-You boys thirsty? -Yeah.
[narrator] How hard could it be to distill everyday cans of beer
into sellable liquor?
Beer's a whole 'nother animal.
Beer's a totally different beast.
[narrator] Turns out there's more to this challenge than meets the eye...
[bleep]. That ain't no good.
[narrator] ...as three skilled distillers...
I told myself not to come here and make a fool of yourself, but here we are.
[narrator] ...go head to head...
I'm kind of surprised how strong that tastes like the beer.
[narrator] ...to turn dozens of cases of craft beer
into prize-winning spirits...
Kind of like a s'more that will get you lit.
[narrator] ...for a chance to be named Master Distiller.
[Digger] It's outstanding what they did, taking a beer,
and they turned it into a beautiful drink.
Welcome to Master Distiller, guys.
You can see over here we've got plenty of beer.
We want you to make us a little liquor out of it.
We've been making beer into liquor for years.
We call it our mash still beer,
but this is production beer.
You know, the biggest difference between steal beer
that's on top of your mash,
and a beer in a can.
is different ingredients such as hops.
[narrator] Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world.
Since the Stone Age, anywhere humans have had access to grains
that could ferment into alcohol, they made beer.
Eventually, refining the process
and adding hops to keep their brews fresh for months.
Today there are over 100 distinct styles of beer.
And its omnipresence and everyday culture around the globe sparks curiosity.
What happens when you put it in a still?
Germans have distilled Finnish beer into bier schnapps,
or bier brand for generations.
Taking spoiled or surplus beer and turning it into a shelf stable spirit.
In recent decades, discerning distillers have taken it a step further.
Teaming up with breweries to create a variety of liquors,
such as gin or aged whisky as premium products.
But it's not without risk.
Finished beer is costly, and the added hops
and extra carbonation require a skilled distiller
to preserve the complex flavor profiles in the final spirit.
To showcase the wide range of spirits you can make from beer,
you must first choose a beer from this room
and show us that you can turn it into a high proof alcohol.
The one with the best spirit will get first choice
to choose their ingredients, to turn their spirit
into a beer based gin in the next challenge.
Final two will be able to create their own signature beer shine
for the title of Master Distiller.
What you got at stake here, guys, are unlimited bragging rights.
Beyond that, you also get a limited run
of your beer based liquor in a major distillery.
You got two minutes.
Go over here and make your decision
on which beers you're gonna use to make us some liquor.
Get over there and get with it,
starting now. Good luck, guys.
-All right, pilsner? Get that out. -Yeah, pilsner.
[woman 1] Nice and neutral.
Ooh, pop it.
My name is Michelle Piechowicz.
I'm 32 and I live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I work at Great Wagon Road Distilling Company,
and I'm the head distiller there.
Hello.
I run the whole production facility.
It's actually only myself and my dog every day.
Big dog. Big dog.
I've been distilling for five years.
I got into distilling because I started off brewing beer
and then was given the opportunity to switch to liquor
and just took to it very strongly.
Hey, guys, we're in our heads collection right now,
so it's gonna be very nail polish remover-ey high proof.
I love distilling because I'm a very creative person, hands on.
I like to make something.
For me to become the next Master Distiller
would just be a great pride and kind of staple in my career as a distiller.
[Digger] One minute left, guys.
You said this one's got coconut and Valencia orange.
Yeah, that might come through on the distiller.
My name is Tom Goodwin. I'm 37 years old and I'm from Thornton, Colorado.
I manage a home brew store.
So I sell supplies and equipment
to make your own beer, wine and liquor.
This is my very modest still.
I usually put my little parrot right there.
I love beer.
I have been brewing beer for just about 20 years now.
My kegerator here. Kegs on the inside.
I have distilled beer before, a couple of times,
which is actually the very first thing I ever distilled at home.
I've been distilling for five years.
Brandy, I've got some whisky. Mostly whisky up here.
I got into distilling, kind of a little bit of happenstance.
I came into some equipment that needed some repairs, took it home and fixed it, worked.
So I started making my own liquor at home.
To be the next Master Distiller means to me
that everything that I've been working on
the last decade or so of my life is really coming to a head.
Might consider getting into the industry full-time.
