Peach Brandy!

[still_stirrin]

Texan, do you have a hydrometer...for measuring your specific gravity? When you go to the local home-brew store to get champagne yeast, pick one up. It is useful in measuring the "potential" alcohol content of your ferment as well as the progress to attenuation.

And remember, the fermentation hydrometer is different than your proof (Proof & Traille) alcohol meter, although they work the same way. They ferment hydrometer measures specific gravity relative to water, measuring a density slightly higher than water. And the Proof & Traille measures the density slightly less than water, because alcohol density is less than water.
ss

[Texan13]

Ok, so I bought 10 packs of the Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast (on Ebay); do I use the whole pack in my mash? And what else is this yeast good to use on?

I'm taking it all in.....

Yes I do have a fermentation hydrometer .

[NgrainD]

Texan13
If you use tap water be sure to put the amount you will use in a open container and let it sit for a day to dissipate the chlorine. Yeast don't like chlorine.

[still_stirrin]

Ok, so I bought 10 packs of the Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast; do I use the whole pack in my mash?...

One will work, but two packs is better (for 5 gallons). It'll get a quicker start. Make sure you areate the must (it's not really called a "mash" unless you're using grains) before you pitch your yeast. Also, rehydrate the yeast in warm tap water for 15-20 minutes before pitching. You don't need any sugars in the hydration water though, just warm (100F) water. The rehydrated yeast will smell quite "yeasty" and somewhat "bready" instead of dry and cardboard-like, which would indicate marginal viability.

.... what else is this yeast good to use on?...

It is good for fruit ferments, i.e. - it IS a champagne yeast. It works too in sugar heads such as the birdwatchers and Rad's all bran and Wineo's.

...Yes a do have a hydrometer.

Good.
ss

[still_stirrin]

Texan13
If you use tap water be sure to put the amount you will use in a open container and let it sit for a day to dissipate the chlorine. Yeast don't like chlorine.

True enough Ngrain.

But, if the yeast is healthy and pitched with adequate quantity, the chlorine likely won't kill it. I guess it kind of depends on how much chlorine is actually in the tap water. My tap water is both chlorinated and fluoridated. And I've used it right out of the tap to ferment. Successfully.

It makes one wonder if it is all that serious enough to worry about. When brewing beer, I boil the wort so all chlorine is boiled off. When making a wash, especially a sugar wash, I boil a portion of the water during the inversion of the sugar. When doing an all grain mash, the water is brought up to a boil and then cooled to strike temperatures, thereby driving of any dissolved chlorines as well. Bottomline, is it worth the worry....depending on the processes?

Texan, when you make your must, will you add much water? And if you heat that water up to...say, 140-150F (don't go higher as you can set the pectin in the fruit), I think you'll drive off any chlorine of concern.
ss

[Texan13]

[Texan, when you make your must, will you add much water? And if you heat that water up to...say, 140-150F (don't go higher as you can set the pectin in the fruit), I think you'll drive off any chlorine of concern.
ss[/quote]

I'll use store bought spring water; just to make sure.

[NgrainD]

Texan13
If you use tap water be sure to put the amount you will use in a open container and let it sit for a day to dissipate the chlorine. Yeast don't like chlorine.

True enough Ngrain.

But, if the yeast is healthy and pitched with adequate quantity, the chlorine likely won't kill it. I guess it kind of depends on how much chlorine is actually in the tap water. My tap water is both chlorinated and fluoridated. And I've used it right out of the tap to ferment. Successfully.

True, both of you. Chlorine may not kill yeast, but it doesn't make them happy. Happy yeast=happy ferment=happy stiller. That's all. My advice is only for the happiest yeast.

