If you would like to schedule a tour on a day other than Saturday – or if you have a group of 10 or more that would like to tour – please email distillery@foundrydistillingcompany.com, and we will work to accommodate you as best we can.
Just answer some basic questions, and we'll be back in touch in two to three days with a free, no-obligation personalized plan for your whiskey experience in Des Moines.
Don't stress stress about your answers. If you decide to move forward with your own private barrel, we'll work with you every step of the way to refine your choices and create an extraordinary experience.
First, we need a recipe, or Mash Bill as it's known in industry. You can choose from a variety of grains below:
| Barley | |
| Buckwheat | |
| Corn | |
| Millet | |
| Oats |
| Quinoa | |
| Rice | |
| Rye | |
| Sorghum | |
| Wheat |
To achieve proper conversion of starches to sugars, you will need a certain % of malted barley in your recipe. Check one of the boxes below for the type of malted barley you would like to explore.
Now, it's time for fermentation, the process of converting sugar to alcohol. There are many different yeast options from a variety of companies. Please select the ones that look interesting to you.
Yeasts are microscopic organisms classified as fungi. They are single-celled and reproduce by budding. During fermentation, yeast multiplies vigorously initially while there is oxygen present. After the oxygen is used up, the yeast converts sugar into alcohol.
Please select at least one type of yeast.
Open top fermentation is more traditional and allows you to see and smell the fermentation process. Open top fermentation does allow microorganisms in the air to be introduced into the process. Closed fermentation limits the opportunity for local microorganisms to interact with the wash.
Please select a Fermentation Style.
Now, we're ready for distillation, the process of concentrating alcohol by separating alcohol and water inside a still.
Alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water — 173 degrees vs. 212 degrees. As a still heats up, the alcohol vapors make their way up the column of the still. The still contains plates in the column and as the vapors hit a plate, they start to condense and further separate the ethanol from the water and other substances (congeners).
At the end of the process, the alcohol vapors reach the condenser, a vessel with fine copper tubes filled with cold water. As the vapors hit these coils, they are cooled and turn back into liquid form.
We will be making Foreshots, Heads, Hearts and Tails cuts during your distillation. Each fraction of the process contains various compounds that will impact the taste of the finished product.
Finally, it's time to put your incredible whiskey into a barrel.
At what proof do you want to barrel your whiskey?
125 proof is the maximum allowable and the most economical as each barrel contains more alcohol. Certain distillers choose to age at lower proofs based on their belief that it results in better product. Your choice here will be a target, and we will work toward it based on the final amount of distillate we produce.
Please select a proof.
Now, help us plan the rest of your visit.
There is a fair amount of downtime involved in whiskey production. Our staff will obviously be present to oversee all production, and we'd like to give you a flavor of the great city of Des Moines and surrounding while you're here. Here's a link to our local tourism site, but please give us a little more information about your group and we'll help put together recommendations for a truly personalized, memorable experience.
How many people in your group? (max 6 people)
Please enter the number of people in your group.
How do the people in your group know each other?
Please enter how you know each other.
Please share any thoughts on your whiskey's brand name or label design.
Please share throughs on your whiskey's brand name or label design.
Upload images that give us a better sense of your whiskey project.
Please upload an image about your whiskey project.
What are the interests of your group?
Please select at least one interest.
What kind of restaurant experience(s) would your group enjoy?
Please select at least one restaurant experience.
What amenities would your group enjoy at the Distillery?
The Private Barrel Club Lounge will be your private space during your visit. The lounge includes a television, newspapers, magazines, internet, etc. If there is anything else you need, just let us know and we will do our best to make it happen.
Please select at least one amenity.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Thanks for sharing. We'll be back in touch in two to three days with a free, no-obligation personalized plan for your whiskey experience in Des Moines.
