Apples !

[udiraz]

Hey.
I got about 300 KG of apples (that's what I could put in my car...) - red delicious and pink lady. those are third grade apples, used mainly for industry - juice, extracts etc. I picked the better once though...
The real nice thing about it - it was free, and I can get more if I want (and I want ). I will probably be able to get also pears, peaches and plums from this guy. hopefully all for free. it is the biggest packing/manufacturer for those kind of fruits in Israel. probably the best connection I can have !

My plans are:
First, try to cut most of the rotten parts , then grind, press, put in some yeast (1116/1118) ferment and distill.
I have a basket wine press - will it suit to pressing those grinded apples ? do I need to put some cloth on the press ?
Any other suggestions ?


I am so excited about it.
First time I am doing fruits that are not grapes.

Thanks guys

[yakattack]

Clean them up as planned. And then grind them up to a semi pulp.

A fruit press will work but you can make it more efficient with a few mods.

1) burlap or cotton wrap inside around the slats.
2 )press plates - there are a number of ways you can do this but basically you want to have a few cut out plates that are solid (think plywood circle cut in half and whole drilled for the Centre shaft, but I wouldn't use plywood myself). Fill part way. Insert plates. Fill more. Repeat. This will help with even pressure distribution. And an even pressing. My first use of the press wasn't optimal. The center was still very wet. By adding the press plates you will get the most out of the apples.

If you need any more help or advice there are a number of us that do a lot of apples. Cranky is the first that comes to mind. I'm pretty sure it's bushman that does also. Jedneck or Jimbo. (Or both) vast knowledge between those guys. Hell they could write a manual for dummies for apples and other assorted fruits.

Yak

[thatguy1313]

Awesome score! Sounds like you got a plan. Jimbo has a good Apple brandy thread.

[cranky]

What those guys said ^^^ here is the link to Jimbo's apple thread http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 83&t=32309
I love free fruit
I have been doing apples in the way you describe for a few years now and it works just fine but is time consuming. My press is only 3 gallons and I use cheap pillow cases as press bags but there are lots of options. 300 pounds of apples should give you close to 18 gallons of juice. 1118 is a very good yeast for apple brandy too.

[yakattack]

300 kg. -661 lbs. Almost 40 gallons of juice :p

[cranky]

300 kg. -661 lbs. Almost 40 gallons of juice :p

sorry, missed that KG Yep somewhere around 40 gallons of juice. That's going to be a lot of work in a small press, but I did 64 gallons that way so it is doable and worth the effort.

[udiraz]

Thanks guys.
My press is about 35 litres - about 9 gallons.
When I press grapes, it takes me a few hours to press 300 KG. I guess apples should take more or less the same time.


How long does it take to ferment with 1118 ?

How much alcohol drink does it make sense to get after all from this amount of apples ? just want to know that I am not doing something completely wrong...

Thanks !

[IanD]

I had 1/2 tonne of mostly pink lady apples a few years ago. They were very sweet and low in acidity. pH was over 4.0. I added malic acid to get the pH down to about 3.6. Apple juice above pH 3.8 is very susceptible to infections. I was making (hard) cider not for distilling at the time so I also added S02 to help kill nasties. Don't do that for distilling. If it had been destined for distilling I would have taken the pH even lower maybe to 3.2.

[Bushman]

Here is my thread on my build and how I do it. I use those 5 gallon paint strainer bags in a turkey fryer basket.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... pple+press

[udiraz]

Well, I crashed and pressed, but ended up with only ~90 litres of apple juice.
Maybe I did not calculate the weight well, and some 20 KG of apples were to rotten to be used. But what I think is the main reason, is that my crusher did not crush it fine enough, and so the press could not juice it well. does this make sense ?
I will try to upload some pictures of the crushed apples
Anyway, I have about 90 litres fermenting slowly at about 15 degrees (celsius) - on fermenter with 1118, and the other with 1116. I was just interested to see if there is difference.
The juice was 15 brix, so I expect about 8% ABV in the cider.

[Bushman]

Well, I crashed and pressed, but ended up with only ~90 litres of apple juice.
Maybe I did not calculate the weight well, and some 20 KG of apples were to rotten to be used. But what I think is the main reason, is that my crusher did not crush it fine enough, and so the press could not juice it well. does this make sense ?
Yes
I will try to upload some pictures of the crushed apples
Anyway, I have about 90 litres fermenting slowly at about 15 degrees (celsius) - on fermenter with 1118, and the other with 1116. I was just interested to see if there is difference.
The juice was 15 brix, so I expect about 8% ABV in the cider.
8% I would think would be a max.

Pics would be helpful.

[Secale]

The Apple Lottery has been won.

Make sure you give a nice bottle of finished product to whomever gave you those apples.

Work fast and beware those freaking fruit flies.

[SilverBullet]

I have 50L of squeezed cider and added 4 packs of E1118 in the 60L plastic drum. It's bubbling real fast. Hopefully I didn't over due the yeast.