[ranger_ric]

Texan..
Have you read this entire post? Most folks who made this didnt like the way it turned out. Odin is a master and I am sure he followed the recipe, He didnt like it. So reread this and decide if you really want to take on something this experimental.
I recommend you venture over to the Tried and True recipes and see if you could find something easier and more successful. You could always make a neutral panty dropper and add whatever fruit you want to flavor it with AFTER distillation.
There is a lot to learn in this hobby and I recommend you try something a little more proven.
Good Luck...
RR

[Texan13]

Help! I made the peach must and pitched 2 bags of the yeast on Tuesday night; let it set for 20 minutes then stirred it in. It has not started working yet; what did I mess up? Thanks for the help.

[Texan13]

I didn't hydrate the yeast; can I just add more hydrated yeast?

[NgrainD]

It is not absolutely necessary to rehydrate yeast, although it does help. Did you use hot water for this must? Do you know the temperature of the must when you pitched? If you want you could adjust the temp to around 80f and hydrate and re-pitch. Also, like still_stirrin said, be sure to give the must a good vigorous stir to aerate before you pitch.

[still_stirrin]

Help! I made the peach must and pitched 2 bags of the yeast on Tuesday night; let it set for 20 minutes then stirred it in. It has not started working yet; what did I mess up? Thanks for the help.

What's the pH? Can you check it? If the pH is too low (4.5 or lower), the yeast are retarded. If it's around 5.5, it's good and you have bad yeast.

Also, if the must OG is very high, the dry yeast cells can rupture when pitched into the high gravity due to the excessive osmotic pressure. Rehydrated yeast will minimize that stress.

Also, yeast require oxygen during the initial aerobic phase (1st 24 hours) when they're budding to proper population. Did you shake, stir, or aerate the must initially?
ss

[Texan13]

Do I stir it after re-pitching

[Texan13]

Yes ss I did stir the must the first time before and after pitching the yeast. Do I need to stir it after re-pitching the yeast?

And no Sir, we did not heat up the water we added.

I'm not sure how to check to PH levels.

[still_stirrin]

....I'm not sure how to check to PH levels.

You start by reading......

Here's a starter: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... h#p6862872

[Texan13]

Thank you sir!!!

[m314]

I just got started with this hobby a few months ago. This is one of the first recipes I tried along with a few from the Tried and True section. I modified it slightly, since I couldn't find canned peaches in heavy syrup in bulk. This is what I went with:

12 pounds (8 jars at 1.5 pounds each) Kirkland peaches in extra light syrup from Costco
6 pounds sugar (to make up for the difference between extra light and heavy syrup)
water to fill a 6 gallon bucket

I blended the ingredients with my paint stirrer drill attachment, then I added 2 packets of Red Star Pasteur Blanc champagne yeast. It took about 10 days to finish fermenting. I let it sit for a few days after that before distilling.

I strained the mash through a paint strainer bag and ran it through my little 1 gallon air still, 5 batches total. I'm working on upgrading to a bigger pot still. I took 50 - 100 ml foreshots from each batch, but didn't do any cuts other than that. I collected about 1 quart from each batch after foreshots. The jars from the first run were somewhere around 80 proof. It was semi-drinkable at this point.

I ran 4 1/2 quarts from the first distilation for the spirit run, collecting in little half pint mason jars to make proper cuts. I saved the best 2 quarts at 106 proof along with a large amount of heads and tails in separate jars. I'll save those for future runs.

I've been aging the 2 quarts of hearts with toasted wood chips for a few weeks. It tastes good already, like a grape brandy flavor with an aftertaste of peaches. I'll probably bottle half of this to drink in the near future, and let the other half age for a few months while I start another batch.

[IanD]

Sulfites will get into the distillate. They'll produce aromas that make you think of baking turkey, chicken, eggs or pistachios. The only way to thoroughly remove them is to treat the first distilled product with soluble copper salts, and then run it a second time.

No. No. No. This is sulphites (UK spelling) not sulphides. They are very different. Sulphides can be removed by copper in the vapour path or copper salts. Sulphites are a completely different matter.

