MSU's Nicole Shriner is a #MasterDistiller and the winner of the Discovery Channel competition show Moonshiners, which aired on national television Jan. 12.
The teaching specialist in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science created the best slivovitz, an Eastern European liqueur made of plums and other flavoring ingredients, including raisins and honey. She beat out two other competitors in the episode to win the #MasterDistiller title.
"It was fun to learn how to use moonshining equipment," she said. "I am most experienced with craft distilling equipment and the equipment in our unit operations lab on campus. I loved meeting all the original moonshiners as well as people from all over the country with their own experiences of distilling."
At MSU, Shriner leads the fermented beverage program and teaches courses in fermented beverages, wine making, and brewing and distilling.
"I have several research grants through the Michigan Craft Beverage Council. The most recent one is working with Bell's Brewery, researching raspberry beers," she added.
View Shriner's #MasterDistillers episode (Season 3, Episode 8) at: https://go.discovery.com/tv-shows/moonshiners-master-distiller/. A cable provider is required to view the show.