I have about 50 lb of plums fermenting with natural yeast in a 55-gallon drum. It's been kept relatively cool but it's bubbling for sure on natural yeast.
Attached picture is plums in the barrel after yesterday's addtion of 10 lb Wild Plum
It looks like we don't have enough plums this year to do an all natural yeast fermentation with a full Barrel.
We are planning to add another 60 lb of plums on top then add yeast and sugar.
Have any of you gone from natural yeast fermentation then 2 weeks later added water sugar yeast to create a high percent wine?
I've been researching on these forums and haven't found any definitive answers. Please help ASAP the fruit is either going in in the next 72 hours or it might be a waste
Slivovitz wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:22 am
Have any of you gone from natural yeast fermentation then 2 weeks later added water sugar yeast to create a high percent wine?
What are the end result you're after.. wine or spirit..
Mars
" I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, Obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my knowledge and understanding "
OK.. what is the SG of the wash now at.. the SG will determine if sugar is required or not..
Also were the plums frozen first before being added to the wash.. freeze the fruit improves the sugar content..
Mars
" I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, Obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my knowledge and understanding "
Sugar is going to dilute the flavor you want from the plums but I do things like macerate low-wines on the pressed pomace before a spirit run to maximize some extraction (with grapes / grappa) or macerate feints from last season on the spent pomace till next season... Instead of sugar to boost the years production i'll try to use something like a cheap winekit to add some sweetness - not to a detrimental value but for additional volume.
I have used natural yeast to start a fermentation for added complexity then perhaps as it reaches it's limit I'll pitch a more robust yeast to take over..
Nice! I usually get about six gallons of wine from 100# grapes. 50#=a five gallon bucket. Plums would be close to that? But then I can do a sugar/juice/ water top up for running some grappa. Double distillation protocol is really preferred. Takes a lot of fruit but no sugar/water added is the best because it dilutes the flavor. Wild yeast can be good but sometimes won’t ferment to completion. Might want to give a commercial yeast a try.
Slivovitz
Do what your planning on
Use a mixer to mash up the plums to a pulp, without breaking the pits.
Add around 1 pound of sugar for every extra gallon of water added in the fermenter.
I figure that would get the most use from the limited amount of plums you have this time.
The original question remains: If I break tradition and add sugar/water/yeast (after the fermentation has been going on natural yeast for 3 weeks) will it be a disaster?
So much work for a 5 gallon run!
I'm not looking to be spoon fed answers, I just dont see info elsewhere. I've read all I can on natural and sugar added fermentation also saving a stalled fermentation, but this situation seems unique.
I have 2 other barrels (30lbs apricot 40lbs peach) going same time that got sugar/yeast/water from the jump. We will see how those pan out in the next week or two.
I’d consider mixing the fruit for a higher yield and topping up the ferment with some sort of similar fruit juice / water / sugar so you could most ideally do three stripping runs then a spirit run. It’s going to be very good - not a disaster. sounds like individual runs will have pretty low yields for each fruit. Cooking on the fruit pomace will def help and probably each boiler charge 1/2 to 2/3 full with a false bottom or some straw to prevent a scorch.
Try the wild yeast and watch out for hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg / sulfur) smells and hit it with a good wine yeast if the natural stalls. EC1118 is robust and pretty neutral and good for jump starting if needed. Nutrients right after fermentation starts and at 1/3 sugar depletion will help prevent hydrogen sulfide if the natural yeast are susceptible to producing it.
When you do the spirit run do it low and slow and fraction out the heads in small jars so you can get a good transition and blend in some if the late heads to your final cut. Or do a 1.5 style run and mix low wines from one strip into the fermented must for your spirit run.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Jonny
EDIT:
If you want a more accurate SG reading take a sample (maybe a cup) and blend/puree it very well then strain and warm it up slightly if needed. Put it in a jar and shake/open to release any CO2 that might skew the hydrometer reading.
To clarify, the peaches have 20lbs sugar ec1118 and makes 14gallons. Apricots have 16pbs sugar plus yeast and water for 11 gallons.
I was planning a single run on sugar/yeast added washes. Prob 2 runs if I dont sugar/yeast the plums.
To prevent scorch I have heard to put a large handful of copper pieces (tater says so) or in the old country they put pieces of clay roof tile in bottom of still.
I am thinking a big ass dinner plate would help keep the bottom from scorching when first fired up.
Keep researching right up until stripping day. I doubt a dinner plate will help much, but I might be wrong. Buttering the bottom of the pot and stirring it until it gets up to boiling point might work better.
Once started, don't let the flame go out then try to restart. That's an almost guaranteed way to burn your fruit. Start with a full gas bottle.
Fiddling with a ferment once it's well under way is a good way to make vinegar. I currently have some wine clearing for a friend who didn't take that advice and added more fruit halfway through the ferment. I hope it makes better wine than vinegar, but I don't like his chances. When distilling it doesn't matter so much as most of the acetic acid will end up in the backset.
I've heard about buttering it. In the old country that use broken up roof tiles. Lots of people here use pieces of copper.
The traditional way of fermenting plums in Europe is to keep adding plums to the barrel until it's full over the course of a month or two. Natural yeast and rarely a problem with vinegar smell.
The problem remains, no definitive answer on if we can kick this up a notch and add sugar and yeast to this Barrel Midway through.
I've only ever done a single run plum distillation for someone who insisted that was the way he wanted it done. It was against my advice and I made him choose the cut. He liked it, so that's all that matters. I didn't keep a share because I didn't like it and the sample I kept hasn't improved in the twenty years since it was distilled.
