April 22

Our 2022 virtual conference ran for three days 27th – 29th April 2022.

With our virtual conferences, you could settle down for 3 days of fantastic talks, panel discussions and workshops, all from the comfort of home.

Ticketholders were able to enjoy a vast array of talks, as detailed below.

Wednesday 27th April
12.00-12.30 – Sustainability In Closures – Cork And Other Stoppers
13.00-13.30 – Recycled Glass And The Circular Economy
14.00-14.30 – Water Recycling – Designing A Closed Loop Cooling System
15.00-15.30 – Hydrodistillation – A Low Energy Alternative
16.00-16.30 – B Corp Certification For Spirits

Thursday 28th April
11.00-11.30 – Control Software And Systems For Distillers (live only)
12.00-12.30 – Gin Guide Awards Sustainability Roundtable (live only)
12.30-13.00 – Ultrasonic spirits – Making Use of Ultrasound Frequencies for Flavour Extraction
13.15-13.45 – Supply Challenges And Overcoming Them (live only)
14.30-15.30 – Alan Powell With A Legal And Licensing Update
16.00-16.30 – Time To Taste With Ian Wisniewski

Friday 29th April
11.00-11.30 – Botanical Update (live only)
12.00-12.30 – Hell Or High Water – A Comeback Story
13.00-13.30 – Colouring Spirits – A Frank Discussion (live only)
14.00-14.30 – Creating RTDs – It’s In The Can
15.00-15.30 – The Growing English Whisky Scene
16.00-16.45 – Outlook 2022

We’re now busy planning our next event, the Craft Distilling Expo, which will be held in London on the 6th and 7th October. You can get up to date with that here.