How much sulphite did you add? I'm guessing possibly 50mg/l (1 campden tablet in 5l)? A small amount before fermentation is not necessarily a problem. About 20mg/l will be converted to sulphates by the yeast. You will have 30mg/l in the finished wash. Some of this may come over in the distillation. The smell is unmistakable, kind of like like burnt matches. It's and irritant and can make you cough in large quantities. Put a campden tablet in a little lemon juice and you'll smell it. Be careful, don't get a lungful.

If you detect this smell in the low wines you can remove it very easily with hydrogen peroxide. Try about 10ml-20ml/l of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution in the low wines, mix well and leave for a couple of days. Repeat until you can't detect the sulphite smell anymore and then add another 10ml/l to remove any remaining that you can't smell. This will oxidise the sulphite to sulphate. You will oxidise a few other compounds too but that is just a bit of accelerated aging, not great but not really a problem.

If it comes back in the spirit run you'll have to add more hydrogen peroxide, dilute and re-run.

[Monkeyman88]

Sulfites will get into the distillate. They'll produce aromas that make you think of baking turkey, chicken, eggs or pistachios. The only way to thoroughly remove them is to treat the first distilled product with soluble copper salts, and then run it a second time.

No. No. No. This is sulphites (UK spelling) not sulphides. They are very different. Sulphides can be removed by copper in the vapour path or copper salts. Sulphites are a completely different matter.

How much sulphite did you add? I'm guessing possibly 50mg/l (1 campden tablet in 5l)? A small amount before fermentation is not necessarily a problem. About 20mg/l will be converted to sulphates by the yeast. You will have 30mg/l in the finished wash. Some of this may come over in the distillation. The smell is unmistakable, kind of like like burnt matches. It's and irritant and can make you cough in large quantities. Put a campden tablet in a little lemon juice and you'll smell it. Be careful, don't get a lungful.

If you detect this smell in the low wines you can remove it very easily with hydrogen peroxide. Try about 10ml-20ml/l of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution in the low wines, mix well and leave for a couple of days. Repeat until you can't detect the sulphite smell anymore and then add another 10ml/l to remove any remaining that you can't smell. This will oxidise the sulphite to sulphate. You will oxidise a few other compounds too but that is just a bit of accelerated aging, not great but not really a problem.

If it comes back in the spirit run you'll have to add more hydrogen peroxide, dilute and re-run.

Wether it's a sulphite or a sulphide, it is no different. There is still sulphur.

[IanD]

There is sulphur but in very different forms. Sulphites and sulphides are very different and need to be dealt with differently.

[IanD]

More detail on removal of sulphites.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jib.100/pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

https://www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/TN06.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Alhthough in my experience the calculations in the latter link don't work. You always have to add a lot more H2O2 than the calculations suggest hence my suggestions above.

[IanD]

... and sulphide

http://www.thevintnervault.com/index.ph ... ps&id=5781" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

and good discussion by professional distillers here

http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=1926" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[MDH]

Remove sulfur flaws:

1. Combine solutions of copper sulfate with sodium bicarbonate, a solid will be created, capture this solid using coffee filters and run a bit of water through it to clean it out. This is copper carbonate.
2. Buy "Acid blend" at winemaking stores. This is a combination of malic and tartaric acid. Make a solution of this and gradually react it bit by bit with the copper carbonate until bubbling stops and a blue solution is left.
3. Store this away and use it with discretion.

Copper sulfate I don't like because it will react in such a way that is undesirable in distilled spirits. This solution (Which is copper tartarate and malate) can be added to low wines of sulfured distillate, and then that distillate can be redistilled. The copper stays behind in the still and the resulting liquid is free of sulfur flaws.

[stony183]

Hi Salty city, new to forum. Curious did you cool the sugar wash with the blended peaches on stove before pitching your yeast and if so for how long and what temp.?? Thank You

[stony183]

Hi Salty city, new to forum. Curious did you cook the sugar wash with the blended peaches on stove before pitching your yeast and if so for how long and what temp.?? Thank You

Theosus - Please do try this! I plan on doing the same thing when the peaches come in season around here as well as a bunch of other fruit.

