers, and wishing you a very happy new year. We hope our December newsletter adds to your enjoyment of the season!
On the farm
The farm is always busy, but less so in December. With the growing season behind us, and seed in the ground, we’re now making plans for next year, including additional acreage and crop rotations. At present, we have about 100 acres of tillable land to work with, including fields on our own farm and a neighboring parcel to the north that we lease. We plan to bring another 50 acres into production in 2024 from neighboring parcels, bringing our total tillable acreage to 150.
As an organic farm, we need to rotate crops to maintain soil health and prevent plant disease – a field planted with grain one year should not be re-planted with grain the next year. In years past we’ve left our fields fallow after planting, essentially allowing the native grasses and weeds to act as a cover crop. This year, however, we are taking more active measures and will seed red clover. Clover restores nitrogen in the soil and creates beneficial biomass. We’ll lay the clover seed down late-winter, broadcasting it on the fields, as if scattered by hand (but in our case with a mechanized seed spreader). Repeated thawing and freezing of the soil throughout March will draw the seeds into the ground, where they will then germinate later in the spring.
At the Distillery
For the last month our focus at the distillery has been on single malt whiskey and, more specifically, American Single Malt (more on that below). This was our first extended run of single malt whiskey, the production of which is different than the rye we have been making since March.
Single malt is made from 100% malted barley and processed and fermented much like beer, where the liquid is filtered off the grain, using the crushed barley husks as a natural filtration bed. This process requires exacting detail. Any missteps in the process can lead to a “stuck mash,” where the natural filter bed gets clogged, and an otherwise smooth production day turns into an extended four-hour pot cleaning exercise.
Fortunately, Head Distiller Jim Sweeney is a brewer by trade, and knows this process in and out. We also had the benefit of guidance from Dennis Nesel, of Hudson Valley Malt, who helped us dial in the exact crush of our grain with our double-pair roller mill. Dennis has operated a similar mill for years, milling many tons of barley for single malt production. After a morning of fine-tuning with Dennis and his son, Dan’s, assistance, we were able to achieve the optimal barley crush, yielding ideal ratios of flour, grist and husk.
Our single malt is un-peated, and off the still it shows bright fruit and floral notes, with pleasant grassy undertones. We recently laid down twenty barrels of single malt in new American oak, and eagerly await their development. We plan another round of single malt production this spring and aim to introduce used cooperage into the mix. “Used cooperage” is at the heart of single malt production. While rye whiskey and bourbon, by U.S. law, must go in new American oak barrels, single malt is almost always aged in barrels that have been previously used. The most commonly deployed types of used cooperage are bourbon or sherry barrels, but additional options include port, wine, and more, each lending distinct flavors and aromas to the spirit inside.
In the US, there is a movement to create an official designation for single malt whiskey that is made in America – American Single Malt. The American Single Malt Association, of which Silver Brothers is a member, advocates for standards and the promotion of this growing category of domestically produced single malt whiskey. They have been instrumental in advocating for the introduction of used cooperage into the American whiskey lexicon. At present, their efforts are focused on federal recognition for this budding spirits category. You can learn more about the American Single Malt Association here.
Silver Brothers Reference Library
Given our recent focus on Single Malt, here are some books to round out the category:
Whisky Classified: Choosing Single Malts by Flavour, by David Wishart
The World Atlas of Whisky, by Dave Broom
Whiskey Master Class: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, and More, by Lew Bryson
Around the Hudson River Valley
Now that it is officially winter, it is time to slow down and enjoy the quiet beauty of the countryside along with tried and true cold-weather comforts (like the rye shortbread from the Old Chatham Country Store).
First Day Hike with the “Dogs of Olana,” Monday, January 1, 2024, 10:00 am, Olana State Historic Site, 5720 Route 9-G, Hudson.
And after a hike… it’s Fondue Season at Bimi’s Canteen in Chatham!
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.