3-Day Hands-On Distilling Workshop — Vancouver, WA (March 2027)
Price range: $500.00 through $1,999.00
$1,999 early-bird tuition through February 5 (regularly $2,399). Or hold your seat with a $500 deposit; the balance is due February 12.
This distilling workshop in Vancouver puts you on real equipment with master instructors so you can distill with confidence—end to end, from mash to bottle. Learn real distilling on professional equipment in a working craft distillery. Over 3 days you’ll master mash, fermentation, spirit runs & cuts, proofing, compliance basics—and leave confident and ready to produce. Plus, you’ll leave with a bottle of spirits that you personally distilled!
Where: Quartz Mountain Distillers, Vancouver, WA
When: March 5-7, 2027
Includes: Lifetime Access membership ($499 value) + toolkit + Saturday tasting night.
Seats: Only 10. No experience needed.
Bring a friend: every seat after the first is 20% off, applied automatically in your cart.
Your Exclusive Pass to the Ultimate Distilling Workshop in Vancouver, WA
Are you tired of YouTube rabbit holes and conflicting advice? This 3-day, hands-on workshop puts you on real equipment with master instructors so you can distill with confidence—end to end, from mash to bottle.
What You Get: An All-Access Pass
- Reserved seat for all 3 days at a working craft distillery.
- Lifetime Access membership to DistilleryUniversity.com ($499 value).
- Supplementary toolkit: slide decks, business plan template, fundraising deck & more.
- Saturday Tasting & Sensory Night for networking and palate training (bring a guest).
Is This for You?
- Aspiring owners and serious career-changers who want the full, end-to-end experience.
- Working pros who want to standardize methods and refine cuts, proofing, and QA.
- Teams who need a shared, repeatable process back at the shop.
You’ll Leave Able To…
- Run mash, fermentation, and a spirit run safely and repeatably.
- Make confident cuts (heads/hearts/tails) by sensory & numbers.
- Proof, blend, and finish to target flavor and labeling requirements.
- Understand the essentials of compliance, costing, and pricing.
- Troubleshoot typical shop issues and equipment behavior.
Curriculum Overview
Instructors: Randy & Darin Kyle, Quartz Mountain Distillers
Day 1 — Foundations & Spirits Heritage
- The beverage alcohol industry, competitive landscape, & key US regulations
- Essential spirits science: congeners, flavor development, temp control
- Fermentation mastery: substrate selection, yeast, vessels, QA
Day 2 — Core Distilling Techniques
- Spirit runs on professional equipment; making precise cuts
- Vodka & gin production: botanicals, extraction, filtration, proofing, bottling
- Whiskey, rum & brandy: substrates, distillation profiles, aging fundamentals
Day 3 — Advanced Production & Operations (Hands-On Focus)
- Operating the still and support equipment (pumps, chiller, heat)
- Blending & proofing techniques; quality control & testing
- Bottling your own spirit to take home
- Practical operations: safety, maintenance, compliance & record-keeping
Full, detailed curriculum is provided in your toolkit. Content may adjust slightly to match the host distillery’s production schedule—your hands-on time is maximized.
Schedule & Logistics
- Dates: March 5-7, 2027 (Fri–Sun)
- Daily start: 9:00 AM • End: ~4:00–5:00 PM (Q&A can extend)
- Saturday tasting night: guided palate training and networking (bring a guest!)
- Lunch: on your own, with quick options nearby
- Hands-on day: Closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothing required.
- Venue: Quartz Mountain Distillers, Vancouver, WA (address provided after registration with parking & arrival details).
Meet Your Instructors
Randy & Darin Kyle (Vancouver hosts) — Quartz Mountain Distillers is a family-owned, award-winning distillery led by this father-and-son team. Since launching in 2020, QMD has earned dozens of medals across major competitions—and they’ve become a standout example of how far a new distillery can go with the right process and execution. You’ll train inside a real production facility and learn in the exact environment where award-winning spirits are made. In this 3-day workshop, you'll be guided through the real-world workflow of a working distillery—from mash and fermentation to distillation, cuts, proofing, and finishing—so you leave with skills you can actually use.
They sat in your seat first. Darin and Randy took Distillery University’s hands-on workshop in 2018. 2 years later they opened Quartz Mountain Distillers, and they’ve since earned 34 awards.
“Distillery University didn’t just provide information — it gave us a roadmap.”
— Darin Kyle, Co-Founder, Quartz Mountain Distillers · DU Workshop Graduate, 2018
Bonuses Included
- Lifetime Access membership to DistilleryUniversity.com ($499 value)
- Digital resource pack: slide decks, business plan template, fundraising deck
- Follow-up support by phone/email
Pricing & Early Registration
- Early Registration: $1,999 when you register by February 5, 2027
- Standard: $2,399 starting February 6, 2027
- Hold your seat: a $500 deposit locks in the early-bird price; the $1,499 balance is due February 12, 2027
- Bring a friend: buy 2 or more seats in one order and every seat after the first is 20% off, applied automatically in your cart
- Online-course alumni: $200 off through February 5, 2027 (code sent by email)
- Pay over time: Select PayPal “Pay Later” at checkout or email info@distilleryuniversity.com for custom payment arrangements
Travel
Vancouver, WA is about 20 minutes from the Portland, OR airport (PDX). As an added benefit, Portland is home to one of the highest concentrations of craft distilleries in the US, making going out for tours and tastings even easier!
Cancellation Policy
- 30+ days before the workshop: full refund
- Inside 30 days: no refund, but you can transfer your seat to any future Distillery University hands-on workshop at no extra cost
Questions?
Call (509) 999-1244 or email info@distilleryuniversity.com—we’re happy to help.
Additional information
| Registration | Pay in full, $500 deposit |
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