ISU Dairy Team webinar on Fermenting Whey to Produce Spirits

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team monthly webinar series continues Wednesday, May 15, from 12 noon to 1 p.m.

The program will feature Curt Basina from Copper Crow Distillery discussing the fermentation and distillation of lactose sugar found in whey to produce ethanol. Basina will also focus on some of the issues faced using whey in distillation, including legal requirements associated with distillation.

Basina and his wife Linda are the owners of Copper Crow Distillery in Bayfield, Wis. Copper Crow is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation and is the first Native American-owned distillery in the United States.

Copper Crow is well known in the industry for being on the cutting edge in the fermentation and distillation of whey, a byproduct of the cheese making industry, to produce award-winning spirits including vodka and gin produced from whey permeate. Whey spirits are also used in the production of their amaretto and aquavit.

Producers, dairy consultants, and industry reps are encouraged to attend the free webinar live from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on May 15. Registration must be completed at least one hour prior to the program. Register online at https://go.iastate.edu/WHEY.

For more information, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Dairy Specialist in your area: in Northwest Iowa, Fred M. Hall, 712-737-4230 or fredhall@iastate.edu; in Northeast Iowa, Jennifer Bentley, 563-382-2949 or jbentley@iastate.edu; in East Central Iowa, Larry Tranel, 563-583-6496 or tranel@iastate.edu; in Ames, Dr. Gail Carpenter, 515-294-9085 or ajcarpen@iastate.edu.