Red Brick Distillery: Urban Craft Whiskey Done the Hard Way

There is something really romantic about the world of wine and spirits. For thousands of years, fathers have toasted their sons, warriors celebrated victories, dear friends console one another – all with a drink. People drink to relax, drink to connect with someone, and drink for courage.

The whiskey distiller has a noble profession. He combines art with meticulous hard work, and it’s all in the name of creating a beverage worthy of life’s greatest moments.

Brian Forrest founded Red Brick Distillery in 2015. Shortly after, making whiskey and rum was the only thing he did. Red Brick is award-winning yet small. He works out of a warehouse in North Philadelphia, and according to him, he makes some of the best whiskey in the world. I tried it, and I have to say, it’s hard to argue with him.

Did you know: For a spirit to legally be called whiskey in the United States, it must be distilled from fermented grains at less than 95% alcohol per volume and bottled at no less than 45%.

How did Red Brick Distillery get started?

Red Brick grew out of my hobby. I was that guy at parties that would bring along whiskey for people to try out. Not just whiskey – I made rum and gin, which were a lot quicker to make. Whiskey was a challenge. I was making one barrel at a time. Along the way, friends were really supportive and encouraging, and I just decided to go for it. I made my share of mistakes in the beginning.

What were you doing before making whiskey?

I used to be a remodeler. I built kitchens and bathrooms. Construction has been my career for my entire adult life. I have an art background too, so I know how to weld. I’ve always been hands-on. I’ve always been confident that if I don’t know how to do something, I’ll figure it out along the way. I built my first still. You can buy them online now, but you could only find plans for one when I was getting started. By two or three attempts, I had a solid piece of equipment that I could rely on.

What did you make the still out of? Copper?

Copper and stainless steel. The draw to copper is that it’s really safe and amazing conductor. It’s a lot better than stainless in that sense. I try to use copper where I can, but I don’t really see much of a difference.

The Process for Making Whiskey: Yeast is added to grain and water and over time it converts sugar into alcohol. This is called the fermentation process. Afterward, the mash is placed in a still where the alcohol is separated from the water by heating the mash above 173° F, the temperature at which alcohol evaporates but less than 212° F, the temperature at which water evaporates. This is called the distillation process.

What’s cooking at Red Brick Distillery today?

Right now, I’m making rum.  We’re running the still on the first time through. We’re collecting whatever comes off. I made an initial cut right in the beginning. I typically take a gallon off the top of the first run. It’s like the super heads. It eliminates all the dangerous stuff right out of the gate. We’ll do the same thing on the second run.

Were you affected by COVID?

COVID time was a really wild time for distillers. All of a sudden, hand sanitizer was 10x more valuable than spirits. Everyone needed it. It was good for us; it came at a time when we needed it. And it was fun. A lot of my friends came to help. One of my friends came by to buy a bottle of whiskey because he was upset that he got laid off, and he ended up working for me for about three months.

Are bars and restaurants big buyers?

Red Brick is high-end whiskey. We do well in farmer’s markets. It’s that bottle you take home for your bar at home. That’s our brand. Bars aren’t really our big thing. It’s time-consuming and not the biggest return.

Were there any challenges you weren’t expecting in growing Red Brick Distillery?

I can’t say that it was unexpected, but the biggest challenges are making the whiskey from scratch and focusing on local grains. It’s extremely rare, especially for my size. Many smaller companies and even not so smaller companies purchase whiskey from other companies and re-bottle it. Sometimes they’ll sit on it for a while so they can say they aged it. Then they just bring the proof down and bottle it. I think those guys capitalize on the image of the small craft guys, like Red Brick Distillery, without actually doing it all. It’s tough to compete with their margins, but doing it the right way is important to us.

Talk to me about your flagship products.

Our flagship is an American Single Malt. 100% malted barley; 90% grown in Pennsylvania. We sell two different varieties: 80 proof and cask strength. The 80 proof is vanilla and sweet caramel on the nose and malty center and finishes like chocolate-covered citrus. You pick up a little more cinnamon and cherry notes with our cask strength. The flavor really whacks you, and the finish is long-lasting. A good exercise to really get the flavor profile of a whiskey is to add water as you taste. The flavor starts to break apart, and it’s easier to identify them.

Did you know: Many distillers use virgin barrels to age their whiskey. This is a requirement for bourbon and some other types of whiskey. This is an expensive practice. Luckily, used whiskey barrels are valuable to breweries, wineries, and makers of other spirits who want to use the barrels to give their drink some extra flavor.

From the Woods is our oldest recipe at Red Brick Distillery. It utilizes the second use of the barrel. After we use a barrel for whiskey, we fill it with the From the Woods. It’s a whiskey made from birch beer that we make from scratch. We literally go out into the woods. My dad and my uncle go out with a tractor and a woodchipper. We use wildflower honey, demerara sugar, and black birch bark. We make a pretty sugary birch beer, and then we steep it like tea. Then we ferment the whole thing – wood chips and everything. It gets super dry, and then it goes into our whiskey barrel and sits for two years. It’s probably our most popular product. It won a gold medal on a national level from the American Distillers Association.

That’s got to feel good.

At the market, we give out samples to people walking by in Rittenhouse Square, and they’d say ‘oh, that’s pretty good,’ with no intention of buying it. Then they’d walk away still tasting it, and they would get four or five booths away, and they’d come back. It’s a common interaction.

That’s what gets me going. I’m not the right person to ask about pure business stuff. I’m an artist. What really gets me excited is when people are enjoying it and knowing that I make a great product. I would put my whiskey up against any other in the world. That’s what I do it for.

What came first: your entreprenurial spirit or Red Brick Distillery?

Definitely my entrepreneurial spirit, no question about it. It’s a strong drive to be self-employed. If it weren’t for Red Brick Distillery, I would definitely be doing something else for myself. Working for yourself is a lot of hard work, and it scares some people. But for me, there’s just no other way.

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