MBAA Michigan
Technical Presentations

District Michigan had the last board and general meeting at the Grand Rapids Brewing Company in grand Rapids October 20, 2005. The meeting was hosted by GRBC brewer and new MBAA member John Svoboda.

Our technical presentation was made by Kris Berglund, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University. Berglund’s presentation title was “Fundamentals of Distillation for Artisan Distillers.

Berglund began his Power Point presentation with a short history of the modern distillation industry in Michigan, which began in 1996 when legislation made provisions for a distillation license. Today we have distilleries operating in wineries, breweries, and cider producers. There are 10 operating distilleries in Michigan.

He told the membership that there is a 102-page book available titled “Artisan Distilling” and it is available FREE on the Internet. You can download the 2.5 MB file in PDF at www.aec.msu.edu/product/documents/
ARTISANDISTILLING1.0.01.pdf

The distilling program at MSU is designed to help the little guys. For this audience, they can provide analytical, experimental, and even proprietary work under contract. Berglund stressed that their program cannot be of much help to the big players.

Berglund simplified the distillation process saying it “concentrates alcohol plus aromas and flavors.” This is achieved by finding the equilibrium between liquid and vapor. Then he described the different types of stills and how they work.

You may view a slightly older version of this slide show.