DISTILLERS TAKE PLAN TO TRC
Project to make 1000L per year once approved
TOOWOOMBA’S gin lovers may soon be able to rejoice with the region set to get its own artisan distillery.
In what could be a big boost for tourism in the micro-region of Crows Nest and Hampton, the owners of the Pechey Homestead submitted plans for the distillery to the Toowoomba Regional Council.
If approved, it would produce 1000 litres per year.
THE Toowoomba region could soon have its own gin distillery, after plans were submitted with the council to build one.
Pechey Homestead owner John O’Brien submitted his proposal to turn a renovated 100-year-old creaming shed at the property on Pechey Forestry Rd into an artisan distillery.
Once completed, the distillery would be able to produce 1000 litres of gin a year initially, and up to 3000 litres per annum at a later stage.
Mr O’Brien said he developed the idea with his son Ben, who has a background in chemical engineering.
He said the project would go far beyond standard distilleries, as the product at the end would be triple-distilled before it went to market.
“We’re proposing to use sorghum from the Darling Downs as the grain and then we ferment that and do two distillations and then in the third, that’s when we go through a pot-still distillation,” Mr O’Brien said.
“We’ve trialled about 40 different botanicals, and we’re going to focus on two different types of gins.
“The other gin we’re going to use the aniseed, but each gin could contain up to 10 different botanicals.”
Alcohol made at the distillery would be sold at restaurants, cafes and hotels in the northern Toowoomba region.
Mr O’Brien, the secretary of the Crows Nest and District Tourism and Progress Association, said he hoped the project could help support the burgeoning tourism industry in the Crows Nest and Hampton micro-region.
“Assuming I get approval from the council and get through the licensing process, the aim is to host masterclass workshops where they choose the botanicals they like and can bottle a gin with it,” he said.
“We’re looking at marketing through the local restaurants.
“It will complement the three wineries and also the boutique hotel that’s been opened. It’s sitting as a tourism amenity.”
The project comes at a good time with the popular Gin Sanity Festival selling out in Toowoomba last month.
In the extensive planning report submitted to the council last week, Mr O’Brien explained the new distillery would produce no odour issues and could be confined to small space.
The TRC has yet to issue a response or request further information.
Photo: Contributed