WATSONVILLE—Fruition Brewing owner David Purgason was making deliveries on Calabasas Road when he suddenly had an idea.
As he drove by Whiskey Hill Farms, he remembered it was the site of Blume Distillation, a biofuel technology company that converts waste into alcohol-based fuel and other products.
Purgason said he had heard of breweries across the country using their “leftover” beer to create alcohol-based sanitizers during the COVID-19 outbreak, and wondered if Fruition could do something similar.
“We don’t have a still, but we do make alcohol,” Purgason said. “And [Blume Distillation] is right here.”
Purgason reached out to the company, asking if they could use any of the brewery’s out-of-date products.
“Beer is kind of like bread. It has a shelf life,” Purgason explained. “Since shelter-in-place, we’ve had plenty of extra beer that we’d rather not just throw out.”
Blume Distillation agreed, and a partnership was formed. Purgason then reached out to the Coast Brewers Guild to increase donations. Soquel’s Discretion Brewing, San Juan Bautista’s Brewery Twenty Five and Monterey’s Peter B’s Brewpub have started dropping beer off at Fruition, as well as Other Brother Beer Company in Seaside.
Blume Distillation’s Tom Harvey said that with the donations, the company will be increasing its line of both surface and skin sanitizers. The products are made with 200 proof alcohol mixed with essential oils and distilled water, making them very pure, he said.
“As the COVID pandemic increases its influence, alcohol products can help stem the tide,” he said.
A California Certified Organic Farmers facility, Blume Distillation has in the past taken expired wine and other beverages to distill for their products.
“We’re always looking for different materials,” Harvey said. “We are trying our best to get the cleanest, safest products out to our community.”
Blume Distillation will be selling some of the sanitizers commercially, but also plans to donate a portion to medical facilities.
Harvey said they are glad to be part of such a local solution to the crisis.
“We’re not sure exactly how regular [the beer] will come, but we can make plenty from what we’ve gotten so far,” he said.
For Purgason, the project has been a positive step in an otherwise scary time.
“This is uncharted territory,” he said. “Breweries, taprooms, bars… We all closed for the greater good. I hope that doesn’t go unnoticed. When we come out on the other side of this, let’s all have a beer together.”
For information about Blume Distillation visit blumedistillation.com.
To order from Fruition Brewing for curbside pickup or deliver go to fruitionbrewing.com.