You can also keep up to date with upcoming events by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Next Event April 22
26th April 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22We’re pleased to present the final agenda for the live Q&A sessions over the next few days. The pre-recorded content is now up. Find out how to access that here. Watch it in advance of the live sessions, then watch the live sessions and send in your questions. We also have a number of live only sessions for you to enjoy. If you do miss any of the live sessions don’t panic, we will be recording them and putting them up with the live content which will all be available until the 15th May. Wednesday 27th April12.00-12.30 – Sustainability In Closures – Cork And Other Stoppers13.00-13.30 – Recycled Glass And The Circular Economy14.00-14.30 – Water Recycling – Designing A Closed Loop Cooling System15.00-15.30 – Hydrodistillation – A Low Energy Alternative16.00-16.30 – B Corp Certification For Spirits Thursday 28th April11.00-11.30 – Control Software And Systems For Distillers (live only)12.00-12.30 – Gin Guide Awards Sustainability Roundtable (live only)12.30-13.00 – Ultrasonic spirits – Making Use of Ultrasound Frequencies for Flavour Extraction13.15-13.45 – Supply Challenges And Overcoming Them (live only)14.30-15.30 – Alan Powell With A Legal And Licensing Update16.00-16.30 – Time To Taste With Ian Wisniewski Friday 29th April11.00-11.30 – Botanical Update (live only)12.00-12.30 – Hell Or High Water – A Comeback Story13.00-13.30 – Colouring Spirits – A Frank Discussion (live only)14.00-14.30 – Creating RTDs – It’s In The Can15.00-15.30 – The Growing English Whisky Scene16.00-16.45 – Outlook 2022 Don’t have a ticket yet? It’s not too late. Tickets [...]
26th April 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22The Crafdi Online Conference begins tomorrow, and the pre-recorded content is now available to watch. Ticket holders1. Log in, head to ‘live sessions’.2. Choose a date and you will be presented with a list of talks and times for the day. 3. It’s one click to register for that session, and in the talk info you’ll see a link to the relevant pre-recorded content.4. All pre-recorded content will be available to watch until the 15th May. Remember, the online event begins tomorrow, with live Q&A sessions for the pre-recorded talks and other live talks. Agenda details to be published shortly. Don’t have a ticket yet? It’s not too late. Tickets [...]
21st April 2022April 22 Talks / Blog / Next Event: April 22It has been an incredibly busy few weeks behind the scenes here. Not least because members of the team are also spirits judges and it’s a busy time of year for that, but we’ve also been in the throws of filming all the pre-recorded talks and discussions for our live event on the 27th – 29th April, which is just next week! With the event approaching as quickly as it is, keep an eye on our site and social for further updates. There is also a LinkedIn event you can join to keep up to date. Ever the ones to squeeze in every bit we can, we’re filming our final discussion tomorrow, then editing so all our recorded content will be available for our ticket holders next week. We have got some amazing topics for you, including: Creating RTDsHydrodistillationSupply Chains And Overcoming ThemRecycled Glass And The Circular EconomyHell Or High Water – A Come Back StoryB Corp CertificationEnglish WhiskyUltrasonic SpiritsColouring Spirits – A Frank DiscussionSustainability In ClosuresSafety First! – Distillery SafetyClosed Loop WaterTime To Taste With Ian WisniewskiOutlook 2022 We are still finalising the agenda for the three days, but that will be done and available soon. This year we’ve got no overlaps, so you don’t have to miss a thing. How do our online conferences work? Your ticket get’s your access to all the pre-recorded videos, which are realised ahead of the live event.Simply log in and you can watch them at you leisure.During the live event, log in and you can watch out live Q&As as they happen and send in follow up questions.Watch, participate, share on social, get that conversation going! It’s a brilliant opportunity to get further education in what’s happening in the distilling industry right now, be it technical process, trends, branding, tasting, everything. It also gives you a great opportunity to reach out to industry experts and ask the questions you need answered, be it because you’re setting up a distillery, growing your distillery, or you’re just interested. Everyone is welcome. So what are you waiting for? Get your ticket today! Tickets [...]
11th March 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22Talks and panel discussions on the bill for our April 2022 Online Distillers Conference. Please note, we will be updating this list in the coming weeks as more talks are recorded. Certification – B-CorpB-Corp is becoming an increasingly popular and important way for distilleries to show their environment and sustainable credentials but it is a process that requires dedication and time and for many some clarity about what it entails would be welcome. Join Sarah Miller as she discusses the ins and outs of B-Corp with a panel of distillers some of whom have completed it and some are in the process of or about to begin. Colouring Spirits – A Frank DiscussionA controversial topic and one that some purists may raise an eyebrow at, but – in reality – it can be an essential part of spirit production, ensuring stability and consistency. This session will discuss the relative merits and pitfalls of different techniques and hopefully leave viewers informed to draw their own conclusions. Closure – With The IWSCA panel discussion, recorded in conjunction with the International Wine and Spirits Competition, about the sustainability of cork and other stopper closures. Creating RTDs – It’s In The CanWhether it’s the evening commute, a picnic, or a BBQ, ready-to-drink beverages such as Gin & Tonic, Whisky & Soda, and hard seltzers are increasing in popularity and availability on the shelves, giving consumers more choice when deciding to have a tipple on-the-go. But creating a stable and consistent product