Happy Monday,
Downtown Smyrna can be a quiet place on a Saturday afternoon in the early summer.
It was a perfect time for a tour of Painted Stave Distilling.
Housed in a former movie theater, Painted Stave is all in on the revitalization of the downtown area of the fast-growing town north of Dover.
Ron Gomes of Painted Stave talks about the distilling process.
Like its neighbor to the north, Middletown, Smyrna is seeing its share of sprawl. But unlike Middletown, its downtown is not on a busy highway, with a lack of crosswalks that discourage pedestrians. While the lack of visibility is a drawback, over the long-term the solitude might prove to be a plus.
An expansion is underway at Painted Stave, which is adding a multi-purpose outdoor area and a barrel house. The distillery is one of a handful in the state.
On this muggy afternoon, Painted Stave was hopping as a dozen or so people were served the cocktail that kicks off the tour.
Co-owner Ron Gomes – a former Penn State assistant professor, arthritis researcher and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Delaware who founded Painted Stave with fellow spirits enthusiast Mike Rasmussen – led the group on a tour that provided an overview of the distilling process.
We received a quick refresher on the differences between the various spirits and got a look at the fascinating Kentucky-built still.
The questions were many and the tour was running a little over its allotted time. Not that Gomes minded. He is passionate about his craft.
But the thing that separates Painted Stave from many other tours is the tasting table. Gomes combines science and his teaching ability in helping us sample a few of the distillery’s creations.
You come away with an appreciation of the subtleties of craft spirits.
Painted Stave is a highly regulated business that struggles with a world populated by increasingly larger distributors that don’t have the time or incentive to focus on brands that populated a tiny area of your local liquor store.
Gomes said owners knew this going in.
By not catering to a mass market, Painted Stave can have some fun, with spirits that include scrapple-flavored vodka that is selling well in nearby Maryland.
Worth a mention is a limited-edition collaboration with Dover’s Fordham and Dominion brewery that distills one of its best-selling IPAs.
There is also bourbon and corn whiskey. The bottle of corn harkens back to past distilling efforts in the state but is not quickly-distilled “moonshine.”
Painted Stave strives to use locally sourced grains, but, of late, had to import corn, due to empty silos in Delaware. It does use malt from Wisconsin-based Proximity, which has a location in Laurel.
The grains left behind after distilling are picked up by a Middletown dairy farm. Cows are said to love the spent grain treat which contains no alcohol.
Tours are offered on many weekends and are free to designated drivers. You can find out more on their Facebook page.
This weekend, you can head Smyrna at Night, a street fair that is worth checking out, especially for those who miss the glory days of Newark Nite. Painted Stave will be a part of the event. – Doug Rainey, publisher.
