When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Slivovitz
By: Dr. Nicole Shriner, PhD / 6 minute read
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.”
- Joseph Campbell
It’s the final round of Discovery channels’ Moonshiners Distilling competition and there is only one person that stands between me and the title of Master Distiller. I am confident and relaxed as I work, allowing my innate instincts to take over and guide me. With the room’s fluorescent lights, the heat of the open flame on my still, and the sound of my Slivovitz slowly dripping into the glass jar, I strangely feel at home here.
When they announce my name as the winner, I graciously accept my new title as Master Distiller. Winning Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners competition wasn’t just about bragging rights or the fancy title. For me, it was much deeper than that. It was a moment of validation. Life was showing me that I was on the right track, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
But I haven’t always felt so aligned and on purpose. In fact, if you would have told me nine years ago that I would be the head of the Fermented Beverage specialization program at Michigan State University and taking home the title of Master Distiller, I would have laughed in your face. My life was heading in a completely different direction. When you think you have your life mapped out, events happen that shape your destiny in ways that you cannot even imagine.
I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that one of my greatest mistakes would have led me to this moment. But it did.
When I was twenty-one years old, I had my life planned out. I was engaged and entering into my final year as Chemical Engineering student at Michigan State University (MSU.) My course load was filled with classes on fermented beverage and distillation courses which sounded like a fun way to end my career as a Spartan. I already had landed my dream job that I would start in upcoming summer. All my boxes were checked: high paying job, love life, and a side hobby of brewing my own beer. I was on the right path — or so I thought.
The first event that shaped my path was when I discovered that my fiancé was in love with someone else. This situation was painful and not rectifiable, so we split ways. Then, as if things could not get any worse, I made one of the most embarrassing decisions of my life: I decided to drive home after enjoying a few drinks with a few friends. I was pulled over for a DUI and spent that night in jail.
Weeks later I received a call from my future employer. They had lost my employee paperwork and asked me to resubmit it. This time around, I had a new box to check — the one regarding your criminal background. I told the truth and checked yes, and received a call from the HR department inquiring about my record. Soon they informed me that I was no longer a viable candidate.
In a matter of months, my love life and the promise of my high-paying career had vanished. I felt lost, depressed, and confused on how my life had gone this far off track. I wasn’t proud of my reckless behavior and the consequences that I had to live with, but I knew there was deeper meaning behind it all.
Even during that difficult time, I believed in my ability to discover what life was trying to show me.
That spring, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering but no job and zero job leads. I searched for jobs, applied, and then wouldn’t hear back. I patiently waited for the next sign, the next clue as to what was next for me. Finally, it showed up.
I received an email from Kris Berglund, University Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Food Science at MSU, advertising for open summer intern positions at the Red Cedar Spirits in East Lansing. This email brought me back to life, it sparked an internal fire of passion in my heart. Because I had taken the fermented beverage and distillation courses during my last semester at MSU, I had the proper prerequisites to apply. I knew that email was my clue, and that job was mine. I got it!
For the next five years, I worked for Kris Berglund, “The Godfather of Craft Distilling” as a teaching assistant (TA) for his distillation and fermented beverage courses at MSU. Eventually, Kris asked me to get my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and because of my TA position, I would essentially be paid to attend grad school.
During graduate school, I performed research on cyclic distillation, where I focused on energy conservation in the production of craft spirits, specifically apple brandy. I finally felt back on track and that everything in my life was making sense.
I felt alive for the first time in a very long time.
People around me could sense this. Kris even made many jokes about how “he wouldn’t be here forever “ hinting that I could continue his teaching legacy. Was this another clue for me? Only time would tell.
On my graduation day, I found out that Kris had passed away. It was one of the eeriest and most emotional days of my life. Kris was more than just my employer; he played a pivotal role in my career. He saw my potential and the passion we both shared for Chemical Engineering, and he intentionally shared the knowledge and wisdom he learned that made him excel and stand out in the industry. He opened many doors for me in the distillation and fermented beverage industry and in many ways is the reason I am now teaching senior-level and graduate courses at Michigan State University and holding the title of Master Distiller. Maybe fate would have it that I am now in the position to teach the next generation the knowledge that Kris passed down to me.
In hindsight, I can see that these unpleasant events were just the seeds to my life’s work.
Enrolling in the distillation and fermented beverage courses for fun, the breakup, the DUI, and the loss of my job, all led me down a completely different path. What would have happened if none of those events happened? What type of life would I be leading today? I am not entirely sure, but something in my gut tells me I wasn’t meant to walk that path. Life had a totally different vision for me, I just couldn’t see it.
In many ways, my twenties were the foundational years that I needed to experience to become the person I am today. These years taught me how to trust my own instincts. I learned that I am far more resilient than I had given myself credit for. Most importantly, I learned that following your passion is not for the faint of heart, but its presence in my life provides subtle guidance as I continue down my own life path.
About the Author:
Dr. Nicole Shriner holds a BS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University (2018) with a specialization in distillation and brewing science and technology, and biomedical engineering. Her thesis was titled 'Cyclic Distillation for Energy Conversation in Distilled Spirit Production.' She completed a Master Brewer degree from the World Brewing Academy at Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois, and Doemen's Academy in Munich, Germany in July 2019. Dr. Shriner has experience working at multiple distilleries and breweries in the Lansing area. She currently teaches the fermented beverage courses at Michigan State University as well as CHE 433 Process Design and Optimization. Dr. Shriner also manages the fermented beverage analysis lab at Michigan State through which she completes analyses and facilitates research with industry members from raw materials to final fermented beverage products.
