Apple Brandy Recipe

[cranky]

I don't know that I would call it trial and error Cranky and Frenzy. I've had very few trials that were disasters and produced distasteful products, especially with fruit. I'd call it trial and development if anything, tweaking each new season's method after referring back to previous seasons notes.

Well said

[frenzy]

That is helpful indeed, thank you!

[Justinthunder]

Hi, I just got a 12 Gallon moonshine still and a thump for my first set up, I am looking to make a batch of apple brandy. I picked a ton of crab apples and also picked a ton of choke cherries, would you reccomend adding that as well or just the apples?. I have a 57L square bucket with a flap lid I bought for fermenting, would you recommend an airlock for next time? I also purchased some malted barley to make corn whisky, do you think you would add that to this recipe? I dont own a grain mill for the barley but I've been told you can blitz it in a blender.

[stillanoob]

You need some sweet apples to go with the crab apples for sugar content. I would use only apples to make apple brandy. I have only one apple brandy under my belt but it turned out great. After pressing the juice was going to produce about 6% ABV. I used honey to bring it up to 10%. Many frown on that practice and prefer juice only. I will be running a batch this Friday of 10 gallons of cider that I made for drinking, so no added sugar. It will be interesting to taste the difference.

For the choke cherries I would do about the same, add a little sugar or honey to bring the ABV up a little. I think the key is to not get greedy and add a lot of sugar.

Use the whisky stuff to make whisky.

[cranky]

Hi, I just got a 12 Gallon moonshine still and a thump for my first set up, I am looking to make a batch of apple brandy. I picked a ton of crab apples and also picked a ton of choke cherries, would you reccomend adding that as well or just the apples?. I have a 57L square bucket with a flap lid I bought for fermenting, would you recommend an airlock for next time? I also purchased some malted barley to make corn whisky, do you think you would add that to this recipe? I dont own a grain mill for the barley but I've been told you can blitz it in a blender.

I personally feel gain and fruit don't go together and have flavors that will fight each other.

I haven't picked crab apples in a while and don't recall what S.G. they were so a lot depends on how much sugar they contain. Few people do a crab apple only ferment.

Not sure about the choke cherries but apple tends to have the flavor easily overwhelmed or covered up by other things.

[DAD300]

We're about to get our first cider delivery next week.

So, due to an email and some advice I got last year we treat the cider to a starch conversion.

First or early season apples will have a decent amount of starch. Later or apples stored, not so much.

Here's where I got the idea.
_____________________________________________
"Yes the industrial cider makers do sometimes treat mash from under ripe fruit with amylase to achieve maximum sugar levels if they cannot wait for fruit to ripen naturally.

The natural conversion of starch to sugars in ripening fruits is much more complicated and dynamic than the simple action of amylases although they may in part be involved. There are other enzymes such as starch phosphorylase which are thought to play a key role. In maturing apple fruits, the hydrolysis of starch often leads to an increase in sucrose (not glucose) which could not occur by simple amylase action. "
________________________________________________________

It raised the finished ABV of the mash about 1.5%. Not a lot but well worth the enzyme cost.

It also seemed to speed the ferment, I would assume if left in the starch inhibited some yeast function. It enhanced the flavor, I would guess due to more sugar remained unfermented.

By the last of November there won't be as much starch in the cider to convert as early season apples, but it is still an improvement.

Try it!

[cranky]

That's interesting Dad. In other places I have occasionally mentioned that under ripe apples have a "powdery" taste, which would be the starch they are speaking of. I've also noticed that if the apples are under ripe and you juice them with a juicer a white powdery substance will settle out, which again I assume would be starch.

Maybe I'll see about doing that some time and see what I think.

[Justinthunder]

I dont have nearly enough apples to make the amount of cider for a good batch of brandy. I just bought a fruit press, I froze all my apples because i knew i wouldnt get to them before they went bad. I was thinking of putting them in a bit of water and boiling them. I also just purchased a paint mixer for my drill. I was thinking about blasting the apples with that, straining the mixture then pressing the sauce. After i get all my juice extracted I was thinking about topping it up to 10 gallons with sugar water. Is there maybe a specific sugar GR I should be aiming for? 1.080 maybe? Also how long does a mash last? I am still waiting for my still. It could be delivered this week but I dont want to pre make this mash and have it go bad because the still didnt arrive. How can you tell a mash is ready without a bubbler? I only have a 57L square bucket with a flap lid. Sorry for all the questions I just want to get this right without having to waste ingredients and buy more things lol.

