A couple of weeks ago Nancy and I headed down to the town of Corvallis, Oregon to meet up with some friends that we had not seen for way too long. Corvallis is a charming little college town nestled in the middle of the Willamette Valley about 85 miles South of Portland and is the home to Oregon State University. Our friends had planned to take Nancy and I on a “Sip Trip” of some local distillers and cider houses after enjoying a tour of their new home and being treated to a wonderful smoked salmon quiche for lunch. Little did we know that we would discover the “Spirit Chemist” on that rainy afternoon.
We visited a couple of distillers but one of them stood out far and away from the rest. It had almost gone unnoticed but in the distant reaches of a small business park in what is technically “Lewisburg, Oregon” stood the nondescript building that houses “Spiritopia“. Through a driving pacific northwest rain we decided to check it out. Upon entering the cozy confines of Spiritopia’s front room we were immediately greeted by its founder Chris Beatty. Ordinarily, it is recommended that you call ahead before dropping into Spiritopia but as Chris told us when we first walked in… “its your lucky day” as an OSU tour group had just left shortly before we had got there, therefore, he had plenty of unconsumed samples at the ready!
Chris told us about each of his offerings… A Ginger Liqueur, an Apple Liqueur, Pomegranate Liqueur (SCOOP! We are told this will be officially released in June of 2016), and a Bourbon Style Apple Brandy. Now, to be honest I have always thought of liqueurs as being overly sweet and syrupy but my first sip of Chris’ Ginger Liqueur turned that opinion on its ear. The taste was certainly of ginger but along with the perfect level of gingeriness were notes of vanilla & molasses as well. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by its suble complexity. While we were sampling Chris started to shed some light on what made this Ginger Liqueur so special. Ginger sourced exclusively from an organic ginger farm in Peru, a special Bourbon Vanilla sourced from Madagascar, and painstakingly refining his process until he was satisfied with the results. I have to say things came together VERY nicely because of all of his efforts.
We then sampled the Apple Liqueur and Pomegranate Liqueur which were both amazing in thier own right, again, because of the same attention to detail that produced the Ginger Liqueur. Those details include maticulously sourced ingredients and production processes that had been finely honed through the use of chemistry, engineering and fermentation science. However, whether intentionally or not Chris saved what I thought was the best for last, an Apple Brandy. Not just any Apple Brandy but a “Bourbon” style Apple Brandy. So what makes it a Bourbon style apple brandy you might ask? Chris told us of the barrels he uses and that they were true bourbon barrels. One of the many things we learned that day was that for a barrel to be a true Bourbon barrel it has to of been
charred only once. Chris uses just such barrels for this Apple Brandy. So voila, Bourbon Style Apple Brandy! The Bourbon Style Apple Brandy was an incredibly pleasant surprise as well. Apple-ly but with a hint of the smoked oak in the flavor which gave it a slight but noticeable bourbon edge of caramel and vanilla. I whispered to Nancy “we are not leaving here without some of that”!
While we were finishing up our sample tastings Chris invited us into what he lovingly called his “lab”. I was soon to find out why he calls it this. I asked Chris how he came to be a distiller and that is where things got very interesting. He started telling us the story of how the building we were in was at one time the sight of Trillium Fiber Fuels. A place where clean, renewable fuel ethanol was derived from rye-grass and straw. From his website – “The original plan was to save the world by making clean renewable fuel ethanol from rye-grass and wheat straw. Turns out that the world was not that interested in being saved yet. We’d rather be fracking. Bummer”. You see Chris’ credentials include a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and a masters in Materials Science and I, being in the engineering world myself, found this fascinating. Chris has dubbed himself the “Spirit Chemist” and rightfully so.
Chris explains it this way “I realized that my skills in fermentation, distillation, and enzymatic carbohydrate chemistry would be very useful in the spirits business (and probably more fun!). Since liqueurs and whiskeys have always been my favorites, those are the areas I decided to pursue. The liqueurs are the focus of the business as the unique whiskey we would like to make is stuck in a morass of government red tape (so much for innovation…)” The story of that “unique whiskey” needs to be heard to be believed though.
Well, that’s a bit of a story says Chris. “Back when I was doing ethanol research, I discovered some cool stuff about how to make a unique whiskey from rye-grass. Not rye the grain, but rye-grass like turf and grazing. The flavor it adds is kind of earthy/smoky and reminds me of a good cachaca. Anyway, we still hope to do that at some point. However, the “new-ness” turned out to be a bit of a problem because the TTB (Alcohol Trade and Taxation Bureau) wasn’t sure if they could approve it. So they asked the FDA and now there is plenty of red tape to go around. Nobody thinks there is a problem, but nobody wants to be the one to say so. Sheesh. If it ever gets straightened out, we will start getting some in oak to mature”. Chris just happened to have a sample of this unique whiskey available and was kind enough to let us sample it. Personally I think he’s on to something here. The taste was definitely earthy but in a way like I have never experienced. You could smell the rye grass but it tasted like anything but grass. Very unique indeed! Good luck with that red tape Chris!
As Chris continued to show us his lab, the attention to detail and just plain engineering skill with which he creates his products was awe inspiring. We witnessed a batch of Brandy coming out of his still (with components creatively engineered by Chis – including a billiant IKEA hack, using a waste basket as part of a heat exchanger) and were treated to an education about why you can’t drink the beginning or the ending of the run. The finished product is made from the middle of a run. We were even treated to the “birth” of a brandy by tasting it straight out of the barrel as Chris uncorked it. We all felt honored that he shared this special moment with us. Thank you for that Chris!! And thank you for using your extensive powers of engineering prowess and skills in the area of chemistry for the power of good in this world!
So if you’re ever in the Corvallis area and have an interest in things that are distilled I would highly recommend taking the time to get in contact with Spiritopia and arrange a visit if you can. It is definitely worth taking the time to go visit this hidden gem. And while you’re at it I would also highly recommend taking some of the Spirit Chemists’ delicious creations home with you. They are the icing on a very fascinating cake!
Cheers!
Mike & Nancy
