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I modded the Harbor Freight chipper in about 20mins, easier than I ever expected! I wish I would have done this in August!!!! You can basically pour them in now. I used a Dremel, a saw, and a screwdriver. The safety is out the window, but it's about a 6" opening now. I'm thinking about attachi...

I was walking with my granddaughter at my sons house and several houses down a family was in the front yard making apple cider. They had a small commercial press and were grinding the apples in a cuisinart blender. They were not making a lot and I commented that it looked like fun. Enjoyed talking ...

The summer flew by and harvest season is upon us. Between canning and projects like building a carport for the adventure van, I am getting behind on fermenting. Earlier this summer I took pictures of my new Damson plum trees, planted last year. 20240801_114727_resized.jpg For a tree planted last yea...

The Damson plums I planted a couple of years ago are loaded this year. Still not a huge amount because they are small trees but maybe enough to pinch off a small batch of Slivovitz. Even just tasting them fermented will be very interesting. Finally doing the spirit run from last year's cider on Thur...

Stillanoob- Thanks for your reply and input. Just to be clear, because I'm usually not, I did not do a second press. I made a volume of simple syrup equal to the volume that I pressed out as cider and at the same SG as the cider, and then fermented that on the previously pressed apples, which is wh...

No pectinase will be fine. I never use any for apple. I wouldn't have added sugar or done the second press but it will be fine. I find the sugar will add a "bite" and when I want to boost the ABV (never by more than 3%ABV) I use honey. Which is easy for me as I have bees. I am a big propon...

Did the last apple press of the year here. Total of over 60 gallons. 30 into brandy, 10 into hard cider and the rest in sweet. We have a sort of collective and so a lot goes to sweet. Added 20 pounds of honey to the cider brandy because I had it from my hives. Overall, not bad. Not as much as some y...

Bushman wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:23 am IMG_1897.jpeg

That one made me laugh out loud.

Welp, guess I am going to try triple distilling apple brandy... I got back from a month long road trip to Alaska a couple of weeks ago. 7,749.2 miles. I had stripped last year's cider before I left and yesterday did the spirit run. I suffered a rectocranial inversion and when using the product dilut...

I do a lot with apples as well do you have your own press and scratter? I built a press from a Harbor Freight 20 ton press and a my scratter is a 3/4 HP SS garbage disposal. It works for now, but I likely need a better scratter / grinder as my volume increases I have the same press but changed my s...

I am zone 5. So plenty of chill hours. Summers do get hot but rarely to100. Lucky man. A lot of choices open to you. I will admit to some envy as my choices are more limited. Take a cruise through the orangepippin catalog and come back here with what appeals to you. Maybe I can vicariously enjoy yo...

Anyone have a suggestion for an apple variety that would be a good cider apple and have some fireblight resistance? A big part of the answer to that will depend on where you live and what chill hours you tend to get and what heat in the summer. Some varieties will not produce reliably without enoug...

Made from fresh pressed? Or from a jar or can? And what varieties you have access to will also dictate what flavor you get. Golden Delicious on it's own is bland. Mixed with Jonathan's or any bitter/tannic apple is great. I do a nibble test to see what flavors will come through after a ferment. Nibb...

Apples look good here in N Colorado. So hope to run a batch of apple brandy. Would like to ferment on the pulp in hopes of getting more apple flavor. Question - when you ferment on the pulp does it mostly break down, or do I need to plan on squeezing similar to squeezing the grain after fermenting ...

Plums a bust this year. Peaches a bust. Apples look ok but not great. Ran last year's cider stripping run. Going to have to leave the low wines until I get back from Alaska.

I am at one of those ebbs in energy. I think apples are all I will do this year.

Hard to say how the year is going to shake out in my county. Long cold winter here but the plums went off on their usual schedule. Too early to tell how they set will be. Around here plums are boom or bust so we just have to wait and see the set. I am gone for almost all of June on a road trip to Al...

I need to check last year's brandy cider and see if it is ready to run. Probably is but it has been a long cold winter. Just sampled some of my 2 year old apple and it is getting really nice. Almost time to bottle it and call it a day. Haven't even tasted the run from last year. I'll let it sit unti...

I just use the idophor that I have for sanitizing. I have no idea what the percentage is but it indicates starch clearly.

I tried garbage disposal and it worked pretty well (aside from needing to cut the apples) but it would overheat when going through 2-300 pounds of apples and took a long time to cool down. After buying an awesome scratter I realize that a grater rather than a grinder is the way to go. So if I needed...

Hahahahaha.......yeah what she doesn't know yet is that Bundy is like Vegemite.....only an Aussie could love it. Bundy tastes nothing like any other Rum on earth...and not in a good way imo. I was visiting my grandmother in England when I was about 6 years old. She asked if I would like some marmal...

The wok was a handy size too. Shit it feels good to get creative AND have it actually work! I chucked the stones into a cloth hanging over/in a 30L container to catch more juice. I got absolutely no scalding distilling the thick wash, which was a bonus. I do use a concealed element though and I sti...

I Guess it wasn't the math that i was asking about, rather how to actually print the patterns at the larger size. I would prefer to print them here at home on my personal printer. honestly all i need are the frustum patterns. I am handy not techy lol I'm sure there are ways to break it up into page...

Wouldn't be hard. There are plenty of calculators out there that will tell you the volume of a frustum. Once you know the dimensions you need for the volume you want you can scale the plans up. I would take a look at the size and gauge copper sheets you can get your hands on and factor that in when ...

While I am perfectly happy stilling with 19 century technology I am looking forward to a glimpse of the future! Start another thread and share.

I don't know much about chemistry, but I know a little bit about moonshining. One thing I'd do for sure, is to clean the product condenser really good before I used it again. The reason redistilling hasn't cleaned up the blue, is because more is being added each time. And I'd clean and dry it real ...

I can't believe it happened to me. I'm always so careful. I used protection and everything. My life is ruined. :D Seriously, though, I've never gotten an unintentional infection. The low wines smell quite interesting. I have high hopes for this batch. But I'm curious how it would have turned out if...

Yeah, I have no use for Granny Smiths. No sugar or taste for cider and a so-so for pie. The only good thing I can say is that they store well and if you want natural pectin they have plenty. I think a catapult would be about the best use. man it's my favorite cider apple! the best sweet/tart cider ...

Hidden underneath all the Fuji and Braeburns was a whole bunch of what I'm assuming are Granny Smiths which aren't very tart but are quite sour. I'm not a fan of Granny Smiths and Mrs Cranky hates them, even in pies, so I've been scratching my head about what to do with 55 pounds of Granny Smiths. ...

I just planted some Damson's last spring so I haven't gotten any fruit yet. But I am a plum wine and slivovitz fan. We don't press the plums, just break them up and ferment them pits and all with enough sugar to get the wine to 12% so that it keeps. Rack once from the primary and once from the secon...

Most of the costs of my blackberry concoctions have been for petrol and accommodation. We usually take jars of high proof neutral with us and go hunting for wild berries to pick straight into the jars. While I love a good infusion too, the product of just distilled fruit can be amazing. If you can ...