And this could be a really good stepping stone to get there.
[Michelle] Let me sneak in for a Gaelic.
Synced up for that one.
Long Game tastes good.
My name is Tyler Butcher, and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. I'm 30 years old.
I am a contractor, and I'm also a moonshiner.
I've been distilling for a little over three years now.
I have never distilled beer, but I can distill anything.
I have all the confidence in myself.
I really love to distill because I want to try
to make something that everybody likes.
I'm a people's person, and I want to try to make some people happy.
First drips of the season.
If I win Master Distillers, hopefully one day I will be able
to open up my own distillery and show everybody what I've got.
You're done. Step away, guys. No more sippy sippy.
Well, I hope in that two minutes
you got everything you needed out of those flavor profiles.
We've got each beer sitting in a barrel, right behind you all.
What we're looking for is a clear, full bodied liquor with plenty of flavor and aroma.
With a bare minimum of 80-proof.
So choose your beer wisely, guys.
You've got four hours. Your time starts now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
What kind of taste profile are you hoping to get?
We'll start off with the oatmeal porter and this baby right here.
Definitely pull out some of those
chocolate roasted notes that are in the porter
and then send it through the Gaelic ale.
that amber ale, get a little nutty, hazelnut notes.
I like that.
Tom, tell me what we can expect out of your run here.
In the pot, I've got the tropical lager.
Tasting it wasn't super hoppy.
Had a little bit of that mango, a little bit of that papaya.
And so I'm hoping to carry a little bit of that over into my distillate.
And then I used that juicy double in the thumper.
My thought process is that lighter profile beer
is gonna have less moving parts, so to speak,
less flavors that are gonna conflict with each other.
The hoppier thing, I want that off the heat.
Put that in the thumper, so it's getting steam distilled instead of flame distilled.
It might keep the hoppy flavor from getting too wacky.
Distilling a beer, it's... it's not like distilling other spirits.
The more complicated the beer is,
the more complicated making your cuts can be.
How you feeling, Tyler?
-Whoo! -[Michelle] Yeah, baby. [chuckles]
[Tyler] I'm feeling good.
Beer is not something that I... I normally run in a still,
it's something I usually drink on a Friday night after work.
I decided to mix both of my beers together.
I wanted to put those both in my pot and also put a little bit into my thumper.
I used AVL because when I took a sip of it,
-I mean, it was just crisp, clean, clear, tasted good. -Good? Yeah, yeah.
The Lounge Juice had a higher ABV, so, that's why I went with it.
I want to try to get up as high as I can
and be able to give me time to make my cuts...
-Yeah. -...and find something that's got a good flavor.
Here we go.
The tasty attributes that hop spring to beer
can be problematic when it comes to distillation, because there's oils.
The oils tend to come off pretty early in the run.
Whoever runs the slowest is probably the best product.
-[Tyler] How are you feeling, Tom? -[Tom] I'm... I'm all right.
-Feeling good? -Yeah.
I don't want it to puke.
There's a few things you have to do different when you're distilling beer,
and one of them is the carbonation.
Put a fully carbonated beer directly into your still,
that's gonna foam up a lot into your still.
-Mine's still a little fizzy. -[Tyler] Yeah, mine is, too.
-It's getting a little hotter and... -[Tom] Mmm-hmm.
...it'll go down a little bit.
An hour into the run,
I'm waiting for my temperature to rise and get where I need to be.
I notice that my thumper...
the temperature gauge shot up.
I knew something was wrong.
[bleep]. That ain't no good.
My still started puking.
[Digger] Tyler's beer is foaming up through the condenser.
It's pouring out of the worm.
[Tim] I mean, it's spitting that stuff out, boy.
In that moment, I knew that I'd really messed something up.
That ain't no good.
[Tim] I mean, it's spitting that stuff out, boy.
So when I noticed my I still started puking,
I knew I was in trouble, and I lost a lot.
Oh, yeah, that thumper filled up.
Noticed my thumper was full,
so I had to immediately, you know, get the liquids out of my thumper.
Pour it back into my pot and get this thing back going again.
Beer's a whole 'nother animal.
Beer's a totally different beast.
