For the past 2 months, I’ve had the pleasure and honor to intern at StilL630, a small craft distillery in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri.
My tasks varied from day to day. With the focus of this internship being small business, it’s a unique schedule – there’s really no such thing as a normal day in small business. I filled mash tuns, pumped the mash over to fermentation tanks, pumped the fermented mash over to stills, climbed into the stills to hand scrub them down, bottled the finished product, labeled the bottles, explained the products to interested customers, washed glassware, went on marketing trips to sell the product and of course, plenty of sampling.
One of my favorite aspects of my internship with StilL630 was getting to craft something with my hands. A lot of my hobbies ultimately boil down to making something by hand, which made this internship feel more like a hobby rather than labor. This summer, I made a 53-gallon barrel of 100% single malt whiskey from grain to barrel. In roughly 5 years I will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, which excites me beyond belief.
Another aspect of my internship that I loved was getting to work side-by-side with Mr. Weglarz. Whether we were working on labeling, doing a distillation run, or even cleaning out the still, Dave elevated the experience to a new height. Rather than viewing himself as a boss directly over me, he presented himself as just another guy in the distillery – we were both on the same level playing field. I aspire to be able to implement leadership techniques I’ve learned from him over the summer, as he has absolutely earned my respect.
I feel very gracious to have been “indoctrinated into the StilL630 family,” in the words of Dave. In the midst of my hard work this summer, I’ve set up some lifelong connections that will pay dividends for many years to come. I look forward to making a yearly trip down to St. Louis to celebrate the many accomplishments of a small craft distillery doing things the right way.
