Our First Time: Yahara Bay Distillers

We may act like know-it-alls, but sometimes even The A.V. Club has holes in its Madison knowledge. So periodically we’ll grab our fanny pack and camera to check out some of the city’s more famous attractions and events, and then report back on what you may or may not be missing.

Madison is a beer-drinkin’ town, but not since prohibition ended had there been a commercial distillery with national distribution in Madison, legal or otherwise. That changed about three years ago when Yahara Bay Distillers (3118 Kingsley Way, 608-275-1050) began brewing up premium vodka, rum, and apple brandy right here in town. Just a few years ago there were about 60 distilleries in the nation, and today there are about 200, so Yahara Bay is clearly part of a national trend. Cognizant of the story and the opportunity to drink samples of hard liquor in the middle of the day, The A.V. Club stopped for a visit.

What to expect: We were imagining something more automated, perhaps a smaller version of the bottling line factory scenes from the Laverne & Shirley credits. The methods of turning local grains and fruits into hard liquor at Yahara Bay turn out to be almost totally hands-on, with little machinery. Experts man the still, and a small cadre of workers hand pours, corks, and labels bottles for clients Vom Fass, Death’s Door, and Texas-based Million Vodka, stacking outgoing shipments in cases and casks.

What to watch for: Esoteric booze like apple crisp liquor and white whiskey are more interesting than the premium vodka. Samples are available in the warehouse and at the little bar, which doubles as a gallery for local artists.

Impress your friends: The process of distilling apple juice down to apple brandy, or indeed distilling most any alcohol, is more involved than one might think. There are multiple cycles of boiling down the initial load to the final product, and 90 gallons of initial plant mass can get reduced down to fit in a tiny vessel not much bigger than a pasta pot. Then the process starts again. This series of reductions removes water and impurities, but also allows for a cool “re-distill” pass and can add vapors from aromatic plants when making gin.

Highlight: The towering still is quite a sight and is more Fritz Lang’s Metropolis than the stereotypical yokel’s backwoods contraption. The German-made Christian Carl metal behemoth was imported in parts and assembled here in accordance with a diagram that still hangs on the wall, partly in German (“condensate/phlegm”).

When to go: Drop in any weekday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but call ahead if you want to talk to the owners while there, as they sometimes nip out for a keg of beer mash or molasses.