[cranky]

I dont have nearly enough apples to make the amount of cider for a good batch of brandy. I just bought a fruit press, I froze all my apples because i knew i wouldnt get to them before they went bad.

That is one of the big problems with apples, it takes a lot to make brandy.

I was thinking of putting them in a bit of water and boiling them.

A lot of novices seem to think this way but it is not a good idea. Both watering it down and boiling take away apple flavor. Boiling is actually one of the worst things you can do to it. Pasteurization should only heat the juice to 170f for only a few seconds, then it should be cooled as rapidly as possible because every second it is hot is flavor lost. Sometimes I pasteurize and once I didn't keep a close enough eye on it and accidentally boiled the juice. It lost so much flavor that I never even bothered to use that juice.

I also just purchased a paint mixer for my drill. I was thinking about blasting the apples with that, straining the mixture then pressing the sauce.

I have a crazy apple chopper that began as a very similar idea, a paint mixer in a bucket of apples and it worked fine, except some people trying this method had the mixer break through the side of the bucket and I think some may have actually been hurt by it, so be aware of that. Since you say you froze your apples they should be pretty soft once thawed and should be easier to process as a result so the paint mixer should work.

After i get all my juice extracted I was thinking about topping it up to 10 gallons with sugar water. Is there maybe a specific sugar GR I should be aiming for? 1.080 maybe?

Apple flavor is elusive, adding sugar takes away flavor and will add it's own flavor. I personally don't recommend it.

Also how long does a mash last?

As long as it needs to. It's best to keep it as tightly under airlock as possible, especially after it finishes but I have gone as long as 1.5 years before running a ferment. Of course a lot of factors are in play that can only be answered by you like sanitation, air exposure, yeast used and a lot of others but I almost never run a ferment that hasn't sat for at least a month and often go as long as 3 or 4...or 6. My apple season starts in July and usually ends in December and I run them off in December thru April depending on my free time.

I am still waiting for my still. It could be delivered this week but I dont want to pre make this mash and have it go bad because the still didnt arrive. How can you tell a mash is ready without a bubbler? I only have a 57L square bucket with a flap lid. Sorry for all the questions I just want to get this right without having to waste ingredients and buy more things lol.

There are lots of ways to tell when it's finished, taste, when it stops bubbling, when it clears, measure with a hydrometer, amount of time that has passed. A hydrometer is the most accurate way but I don't bother, I use airlocks and time and when it is clear enough to see through I know it's finished.

[Slivovitz]

I just got a gift of a used cider press. Is the same one here https://www.simplyciderpresses.com/appl ... harvester/

Thank you all for contributing to this because I will be using what I learned here when apples are ready to harvest in October. I live in an area that have hundreds of orchards within a 2-hour Drive.

[cranky]

I just got a gift of a used cider press. Is the same one here https://www.simplyciderpresses.com/appl ... harvester/

Thank you all for contributing to this because I will be using what I learned here when apples are ready to harvest in October. I live in an area that have hundreds of orchards within a 2-hour Drive.

That's a nice press! Someone must really like you

[Justinthunder]

Thanks cranky, that helps with a lot. Next year I will try to round up like 200lbs of apples. Unfortunately for this year I’ll be forced to use some sugar and top up with water, I also have a lot of crab apples which are very tart. I purchased 4 5g packs of ec-1118 do you think 2 would be lots for 10 gallons? I can definitely wait 1 month to ferment. I live in Canada and it gets very cold, I don’t have a drain in my shop so I don’t think I could distill in the winter in here, would 1.080 be a good starting gravity? I'm gonna make this today, I'll let you know how it turns out

[cranky]

Thanks cranky, that helps with a lot. Next year I will try to round up like 200lbs of apples. Unfortunately for this year I’ll be forced to use some sugar and top up with water, I also have a lot of crab apples which are very tart. I purchased 4 5g packs of ec-1118 do you think 2 would be lots for 10 gallons? I can definitely wait 1 month to ferment. I live in Canada and it gets very cold, I don’t have a drain in my shop so I don’t think I could distill in the winter in here, would 1.080 be a good starting gravity? I'm gonna make this today, I'll let you know how it turns out

Store bought apple juice is a better choice rather than water and sugar.

I use 1 packet of yeast for every 5 gallons of ferment.

