Distillery Design & Startup Consulting
Ten years on Tennessee distillery floors — designing facilities, specifying equipment, building production systems, and navigating TTB licensing from the ground up.
Work with Brian
01
DSP-compliant floor plans, equipment placement and production flow, secondary containment, utility specifications, contractor coordination, and inspection readiness. From blank floor plan to a space that works.
02
Still sizing and type selection, fermenter design, boiler and chiller specification, bottling line configuration, lab setup, vendor evaluation, and capital budget development. The right equipment in the right order.
03
Grain-to-barrel process design, throughput planning, SOP development, staff workflow layout, scheduling, and raw materials procurement. Plus efficiency audits and downtime reduction for operating distilleries.
04
TTB and TABC licensing integrated into your build timeline — not a separate project. DSP registration, Basic Permit, premises approval, NDP sourcing strategy, and first-production readiness.
Equipment installation & commissioning
I help founders go from idea to first barrel. Not from a conference room — from four distillery floors across a decade of Tennessee spirits production.
My background spans every phase of distillery operations — site management, head distilling, bottling, and production management — across craft and industrial environments. I currently work as a Production Assistant at Sazerac of Tennessee, which means the knowledge I bring to consulting is active, not archived.
Stave & Thief Society Certified Bourbon Steward. U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Sergeant E-5, honorably discharged.
Also founder of Old Sumner Distillery in Gallatin, Tennessee — the county's first legal distillery since 1838. I'm actively doing what I consult on, not advising from the sidelines.
Hourly
Targeted work
Design reviews, defined questions, and focused problem-solving. Pay for exactly what you need, when you need it.
Project-based
Full engagements
Facility design through first production run. Scoped deliverables, fixed price, clear milestones from day one.
Monthly retainer
Ongoing support
Operational advisory, efficiency work, and compliance management post-launch. Consistent access, predictable cost.
Sensory evaluation & quality control
Whether you're staring at an empty building or a half-spec'd equipment list — the first conversation is always straightforward.
Geographic preference: Tennessee and surrounding states. Remote available for design and regulatory work. On-site available within reasonable travel distance.
Consulting activity reviewed and approved by Sazerac of Tennessee general counsel. Each engagement disclosed prior to formal engagement to confirm no conflict of interest. References and engagement terms available on request.