I told myself not to come here and make a fool of yourself, but here we are.
All right, guys, you're halfway there. Two hours down, two to go.
[Tom] Oh, drip, drip. I got a drippy.
-[Michelle] Nice. -Good job, man. There you go.
That drift right there in that jar, that's as clear as it gets.
-I got a little dribble going on. -[Tom] Liquor coming out.
[Michelle] It smells pretty good, too.
If she keeps going this way, I'll be happy.
-[Tyler] Oh. -[Tom] There you go. That was quicker.
-And it's clear. Whoo! -[Michelle] There you go. Back in the game.
[Tyler] Back in the game.
I was definitely carrying over some flavors from that IPA.
One hour left in your adventure, boys and girls.
Oh, that's hot. Ooh!
[chuckling] It tastes like Juice Lounge.
[Tom and Michelle laugh]
-[Tom] I can taste it. -[Michelle] Oh, yeah.
I'm kind of surprised how strong that tastes like the beer.
We're down to three minutes. lady and gentlemen.
I'm definitely having second thoughts on my decision and choices
that I've made for my beer styles.
[Tyler] How are you feeling over there, Michelle?
[Michelle] It has some muss to it that I'm not a big fan of.
But I just wanted to get that jar on the table for the judges.
Bring it in here, Chelle-y.
First moonshine for Michelle.
[Tom] So I did a little bit of blending.
I have a smaller cell at home, and I'm used to taking smaller cuts.
I love that... that look.
You can't... You know, water doesn't look clear like that...
-[Tyler] Yeah. -...only liquor does.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
I feel like it's the best jar for what I've made so far in the run.
-Here you go, gentlemen. -All righty.
I did feel good about it because I was able to overcome my problems.
-[Digger] Here it comes, T Tyler. -Yes, sir.
Now that we've got all three jars,
it's time for us to go taste and deliberate.
We're gonna go drink a little.
Beer into liquor. Here we go.
You know, we asked them to bring us a clear jar. Minimum 80 proof.
All right, let's do Tyler first.
80 proof.
-[Mark] Yeah. -[Tim] I think he's above eighty.
[Mark] I think... It has gotta... Yep.
[Tim] I think he's above 123.
All that happening and being able to take it apart,
putting it back together and being able to run and get...
get a clear liquor, I'm happy for that.
[Tim] Buttery smooth.
It's a real buttery, slick, smooth, full... full body, uh, flavor there.
Apparently, if you're getting that good buttery finish,
obviously the grains are overrunning the hops, which is a good thing.
No fire at all on the tail end.
Yeah, that's an all grain whiskey, then, ain't it?
I do get a little citrus flavor in that.
-Not a lot. -Maybe.
There is a little bit of that, that little spice that you get in the mid-range.
That's the hops playing through.
Let's just move right on to Tom.
All right. We got Tom.
Nice, clean job.
He put a tropical lager in his pot
and the double IPA Lounge Juice in his thumper.
Not the same thing we're looking at with Tyler.
I think it layered the flavors a little bit
by putting some of that really hoppy juice lounge in the thumper.
I think that carried through a little bit.
[Tim] Similar smooth but... but spicy.
Peppery, peppery hot.
[Mark] Honestly, I like it.
It's not fiery on the back end,
but it's not unpleasant at all to me.
Damn.
That bite you were talking about,
that little bright, tingly feeling, that was 100% hops.
You get a sweet and then you get that
little sparkly bite on your tongue.
-And then it plays out and it's nothing but hot oil. -Okay.
Michelle. She's got chicken dinner on hers.
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
Nice clean jar, but not clear jar.
I don't think there's much proof there.
-I'm in agreement with you, Tim. -Yeah.
I didn't get as clean of a spirit as I was hoping for.
Well, I'm hoping that the flavor characteristics
that came through on the distillate are kind of still palatable and enjoyable.
[Tim] Real full of flavor.
It almost reminds me of a good corn liquor mash.
I think the reason we've got so much flavor here
-is because it's low on proof. -[Tim] Yeah.
[Mark] You sacrifice flavor with proof.
You've got to balance it out.
[Digger] It's got a great mouth feel. That's barley.
-I don't dislike that flavor. -No, no, no, no, I don't...
