THE WASH
We distil whisky from the WASH or whisky wort in our distillery. The wash is made from the barley malt in the same way as beer, but no hops are added.
The milled barley is mixed with hot water in the mash tun to extract the fermentable sugars from the grain and separate them from the rest of the grain.
After the hot water has created a sugary solution, the mixture is poured into the fermentation tank (washback), where the yeast cultures are added for fermentation. The duration of fermentation varies depending on the producer and is usually between 48 and 72 hours. During fermentation of the mash, the yeast cultures produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. After the yeast cultures have died, the wash has formed. This is a type of beer that has an alcohol content of between around 8% and 10% and can now be distilled.
Great care is very important in this process. We are delighted that we have been able to work with the BFM brewery in Saignelégier to produce our wash. The legendary brewery was founded in 1997 by Jérôme Rebetez and has since been producing very successful speciality beers that are known far beyond the borders of Switzerland.
Our own malt blend from the Weyermann malthouse
Before whisky can be made from grain, it usually has to be malted. Traditionally, this is done on so-called malting floors. This involves moistening the grain to encourage germination, which activates enzymes in the grain and converts the starch it contains into maltose, which can then be converted into alcohol by the yeast cultures during the subsequent fermentation process.
The grain is then dried using heat to stop germination, a process known as kilning. Hot air is often used to kiln the grain. On the Scottish islands in particular, however, the grain is dried over peat fires, which gives the malt (and the later whisky) a characteristic smoky flavour. Once the malted grain has been dried, it is crushed in large mills and ground into a kind of flour.
Founded in 1879, the Weyermann malthouse in Bamberg is today one of the highest-profile malthouses. Many distilleries and of course breweries rely on the high quality of the products. We source both the malt and the yeast from Weyermann.