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Cheers to Iowa Ag
Cheers to Iowa Ag
Century Farms Distillery in Spencer makes high-quality bourbon, whiskey from customers' corn
By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
If Iowa corn could be transported in a “time machine,” you would find it in a whiskey bottle. No, not moonshine. We’re talking high-quality spirits that preserve an exceptional taste of Iowa agriculture and its rich heritage, thanks to Century Farms Distillery in Spencer.
“A local distillery that allows me to turn corn into whiskey? What more does someone need?” jokes Seth McCaulley, president of Community State Bank in Spencer, whose family farms in Calhoun County. “Once I heard about the distillery’s program a few years ago, I called my brother and said, ‘I know where 40 bushels of our corn is going this fall.’”
The McCaulley family’s first and second batches from Century Farms Distillery were bourbons. Their third batch is an experimental bourbon distilled with their corn and peated barley (which lends a smoky flavor). “We hope it gives a flavor similar to some of the whiskey you might see made across the pond,” McCaulley says.
Stories like this explain why the tasting room at Century Farms Distillery features an array of whiskey brands that might be unfamiliar to guests, from Smith & Sons to Kock Seeds to Twenty Seasons.
“We focus on the farmers and families who grow the corn to make our whiskey and bourbon,” says Ryan Bare, who owns and operates the distillery with his wife Amanda. “With our corn-to-whiskey program, our customers’ names go on every bottle of whiskey and bourbon we make with their corn.”
Customers appreciate Century Farms Distillery’s 92-proof whiskey, which is known for its smooth taste and touch of sweetness, thanks to the corn.
Amanda and Ryan Bare, owners of Century Farms Distillery.
Craft Distillery Connects Engineering, Ethanol, Farming
Running a distillery has been an interesting adventure for the couple, who graduated from Iowa State University in the late 1990s with degrees in mechanical engineering. After the two Iowa natives (Ryan is from Emmetsburg and Amanda is from Grundy Center) married, they moved to Texas, where they pursued careers in the oil industry and NASA, respectively.
By 2011, the couple moved back to Iowa when Ryan landed a job at Valero Renewable Fuels near Hartley. “I joke that this is where I learned how to turn corn into alcohol,” says Ryan, who also helped operate his family’s farm near Emmetsburg for several years.
Then, Ryan had an opportunity to return to the oil industry, working a 14-day rotational shift. That also gave him a good chunk of time off back home in Iowa. Ryan, a self-described foodie, started a new hobby in the family’s garage – distilling homemade whiskey.
“This is where Amanda should have stepped in with a longer list of honeydos, but I was passionate about this project,” Ryan says. “With 22 years of designing, operating and maintaining production plants for other people, it was time to build our own.”
The Bares also spent five years fine-tuning their recipe before launching the distillery. “While it’s a big step to create a small business, we wondered if we’d regret it if we didn’t try,” Amanda says.
Ryan Bare smells each batch when it comes off the still to determine top-tier quality.
Celebrating America’s Farmers
The couple filled their first whiskey barrel in their Spencer facility in 2019 (the same year they began selling vodka, which they also make) and started selling barrel-aged whiskey in September 2020. The Bares buy corn from farmers at market price to distill whiskey and bourbon. Farmers can deliver their corn (typically in a durable shipping container known as a pro box) to Century Farms Distillery, or they can ship it there. The drier the corn, the better. “We’ve received pro boxes from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and Ohio,” says Amanda, who notes that the distillery has a process for ensuring each farm family’s corn is used to make their specific whiskey or bourbon.
While the Bares make most of their products from #2 yellow field corn, they have also worked with white corn and Indian corn. It takes roughly two to three weeks for the corn from each farm to go from pro box to whiskey barrel.
Aging takes 1.5 to 2 years or more. Roughly 45 bushels of corn make about 1,000 bottles of whiskey. The Century Farms Distillery team hand-fills, caps, labels and inspects every single bottle to ensure quality.
The Century Farms Distillery team hand-fills, caps, labels and inspects every single bottle to ensure quality. In addition to whiskey and bourbon, they also make moonshine (unaged corn whiskey, pictured).
Preserving Family History
Each bottle tells a remarkable story. “We’ve worked with several families where this was literally the last corn crop they harvested from their land before they sold their farm,” Ryan says. “Making the corn into whiskey or bourbon is a unique way to preserve the farm’s history and make it relevant for the current generation.”
That’s one of the many things the McCaulley family appreciates about Century Farms Distillery. “Ryan and Amanda are great to work with, and their expertise is reflected in the quality of their products,” Seth says. “Our farm turns 150 years old in a couple of years, and the corn-to-whiskey offers a great way to celebrate our heritage.”
