LOCAL grain is the focus behind unique alcohol production on the Yorke Peninsula.
Sam and Olivia Colliver have converted an old machinery shed on the family farm at Arthurton into a distillery, where wheat-based vodka and gin is created and whisky made from local barley is in future aspirations.
Sam said they took a keen interest in distilling during a trip to Scotland in 2015.
Sam, who was in the airforce at the time, was also a hobby-level brewer and had a taste for high-end whisky.
“I always wanted to create my own alcohol one day, with a focus on using all local ingredients,” he said.
“So by the end of 2015, we assessed our options.”
Sam is the sixth generation on-farm, with the property bought for a ‘pound an acre’ in 1872. Sam inherited the farm from grandfather Ross Colliver.
“The old machinery shed had a dirt floor, so we literally had to start from the ground up,” he said.
The Sunny Hill Distillery opened on December 1, where visitors were able to enjoy vodka and gin made on-site, among other local products.
“There’s not a lot of people that make vodka from wheat, but some of the best vodkas in the world are made from wheat,” Sam said.
“Our vodka is made from 100 per cent raw wheat. It is hand bottled and labelled making it a truly unique and sustainable ‘crop to drop’ product.”
While the Colliver cropping land is leased out, the alcohol created at the distillery is made from grain grown on-farm.
Mace wheat, with a higher protein level, is used to make the vodka.
Sam said he was considering using other varieties, such as softer biscuit wheats preferably with a protein level below 9.5, as they were potentially easier to mill and possibly different in flavour.
Sunny Hill’s gin is made using the wheat vodka base, with it vapour-infused with botanicals such as juniper, coriander and angelica.
Sam said later this year they planned to start whisky production using malting grade Compass barley.
Sam said while last year’s season had been marred by frosts and a lack of rain, the grain harvested should still achieve everything needed for the malting process to be viable.
And as a point of difference, Sam hoped to one day offer a barrel investment program to local croppers, for them to brew their own whisky using their own barley.
“They’ll be able to take part in the whole process,” he said. “We would store it here and have tastings every three to six months, to see how its maturing and what direction it is taking.
“Then once maturation was finished, they could decide how much was their drinking stock and how much would be sold.”
Our vodka is made from 100 per cent raw wheat. It is hand bottled and labelled making it a truly unique and sustainable ‘crop to drop’ product.
- SAM COLLIVER
THE paddock from where Sunny Hill Distillery grain is sourced is leased by the Arthurton Progress Association, with proceeds going back into the community.
In 2017 it was sown to Mace wheat, while last year it was Compass barley, with some making malting grade.
Association past-president Shane Allen, who helped sow the crop and leases the rest of the Collivers’ cropping property, said they had a reasonably good season.
“Yields were down, but we were fairly lucky on getting some rains when others missed out,” he said.
“We avoided most of the frosts as well.”
Mr Allen was initially dubious the grain could be turned into vodka, but has since savoured the results.
“I was unaware it was even possible, but clearly it is – the final product is fantastic,” he said.