September 6, 2025
I started as a home brewer in the early 2000s. I learned about mash science including calcium enrichments, nitrogen enrichments, enzyme impacts and the effects of pH, temperature and time. Important measurements that are needed to make not only a good beer, but a good spirit.
At Altered State Distillery, we make Single Malt/Bourbon blends we call “complex whiskies”. They have a lot of flavor, they include our American and Peated Whiskey, Malted Rye/Straight Rye Blend, Straight Rye and Straight Bourbon, We also utilize different finishing barrels to create spirits like a Single Malt aged in Pedro Ximenez barrels from Spain, Stout Barrel Double-Oaked Bourbon, Barleywine Double-Oaked Rye Whiskey. Our heirloom grain whiskeys include Blue Dent Corn Bourbon and our regionally grown Pennsylvania Rosen Rye. All of our whiskeys are also barreled in Pennsylvania white oak barrels. We have a farm in Girard, PA that grows heirloom grains for us. And we also manufacture corn-based vodka, gin, rum and spiced rum.
I can’t pick between our Heirloom Bourbon and our Rosen Rye. Both have grains we bought from a vault that hadn’t seen dirt in over 100 years. We have grown these grains regionally over the past five years, generating seed stock year-to-year. We take pride in making sure there is no cross pollination in the grains to keep them pure heirloom. And due to the Blue Dent Corn varietal, our mash is purple in color and then turns a very pale vanilla color toward the end of the mash conversion. It’s a fun process to watch.
As you walk in our tasting room you’ll see an urban chic vibe with custom fixtures and a custom black walnut bar top. We have large ceramic windows peering into the distillery, highlighting both our 500G pot still and our 500G hybrid still. And if you come on a weekend you’ll experience our live music. We host bands every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In warmer months, folks bring folding chairs and blankets to our parking lot where the bands play. In the winter, the bands play inside the distillery.
Our branding is built around music. In particular, our bottle labels are designed to look like concert posters. Our B-Side branding versus our A-Side branding and the heirloom future of the company will allow us to create new labels for the new brands. We also now serve food in the way of fresh made protein with fresh ingredients. We built it around Mexican-American fare made with high end proteins and fresh ingredients which we feel matches our hand-crafted spirits. The vibe is very much laid back and musically driven.
I have an amazing staff. Most of whom I’ve had for the last five years. They help me incredibly with the day-to-day As the face of the company, I am in charge of branding, production, event development, financing, management, food development, kitchen manager, husband and father. It’s tough some days as you can feel overwhelmed, but my wife is a large part of our success in the social world and locally with band recruitment. Our town is small but we have four distilleries nearby and we are proud to be part of this culture here on Lake Erie. Our water is insanely good up here.
Our products are in 17 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores between Erie Country and Allegheny country down the I-79 corridor. We are also in Wandering Spirits in Ligonier, PA which houses last I checked six distilleries. They are a great couple who opened a boutique shop and deal with online sales throughout the state for our products. Our products can also be ordered thru BevRock and delivered anywhere in the state.
My favorite place in Erie is Pineapple Eddie’s, a Southern style restaurant. My wife and I love the jerk chicken and shrimp & grits. My favorite bars to drink at are probably Oliver’s Roof Top and Bayhouse Oyster Bar. Like Altered State, both are right by the bay and offer great drinks with an incredible view.
The first was Covid shutdown. We opened in November of 2019 with a bang. Our place was packed, the music was hitting and our spirits were incredible at the open, thanks to the two-years we worked prior with Conneaut Cellars Winery.
Then Covid hit and everything closed. But so did the state stores, so we had lines a quarter mile long down the street. People were trying to buy cases. But due to our limited supply we had to implement a one bottle-per-person limit. Fast forward four years and my partnership dissolved, which was great for the company. It allowed us to hone a single message of expectations and has allowed us to grow in a more positive light. And as always, finances and budgeting. We have a bar holding up a production facility. It’s hard sometimes to stay in constant production when you’re a small distillery.
Pennsylvania allows us to self distribute. This is huge compared to New York or Ohio. In addition, our PLCB stores work with Pennsylvania distilleries to put us in as many as they see working across the state. They have been great to work with. Our licensing and event permits are reasonably priced as well.
State tax and costs to be in the state stores. Pennsylvania also has no cooperages or warehouses for glass that could drop a lot of transport costs now that the state has 200+ distilleries. We have to buy our glass and ship it from Buffalo, NY or Ohio. Our Pennsylvania white oak barrels ship from California. Why doesn’t the Rye Capital of the world have its own cooperages?
Strong representation in Harrisburg protecting PA distilleries. a first line of defense vs any negative legislation that could impact all of us.
In the next year or so we have our new product line heirloom series coming which is the future of the business. We will be the biggest manufacturer of Rosen Rye when we launch our 4-5 year Rosen barrels next year and our bourbon will be the same year profile. The products will be higher proof than our cocktail spirits we made initially. These products will not only match their quality but exceed it. We have always wanted to grow into a phase two of property development and ownership in creation of an event venue space, restaurant and large farm to glass small batch distillery. But first and foremost will be our new product lines. We have been investing in these for the last five years and are starting to come of age.
