MOSES LAKE— Big Bend Community College’s Center for Business and Industry Services is providing craft distilling training, in cooperation with Qualls Agricultural Laboratory, a licensed distilled spirits producer. 

The first two-day training workshop is October 23- 24. The second is December 3-4. Sessions three and four are scheduled for the early part of 2010.

The series of workshops will cover the history of distilling, how the distillation process works, types of distillation equipment, the licensing and legal considerations, physical plant considerations, grain and tuber and fruit fermentation fundamentals. Training emphasizes the part science and art plays in the spirits production and highlights issues pertaining to legal compliance and business profitability.

The completion of all four workshops results in a certificate of completion. 

Classroom lectures will be on the campus of Big Bend Community College. Hands-on training will take place at Qualls Agricultural Laboratory near Moses Lake.

Each session is a pre-requisite for the subsequent class.

Craft distilling is a new industry in Washington State, following on the success of the wine-making and brewing industries. There are about 600 wineries in the state. Last year, there were only four craft distilleries in operation in Washington, according to a Big Bend spokesperson.

The training is led by Berle Figgins Jr., a viticulturist, wine-maker and master distiller. While working in the wine business in Washington, Figgins earned his Diploma of Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London. He established two licensed distilleries, located in Mattawa and Ellensburg, in addition to overseeing several new start-up distillery projects. 

Big Bend Community College is located at 7662 Chanute St. N.E.

For more information, call 509-793-2374 or e-mail cbisinfo@bigbend.edu.

Originally published September 28, 2009.