I really can't say what the best S.G. would be for the method you are using because I don't use it and don't recommend it with apples.

[Justinthunder]

This is my mash, I couldn’t afford the real apple juice and as my worse day got even more worse the water machine at our local store was broken so I was able to liquify most of it, I’m gonna hopefully get some water tomorrow. I’ll strain it with my double sieve and try to pick out the cherry pits, then I’ll press it and top it up to 10 gallons. I think it’s turning out great. Will keep you guys posted.

*update

out of the 5 or 6 gallons of apple/cherry sauce i made i got about 3 gallons of juice. I think I will spring for the apple juice just to give it a little more flavor as I dumped a 5 gallon jug of water in it. It does taste very good though. i also had a blow out on my nylon bag and got apple mush all over my leg and shoes lol. I hope my fruit press technique improves over time

[buzz94111]

“I use 1 packet of yeast for ever 5gal of ferment”


Super newb here, im planning to use 5.5 gal of unpasteurized cider and ec-1118 to try my first brandy. Would you say 1 packet of yeast is true also for cider? I just have a brick of ec1118 so not exactly sure on the packet size tho?

I have been reading on the site since Jan and i think i remember a chart/graph/post about how much yeast to use vs how much sugar but i cant seem to find it now when i need it.

[buzz94111]

I forgot 165grams of sugar in the 5.5gal of cider

[cranky]

“I use 1 packet of yeast for ever 5gal of ferment”


Super newb here, im planning to use 5.5 gal of unpasteurized cider and ec-1118 to try my first brandy. Would you say 1 packet of yeast is true also for cider? I just have a brick of ec1118 so not exactly sure on the packet size tho?

I have been reading on the site since Jan and i think i remember a chart/graph/post about how much yeast to use vs how much sugar but i cant seem to find it now when i need it.

A packet of yeast is 5 grams and yes 5 gallons of anything that is being fermented, cider, wine, cheerios, tomato juice...whatever.

[Justinthunder]

I finished juicing my apples/cherries, I added a bunch of suger, water and apple juice. I ended up with about 15 gallons at the end. I added 3 packs of EC-1118. The juice tastes amazing my fiance says I should go into the juice making buisness. I ended up with a SG of 1.072 and I think i will let it sit maybe 2 months, Depends on weather I guess.

[mndvtn2020]

What kind of apple is better for the brandy? Anybody would preffer more acid o sweet apples?

At my first attemp I used a 2/1 proportion of green and red apple

[cranky]

What kind of apple is better for the brandy? Anybody would preffer more acid o sweet apples?

At my first attemp I used a 2/1 proportion of green and red apple

Some may disagree with me but I feel

The best apples for brandy are free apples

Next on my list are any "spitter" apples, which are apples you take a bite of then spit back out because the worst apples make the best brandy.

Then a mix of varieties of preferably small apples, not those giant apples they sell at the stores around here.

Last would be a mix of any apples.

[stillanoob]

I agree with Cranky that free apples are best. If you have a choice though I would go with 2/3 sweet apples (Golden Delicious, Gravenstien) and 1/3 tannic apples. Tannic apples are usually smaller and red. When you take a nibble of the skin and a little bit of the flesh underneath it should be tannic with apple flavors. I find those favors are the ones that persist longest after fermentation is complete. I assume (or at least hope) that those flavors also carry over into the brandy. I have only done two runs of apple brandy and they are still aging so we will see.

[Dutchsprings]

Cranky I’m getting ready to start a 75 gallon ferment of unpasteurized cider. I recognize that adding sugar dilutes the flavors. But what if I added concentre? The removal of the water has been accomplished the only issue is on if any chemicals were or were not used. Thoughts??

[NZChris]

Cranky I’m getting ready to start a 75 gallon ferment of unpasteurized cider. I recognize that adding sugar dilutes the flavors. But what if I added concentre? The removal of the water has been accomplished the only issue is on if any chemicals were or were not used. Thoughts??

Read the label. If no nasties have been used, go for it.

[cranky]

I agree with Chris, I feel concentrate is a good way to add sugar and flavor but it might also make it more acidic.

[Dutchsprings]

Am I misinterpreting things regarding acidity? It will affect the starting Ph which can be adjusted but isn’t the strongest flavors in higher acidic apples?? Hence baking apples being tart but minimal sugar which is compensated by adding sugar through baking.

