After years of watching the Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners” docudrama, Brian and Susan Lieberman thought they could learn to make alcohol spirits.
Lieberman said he and Susan enjoyed visiting local distilleries and toured more when they traveled.
Why not learn to how do it and become a destination for other people, they thought. They did their research and decided to try it.
Brian Lieberman said they have been working for about a year toward opening Sailbird Distilling Co. at 215 W. Davis Industrial Drive, Suite A, west of St. Augustine.
Lieberman, 49, an information technology project lead for a local bank, said he has a science background and knew they could do it. He attended a class at a distillery in Tampa and now they are at the point of production.
Susan Lieberman, 53, is a parish administrator for a church in St. Augustine and a founding member of the St. Augustine Sailing Sisters.
They started the regulatory process first with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, for a distilled spirits plant permit.
They had to lease a nonresidential space for the distillery with a zoning designation of industrial warehouse. The use also requires approval of a special use permit for a microbrewery.
St. Johns County issued an occupancy license for spirits manufacturing. To operate the tasting room and retail space, Brian Lieberman applied for the special use permit.
A hearing is scheduled Feb. 6.
The permit requires that 75% of the facility, which is about 990 square feet of the 1,320-square-foot space, be devoted to liquor manufacturing.
A microbrewery can sell to distributors and sell directly to consumers on-premises for carryout and on-site consumption.
The property is adjacent to residential zoning, which then disallows outdoor sales and service.
Lieberman said after the permit is approved, an architect will design the tasting room and submit a building permit.
“Opening of the tasting room is months out,” he said.
They plan to offer white rum, gold rum, spiced rum, vodka and gin when the tasting room opens.
The state of Florida required proper zoning and an occupancy license from the county to obtain a temporary craft distillers permit, which allowed them to start distilling.
The state will inspect the operation prior to issuance of a permanent craft distillers permit, Lieberman said.
He said they plan to offer a low volume of product with their 8-gallon still. They intend to make limited-edition handmade liquors of about four to six 80-proof 750 ml bottles at a time. He said they can blend runs and offer cases.
Lieberman acknowledged they will need a larger still to make the business cost-effective, making 55 gallons a week to gauge sales and interest.
They hope to produce 100 to 200 gallons a week and “don’t expect to compete with the other local distillers,” he said.
Lieberman said they are operating on a shoestring budget to start and probably will have $75,000 invested, depending on the cost of a larger still.
They eventually want to teach people about distilling and let them use their equipment, ingredients, recipes, bottles and labels.