I don't dislike the flavor.
All three of these have been great drinks.
I'm shocked because usually when somebody runs beer,
-they screw something up. -Yeah, yeah.
-Let's go do it. -I say we break the news.
[Mark] I think all three of you guys did a dang fine job.
Chelle, I'll start with you.
You used an oatmeal porter and a tropical lager.
You know, your jar was nice, clean, smooth.
I get a little bit of grapefruit hint.
Digger tells me, that's maybe from the oils in the hops somewhat.
A great job, Michelle.
One of the lowest proofs on the challenge there,
and I think that's how we got the flavor, but not as much alcohol.
But you're still above the 80-proof.
Uh, you're just gonna have to tighten it up a little bit on the next one.
Tom, you use a tropical lager and a double IPA.
I think you did a fine job blending.
Looks to me like you went real high and then went mid-range.
Low enough to bring some flavor in.
T-Tom, another fine drink of liquor right there.
It's nice clear. It's refreshing on the nose.
A little bit fiery on the back end,
but from where you guys are gonna go
-I think that might be in your favor. -Thank you.
Tyler, you overcharged your thumper
and found out what happens when you do that.
Played out okay in your favor, though. You recovered very well.
-All in all, Tyler, you've got a good drink. -Thank you, sir.
I know we beat you up about the puking thing,
but when you did it and you put it back in, I think you cleaned it up,
which may have hurt you in another way.
It took away some of your flavor.
But you added a whole lot of alcohol.
The next challenge you're going into it may be a benefit
for you to have a lot of proof to play with.
I think y'all did a great job cleaning these beers up.
And, uh, now that everybody's said all their pretty words,
it's time for me to give you all the pecking order
in which you will pick your ingredients and make us a gin.
Tyler, you're going in number one.
Michelle, you're coming in number two.
And Tom, I guess I need to go ahead and break this to you. You're number three.
All right, guys, if you don't know anything about making gin,
this is a hell of a time to get an education.
Normally, you use a neutral spirit to make a gin.
You all are gonna be using the beer spirit.
You're gonna take these botanicals and florals and make us a beer gin.
Tyler, you're the number one jar. You've got two minutes.
Your time starts now.
Really want to compliment those fruity notes in my beer and the citrus,
so I decided to go with pineapples, oranges, lemons and limes.
[Digger] One minute left.
I also chose some coriander, angelica root and hibiscus.
I think I'm good.
Guess who's next?
-Are you ready to get with it? -Yes, sir.
Your two minutes starts now.
So I didn't want to do a traditional gin with botanicals
or, like juniper-forward.
I don't know what that is.
I'm grabbing coriander, fresh orange, cinnamon, cardamom and orris root
to balance the juniper berries.
[Digger] 30 seconds left,
-Michelle. -Now you're freaking me out, man.
And a little bit of angelica root.
All right. I'm done.
Well, Tom, I guess so, you know where that leaves you?
-Best for last. -[Digger] Here we go.
Your two minutes starts now.
All right.
I know that I want coriander.
I know that I want some orris root.
I want a citrus element, for sure.
And I see something that I think is bitter almonds, and I grab them.
-Wow. -Well, record time. Thirty seconds.
What I need you to do is bring us a jar...
of clear, flavorful beer gin to this table
with a bare minimum of 90 proof.
After this run, someone is going home.
[Digger] I've never had a beer gin,
but I reckon I'm fixing to soon.
Your four hours starts now.
Good luck. Get with it, guys.
Some of these aromatics and some of these
different ingredients, they're pretty poked.
You gotta be putting together a plan.
I bet the most simplest one is gonna be the best.
[Tom] Pulled out my scale.
Weighed out the juniper. Weighed out this, this, this, and this.
Because I wanted to go off of at least a little bit of a formula
instead of just eyeballing it.
[Digger] That's what makes a difference. Making gin.
Measuring. Don't... Don't swag at it.
So I get that juniper.
I started crushing up the juniper just a little bit.
Open it up a little bit.
Get some of the oils out.
How do you feel about your ingredients?
[Tom] I'm feeling okay.
Juniper plus four others will give me enough to do a pretty classic gin.
Get my bag tied up.
