Brian Berry says Ewe Whey vodka has a “creamy color and can be drunk straight away”
As the tractor goes through the middle of the interview, I have to make sure I’m really listening.
Is vodka really made from sheep’s milk?
There was no room for doubt. Award-winning young farmer Brian Berry, of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, has confirmed the use of an innovative method for recycling leftover whey from cheesemaking to produce distilled beverages.
And before you, reader, react with “Wakefulness,” Bryn assures us that Ewe Whey vodka is very tasty.
He explains that the principle is similar to that of Milk Stout (a dark, creamy beer that contains lactose). Whey sugars are fermented to make a type of beer, and then distilled to make vodka.
Although Brine and his wife, Rebecca Morris, describe it as having a “creamy feel that can be drunk straight away,” he says the drink is by no means a “large milkshake.”
credit, Brian Berry
Brian and his wife, Rebecca, keep Holstein ewes due to increased milk production.
“You tell people you’re making vodka with whey, and they immediately assume it’s going to be a milky drink,” he says.
“It’s actually quite similar to regular vodka, but much smoother – something you can enjoy with a little stilton (blue cheese originating in England) and seaside grapes.”
He says the idea came to him because of the pain he felt when pouring gallons of whey down the drain.
“There is no environmental, financial, or ethical justification for wasting any agricultural by-product these days,” Brin says.
“We produce five different types of sheep’s cheese, but every day we throw away half of everything we collect in the milking parlour.”
credit, Brian Berry
“There is no environmental, financial, or ethical justification for wasting any agricultural by-product these days,” says Brin.
After the curds are separated for use in cheese, the remaining whey is taken to the In The Welsh Wind distillery in Tan-y-Groes (a village about 116 kilometers from Cardiff) and then processed.
It took the couple a year to find the ‘perfect’ recipe – Brien was awarded a ‘Breakthrough’ grower in Wales.
“The exact process is a closely guarded secret — after all the efforts we put into it, we’re not going to tell everyone how it’s done,” Brin says.
“We currently use Holstein sheep because they have the best milk production, but we try to cross them with native Welsh sheep, whose claws are more resistant to our mountain conditions.”
credit, Brian Berry
Breen first learned about using sheep whey to make spirits in New Zealand
Brin and Rebecca say they were the second team in Europe to make vodka from sheep’s milk.
“I heard about someone doing it in New Zealand, which I think was a world first at the time. When I started researching, there was no one in Europe doing the same thing, although another company hit us up and launched their product first. Anyway, what We are still a very specific niche.”
Brine vodka is part of a joint effort by Welsh producers to reuse by-products that would normally be discarded.
Y Ffôr-based Pennotec is developing a process for using leftover apple pulp from apple juice production as a substitute for fat in ready-to-eat dishes, as well as peel from seafood processing waste as a natural water softener for use in filtration systems for swimming pools and hydrotherapy.
Meanwhile, after two years of extensive research and experimentation, the Cameron brothers opened a Dyfi distillery and used hedge trimmings from local farms to produce botanical extracts for their gin.
The Aber Falls Distillery uses leftover whiskey-making as fertilizer, while the grain used as livestock feed is recycled.
Ewe Whey Vodka is currently only available at farmers markets or direct from Bryn and Rebecca’s farm, although they hope to sell it online in time for Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on 8 May in the UK.
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