Distilling Courses/Workshops In Canada

[Itselm]

Hey guys,

Been back here for about a week after a long break. Been reading and reading as much as possible learning as much as I can and getting caught back up (Still have many months/years ahead of me). I am located in Ontario, Canada just North of Toronto and have decided to purchase a still from North Stills here in Toronto when the time is right.

I have been looking into possibly taking a hands on week long workshop here in Canada just to get some face to face with some distillers who are a master in this craft. So far, the only two courses I have found are located in Kelowna, BC and Vancouver. I was wondering if any other Canadians here know of any workshops I have not been able to find located on the East end of the country. I do not have any issues with travelling West, but it would be more convenient if something was closer!

I am one of those individuals who learn better hands on and thought, why not do a workshop. If anyone has any suggestions, please do let me know!

Regards,

E

[Expat]

Niagara college offers a program on artisan distilling.

https://www.canadianfoodandwineinstitut ... ng/courses/

I read the syllabus awhile back and it sounded basic compared to some of the threads here

Have a look.

[Craddosk]

Rig Hand Distillery in Edmonton. It's farther east than Kelowna...

[HDNB]

Rig Hand Distillery in Edmonton. It's farther east than Kelowna...

yeah come to alberta. we need your tourist dollars. effing feds have killed the oil patch.

[greggn]

> I am one of those individuals who learn better hands on

Unless a workshop is offered by North Stills then none of the other suggested courses will teach you how to run *your* still. If, as you say, you learn better by doing then I'd suggest you take the money you would have spent on a course and apply that to purchasing sugar and/or grain and begin practicing at home with your rig. Sure, the first few batches may be thrown-away but chances are they would have been anyway even had you taken a course.

There's more than enough information here for you to be successful rather quickly.

[zed255]

Shame home distilling is taboo in most areas. There could easily be stillin' clubs, meets and competitions like there are for home brewers and winemakers. Would make getting good information, experience and equipment so much easier.

That said, there are actually quite a few members here in Ontario and in my poking about likely many more who do not use this or any other forum. I was mind blown when getting even just a few parts how many guessed I was piecing together a still.

You might be able to befriend an experienced distiller near you and get some hands on that way. As far as I'm aware small scale distilling gets the blind eye in Canada. Keep your activity small, low profile, be safe and for the love of Pete sell NOTHING and you aren't likely to have any issues.

[StillerBoy]

Just come up my way for a few days, and I will give you hands on practice and information on mashing and stilling on four different column setups, as I've done for a few local guys..

But as was stated in a prior post, there is enough info here on HD to get you started and learning.. just need the time to put it all together.. as a beginner it can be very confusing as to where to start..

Mars

[Itselm]

Guys I cant thank you enough for the responses. Expat and Craddosk, thank you for the links. Greggn, that makes perfect sense, the courses are very expensive and I should put that towards my own practice, I just really would love to get shown the proper way from the beginning which is my only concern. zed255, I love that idea of meets, I really do wish that was a thing. Maybe as boom continues here in Ontario, we may start seeing that more down the road? I will absolutely follow those steps and its good to know so many members from this area. StillerBoy /Mars I cannot thank you enough for that comment. I am PMing you right now!