And then I put that hanging up inside the thumper.
All my botanicals to be in the vapor stream
on the very last part of the run.
Now, Tyler, he's muddling up somethin' over there.
Damn, looks like he's got a jar full of juniper berries.
I know juniper is very strong.
And if you add too much,
it could definitely turn out bad.
Just trying to use
some of this pineapple to complement the lounge beer.
Let me use some of the orange for the citrus, lime, citrus, lemon, citrus,
coriander.
I've got a couple of gin bags.
I put juniper berries in both of those bags.
In my pot and in my thumper.
But I put the coriander in my thumper.
I didn't want the coriander to overpower the juniper berries.
Tyler, you got some secret recipe going on there?
[Tyler] I wanna bump that proof up and be able to have
more of a chance to collect a good jar of parts,
[Michelle] My strategy for the gin run is to stay true to the beer.
I have a darker style, so I don't wanna complicate it
with any floral elements or any really citrus notes.
[Tom] What'd you pick, Michelle?
[Michelle] I went with some orange and cinnamon.
Yeah, because you got some more warm notes, some more malty character.
Yeah, I want some of that roastiness of the beer to come through.
Kind of like a chocolate-covered orange dessert type of spirit.
Going to put the distillate from the first run
into the thumper with the botanicals.
I'm hoping to hang and vapor-infuse those botanicals.
Now, I noticed that you didn't muddle your juniper berries.
Nope. I actually should have cracked them.
I'm not of that thought process.
I'd rather let that heat open 'em up.
I hope so.
[Digger] All right, guys, you're halfway there.
Two hours down, two to go.
Everybody is trying to go low and slow.
Feeling nervous?
I'm just concerned that I didn't get the botanicals I wanted.
It's not gonna really balance out too well to, like, complement the beer.
We already have so much flavor in our distillate.
It might be conflicting, and it might really taste like crap.
-Oh, it's not gonna taste like crap. -[laughing]
I mean, I'm a little nervous that I'm going too boring, too conservative.
No, I think that, like they said,
simple might be the way to go with this.
[Tyler] Finally got it dripping, guys.
Whoo!
All that juniper berries comes through big time.
How much did you put?
I didn't put a whole lot. I only put half a jar.
It smelled like pineapple.
It definitely complemented the lounge beer,
and that pineapple that's in the lounge beer.
[Michelle] There you go. You're dripping.
[Tom] Me? Ooh!
[Tom] I'm getting some citrus.
I'm getting some beer notes.
So I'm smelling all of this stuff,
but it's not really coming together as a gin quite yet.
[Michelle] Oh, there we go.
I was really nervous once the distillate started coming off.
It was very cinnamon-forward,
which I felt I made a mistake,
and it was overpowering.
So right now, I'm just weighing it
and hoping that my jars clear up
of that flavor profile, and we'll see how it goes.
[Tom] I'm really nervous about the proof,
trying to hit that close to 90%,
and I'm seeing a little bit of louching
when the oils come out a little bit.
So, nope, get some more of the high-proof, put it back in.
[Tyler] Time is going quick,
and I'm super nervous about this.
I kind of feel like mine is a little bit high.
Five, four,
three, two, one.
Damn it, if you didn't just go under the water.
All right, guys, we're gonna head out and taste.
Y'all go ahead and take your seats. We'll be back shortly.
What we're looking at here is,
what happens when you turn beer into gin.
I mean, gin looks just like water.
-Do you get the taste of it? -Absolutely.
So we ain't going to know until we get the taste and get with it, Timmy.
[Tim] Well, we've got Tyler.
TNT Tyler.
[Mark] What we're looking for here, guys,
is a minimum of 90 proof, and it's got to taste like a gin.
Very clear.
A little bit smoky out there.
[Tyler] You know, I know my proof was up there.
I did have some pretty high-proof
for... for what we were running, maybe it helped me.
Real smooth finish, buttery, soft.
-[Mark] Nice drink. -Nice taste. Really good.
-It's outstanding. -Right at the back.
Can I... Can I have a taste?
Absolutely. I recommend it.
[Tim] It had lemon and lime and pineapple and juniper.
That's a lot in that jar.