[cranky]

I have 50L of squeezed cider and added 4 packs of E1118 in the 60L plastic drum. It's bubbling real fast. Hopefully I didn't over due the yeast.

Sounds good to me, I use one or two packs to 5 gallons, you have 15 gallons so it is good. Let it go at least a month before you run it.

[piperdave]

Sounds about what I did when I ran 50 L of juice in the fall. Came out fine. Think it was cranky that told me yeast love apple juice when mine was bubbling like all get go.

[Boozy25]

Hi,
I've managed to get some apples from my local shop they were about to throw out. I was planning to give apple brandy a try. Some of the apples are quite old and have brown soft bits over them. Will this still be OK to use? I assume it will but just wanted to make sure.

[cranky]

Hi,
I've managed to get some apples from my local shop they were about to throw out. I was planning to give apple brandy a try. Some of the apples are quite old and have brown soft bits over them. Will this still be OK to use? I assume it will but just wanted to make sure.

If my apples get bruised I cut out the bruised part the best I can and use the rest.

[D in Texas]

Gentlemen, I'm new to alcohol distilling and would like some critique and suggestions on how to improve my current process.

I enjoy making fruit liquor from overripe or bruised fruit (only apples and peaches so far). Being the lazy sort that I am, I built a garbage disposal grinder. I quarter the apples, roughly remove the core and then grind 20 lbs of fruit to rough applesauce consistency. I don't expel the juice, I ferment with the fruit pulp. I add 4 lbs of sugar dissolved in water, distiller's yeast and water to make 4 gallons total. I stir every day and figure when fermentation is done by taste and lack of activity (usually about day 22-25). I distill the entire mixture - pulp and all. I have a small 2 gallon Chinese pot still, so I have to run two batches. I throw out the first 40 ml (per 8000 ml still charge, or 0.5%) and then collect everything until about 1700 ml off, at an average of 38% ABV. Sometimes this will be slightly cloudy, but that usually dissipates if I age the liquor on apple or oak chips.

I'm very happy with the product, which tastes like a slightly fruity distilled spirit, but not overpoweringly of apples. No headaches or indications that I'm cutting too deeply. Now I'm looking to buy a better 5 gallon still with a larger 2" column. Would this be a good choice that would allow me more control, but yet still retain as much fruit taste as I can? What else would you suggest that I do? Thanks very much...

[Bushman]

Your process sounds very close to the way Jimbo does his Brandy using pulp and juice combined in the fermenter. As for boilers 5 gallons is the minimum size we recommend for making cuts. I think if you stick around a while you will be moving up to 8+ gallons. Most folks here use kegs 15.5 gallons.

[rad14701]

The only downside to fermenting and distilling on the pulp is that it produces more methanol than without, meaning that you may need to take larger foreshots and heads cuts... Your 40ml sounds a bit light... It also sounds like you aren't making any cuts other than the small foreshots cut...

[D in Texas]

Thanks, guys, for weighing in. Would the use of pectin enzyme help reduce the foreshots? (and yes, I'm increasing that cut to 80 or 100 ml). And yes, rad, I'm only taking the foreshots cut. I just don't have the time to make multiple runs, but perhaps if I ran larger batches, I could. Would a stripper run improve the flavor?

[Bushman]

Thanks, guys, for weighing in. Would the use of pectin enzyme help reduce the foreshots? (and yes, I'm increasing that cut to 80 or 100 ml). And yes, rad, I'm only taking the foreshots cut. I just don't have the time to make multiple runs, but perhaps if I ran larger batches, I could. Would a stripper run improve the flavor?

That's not what Rad is talking about:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 63&t=13261

[D in Texas]

Thanks, guys, for the direction.

[harmonyhollow]

Guys - I apologize if this question has been answered, but I can't find it. I am following one of the apple recipes here, and I ground the apples and have them in the fermenter. It appears to me that when the fermentation is done, and perhaps when the fruit falls (or doesn't) that there is a good amount of alcohol left in the pulp. I was thinking I should press the pulp after its done to extract the liquid but can't find where anyone has done that. What are your thoughts on pressing at that point?

Many thanks!

[der wo]

You can press the apples and ferment the juice. You can ferment the whole fruit and press after the fermentation is done. Or you can ferment and distill the whole fruit.
Each version will taste a bit different. But no version is generally better than the other.

[cranky]

Guys - I apologize if this question has been answered, but I can't find it. I am following one of the apple recipes here, and I ground the apples and have them in the fermenter. It appears to me that when the fermentation is done, and perhaps when the fruit falls (or doesn't) that there is a good amount of alcohol left in the pulp. I was thinking I should press the pulp after its done to extract the liquid but can't find where anyone has done that. What are your thoughts on pressing at that point?

Many thanks!

What recipe are you following? I personally like pressing but as Der Wo pointed out, there are lots of ways to do things.

[harmonyhollow]

Thank you both. I am using Taters fruit recipe but using apples.