Local Partnerships and Sustainable Practices: Building a Distillery with Heart
Tue Feb 03 2026
In episode 54 of The Adaptive Mindset, Brett Gallant interviews John Mleziva, the founder of State Line Distillery, who shares his unique journey from a biology student to a fermentation scientist, and ultimately to a distiller committed to the grain-to-glass philosophy.
Tune in for valuable insights into the intersection of science and craft in distilling.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:01:47] Fermentation science and craft spirits.
[00:05:16] Artistic process of distillation.
[00:12:50] Grain to glass philosophy.
[00:17:07] Coffee liqueur creation journey.
[00:20:24] Entrepreneurial pivots and opportunities.
[00:24:10] Community partnerships and networking.
[00:30:30] Business ownership and delegation.
[00:33:31] Success as an entrepreneur.
[00:41:00] Finding balance as an entrepreneur.
[00:44:04] Baritone singing vs. distilling.
QUOTES
"We're trying to be the different colored boat in an ocean full of the same." John Mleziva"Build your community and have people you can trust and lean on in terms of bouncing ideas off of." -John Mleziva"If you don't have something to look at and guide your decisions, when the times are tough, you can run into trouble, you become rudderless." -John Mleziva
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Brett Gallant
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brett_gallant/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brett.gallant.9
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-gallant-97805726/
John Mleziva
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmleziva/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statelinedistillery/
WEBSITE
Adaptive Office Solutions: https://www.adaptiveoffice.ca/
State Line Distillery: https://www.statelinedistillery.com/our-team/john-mleziva
More
In episode 54 of The Adaptive Mindset, Brett Gallant interviews John Mleziva, the founder of State Line Distillery, who shares his unique journey from a biology student to a fermentation scientist, and ultimately to a distiller committed to the grain-to-glass philosophy. Tune in for valuable insights into the intersection of science and craft in distilling. TIMESTAMPS [00:01:47] Fermentation science and craft spirits. [00:05:16] Artistic process of distillation. [00:12:50] Grain to glass philosophy. [00:17:07] Coffee liqueur creation journey. [00:20:24] Entrepreneurial pivots and opportunities. [00:24:10] Community partnerships and networking. [00:30:30] Business ownership and delegation. [00:33:31] Success as an entrepreneur. [00:41:00] Finding balance as an entrepreneur. [00:44:04] Baritone singing vs. distilling. QUOTES "We're trying to be the different colored boat in an ocean full of the same." John Mleziva"Build your community and have people you can trust and lean on in terms of bouncing ideas off of." -John Mleziva"If you don't have something to look at and guide your decisions, when the times are tough, you can run into trouble, you become rudderless." -John Mleziva SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Brett Gallant Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brett_gallant/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brett.gallant.9 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-gallant-97805726/ John Mleziva LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmleziva/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statelinedistillery/ WEBSITE Adaptive Office Solutions: https://www.adaptiveoffice.ca/ State Line Distillery: https://www.statelinedistillery.com/our-team/john-mleziva