Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
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Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
I live in the Eastern US, and took up distilling and cider/winemaking three weeks ago. I’m a big whiskey fan so my interests lie in that direction. The wife loves apple cider and since we have an apple tree and three peach trees, I’ll be making fruit brandy in the fall.
There are also black walnut trees around but I’m not sure if those can be fermented or maybe just used to flavor?
Equipment: I decided to start small and get my feet wet with a StillSpirits Air Still, though I can see that I’ll want something with much higher quantity/throughput and where I can control the temp directly.
I made a successful rum/sugar wash and am at the ooint where I need to review aging techniques on glass. I use mason jars at the moment. Also, I made brandy from 5L of the Oak Leaf cabernet that I bought from Walmat at $2.50/ bottle. Smells nice but there’s a harshness that I’m hoping will diminish with age.
I have a 5gal bucket of DADY sugarhead with 20oz of raisins that should be ready to run any day now.
Apple wine (maybe some brandy?): Last weekend, I juiced 5 gal of apple cider (in an OmegaVert masticating juicer.. took hours), fortified with sugar water to 17.7% potential alcohol and started two 5Gal batches, one Lalland EC-1118 yeast and the other Red Star Cuvee’. exact same conditions for both, so I am looking to see if one yeast produces a better flavor than the other. Both yeasts advertise a max of 18% alcohol, and I want a very dry wine (like Ace Joker cider is dry). I’m going to try carbonating it with a soda stream for on demand super hard “cider”.
Also, I decided to start the Wineo Oat Whiskey recipe, using whole oats from TSC. No mill, but I cracked them with my BlendTec. For extra flavor I threw in some apple slices, but in hindsight I’m not sure that was a good idea. We’ll see. It probably would have been better just to juice some and pour that it. The apple chunks floating stop with all the hulls in a big cap. I’m punching down daily, but it’s smelling off.
Tonight I raided the chest freezers and started a 5Gal high gravity sugarhead with strawberries, cut peaches, and bananas, and fresh lemon zest and juice. I did a pectin rest at 120-130, then hit it with a-amylase at 160-165 for an hour. Time to drill some more bucket lids for airlocks! At this rate, I’ll need to hit Lowes soon. In addition to needing more fermenters, I need to make a wort chiller coil — this stuff takes forever to cool!
Ultimately, I want to produce a high quality Irish whiskey, better than Bushmills or Jameson. There’s a ton to learn, and I’m excited about the journey and thankful for the resources available here.
Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Welcome, nuts you could use the shell to flavor your product. Enjoy the reading !
- Tummydoc
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Harvest black walnuts while green on June 24th for noccino. The Italians are specific that they be harvested on the feastday of John the Baptist. You want the nut to be embryonic and the shell soft.
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Aren't they supposed to be harvested by a virgin?
Not sure.
But virgins might be hard to find.
And harder to identify.
Geoff
The Baker
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Yes, harvested by naked virgins by the light of the moon. That's why it's so rare and expensive!!
Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Thanks for the tip, I look forward to trying it this summer, and I’ll post my process and results.
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
It will taste horrible for 3-4 months, but by 6 months magically transforms into a nice liqueur. Even better at a year.
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
I made some nocino once and it tasted horrible.
And never improved.
Must have got it wrong, or it is just maybe something I don't like anyway?
Geoff
And never improved.
Must have got it wrong, or it is just maybe something I don't like anyway?
Geoff
The Baker
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
It's my most requested alcohol! My black walnut tree is very sporadic on its production. On good years I vacuum seal and freeze quartered nuts for later use.
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
I've tasted 3-4 different versions of noccino, they ranged from really really good to truly horrid.
Emptyglass made the best I've tasted.....it was about 3 years old at that stage......tried it when it was younger and wasn't quite as good. It definitely improves with age.
Emptyglass made the best I've tasted.....it was about 3 years old at that stage......tried it when it was younger and wasn't quite as good. It definitely improves with age.
Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
Doc, what method do you recommend for quartering the young walnuts? And I assume that you hull them first, like one would with the mature nuts (I’ve done that once).
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Re: Fermenting like mad in Appalachia
No don't hull them. You are macerating the green shell. They will be the size of a small lime, and cut easily with a knife. Where rubber gloves because they'll stain your hands.
I use the nocino recipe from lifeinabruzo.com.
I use the nocino recipe from lifeinabruzo.com.