Join BAWWA in the heart of Sonoma County for a “Grain to Glass” tour and tasting of the artisanal spirits production at the Sonoma County Distilling Co. Founded in 2010 by San Francisco native Adam Spiegel, the Sonoma County Distilling Co. is California's only whiskey-focused distillery. This local distillery handles every step of the production process in-house, from the mashing and fermentation of grains, to direct-fired copper alembic pot distillation and hand-bottling of the unfiltered final product after aging in new American oak barrels. Reverse osmosis of Lake Sonoma water is used to produce the three whiskeys crafted here: Sonoma Rye Whiskey, 2nd Chance Wheat Whiskey and West of Kentucky Bourbon. Spiegel, who trained with the great French master distiller and California distilling pioneer Hubert Germain-Robin, embraces tried-and-true old-school methods that value unique caramelization with no fillers, colors or flavorings over ultra-high alcohol products. The tour will walk through each step of the process highlighting water and wastewater operations and will include, the best part, tasting whiskey.
Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Location: 5625 State Farm Drive, Unit 17, Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Tour Size/Spots: Unlimited
Confirmation of Tour Spot: Confirmation email will be sent on or before May 13, 2016.
Time: Arrive by 2:00 PM; tour will start promptly.
Clothing Requirements: Comfortable walking shoes.
Parking/Carpooling: Parking at the facility is available but carpooling is strongly encouraged.
Registration: RSVP by May 11, 2016.
General Membership Meeting and Dinner
Location: Seared Steak & Seafood Restaurant
Address: 170 Petaluma Boulevard N., Petaluma, CA 94952
Following the tour of the Sonoma County Distilling Co., make your way to Seared Steak & Seafood Restaurant in Petaluma. Attendees are invited to enjoy a social hour and no-host bar starting at 5:00 pm. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm, followed by a presentation by Mr. John Garn. See Mr. Garn’s bio and presentation abstract below for additional information.
5:00 No-Host Bar
6:00 Dinner; includes Banquet Buffet of Salads, Entrées, Sides and Desserts
7:00 General Membership Meeting and Presentation
Presentation: Bio-Electrically Enhanced Wastewater Treatment
JOHN GARN
Founder & President, ViewCraft
Mr. John Garn, Western Regional Manager of Cambrian Innovation, has been working with California businesses, municipalities and non-profit agencies on energy efficiency and water conservation issues for over thirty years. Mr. Garn has extensive experience with integrating and implementing sustainable practices into businesses, in particular for the wine and beer industries. As lead author of the statewide Sustainable Winegrowing Program and co-author of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Practices workbook, Mr. Garn has developed and facilitated over forty “Energy Efficiency Series” workshops for the California wine community in partnership with PG&E, and produced ten videos showcasing energy and water efficiency beneficial practices. Mr. Garn additionally developed the Sonoma County Green Business Program which won the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ National Sustainability Award, and has served as the green business consultant for the U.S. EPA Office of Enforcement and Assurance. Mr. Garn ensuingly collaborated with the California EPA and other local agencies to launch the Bay Area Green Business Program which has now certified over 2,000 local businesses. Mr. Garn serves the Bay Area as a developer of whole system approaches to environmental protection and sustainable development.
ABSTRACT: Bio-Electrically Enhanced Wastewater Treatment
Lagunitas Brewing Co., one of the fastest growing breweries in the nation, was transporting over 50,000 GPD of high-strength wastewater to East Bay MUD, requiring over 3,000 trucks per year at a high environmental and monetary cost. Brewing is a water-intensive process, the by-products of which are rich in organics and nutrients that disrupt traditional municipal wastewater treatment systems. With the leadership of Mr. Garn, the Brewery installed Cambrian Innovation’s EcoVolt® wastewater treatment system in 2015. The system is comprised of one headworks unit controlling three EcoVolt® anaerobic digestion reactors, two MBRs, and reverse osmosis. The modular and stackable design allows for simple expansion in a small footprint. The system treats 100% of the Brewery’s low and high strength wastewater and produces over 80,000 gallons of recycled water per day- over 40% of the Brewery’s current water demand. Concurrently, 1,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide are converted into high-quality biogas that is used onsite to generate 45,000 therms of heat and 130 kW of renewable electricity per year. This carbon dioxide reduction is equivalent to planting 1,580 acres of forest every year! With Cambrian Innovation’s system, Lagunitas Brewing Co. has reduced their “water : beer” ratio from 4.0 to 2.5, reduced operation costs, and minimized the environmental impact of their production processes.