FURNEAUX FARM UPDATE
At times, the scale of our endeavour to establish a paddock-to-bottle distillery gets a bit scary, but those feelings don't last long. The dream is so clear, and when we are finished with this new build we will have a beautiful new home that sits on the west coast of a remote island in the middle of Bass Strait. Where we can sit on the patio at the cellar door and see an abundant barley crop in the front yard, with Mt Strzelecki and Chappell Island peaks off in the distance. Where we can malt and peat our own grain, then brew and distill it all in the spectacular and verdant meadows of the Furneaux Farm.
Our local builders have been working against some pretty rough conditions. As the relentless westerlies batter the work site in unprecedented winter weather, they are heroically charging ahead, and we are now starting to see the dream take shape.
Working towards the striking design by Ha° Architects, the Ecotruss timber frame is up, and the roof is on. This is a big step; it means we can now move our 9 x 26hL water tanks in place, and start to catch the pristine coastal rainwater that we'll need to run the brewery and distillery. It also means that John and the lads can work under some shelter finally!
Our 20hL brewhouse has also just rolled in! Opening those containers felt like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning – we were greeted by gorgeous stainless steel tanks, piping, trusty pumps and mills that had been on a months-long voyage to finally make it to our island. Wrangling with the obstacles of operating on a far-flung island is always a ride, and this was a particularly tricky one. It was a huge relief when those containers were safely grounded on the farm. Big thanks to Debi for masterminding the logistics, and to Mick, the crane wizard, for delicately delivering our precious kit.
And finally, something that has been a huge part of the dream - the inaugural barley crop. We have sequestered 10 acres of the farm to (with luck and fair weather) sow our first seed this spring. Our local fencer Pommy has roo-proofed the plot so we can have the best chance of growing something before our beloved marsupials get stuck into it. We are currently preparing the dirt to get everything ready for what we hope will be a fruitful first crop of Flinders Island malt barley.
Aiming to be open by summer this year (cross your fingers for us!), so we'll keep you posted on the progress. It is an extremely exciting project to be working on, and we hope that you'll join us on the island one day for a whisky at the farm.