Most people assume an off-grid distillery is a romantic lifestyle choice. The reality is that it affects almost every decision we make, from how we heat our still to whether we boil the kettle.
Kinglake Distillery is entirely off-grid. But what does that actually mean, and how does it affect the way we make whisky and live on the property?
Quite simply, we are not connected to mains water, electricity, gas or phone lines. Everything we need is generated, collected or provided on-site.
When we first started making whisky, we didn't live at the distillery. Our electricity came from a combination of solar panels and a generator. The power was used for pumps, lighting, refrigeration, computers and all the other things required to run a working distillery. In those early years, we relied heavily on the generator to supplement the solar system.
Over time, and with the help of several government grants, we have steadily expanded and improved the system. Additional solar panels increased our generating capacity, but the biggest change was replacing the old lead-acid batteries with modern lithium batteries. The improvement in efficiency, storage capacity and reliability was huge. Today, even while producing whisky, the solar system provides the vast majority of our power for most of the year, with the generator only needed occasionally during the darkest part of winter.
We also have an old hydro-electric system on the property that is currently dormant. One day we'd love to restore it. Our spring-fed lake overflows almost continuously, providing a steady source of water that could be used to generate power around the clock. It wouldn't produce massive amounts of electricity, but as a constant trickle charge for the batteries it would be incredibly useful, rain or shine.
Two years ago, we moved onto the distillery property and began using the same off-grid system to power our home. This required a careful look at how we used energy and where we could reduce demand. Heating, cooking and hot water all run on gas. Even something as simple as boiling a kettle is done on the gas hob rather than electrically.
While electricity is a wonderfully clean form of energy, it is actually a very inefficient way of heating large volumes of liquid. We once investigated heating our 2,500-litre still entirely with solar power. The number of panels required would have covered a significant portion of our 50-acre property!
Instead, our still is heated using a steam coil powered by an LPG-fired steam boiler. The boiler itself was recycled from an old dry-cleaning business, giving it a second life helping to make whisky.
Communications have improved dramatically in recent years. For a long time, we struggled with a patchy internet connection delivered via a nearby telecommunications tower. Then Starlink arrived. It has been transformative, providing fast and reliable internet.
All the water we use in the house comes from rainwater tanks. The water used to make whisky comes from our own spring-fed Chyser Creek, which flows through the property.
One unexpected benefit of being off-grid is resilience. Kinglake regularly experiences power outages, particularly during storms and periods of high wind. For many businesses, losing power unexpectedly can be a major disruption. For a distillery in the middle of a whisky run, it could be disastrous.
Fortunately, because we generate and store our own power, those outages rarely affect us. While the lights may go out elsewhere, the still keeps running.
Being off-grid certainly brings challenges. We have to think carefully about how we use resources and maintain systems that most people never need to consider. But it also gives us a level of independence, resilience and connection to the land that we wouldn't trade for anything.
In many ways, it has become part of how we make whisky. Like everything else at Kinglake, it requires a long-term mindset, a bit of ingenuity and a willingness to do things the hard way when we think it's the right way. It's not always the easiest path, but it's become part of who we are.
