Justin Rottinghaus
HSPM383
Stewart Burger
November 2nd 2018
Field Trip Report
The facility I chose to visit was a distillery I visited the Foundry Distilling Co. on October, 5th of this year at 3:00pm. The distillery is located at 111 South, 11th Street West Des Moines, IA 50265. The building in which the distillery is housed in “was constructed in 1899 and was known as the Rock Island Railroad car barn because it was originally built to repair rails cars.” This building also houses many other local businesses. The other businesses that are within this building include the Hall which is a food and beverage hall, they house over 50 taps. While offering a big space for eating and having out with friends. The other building member is the Kitchen DSM this is a non profit food kitchen that gives homeless people the training and skills needed to work at a Job in Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee has created an agreement that they will hire all the workers that graduate this program. The building offers a relaxed and modern feel on an old and historic setting. The distillery offers three unique areas to view durning the tour they are The Museum, Bar Car Lounge, and Clubhouse. This is what the Foundry has to say about each of them the museum “At 1,750 square feet, this is our largest and most flexible space. It features an interactive display with information about the production and history of spirits, as well as a historical display about the history of craft spirits. There is a craft cocktail tasting bar and amazing views of our still and barrels.” The next space is the boxcar lounge “This area is where we do most of our private tastings and host our friends who come to make their own Private Barrel whiskey. It has a fully stocked bar, high end a/v and can host groups of up to 20 people. In the summer, it includes our large outdoor patio, measuring nearly 900 square feet, which greatly increases the size and type of groups we can host.” The final stop is the clubhouse “This mezzanine space was personally designed by our owner and can best be described as jaw-dropping. It is 900 square feet and overlooks the entire facility, including an amazing view of our beautiful still.” The founder of Foundry Distilling Company was Scott Bush. “Scott began working on Templeton Rye whiskey in his apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2002, while he was a student at the Sloan School of Business at MIT. Scott knew of his family’s involvement in the rye trade and wanted to build a business, so he founded Templeton Rye and built it into one of the most successful brands in the new craft spirits industry. Scott sold controlling interest in Templeton Rye in 2016 and started working on Foundry Distilling Company. He chose to focus on producing and distilling authentic, high-quality spirits right here in Iowa with local input, involvement and control.” When I toured the distillery I meet with a gentleman by the name of Max he is the General Manager for the distillery. The Foundry was founded in 2017 but only began production in May 2018. The Foundry prides themselves in making Vodka, Rum, Gin, and Whiskey. They are just getting started with making the whiskey they had some that we could taste however it had only been aged for a month in wood it was called Axehouse they also let us try some that hadn't been aged in wood yet. These where both high proof at 124, yet they were smooth and didn't just burn. “Whether you are a whiskey enthusiast, a group of friends wanting a cool experience or someone looking to commemorate a special occasion, the Foundry Distilling Private Barrel program allows you to craft a custom barrel of whiskey to your exact specifications. With a little inspiration and patience, you can enjoy a truly unique whiskey experience and create a special and personal gift for a large number of friends and family.” This is a really neat idea that the Foundry prides themselves on is the creation of your very own whisky you get a 35 gallon barrel and a five gallon tastes testing barrel. You can then create your own whiskey name and mash bill. As well as you get to design a custom logo for your barrel. I found this very fascinating because you get to design the logo, keep the barrel and you get to formulate your very own whiskey. That being said this wasn't a cheap process for those whiskey lovers it would cost them around 8000 dollars. This is a pretty high cost but when you think about it you get a lot of cool things you also can you there facilities tasting room. If that isn't for you they offer a unique private barrel club this is kinda like a membership you pay a fee and then you get to experience all of there unique whiskeys. The Foundry is just starting to get their vodka, rum, and gin products out for sale they are available at Hy-Vee and Faraway as well as in their distillery they are accepting pre orders on their whiskey products. Hopefully they have some out for sale by the middle of next year but they aren't sure. The products are reasonably priced at 20 dollars per 750mL I have yet to find there products at the Ames Hy-Vee but I will continue to look. To produce the product that they sell and can bottle right away they use a thirty foot tall copper steal. They bottle their beverages two days a week on Tuesday and Friday. All of the bottling is done by hand and it is a slow process. Right now they sell around cases to fill orders so the stores order the product then they fill the order. They can produce quite a bit of product even with-out having an automated bottling. They do lack workers right now they are still trying to get u and running. I believe that they will be up and running within the next year and a half. Like I said before, the Foundry says “the centerpiece of our distillery is a 29-foot-tall, 30-inch-diameter column still that was designed and built right here in Iowa. It offers several unique features, including internal LED lights and cameras. It's estimated to be among the top five stills in America on a throughput basis.” They also use “a 500-gallon copper pot still that was also designed and built here in Iowa, as well as a 500-gallon open-topped cypress wood fermenter.”
Sources
“About.” Foundry Distilling Company, foundrydistillingcompany.com/valley-junction/.
“The Foundry at Valley Junction.” The Foundry at Valley Junction, thefoundrydsm.com/.