Distilleries around the region are participating in the festivities of Philadelphia Craft Spirits Week, which begins October 27 and runs until November 4.

A dozen distilleries in total are taking part in the event, organized by Philadelphia Magazine and Foobooz. Around 50 different premium spirits are produced locally in the Philadelphia area by those dozen locations. The festivities will begin on October 27 at the Whisky and Fine Spirits Festival on 801 Market Street.  More.

TTB's website at www.ttb.gov can be pretty helpful. Here are a few of the pages we check most often.
TTB Newsletter. This comes out about once a week and can be very useful. For example, the October 14, 2016 edition provided links to some of their new statistical reports, including data about distilled spirit plants (DSPs) for the previous 6 years.
Formula Tool. Don't guess about whether you need a formula approval. If you guess, you are likely to be wrong because it's not always intuitive. For example, why does all sake need a formula approval (and lab analysis) - when other fermented rice beverages (such as beer) don't? If you make this mistake, it can be time-consuming and costly. With this tool, you can check most any class/type, and get a better view of what needs a TTB formula approval, and what does not. Read more.

Dan Wright of Wright & Brown Distilling Co. in West Oakland.

Dan Wright cuts an imposing figure. Tall and brawny with a shaved head and bushy beard, the former tugboat captain and artisan leather-goods maker has the look of someone who might spend his spare time making moonshine in the remote woods. Read more.

Maine Craft Distilling looks to triple their production space.

...Maine Craft Distilling owner Luke Davidson would more than triple his space in the move. "I am very excited about the way this is moving," said Davidson, who opened in East Bayside three and a half years ago and said he needs more production room as his business grows. "There is great energy and culture there. A lot of new innovative ideas that I am excited and looking forward to be part of." Read more.

As college kids in the 1990s, Joe Barton and Stephen Kroener helped their parents start up wineries in Paso Robles. The two spent years helping out wherever needed - Barton at Barton Family Wines' Grey Wolf Cellars and Kroener at Silver Horse Winery. Both eventually took over from their parents.

With the wineries are now celebrating their 20th anniversaries, the pair has embarked on a distilling project that harkens back to their early days in winemaking. Read more.

Three or four times a week Rod Miller comes by to pick up 6 drums of moist spent grain, from which we've removed all the sugar.  Still full of protein and quite delicious to livestock, the barley is fed to happy Berkshire, Red Wattle and Mangalitsa hogs at E & R Pork. Above, Rod brings a Berkshire piglet on a field trip to Hamilton Distillers.  Read more.

I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit, a documentary-style short film that tells the story of how the freedom to innovate brings people together, premiered tonight at a reception sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council and the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) at the Jack Rose Dining Saloon.  Read more.

Calvin Riggleman, co-owner, in June: making the first run after receiving federal permit.

Flying Buck Distillery of  Augusta, WV,  has its federal DSP Permit on the wall and has begun making corn whiskey.  Initial products will be Moonshine, Naughty Oak Spirit Whiskey, and Apple Pie Moonshine.  Flying Buck is a farm distillery and plans to make whiskey from corn grown on the farm.  The distillery is also planning to make fruit cordials from peaches, cherries, and raspberries grown on the farm.   Read more.