is not as easy as it may initially seem; our panel will share some of the secrets to success when producing an RTD. Embracing ImperfectionProducing excellent spirits takes time, skill, and effort and many distillers take an (understandably) perfectionist attitude to production, but what if it was possible to maintain the quality of spirits whilst also adopting a more sustainable approach to “premium” and perfection? In this session we will discuss changing attitudes to what is seen as “premium glass”, a more thoughtful approach to what processes are really necessary (e.g. chill filtration), and what to do when a batch of spirit fall beyond exceptable variance of a product. Growing The English Whisky SceneRichard Foster of Exploring English Whisky is joined by friends from the English Whisky community to discuss the exciting times ahead for the sector. Hell Or Highwater – A Comeback StoryWhat happens when the idea that you’ve built your brand on falls through? How do you manage the a rebrand and turn misfortune into a new identity? HydrodistillationWhat is hydrodistillation and how can it be utilised with rotovap vacuum distillation and gas chromatography to reduce a distillery’s environmental footprint? Ulrich Dyer of Woodlab Distillery shares some of his fascinating techniques. Outlook for 2022Join our panellists as they discuss the sunnier outlook for spirits and distilling in 2022 after two years of turbulence. Recycled Glass And The Circular EconomyNolan Kane of Allied Glass will discuss the many facets of recycled glass: from recyclability to the recycled glass content of new bottles, the impact of clear vs. coloured glass, and Allied Glass’ support for the “Close The Glass Loop” program. Safety First – Distillery SafetyDistilling is a rewarding profession, but it doesn’t come without its risks; safety is essential for every distillery. Join our panel of experts as they discuss distillery safety, including some of the less obvious and often overlooked issues. Supply Challenges And How To Overcome ThemAmongst the various challenges of the last two years are disruptions in the supply of various essentials for distillers: from bottles to closures, ingredients to packaging. Our panel will discuss some of these challenges and – more importantly – how they have adapted. Time To Taste – How Spirits Change In The GlassJoin spirits experts Ian Wisniewski and David T Smith as they taste a single spirit over 45 mins to illustrate how it changes in the glass. This session has kindly been supported by Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky. In Between sips, Ian and David will discuss the impact that oxygen and oxidisation has on spirits and how to structure your tasting notes or tastings to capture this. Ultrasonic SpiritsUltrasonic spirits make use of ultrasound frequencies for flavour extraction. Join distiller Ben Marston of Puddingstone Distillery to discuss the opportunities and challenges of using ultrasonic techniques to extract flavour from botanicals. From the cost of equipment to the sorts of results you can expect and the technique’s limitations, this is a great introduction to this new production technique. Waste – Waste/WaterTypical distillation not only requires a lot of energy, but a lot of water, a significant volume of which is used for cooling and running the condenser before going down the drain. Increasingly, distillers are looking at “closed loop” water systems to help reduce their water usage. These might sound complicated and technical, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Avian Sandercock of Wrecking Coast Distillery in Cornwall will discuss his recent experience and discuss one or two options employed by other distillers. Tickets [...]
26th February 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22We are pleased to announce that registration for our April 22 event is open! Our third virtual conference is coming, and have another set of incredible talks and panel discussions for you to enjoy! General Admission is £45 and includes all three days. This gives attendees access to all of the pre-recorded sessions and live Q&A discussions. The online distilling conference runs Wednesday 27th April – Friday 29th April 2022. Access to online pre-recorded content will begin on Monday 25th April 2022. More information on the talks will be released over the coming weeks. Register [...]
24th February 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22Fine with Wine – The Maturation and Finishing of Spirits in Wine Casks – Online WorkshopWednesday 6th April 202213:30-16:00 GMT£59.00 + VAT When it comes to the world of matured spirits, the use of wine casks is increasingly popular, and why not? With such a wide variety of wines available, they can be used to add an incredibly unique and diverse character to your product, either via primary or secondary maceration, or finishing.  Despite the advantages, the use of wine barrels is not without its problems and care needs to be taken when sourcing, maintaining, and using them. Julia Nourney will help you to embrace the opportunities and avoid the potential pitfalls. The session will include discussion on the use of a variety of ex-wine casks – port, sherry, dessert wine, etc. – within the context of a variety of spirits, including whisky, brandy, rum, and gin. This is a live session presented via Zoom. Register [...]
24th February 2022Blog / Next Event: April 22Making the Most of Your StillOnline WorkshopTuesday 5th April 202213:30-16:00 GMT£59.00 + VAT Join distilling expert and consultant Julia Nourney for an in-depth, live discussion of different still types and the essential considerations when buying a still or choosing how to use it. The production of a variety of spirits will be covered (including gin, rum, whisky and brandy), as well the fundamentals of distillation and rectification and questions including: pot vs. column, copper vs. stainless steel, and more traditional options vs. newer models such as the iStill. This session is a great choice for anyone looking to start or grow a distillery. This is a live session presented via Zoom. Please note that places are strictly limited. Register [...]