WESTBY, Wis. – A groundbreaking ceremony took place in the Westby Business Park this week for Birch Point Distillery that will be only the third distillery in the world to make spirits from sheep’s milk. The process will use the whey, which is a byproduct of the cheese making process, from another local business, Hidden Springs Creamery.
The distillery and retail space will located right along State Highway 27 on the edge of the city’s new industrial park. The venture has been the dream of Staci and Scott Kring for about a decade and jumped when they saw the opportunity to make the dream a reality.
“This has been a 10 year plus dream for us,” said Staci Kring. “And when we first started, we were looking at different kinds of spirits, and we landed on the opportunity of taking a byproduct from cheese making. The whey, inside the whey there’s sugars. So those sugars can be distilled into a spirit, vodka or gin. And we partnered with Hidden Springs Creamery, from their cheese making process, take their whey and convert it. So we’ll be the third in the world from a sheep’s whey spirit distiller. Distilling whey is not new. We have several in Wisconsin that are doing whey, but sheep’s whey is something special for us, because it’s local. And so third in the world, we’re really excited about that, and the first in Wisconsin”
We have several in Wisconsin that are doing whey, but sheep’s whey is something special for us, because it’s local. And so third in the world, we’re really excited about that, and the first in Wisconsin”
Staci Kring – Birch Point Distillery Co-owner
Staci said her background has been in the dairy industry and the timing was right to use her knowledge to tackle their dream.
“So my background has been in sales and marketing and dairy,” said Staci. “I started at Schreiber Foods, which is a company outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Then I also worked at Organic Valley as their Chief Revenue Officer. Then I took the opportunity to step back with my husband and do this. And this has been our dream for over 10 years, and this is a long time coming. Actually, building a distillery is not for the faint of heart, and we’re realizing that as we’re going through this process. But here we are. We’re excited. We’ve got the building started.”
Staci said the support from local officials with the city, the county and the state has made the project come together that much easier.
“Yes, it’s been, it’s just been a fabulous journey,” said Staci. “We’ve really enjoyed the community and the support that we’ve had from the community. We also given the fact that it’s a dairy byproduct, we had the opportunity to apply for a couple grants, and we’re awarded a DBIA (Dairy Business Innovation Alliance) grant in the spring, and that’s going to help us to offset the separator that is necessary for us to separate the lactose, the sugars, out of the product, as well as part of our still and fermentation tanks. So we’ve been very fortunate from that perspective, and just thrilled at the support that we’ve had.”
Westby Mayor Danny Helgerson said he is excited that the distillery is adding one more business to the city business park initially got started with an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant for $3.5 million. The grant allowed the city to develop the property with streets and utilities with a total of 29 lots available. Helergson talked about the long journey to attract businesses that is now paying off.
“It was a long process to get through and stuff, but it’s starting to pay off,” said Helgerson. “And I think with this distillery right up front here, I think it’s gonna attract more, yeah, and it’s a very unique product, very unique. You don’t hear about a lot making alcohol out of the sugars in sheep milk. Unique. Something extra to bring people to Westby and see how it works.”
Helgerson said they have a number of businesses already in the park or about to move in, including LAX Fabricating, Janzen Concrete, a veterinarian clinic and an airport ground equipment sales and service company.
“It has taken a while to get it all going but now it is really paying off,” said Helgerson.
Set to open in Fall 2025, Birch Point Distillery will feature cocktails, tours, and a variety
of unique spirits, making it a new must-visit spot in Wisconsin. To learn more about their
journey, visit www.birchpointdistillery.com.
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