Distillieries - Environmental Clearance

Distilleries3.6 Raw Material Inputs in the Production LineThe fermentation industry includes the production of malt beverages (beer); wines;brandy and brandy spirits; distilled spirits; and the secondary products of all of theseindustries. The most commonly produced distilled spirits for beverage purposes includewhiskies, gins, vodkas, rums, and brandies.3.6.1.1 Raw materials of alcoholic beveragesThe names of some beverages are determined by the source of the material fermented. Ingeneral, a beverage fermented from a starch-heavy source (grain or potato), in which thestarch must first be broken down into sugars (by malting, for example), will be called abeer; if the mash is distilled, the product is a spirit. Wine is made from fermented grapes.GrainsBrandy and wine are made only from grapes. If an alcoholic beverage is made fromanother kind of fruit, it is distinguished as fruit brandy or fruit wine. The variety of fruitmust be specified, viz. ‘cherry brandy’ or ‘plum wine.’Beer is generally made from barley, but can sometimes contain a mix of other grains.Whisky (or whiskey) is sometimes made from a blend of different grains, especially Irishwhisky which may contain several different grains. The style of whisky (scotch, rye,bourbon, corn) generally determines the primary grain used, with additional grainsusually added to the blend (most often barley, and sometimes oats). As far as Americanwhisky is concerned, bourbon (corn), and rye whisky, must be at least 51% of respectiveconstituent at fermentation, while corn whisky (as opposed to bourbon) must be at least81%—all by American law similar to the French AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlée).Two common distilled beverages are vodka and gin. Vodka can be distilled from anysource of agricultural origin (grain and potatoes being the most common), but the maincharacteristic of vodka is that it is so thoroughly distilled as to exhibit less of the flavoursderived from its source material. Some distillers and experts; however, may disagree,arguing that potato vodkas display a creamy mouth feel, while rye vodkas will haveheavy nuances of rye. Other vodkas may display citrus notes. Gin is a similar distillate,which has been flavoured by contact with herbs and other plant products—especiallyjuniper berries, but also including angel root, licorice, cardamom, grains of paradise,Bulgarian rose petals, and many others.Applejack is an example of a drink originally made by freeze distillation, which is easy todo in cold climates. Although both distillation and freeze distillation reduce the watercontent, they are not equivalent, because freeze distillation concentrates poisonous higher.3.6.1.2 Raw materials for brewing industryResources consumed by the brewing industry include water, energy and grist materials(barley, corn and rice), adjuncts and auxiliary materials such as Kieselguhr, caustic sodaand detergents. Adjuncts are used to reduce the costs of production, to adjust the balancein the composition of the wort, and to produce (if desired) a ‘lighter’ beer (UNEP, 1995).The production of one hectolitre of normal lager beer requires about 15 kilograms (kg) ofmalt and adjunct. The adjunct content does not exceed 30% of the brewing material.TGM for Distillery Industry 3-21 August 2010