There's a lot of citrus in there, too.
There's citrus in there, but I don't know that it outruns the juniper.
It's gin. I mean, I can't take that away from him at all.
Yeah.
Let's try Miss Michelle here, Tim.
See what she's working with.
Nice, clear jar.
[Mark] Well, we're getting some good distillers.
They know how to run their stills.
Them damn big bubbles, and they're flying
out of there like Blaylock's bull.
The beer distillations, like I said,
it's a tricky, fickle kind of beast,
but I think I played it more on the safe side
with the maltier beers rather than the hoppy beers like you guys.
[Tim] It's got some alcohol in it.
It's got some alcohol in it.
Tell you somethin', Tim. If you got any alcohol in it, tell him.
[Digger] If you want to bring something to the table, bring it to the table.
[Tim] Light on the gin.
It's got a lot of orange-forward flavors, citrus flavors.
I like the flavor of it a lot,
but I think this is closer to a modern gin
-than a London dry. -[Tim] Yeah.
[Digger] But it's really bright.
And then it finishes off dry.
I mean, that citrus, it's really bold right there in the middle.
-She's done one thing. -Yeah.
She loaded us up with some liquor.
Let's move on to Tom.
This should be citrus and juniper-forward.
I don't think he's above 90 proof.
[Tim] No, I don't think there's much proof there.
Doing all my small cuts, I was able to blend that into,
you know, the jar that I wanted.
So I think I got some good flavors.
Right now it's got a whole lot of juniper coming through.
It does have a citrus note, very forward on the juniper.
[sighs] Damn, it's hot on the back end.
I'm telling you.
I get some citrus.
-I get a lot of juniper. -Yeah.
-It's an excellent jar. -Mm-hmm.
And it's got powerful punch on the palate with that juniper.
I mean, it's stout. It'll burn your lips stout.
That's the best gin I've tasted in years.
[Mark] Question here, guys.
-We always flavor trumps proof. -Yeah.
...unless we specify a criteria.
We know where we are.
[Tim] Let's do it.
[Digger] You all made a beer spirit,
and you built on that flavor
and turned it into a damn fine gin.
Well, I'll start down the line, and I'll start with Tyler.
You brought the flavor, and I mean a lot of it.
Juniper, really, really strong.
Never did get any of your pineapple.
I think he was hoping for some of that, but it didn't get it.
[Tim] Tyler, outstanding job.
I think the placement where you put that bag
into your steel really stood out,
because I know a lot of times that flavor comes from the still,
and those comes from the thumper.
Outstanding job.
-Thank you, sir. -Tom?
You had the least amount of ingredients to work with.
And maybe the most flavorful jar of the three.
[Tim] You had a lot of juniper,
and it was on the taste and also on the nose.
When you open that jar, it's there.
Be proud of that jar.
Now, Michelle, down here,
you brought the horsepower to the show.
And that don't cringe up like it's a bad thing.
You got three over here that appreciate a high-proof liquor.
It was not necessarily juniper-forward.
Maybe the reason I don't get as much juniper on yours
-is because you didn't crush 'em up. -Mm-hmm.
But, uh, I couldn't be more proud of all three of you.
Well, guys, we all know it's competition.
We did set criteria,
and that criteria was a bare minimum
of 90 proofs.
-Michelle, your proof came in at a whopping 137. -Whew.
[Digger] Tyler, your proof was 103.
[sighs in relief]
Tom, your proof came in under the limit.
You were at 87.
[Tim] Very close.
Very close.
That jar bought you a ticket home.
You were mistaken that juniper bite for alcohol.
I'm really bummed to believe in the competition,
but I was so blessed to be working with Michelle and Tyler.
They're just the best.
-Enjoyed it, Tom. Thank you. -[Tom] Thank you, sir.
And that's what the Moonshiners community is really about,
that brotherhood, that camaraderie.
And that's the part I'm gonna miss the most.
You know, it's always sad to see someone go, guys.
But the good news is, your final challenge,
you will be able to bring some ingredients from home
to make your signature beer shine recipe.
And one of you will be the next master distiller.
Go get your goodies. We'll come get you for your next run.
[Mark] All right, look here, guys.
You've done showed us that you both know how to distill beer.
