SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
We cherish the land, air and water that we are gifted at Stuart Mill and we exist in a farming community where land stewardship is a core value. Working towards a sustainable enterprise needs attention and persistence and we have developed strategic directions to minimise or eliminate our footprint, some of which are already in place, while other continue to be a work-in-progress.
Continued improvement to our sustainable practices and performance is important to our family and your help is vital so please share any positive activities or actions.
The journey to adding value to the community starts with sourcing and securing as many of our ingredients locally. This starts with our barley and wheat cereal grains grown in the Wimmera on our doorstep and malted in Ballarat.
We are pleased to identify businesses that provides goods and services to our business, many of whom are small family owned enterprises like us. Megan, Rodney and the team at Brown Ink Design have created an outstanding representation of the image that we are proud to share. Similarly, Matthew and his team of artists and technicians have developed the packaging from which our spirits can be enjoyed by our patrons.
The farmers of the Wimmera who know that their barley and wheat are second to none anywhere in the world make sure that we have access to the raw materials that underpin the taste and aromas presented to you in the bottle. Please support these local and national businesses to make our community stronger and more resilient.
Water in a dry climate is a valuable asset that must be respected and used carefully. We strive to maximise the reuse opportunities and that extends to cooling water used in the distilling operation by using direct cooling and storage. Recycling cooling water provides another benefit by avoiding added electrical load from a refrigerated cooler.
At Tamarama Distillery we take a great deal of care creating the spirits for you to consume and enjoy so we choose to avoid overdressing for the occasion. Any of our spirits are sold with essential packaging only, the spirit created stands on its own merit supported and constrained by the glass bottle. This considered approach reduces the resources used by Tamarama Distillery to present you with an experience for you to enjoy.
Tamarama Distillery do not create waste we create resources that we either repurpose or recycling. The distillery is part of an active farming enterprise that includes fine wool Merino sheep and prime lamb production. Spent grain is left over after the mashing process that converts starch to sugar ready for fermentation. Spent grain is rich in nutrients and fibre and contains residual sugars making this an extremely beneficial resource as a high value feed ration for our lambs.
Our lambs enjoy the spent grain after the mashing process and they just can’t get enough of it. This circle of life means more spirits consumed results in happier lambs.
Other organic residues made up of various botanicals and paper, including sample cups used at farmers markets, are composted and then used to improve soil condition. Improving soils helps grow agricultural commodities like cereal grains, pasture and is used to supplement our olive grove made up of 5,500 olive trees across eight olive varieties.
Fruit used to infuse alcohol with rich flavours and aromas are converted into a variety of desserts, some may become favourites at the Spirit Portal.
We aim to reuse or recycle before even considering a disposal route, better for us, our community and our environment.
SOLAR PANELS
Tamarama Distillery have installed five 6kW dual axis photo voltaic arrays to harvest sunlight and convert it into 30kW of electrical energy that is used in the distillery and across the farming enterprise. Excess electrical energy is returned to the grid reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The next step is installing a large battery array to better utilise the power generated on farm and in the distillery. We continue to make progress towards our environmental sustainability, sometimes in leaps but more often using small steps.
We use energy efficient heating, cooling and refrigeration, we use natural ventilation in the distillery and have used 150mm thick insulated wall panels and heavily insulated the roof space to avoid air conditioning. This presents us with a cosy warm space in winter when we are distilling and a comfortable environment either side of the summer heat.
Maturing spirits and our inventory of spirits are stored under Bond according to the Australian Taxation Office requirements where the climate is controlled using an evaporative cooler to maintain a cool humid environment during the peak of summer when outside temperature can climb above 40 Deg C. Using evaporative cooling during hot periods makes sure that the maturing spirit is not unnecessary stressed so that you can enjoy a smooth mellow spirit.
