From the hard charge of harvest to the silence of winter’s slumber celebrating the end of a season can be lack luster for row crop farmers. Grain in the bin doesn’t gift as well as steaks on the grill.
“When you feed cattle, you grew that into a steak and were able to share it,” points out Joe Knobbe, the owner of Flyover Whiskey in West Point, Nebraska. “Well, we don’t really have that with just row crops.”
From field to flask, Flyover Whiskey is helping farmers bottle the season’s harvest one micro-batch at a time.
“Basically, we custom distill whiskey for farmers from their own corn,” Knobbe explains.
Head distiller Devon Birchem says it’s very personal. He starts with 15 to 20 pounds of corn.
“We have guys bring in dried sweet corn which gives the whiskey a lot sweeter taste,” explains Birchem. “Even between white corn and the common yellow corn, that white corn has a sweeter taste to it.”
He can also tell a difference in taste depending on how clean the corn is that’s used. Field by Field, every bottled batch is uniquely original.
“Hybrid does have an effect,” laughs Knobbe. “We haven’t really been able to pin down what is the best brand, DeKalb, Pioneer, Beck’s etc. but we definitely notice a difference.”
Once the corn is mashed, it’s left to ferment before heading to the still. They have several as efficient small batch processing requires plenty of equipment to keep up with demand. The goal is to turn that one load of corn, 15 pounds, into 6 custom bottles of whiskey.
“You have to pay attention because you’re not dealing with hundreds of gallons at a time,” says Knobbe. “We’re dealing with 10 gallons at a time and our margin for error is a lot smaller.”
“I want to make sure that I get a good tasting stuff and enough of it,” adds Birchem. “I want something that I can be proud of and that they’d be proud of as well.”
Pride in the product is also transferred to the label.
“Part of the fun of it is being able to personalize that label down to what field [the grain] came out of or the price it was sold or at the time of harvest,” says graphic designer Kylie Kai. “I just think it makes it really special.”
Her designs combined with the bottle’s contents help preserve these farmer’s special moments.
“Some of the more special labels we do are those [that commemorate] grandpa or dad’s last harvest,” says Kai. “We’ve also done a picture of grandpa in the field with the combine behind him.”
It takes about two months to go from bushel to bottle. While corn is the focus, other farmers are now asking for a shot at distilling their own crops.
“There’s a lot of guys in Kansas that want me to do a wheat beer,” says Knobbe. “There are guys who have asked me about making vodka or rum with sugar beets.”
As those requests ferment, the team is pouring themselves into giving the gift of corn.
“There’s just not a whole lot of gifts you can give to a farmer that they’ve never gotten before,” says Knobbe. “So, we think it’s a really special gift.”
A harvest in a bottle distilled into the perfect present for any season of life.
