By Sabine Klier
Something is brewing in Brandenburg. After all, it offers the best conditions for really good whiskey: clear water, clean air, a moderate climate, excellent grain.
Germany’s first rye whiskey is produced in Brandenburg’s oldest distillery in the 615-person village of Schlepzig in the Spreewald, around 65 kilometers south of Berlin.
This was founded in 2004 as the Stork Club – named after the 200 storks that breed in the region. In 2016, the club was taken over by the Berlin agency operators Sebastian Brack (inventor of the bitter lemonade “Thomas Henry”), Steffen Lohr and Bastian Heuser (former bartenders).
The Stork Whiskey Distillery has a café in the courtyard and a sales room Photo: Olaf Selchow
Actually, the trio just wanted to buy a personalized keg and found out about the sales plans of the operators at the time.
Since then they have been successfully tinkering with their own liquid gold. And received the “World’s Best Rye Whiskey” award at the “World Whiskeys Awards” in 2019. Just one of many awards.
German whiskey is a relatively young product. Because he originally came from Scotland, Ireland and the USA. Import prices were high, which is why it was considered a luxury drink for a long time. From the 2000s, German manufacturers also tried their hand at manufacturing. There are now six whiskey distilleries in Brandenburg alone.
Bastian Heuser and his colleague Frank Böttcher (51) check the finished distillate in front of the stills Photo: Olaf Selchow
The Stork Club is Germany’s first pure rye distillery. They obtain it from the neighboring agricultural cooperative Dürrenhofe.
“We have a large growing area for rye in Brandenburg,” says managing director Bastian Heuser (47). “The sandy soil is bad here, but perfect for the rye.”
But it takes time before it becomes whiskey. The rye is ground in our own mill, mixed with hot water from our own well and fermented with the addition of yeast.
Bastian Heuser shows the basic ingredient, good rye from Brandenburg Photo: Olaf Selchow
“The brewing yeast eats up the sugar and excretes alcohol and oxygen in the process,” explains Bastian Heuser. After five days, a sour grain mash is produced, the mash, which is also called Distillers Beer. This is then pumped into the two shiny chrome and copper stills and gently distilled.
At 78.3 degrees, the alcohol dissolves and rises up into the whiskey helmet. The distillate is drawn off into the aromator, where the second distillation process begins with the addition of hot steam.
The finished, crystal-clear raw distillate already contains 75 percent alcohol. “Before we fill it into the barrels, we reduce the alcohol content to 60 percent by adding water,” says the expert.
Depending on the season, up to six types of whiskey are produced. A new addition to the range is a rye gin Photo: Olaf Selchow
The fact that the whiskey glows amber in the glass at the end is thanks to the barrels: “Creativity and complexity begin during barrel aging,” explains Bastian Heuser. “Because 60 to 80 percent of the aromas are released from the barrels.”
And they are traditionally made of oak. Cost per barrel: 400 euros. Between 190 and 230 liters fit in. “European oak is sweeter and has finer pores, and has more tannin than American oak,” says the expert. They prefer barrels made of Napoleon oak from the Spessart, whose trees have grown for at least 250 years.
The barrels are treated with heat, the toasting activates the aromas of the wood and caramelizes the wood sugar. Heuser: “The warmer the barrels are stored, the faster they mature.”
The raw distillate contains 75 percent alcohol. Before it goes into the barrels, it is diluted with water Photo: Olaf Selchow
Even sniffing the open spunt hole promises a special taste experience: a nutty-sweet vanilla-brandy scent flows out of a Napoleon cask, while a dark caramel-like coconut toffee tickles your nose from the American cask. However, 3 to 4 percent of the barrel’s contents evaporate each year, depending on the humidity and temperature. This is the “Angel Share”, the sip of the angels. The barrels are only used twice and then sold.
By law, whiskey must mature for at least three years. “We give him four years,” explains Bastian Heuser. “And because we’re not an industrial production facility, the whiskey always tastes slightly different.”
Before bottling, the different casks are blended together to develop the typical Stork taste. The liquid gold is filled into the bottles by hand.
Schlepzig has only 615 inhabitants Photo: Olaf Selchow
Four to six different whiskey variants are offered. The “Stork Club Full Proof Rye Whiskey” (500ml, 45.90 euros) contains 55 percent alcohol, carries the spicy aromas of candied nuts, sherry, dried fruits and spices. “It’s best to drink it pure at room temperature,” recommends expert and lover Bastian Heuser.
And visitors can taste it on the spot: every Friday, Saturday and Sunday there is a guided tour including four whiskey tastings and a cocktail. (25 euros).
village street 56, 15910 Schlepzig, online registration at www.stork-club-whiskey.com