[stillanoob]

It is more complicated than just more acid is more flavorful. Take Granny Smiths. They are a very acid apple but have a mild flavor. Nibble near the skin and there is little flavor. They make a great baking apple because they are acid, high in pectin and keep texture when cooked. This makes the filling thicken and leaves some tooth to the apple. Low acid apples do tend to be bland though. That is why while I use 50% - 60% Golden Delicious and Gravenstien for sugar content I am always looking for other apples to mix with them. A cider made with sugar apples alone will finish very dry and light with no apple character. I live in an area with low chill hours and so the varieties I can get or grow are limited. I would use a lower percentage of the sweet apples if I could.

Here is a good if brief article on apples for cider making:

https://www.ciderschool.com/orcharding/apples/

The very best cider has a good mix of apples. I just lost my main source of tannic apples this year and I really miss them already. I could tell by tasting the sweet cider that the hard cider I made this year will be lack-luster.

[cranky]

Am I misinterpreting things regarding acidity? It will affect the starting Ph which can be adjusted but isn’t the strongest flavors in higher acidic apples?? Hence baking apples being tart but minimal sugar which is compensated by adding sugar through baking.

I don't think that's necessarily true. Basically apples fall into 4 categories, Sweet, Bittersweet, Bitter and Tart. If you measure sugar levels they are actually fairly consistent regardless of the apples. For instance when I measure a Granny Smith it is the same Brix as a Honeycrisp, Braburn, Red Delicious or pretty much anything store bought. The difference is acidity and tannin levels not really sugar.

Now one problem with store bought apples is they are grown for resale so dessert apples are often grown to produce as large of an apple as possible and that tends to make them watery and less flavorful whereas Granny Smiths are grown for cooking so they aren't as watery, or large. A small home grown dessert apple will have as much flavor as cooking apples even though it will also have higher sugar than most anything you can buy commercially.

Some people are aware that I am growing some apple trees that came from what's called a "chance seedling" they produce apples that are small, crisp (some would say hard) and have an almost unbelievably high sugar content and low acidity, they also have a tremendous amount of flavor.

I find most free range or wild apples to have far more flavor and complexity than any store bought apples regardless of sugar or acidity levels.

Posting at same time as stillanoob who probably said it much better than me.

[stillanoob]

Now one problem with store bought apples is they are grown for resale so dessert apples are often grown to produce as large of an apple as possible and that tends to make them watery and less flavorful whereas Granny Smiths are grown for cooking so they aren't as watery, or large. A small home grown dessert apple will have as much flavor as cooking apples even though it will also have higher sugar than most anything you can buy commercially.

Some people are aware that I am growing some apple trees that came from what's called a "chance seedling" they produce apples that are small, crisp (some would say hard) and have an almost unbelievably high sugar content and low acidity, they also have a tremendous amount of flavor.

I find most free range or wild apples to have far more flavor and complexity than any store bought apples regardless of sugar or acidity levels.

I totally agree that store bought apples can lack character. They are grown for size, appearance and the ability to store well. And I also agree that free range/wild apples have more flavor and complexity. I have wondered why, maybe that not being treated or pruned, living with diseases and surviving does it. In any case there is something there. The tannic apples I can no longer get (the property sold and the new owners didn't answer my note) were small, scabby and funny shaped. But they were the perfect tannic apple. Even the common as dirt Golden Delicious varies from place to place, the ones at my place aren't quite the same as the ones at my friends and so on.

Posting at same time as stillanoob who probably said it much better than me.

Nope. But we are on the same page for sure.

[cranky]

Even the common as dirt Golden Delicious varies from place to place, the ones at my place aren't quite the same as the ones at my friends and so on.

It's funny how that happens. I know that apples from west of the Cascade mountains are actually sought after for their flavor, particularly Golden Delicious which is due to a lot of factors, soil, water, air... you know, what the French call terroir. I personally think apples and the cider/brandy produced from them taste better if the tree has to fend for itself.

This year was a wet year here and all the apples I've picked are lower in sugar, have less flavor and are watery as a result. In a normal year the flavor is much better and in a drought year they are at their best.

I will say in spite of the weather my late season apples make a very good pie and the apple butter we just put up is outstanding. I need to get in gear and see if I can make whats left into cider before my wife decides they need to be sauce... or more apple butter.

[jonnys_spirit]

An apple pie sounds pretty good to me and it probably doesn’t take nearly as many apples as a bottle of apple brandy but i’d be a sucker for a cut of both....

Cheers,
Jonny