Golden Beaver Distillery

By Xander Evans

It’s easy to say that distilling whiskey is a science. In many ways, it is. Precise measurements, hypothesis testing, and constant process evolution lay the foundation for an ideal product. However, the best whiskeys in the world require an innate artistic touch in addition to the complex knowledge and execution of microchemistry that craft distilleries already practice. Pioneering individuals throughout history stand proudly at this intersection of art and science. Steve Jobs studied calligraphy in college. Historians debate whether Leonardo Da Vinci was best known for his engineering breakthroughs or paintings. In the world of spirits, Kris Koenig of Golden Beaver Distilleries has set out to take his place at this storied intersection.

Koenig’s background suggests that he’s a prime candidate for a spot at this intersection. His experience oscillates between the worlds of science and art in a fascinating way, at times synchronizing in PBS Science Specials  like 400 Years of the Telescope. In the mid-to-late 80s, Koenig practiced a career in scuba diving. He got his start with the Coast Guard after graduating from dive school in 1981, extending his career in sports diving in the Caribbean before moving on to marketing for Skin Diver magazine. He then moved on to public relations for Kitt Peak National Observatory where he got the bug for informal science education which eventually led him to an award-winning career developing, writing and producing documentaries.

A man of diverse interests and expertise, Koenig mainly made astronomical scientific films. He grew from consultant to producer to full-time writer for films and docuseries aired primarily on PBS. This afforded Koenig the opportunity to work with celebrities like Sir Elton John, Ice T, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. In fact, Tyson was more than a passing colleague for Koenig; on multiple occasions, the two shared food and drink as friends. Koenig reflects fondly on a dinner party the two attended together where “there was more expensive wine than [he’d] ever seen.” In conjunction with that favored memory, Koenig notes that Tyson has one of “the best wine collections in the entire world.” Even before his foray into distilling, Koenig’s thirst for alcoholic excellence thematically intertwined into different areas of his personal and professional life.

A disruptive - or, rather, eruptive - global event would play a key role in Koenig’s fateful draw to craft whiskey. On a work trip to Scotland for the Edinburgh Science Festival, the 2010 eruptions of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, whose pronunciation is equally mystifying as its explosive tendencies, stranded Kris as countless flights were canceled across the globe. This unexpectedly extended his stay in ‘Auld Reekie’ and afforded him the opportunity to meet Charlie Maclean, a leading expert on Scotch whiskey.

Maclean’s niece, who ran the festival, took it upon herself to sign Koenig up for a couple masterclasses on Scotch that Charlie was scheduled to teach. As the lone American in the room, Koenig couldn’t help but break the strict mold of Scottish academia that promotes silence and rigidity and asked countless questions about the product on hand. Per Koenig, this was surely fueled by “healthy European tasting pours” of the liquid in question. 

It would soon become evident that Maclean appreciated Koenig’s apparent interest in the subject matter. Maclean would invite Koenig to his house at the uncommon hour of 11:30 for further research and discussion into the magical properties of Scotch whiskey. In other words, the two drank the night away (in good taste) and tried distillates that dated back well into the 19th century. This fortuitous meeting with Maclean confirmed Koenig’s suspicions: he loved whiskey. Not just for its smooth taste and rich caramel color, but also for its diversity in process, form, and presentation.

“I was thirsty to figure out the science of distilling. Twenty years later, I’m still thirsty for that knowledge- every day you learn something new.”

Another fateful opportunity to investigate the world of craft whiskey presented itself on a work trip to film at THE Ohio State University. Koenig quickly realized that Lexington, KY was right across the border from Columbus, OH; “why not hit the Bourbon Trail,” he asked himself. He answered his own question with decisive action. For a few glorious days, Koenig and his son Nils immersed themselves in Bourbon; in fact, he reflects that some of his favorite distillery tours still date back to this very trip. Lexington proved valuable not only for the intrigue and knowledge housed in its legendary distilleries, but also for a particular learning center that would be critical in Koenig’s journey to his own distillery: Moonshine University.

