Germain-Robin’s family history goes back centuries in the Cognac, where his predecessors were making brandies under the name Jules Robin and Company in the 18th Century. Hubert came to California in the 1980s and discovered grape varieties that would have been illegal to work on in Cognac, and single-handedly changed the way we perceive brandy by experimenting with these grapes. Germain-Robin applied centuries-old traditions and techniques to create new varietal brandies.
This workshop, presented by the American Distilling Institute, teaches the practical application of Gemain-Robin’s approach to creating spirits that achieve the difficult balance between being soft and truly flavorful. Hubert brings out many samples from his experiments for nosing and sensory evaluation. The charentais alembic still at McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse distillery will be running on each class day, where the students will see methods demonstrated to create flavors in the still while preserving the character of the grape varietals in a two-pass distillation. Methods of anticipating blends, not only between varying eaux de vie but also with different types of wood (varieties of oak, char and toast) to achieve a desired flavor profile.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
2:00 pm -- Check in --Crystal Hotel, 303 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97205, 503-972-2670
5:00 pm -- Welcome reception at Zeus restaurant, Clark McCool of McMenamin’s, Andrew Faulkner and Hubert Germain-Robin
Monday, October 19
7:00 am -- Breakfast.
8:00 am -- bus to CPR Distillery
8:30 am -- Charging and firing the still, stripping run - Broullis of Pinot Noir- Bart Hance, McMenamin’s
9:00 am -- Description of the Alambic Pot still: designs, shapes, sizes, quality of copper, … Hubert Germain Robin
10:00 am -- 1st distillation; description, goals, ... - Hubert Germain-Robin
11:00 am -- Sensory Analysis, fractional samples of the bruoillis
12:00 pm-- lunch
1:00 pm -- Notions of terroir -- micro-climates, soils, elevation. Grapes, quality and varietals -- Hubert Germain-Robin
2:30 pm -- Making the tails cut -- Bart Hance
3:00 pm -- Fermentation, yeasts, temperature, lees, color, SO2, … Storing the wine until distillation -- Hubert Germain-Robin
4:00 pm -- Sensory Analysis -- Apple Brandy tasting and discussion
5:00 pm -- Return to hotel, open night
Tuesday, October 20
7:00 am -- Breakfast.
8:00 am -- Distillery Bus Tour
9:30 am -- Ransom Spirits, Sheridan 23101 Sw Houser Rd, Sheridan, OR — The Winery Distillery — Tad Seestedt.
12:00 pm — Box lunch on the bus
1:00 pm — Oregon Barrel Works, 2780 Ne St Joseph Rd, McMinnville, OR
3:00 pm -- McMenamin's Edgefield Distillery, 2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale, OR — Winemaking for brandy distillation — Clark McCool
5:30 pm -- Dinner at McMenamin’s Edgefield
7:00 pm -- Return to Crystal Hotel
Wednesday, October 21
7:00 am -- Breakfast.
8:00 am -- bus to CPR Distillery
8:30 am -- Charging and firing of still at CPR Distillery Bon Chauffe of Pinot Noir— Bart Hance
10:00 am -- Nosing eaux de vie of different varietals -- Hubert Germain-Robin
12:00 pm -- Lunch
1:00 pm -- Nosing of different oak extracts -- Hubert Germain-Robin
2:30 pm -- Tales cut -- Bart Hance
3:00 pm -- Constructing a blend -- Hubert Germain-Robin
4:00 pm -- Cleaning the still -- Bart Hance
5:00 pm -- Return to hotel
6:00 pm -- Open night
Thursday, October 22
7:00 am -- Breakfast.
8:00 am -- bus to CPR Distillery
8:30 am -- Charging and firing the still -- Bon Chauffe of Chardonnay -- Bart Hance
9:00 am - Preparations of new and old barrels, Conservation of empty barrels -- Preparation of Faibles for the empty barrels -- Hubert Germain-Robin
10:00 am - Heads cut for the spirit run, fractional nosing, timing of the heads cut
11:00 am -- Brandy, Cognac and Armagnac tasting
12:00 am - Lunch
2:00 pm -- Barreling the new-made spirit.
3:00 pm -- Making cuts with a tasting of different fractions and the timing of the tails cuts, Vision toward the future: making crucial decisions during distillation and building a complex inventory to be ready in 5, 10 or 100 years, either for single barrels or for blends.
4:00 pm -- Cleaning the still - Bart Hance
5:00 pm -- Final night dinner and celebration, Imbrie Hall
Friday, October 23
7:00 am -- Breakfast.
9:00 am -- 2:00 pm -- Checkout.
For more information or to register, go to:
http://distilling.com/events/distilling-workshops/brandy-workshop/
Hands-On Rum and Whiskey Distilling Workshop
Rum and Whiskey Production - Learn basic distillery operations for making distilled spirits and bringing them to market.
Wednesday, November 11 — Friday, November 13, 2015, Do Good Distillery, Modesto, CA
Instructors: Jim Harrelson of the Do Good Distillery, Nancy Fraley Nosing Services and Donald Snyder of Whiskey Resources.
This hands-on class covers the fundamentals of distillation. Participants will be able to smell and taste new make spirit as it is being distilled. Topics covered in this class include mash preparation, basics of fermentation and wash production, mechanics of distillation (stripping & spirit runs), "making the cuts," barrel maturation, proofing, and bottling.
Sensory evaluation instruction includes traditional methods and practical applications of blending whiskey, selecting and balancing the proper components to achieve a targeted flavor profile, and the impact of spirit and wood on flavor.
Additional presentations for the start-up distiller include licensing, formula and label approval, record keeping, package design, and marketing spirits.
For more information, or to register, go to:
http://distilling.com/events/distilling-workshops/hands-rum-distilling-workshop/