And you was able to turn that beer into gin.
Now we wanna see your true creativity.
[Digger] You're gonna make us your own signature beer shine,
starting with a brand-new batch of beer.
Have that jar up on our table before the four hours passes,
and it starts now.
Good luck and get with it, guys.
I think we're rolling.
What beer you choose today, Tyler?
So, I went with the lounge juice.
It's got a lot of fruit flavors in it,
so I'm hoping to try to pull out some of them fruity notes.
[Michelle] I did the same thing over here.
We got the oatmeal porter again.
You know your fruits, and I'm gonna stick to the dark side.
My strategy for my final round is to keep it a little simple.
I decided to put the oatmeal porter into my pot again,
with that robust flavor, complex roastiness
and maltiness as the primary source of the distillate.
-[Mark] Hey, Shelly. -[Michelle] Hello.
-You got your oatmeal porter back in your steel pot. -[Michelle] I do.
I wanna give it a little bit more
robust coffee and chocolate flavors.
So, we're gonna put some cocoa nibs
and coffee beans in the pot with the beer.
I mean, I think that's got the potential to be very good.
Cherry time.
I'm going to put cherry and some orange peels into the thumper
to play off of that robust flavor of the porter.
What kind of flavor can we expect?
[Michelle] I'm hoping that this distillate's
gonna come out kind of like an old-fashioned,
but with a chocolate, kind of covered cherry,
orange flavor profile to it as well.
Love a good old-fashioned.
-Outstanding. -[Michelle] Yep.
Tyler's getting ready to cut something.
I'm really used to doing fruit brandies.
So I decided to choose a fruitier beer for my run.
[Tim] Tyler, tell us all about it over there, buddy.
What are you doing over there?
-[Tyler] I'm gonna go with lounge juice. -Okay.
What it says is in there, mango, pineapple, citrus.
So, I'm staying with the papaya and the mangoes.
Pineapple, put a little bit of orange in there for a little citrus.
I wanted to do my best
at trying to complement those fruity notes
as best as I could.
I'm gonna hang it in the bag in the pot.
I don't want a burnt fruit, you know?
-I want a sweet fruit flavor. -Oh, we don't either.
Once that starts heating up, it'll pull them sugars out of there.
That taste profile will be strong,
and hopefully it'll carry over into my distillate.
You burned one hour of your time, guys.
Three more to go.
Do you think any of them will post flavor?
I would hope so.
[Michelle] You're dripping.
-[Tyler] Right now? -Yep.
I was quite surprised.
I was definitely carrying over some flavors from that IPA,
and I could definitely taste a lot of fruity stuff.
[Michelle] Is your smell and flavor staying consistent throughout the distillation?
[Tyler] My mango just bumped up.
[Michelle] Yeah, there you go.
Oh, baby.
Sniff my jar.
-Oh, that's nice. -[Michelle] That's orangey.
Super orangey.
And it is a little bitter.
So as the distillate starts coming off,
it's not as coffee-chocolate-forward as I was hoping.
I don't know if the chocolate's gonna
come through as much as I want.
I'm feeling absolutely terrible.
[Mark] We've worked a little bit with beer,
and I didn't really enjoy it that much.
It's a little different animal.
-It looks like swamp water. -[all laughing]
[woman] Oh.
It was just liquor we got free.
You gotta work what you can get free.
-That's a good thing. -Exactly.
Like free food, it tastes way better
when you [bleep] pay for it.
Yeah, well, that's why I always go over to somebody's house and eat.
That's why you're at Tickle's house all the time.
Yeah.
Yeah, I stay over there all the time.
[Michelle] I don't know if the chocolate's
gonna come through as much as I want.
So I came into this run with a pretty solid plan,
but it's not as coffee-chocolate-forward as I was hoping.
[Mark] Vanilla bean. That's about $70 worth right there.
[Michelle] This one's a little bit drier than I want it to be.
I had to improvise and change some things along the way.
Well, you got some oak chips over there? What is that?
-Uh, cinnamon. -[Tyler] Oh, that's cinnamon.
[Michelle] Yep, vanilla bean, and then some coconut.
