A Day in the Life of Beyond Distiller - Greg Garnish
Ever wondered what it actually takes to turn local grapes and grain into great spirits? Spoiler: it’s not all sipping gin and swirling whisky in a barrel room. (Though that does happen too.)
At Beyond, our Head Distiller Greg leads the charge — and he’s not your average spirits guy. Equal parts perfectionist, botanicals nerd, and quiet genius, Greg’s days start early, end late, and involve a whole lot of smelling, tasting, adjusting, and obsessing over details most people would never notice.
Here’s a look at a day in the life of the man who makes your spirits sing.
6:00am – Captain Barnacle & Don Fire Up
Our stills, affectionately named Captain Barnacle and Don, fire up using smart tech at 6am — heating to temp so they’re ready when Greg walks in.
9:00am – Still Check & Setup
Greg sets the distilling temperatures, turns on the recycled water cooling system, and watches closely as the stills start to produce.
This is the critical bit — aligning temperature, flow rate, humidity, and recipe requirements. Using smell, taste, and instinct, Greg makes the heads cut and keeps a constant eye on the run. The stills usually behave. Sometimes, they don’t.
No neutral spirit trucked in here. We ferment, distil, and bottle everything ourselves — because that’s the Beyond way.
10:00am – Coffee & Calculations
A strong coffee, then straight into the numbers.
Fermentation logs. Spirit run data. This week’s distilling schedule. Yeast activity, temperature curves, potential cuts.
It’s part science, part intuition. And no — Greg won’t tell you exactly how he knows when a spirit is ready. He just knows.
11:00am – Tastings, Tweaks & Tank Swirls
Greg checks maturing whisky, adjusts botanical blends mid-run, and has his nose in at least three barrels. Sometimes it’s a subtle shift in flavour he decides to lean into. Other times it’s blend trials — the tiny tweaks that change everything.
He tastes in silence. Occasionally with a raised eyebrow. That usually means something interesting is happening.
1:00pm – The Unseen Side
Distilling is 30% creativity. 70% cleaning.
Midday often involves hosing down tanks, recycling water, and composting or repurposing spent botanicals for local farms.
Not glamorous. But essential.
It’s part of our commitment to keeping things sustainable, low-waste, and grounded in respect for where our ingredients come from.
2:00pm – Guests, Gin & the Good Stuff
Afternoons are when visitors arrive — and if you're booked into a tour or The Gin Academy, Greg might be your guide.
No marketing fluff — just the real story: where the grain came from, why that botanical matters, and maybe a sneak sip of something new.
3:00pm – Bottling by Hand
Every bottle at Beyond is hand-filled, hand-capped, hand-labelled.
No machines. No AI.
Just careful, considered work — so the spirits you pour are as good as they can be.
5:00pm – Still Cooling, Ideas Warming
The stills wind down, but Greg doesn’t.
There are tanks to check, data to log, and plans to make for the next batch.
His workday might be over — but the ideas never really stop.
Why It Matters
At Beyond, we don’t just make spirits — we make them properly.
From scratch. From West Australian grain and grapes.
With care, curiosity, and a deep respect for process.
And Greg? He’s the one who brings it all together.
So next time you sip a BeStill Whisky or join us at The Gin Academy — just know there’s a guy behind the stills who’s already thinking about your next pour.
Come see it for yourself.
Book a distillery tour or join the Gin Academy and get a taste of the craft, up close.
#MadeFromScratch
#BeStillWhisky
#BeyondDistilling