The Journey from Apple Orchards to Kansas Distillery Creativity with Evan Wilder

Today on Consuming the Craft, I had the pleasure of welcoming back Evan Wilder, a former student who’s become a true craftsman in beverage alcohol. Our conversation was a walk down memory lane and a glimpse into the future, tracing his journey from the AB Tech classroom to running distillation at Baldwin City Distillery in Kansas. We talked about his time brewing at Boulevard, the adventure of making fuel-grade ethanol, and now the excitement (and sometimes heartbreak) of handcrafting Kansas’s first apple brandy. I was inspired by how he’s fueling creativity with everything from single-varietal brandies to dreams of a gin made purely from homegrown Kansas ingredients. The whole talk felt like watching a student come full circle and blaze his own path in this industry.

Let me tell you a bit about today’s guest. He graduated from my program a few years ago, but he’s packed in a world’s worth of experience since then. First, he headed to Australia, then worked with Shell to make fuel ethanol from cellulose and eventually made his way back into the beverages we love —brewing at Total Wine and then Boulevard Brewing Company, one of my own favorites since my Iowa days. He’s never shied away from hard work and is always chasing what’s next, whether it’s fermenting apples in Kansas or dreaming up a farmhouse gin that captures his region’s true spirit. Watching this former student build something new in the distilling world makes me incredibly proud as an educator.

“The next project I’m chasing is a gin that’s 100 percent Kansas-harvested; wheat, botanicals, everything sourced locally.” ~Evan Wilder

Today on Consuming the Craft:

·      The episode followed a former student’s path from the classroom to international experience, finally landing at Baldwin City Distillery as a lead distiller.

·      His brewing journey started at Boulevard Brewing after jobs in both fuel ethanol production and large retail stores, showing a constant pull toward beverage alcohol.

·      We got into the nitty-gritty of Kansas’s very first apple brandy, which comes from apples lovingly picked, pressed, and wild-fermented right on a fourteen-acre orchard.

·      Harvest time is a mad dash, and he admitted sometimes raccoons make off with a bigger share of the apples than he’d like to admit.

·      The team is exploring single-varietal eau-de-vie, starting with King David apples, and experimenting with barrel aging in second-use bourbon and hopefully Calvados barrels for deeper flavor.

·      The team has ambitious plans for a gin made from Kansas wheat and locally foraged botanicals, including Eastern red cedar berries, aiming for an authentically regional flavor.

·      Sourcing challenges are tackled with creativity: from working with local flower growers for botanicals to using wild yeast and even surplus peaches for experimentation.

·      A strong sense of place, connection to Kansas agriculture, and collaboration with nearby farms inform every decision, reflecting his personal investment in producing honest, homegrown spirits.

Guest Contact:

• Baldwin City Distillery

Resources Mentioned:

• Boulevard Brewing Company

• Baldwin City Distillery

• Riverbend Malt House

• Stolen Wolf Distillery (apple brandy)

• Earl Scruggs Festival

• McConnell Farms

This episode is brought to you by…

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best produce on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms Facebook page to learn more about our seasonal inventory and the delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

Consuming the Craft

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