To get the potential flavors
that I might want to add to my spirit,
I'm gonna macerate the coconut, the vanilla bean, and the cinnamon sticks.
[Digger] I believe she's got her one.
[Michelle] As I turned in my jar,
I just felt this moment of relief and proudness in myself.
[Digger] Bring it in here, girl.
This was a much tougher competition than I thought and anticipated.
[Tyler] I'm getting close.
If we ain't getting close now, I don't think we gonna have it.
At the end of the run, I was feeling pretty good.
I had a good jar to turn in to the judges.
Tyler, not putting any pressure on, boss,
but right now, you are at 30 secs.
Take your time.
And he made it in the gate.
Next time we see you guys,
one of you will be named master distiller.
[Digger] What we got here, boys,
is Michelle and Tyler's signature shine.
They distilled from beer.
-[Mark] Yep. -[Tim] Yeah.
[Mark] Our man Tyler here,
he used for his base, IPA beer.
[Tim] Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
[Mark] It ought to take your lips off.
I just hope he's got some flavor in that.
[Tim] It's got a very smooth taste.
It's a bite out front. Got some alcohol in it.
Hmm.
Damn, it's hot on the back end.
It tastes good, but it's just extremely hot.
The flavor is good.
Honestly, I think it's got a good taste.
Holy moly.
It's got a pleasant finish.
Uh, the fruits that he used live and play well
-with the beer base that he had. -Mm-hmm.
You know, I can't say anything at all harsh about it.
I think it's time to move on to Shelly.
[Tim] Let's see what kind of proof we're working with here.
-Oh, I like that. -That's pretty decent.
Pretty nice.
I hope they like it. There's a lot going on.
Mm-hmm. Vanilla. Yeah.
-You get it on the nose? -Mm-hmm.
I mean, this is not really a buttery slick, but salt.
It's chocolate, a little bit of coffee on the back end, and--
Got that coconut in there on that nose.
-That cocoa hits you right. -Yeah, it's got that chocolate.
It's-- It's a marshmallow.
[Digger] Yeah, I'm gonna keep talking it up,
but I'm gonna drown over here in my own slobber.
It just kind of plays about the same all the way through,
front, medium, rear.
[Digger] Kind of like a s'more that'll get you lit.
-That's what I'm saying. -Like a damn s'more with a cherry on it.
-Yeah... -Without the...
-...cherry s'more. -[Digger] Yeah.
You know, it's really outstanding what they did.
Taking a beer, and they turned it into a beautiful drink.
Yeah.
But there's one jar that stands
just a little taller than the rest.
Let's go do it.
Well, guys, to say this has been an easy competition.
That'd be a lie.
Tyler, fine jar of liquor right there.
You said you were looking for the pineapple,
you were looking for your papaya,
then you were looking for your mango, and then your citrus plant.
-And you got all of them in there. -Yes, sir.
Tyler, my man,
you were somewhere around 120 proof.
A little warm on the back end for me,
but you overcame that very first obstacle.
You know, you did what a distiller does.
-You persevered. -Thank you.
Michelle.
Your taste profile is totally different
than Tyler's here.
It's almost like a chocolate marshmallow.
Uh, very surprising.
Very surprising.
Shelly, I was a little concerned
about all the ingredients you were using.
But the place you chose to use them at,
I think, played well in your favor.
Just everything you had stacked in there played out really nice.
Appreciate it.
Well, guys...
we can't move forward unless we name another master distiller.
Without any further ado...
that title's gonna fall to...
Michelle, you're the next master distiller, my friend.
Congratulations.
-Good job. -[Digger] You are to be commended.
-You did a wonderful job. -Thank you.
[Digger] You know, when we look at the winner, we have to look at the facts,
can we put this in a liquor store right now and it sells?
We feel like that that's the jar you've got right there.
So it's been a long journey
and a very great competition.
And I'm so excited to be claimed as the next master distiller.
-What this young man did was really outstanding. -[Michelle] Amazing.
He's gonna come distill in Charlotte with me.
-[laughs] -[Mark] There you go. That's all you need.
I'm just so proud of myself.
It's time for y'all to get drinking.
Let's get to cleaning up.
-Y'all chase on out. -[Mark] Thank you, guys.