Attendance at Moonshine University is critical, per Koenig. “It tells you what you don’t know very quickly,” he notes. Its lessons are sometimes hard to accept, but always necessary. They cover not only how to identify and produce a great spirit, but also how to establish a viable business. Koenig quickly learned that this industry required evolution and a willingness to adapt: “If you think you can sit around and sit on your laurels, you’re going to get smashed.” The courses he would take at Moonshine University  carried an unspoken oath that binds all spirit producers together: “don’t be a jerk and share your knowledge.”  Other students may disagree with you - a few people sounded off on Koenig’s early brand vision - but adherence to that oath was mandatory.

Armed with a unique education from Moonshine U, Koenig was ready to shoot his shot in whiskey. His wife, Marianne, gifted him his first still for Christmas the year before. This allowed Koenig to experiment at will from the comforts of his own home. Now a practicing scientist, Kris evolved and refined his product as is necessary in a competitive and highly-saturated industry. During a holiday visit, his brother mentioned that the product was excellent and needed to be sold publicly. With the science well under way, Koenig needed a brand vision. 

The brand of Golden Beaver derives from Koenig’s roots and belief system. He and his wife own a cabin on the Cache la Poudre river in CO, which, for lack of a better phrase, is their happy place. It’s a place where they can rejuvenate, relax, and appreciate the outdoors. “It’s a really important part of my id...the river truly runs through it in my family.” Each year, they complete a 19-hour trek from their home in northern California to this mountain getaway. Along the route, they pass through Saratoga, WY, where, in the south end of this tiny town, lies Beaver Liquors. Koenig was struck by the prospect of naming his product “Beaver Likker,” a cheeky double entendre that invokes both intrigue and rustic undertones. His wife wasn’t too keen on this stroke of marketing genius, and the two had a significant argument about it. If their surroundings of the Rocky Mountains weren’t so serene and peaceful, that row may still be ongoing.

While “Beaver Likker” was excluded as the primary name for the business, the two still had a vast appreciation for beavers, so naturally it found its way back into the business plan. They recognized the beaver’s storied history in NorCal as a source for inspiration. Trappers and gold miners decimated the population, which threatened cataclysmic deterioration of the ecosystem. Per Koenig, the beaver is a “keystone species” that helps prop up wetland environments for myriad migratory birds, bears, the legendary gray fox, and countless other species, big and small. They help stop the wildfires, maintain the water table, and even support salmon populations.

From a business perspective, adopting a beaver brand contributes to an excellent product-market fit. Based in Chico, CA, a connection to the outdoors is critical. Everything about the brand exemplifies Chico, even down to the bottling. Koenig views this as an extension of his creative process, and, as such, wanted wildlife firmly in the spotlight. He hired a freelance artist out of Belgrade, Serbia to design a series of panels with the explicit condition that every panel contain a beaver. In his words, “she absolutely nailed it.” The color palette of the bottles are deliberately bright to stand out from competitor products. Additionally, many of Golden Beaver’s bottles are tall, so they land on the top shelf, where grade-A product is meant to sit. "Every element is meticulously crafted to blend the scientific precision of the product with the artistic vision that defines the brand.”

“Growing up, my dad taught me to be the pig.” 

On a breakfast plate of eggs, toast, and ham, who made the commitment to that culinary experience? Per Koenig, it wasn’t the farmer, trucker, or consumer...it was the pig. Being the pig means living life with intensity and conviction to leave everything on the table every single day. This is how Koenig approaches the spirits industry: “You don’t just need to be better than the next guy in the market, you need to be the best version of yourself...anything I touch is going to be the best I can make it.” 