MoonBreath - I am trying to figure out how to make a good whitedog but I just cant seem to get it right so I went to a different option in the peaches and I think I am stuck on the brandy end of things. I noticed that they dont have to be 100% puree(sp?) and if you let it sit a few days after its reached below 1.000 on the hydrometer the wash eats away at the peaches. I will be posting pictures below of the run I did last night and it was even tastier than the first! Be sure to push the cap down on it every day from what I have noticed. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

NZChris - Its crazy. Even the heads and tails on the brandy is tasty. I have a small barrel I am going to be putting a bunch of hearts into. So I am excited about that. I am happy yours turned out so well.

Also have some pictures for everyone! Dont judge me by my way of uploading them.
The jars at the bottom proofs straight off the still are as follows
1. 139
2. 139.
3. 133
4. 133
5. 130
6. 130
7. 129
8. 120
9. 115
10. 112
This is where I ran out of things to put it in so I had to stop.

Since I cant figure out how to post the pictures here is a link to the album.
http://imgur.com/a/ZnJK3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[m314]

Hi Salty city, new to forum. Curious did you cool the sugar wash with the blended peaches on stove before pitching your yeast and if so for how long and what temp.?? Thank You

When I did my batch, I used room temperature jars of peaches with warm water (90 degrees f) from the sink. I mixed the peaches, sugar, and water in a 6 gallon bucket and blended them with a paint stirrer drill attachment, then I pitched the yeast after blending.

Upon further review, my batch isn't the best brandy I've had. When drinking a shot I get the heat from the alcohol followed by a strong aftertaste of canned peaches. It's great; it's just not the taste of a fresh peach. I'd like to try a batch made from fresh peaches at some point.

[stony183]

Hi Salty city, new to forum. Curious did you cool the sugar wash with the blended peaches on stove before pitching your yeast and if so for how long and what temp.?? Thank You

When I did my batch, I used room temperature jars of peaches with warm water (90 degrees f) from the sink. I mixed the peaches, sugar, and water in a 6 gallon bucket and blended them with a paint stirrer drill attachment, then I pitched the yeast after blending.

Upon further review, my batch isn't the best brandy I've had. When drinking a shot I get the heat from the alcohol followed by a strong aftertaste of canned peaches. It's great; it's just not the taste of a fresh peach. I'd like to try a batch made from fresh peaches at some point.

Awesome, I think I'll wait until they are in season. Just curious, wonder if ya packed one section of copper mesh up column and ran in half reflux mode if it would cut down the heavy peach and give it just a slight hint of peach????

[NZChris]

If you get too much peach, cut it with neutral. It's more likely you'll have trouble capturing the peach, especially if you are not using a pot still.

[m314]

I distilled mine twice with a pot still. The strength of the peach flavor isn't a bad thing. It just tastes exactly like canned peaches. It's different. I like canned peaches so I like this too.

I've run 2 batches of apple brandy so far, one made from fresh apple juice and one made from apple juice and sugar. They seem more like what a brandy is "supposed" to taste like. I've only bought brandy from a store a few times, so I don't have much experience in judging quality.

[stony183]

I distilled mine twice with a pot still. The strength of the peach flavor isn't a bad thing. It just tastes exactly like canned peaches. It's different. I like canned peaches so I like this too.

I've run 2 batches of apple brandy so far, one made from fresh apple juice and one made from apple juice and sugar. They seem more like what a brandy is "supposed" to taste like. I've only bought brandy from a store a few times, so I don't have much experience in judging quality.

Awesome guys appreciate the feedback. I'm gonna give it a try in the next week or two and when I get done I'll let ya know how it turns out. I'll just run in pot still mode and cut down with my neutral if need be.