Milk flowing through Redhead Creamery is already producing award-winning artisan cheese and is about to offer distilled beverages from the same cows.
An onsite distillery, Redhead Creamery Spirits, on the Redhead Creamery property near Brooten, Minnesota, is the latest edition to the value-added ventures of Lucas and Alise Sjostrom, co-founders of Redhead Dairy with Alise’s parents.
The world of fermented milk is not a new one, but it is not one widely available to consumers. Lucas, who has been the driving force behind making this new business a reality, knows of three other places in the U.S. where fermented whey is being used to produce spirits. But this could be the first place in the world where a dairy farm is raising cows, milking cows and fermenting milk for cheese and whey spirits out of one place. It’s all taking place within the heart of dairy country in central Minnesota and a distillery and speakeasy part of the business should be opening later this spring to add to their already popular farm tours, dairy retail and tasting room experience.
Lucas said the work of adding distilled spirits to their farm started with an idea he read about back in 2011 when a company was producing vodka from milk. He tucked the idea in his back pocket and took note again when in 2017 the federal government cut taxes for small distilleries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he pored over piles of books about fermenting. With travel opening up again, he started traveling the country, visiting more than 170 distilleries.
He told a crowd of interested listeners on Feb. 28 at the Central Minnesota Farm Show in St. Cloud how it was hard work but work he was willing to do to gain enough experience to put together a dairy distillery he could be proud of. He hopes to be brewing in mid-March to have spirits available for sale in early summer.
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“We’ll save up that brew for a month or two, then we’ll finally distill something and have it ready, I would hope by May 1st or definitely June 1st of 2024,” Lucas Sjostrom said. Depending on what they are brewing, they can produce a base spirit from cheese whey within just seven days. Some others will take more time in order to allow the flavors to develop.
Sjostrom said that the addition of spirits to their already busy dairy enterprise was something he was willing to do after building up funds and grants needed for the growth. Support came from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Dairy Business Innovation Alliance and USDA Rural Development in addition to a loan through Stearns Electric Association. That would take some of the risk out of the endeavor, but perhaps even more importantly, he had the will to want to do it and a passion to see it through.
“We’re here because we had the personalities and the experience and the friends that we thought we might be able to make this work,” Lucas said. “It was a risk, it still is a risk.”
The reason to branch into distilled spirits came because they were looking for something different. They already have popular cheese choices and every new variety they add could simply cannibalize their current selection.
“People were already having beer and wine at our place, so we thought, what could we make to capture more of that revenue for ourselves?” Sjostrom said. It seemed feasible, but what sealed the spirits deal is that Sjostrom simply finds the whole distilling process and experience quite enjoyable.
You can get a glance at the farm, tasting room, cheese shop, creamery and incoming distillery on a farm tour Saturdays from noon to 2:30 p.m. and Sundays noon to 4 p.m. Find out more and request a tour at redheadcreamery.com.
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