Golden Beaver’s tagline, “wildly different spirits,” mainly derives from the same love and appreciation for the wilderness. However, another key factor in the formation of this tagline is the distillery’s primary use of rice as the grain in the creation process. Prevailing sentiment in America has been that rice should be eaten, not fermented. This leads to a starkly different product than others on the market; so, how did Koenig land on this key ingredient? “I learned in Moonshine University to utilize the food pantry in your backyard.” Being that rice is a staple crop for Koenig’s region of NorCal, this choice aligns with that lesson from school. Not to mention, at the time Golden Beaver started, Koenig could purchase rice at $0.18 per pound, around half the cost of corn. Thus, Golden Beaver’s Pacific Fly Way Whiskey, made from 100% rice was born. 

The mash bill for their rice whiskey is 80% rice, 20% malted rice. The specific type of rice that Golden Beaver uses, Calrose rice, lends itself to a fruity flavor profile that can be unique to whiskeys. This is due to its high carbohydrate concentration - it’s essentially a sticky rice - that then gets broken down into high-value sugars that eventually ferment. Koenig toyed with the concept of a no-cook rice mash recipe that a Japanese researcher had developed for the soju and sake market. It takes 17 days, but doesn’t require a boiler, potentially a huge savings for the business. Unfortunately, while that method does work, it proved less efficient than a traditional cooked mash. Since rice malt doesn’t have any natural diastatic capabilities, Golden Beaver cooks with alpha amylase in the water as they bring it up to temperature, around 190 degrees. It also helps prevent rice balls. “You only have to cook rice balls once in your life as a distiller and you’ll never do it again.” Koenig says with a smile. They then let the mash cool to around 140 degrees when they add beta glucanase to help further breakdown the long chain starches. Finally, they cool to between 85-95 degrees to start the fermentation process. Golden Beaver uses a high temperature tolerant champagne style yeast developed by Ferm Solutions.

“That mouthfeel that you get from a pot still cannot be duplicated anywhere else.” Koenig tells us. Golden Beaver uses a 300-gallon Trident pot still named Harold that they picked up from Liberty Pole Spirits. During Covid, they were able to purchase a 730-gallon DYE pot still in a firesale. They named it Maude. They do 3 stripping runs in Maude so they can fill up Harold for a spirit run. From there, they split up their rice whiskey distillate between two different types of cooperage. Half goes into new American oak barrels, and half goes into first fill bourbon barrels. “Rice, I like to say, is more malleable than corn. We don’t have to throw it into a char 4 or char 3 barrel to get rid of the flavor. The reason you put bourbon into a barrel is to kill corn. If i’m wrong, then we’d all be drinking young bourbon.” Koenig asserts. Golden Beavers barrels are 53-gallons, sourced from Independent Stave Company, usually with either a char 1 or char 2. “We’re not trying to take out impurities. Everything is heavily toasted, because we want those vanilins and baking spices to come through.” They source bourbon from MGP for their highly rated Honey Run Honey-Flavored Whiskey and use the now empty barrels to mature the other half of their rice whiskey. 

In addition to the rice whiskey, Golden Beaver produces Pacific Fly Way bourbon and rye. The bourbon is 51% corn, 25% rice, 14% rye and 10% malted barley. The rye contains no rice, with a mash bill of 78% rye and 12% malted barley. All grains come from California. They also produce vodka, gin, flavored moonshines, and of course, the aforementioned Beaver Likker Moonshine.

Media outlets are paying attention to Koenig’s presence in the marketplace. One outlet writes, “Remember ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’ ad for Dos Equis beer? That was several years ago, but there's a Chico man who might be his successor,” referring to the man driving Golden Beaver towards success. Another story writes, “I think [Golden Beaver] is Chico’s best-kept secret. I got to see three steps in the process that alcohol is made... I actually tasted a bunch of the spirits, and they are delicious!” Finally, Golden Beaver won a gold and bronze medallion respectively at the 2024 San Francisco Spirits Competition for their Pacific Flyway Bourbon and Straight Whiskey, affirming the positive sentiment that continues to surround the distillery. Constant innovation, a daringness to think differently, and marketing panache have led Golden Beaver to awards and recognition for spirits that are, truly, wildly different.