Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper
cranky wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:19 am
I'm kind of disappointment that my son had to cancel his medical appointment at UW in favor of a more important one at another hospital because it would have given me the opportunity to help you pick plums OVZ.
Wow Cranky even though it didn't happen thanks for the offer
jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:52 am
What's the difference between fermenting on the stones or not? Some bitterness or a certain flavor?
Thanks,
jonny
I'm not 100 % sure if the stones impart any bitterness but for my style of ferment I do not want them in there. Also I find that smashing the fruit makes for a cleaner ferment.
cranky wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:19 am
I'm kind of disappointment that my son had to cancel his medical appointment at UW in favor of a more important one at another hospital because it would have given me the opportunity to help you pick plums OVZ.
Wow Cranky even though it didn't happen thanks for the offer
Stay safe
OVZ
He is having a lot of medical stuff done lately and I would much rather spend my time picking fruit than just sitting in a waiting room or the car even if it's picking fruit for someone else.
You put the fruit with the stones and all into a barrel and let it sit until they are soft enough that you can use a mortar mixer and puree it. Usually 7 to 10 days. Then it ferments naturally in the stones settle to the bottom.
I can't speak to any particular flavors but that is the traditional way of doing a plum brandy naturally.
When you go to distill it you strain it and don't cook it on the stones though in Europe I know several people that cook it stones and all.
cranky wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:52 pm
He is having a lot of medical stuff done lately and I would much rather spend my time picking fruit than just sitting in a waiting room or the car even if it's picking fruit for someone else.
Slivovitz wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:03 pm
You put the fruit with the stones and all into a barrel and let it sit until they are soft enough that you can use a mortar mixer and puree it. Usually 7 to 10 days. Then it ferments naturally in the stones settle to the bottom.
I can't speak to any particular flavors but that is the traditional way of doing a plum brandy naturally.
When you go to distill it you strain it and don't cook it on the stones though in Europe I know several people that cook it stones and all.
I guess that with my method the fruit is ripe and soft to start with, so more natural sugars and no added other sugars needed.
jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 4:19 pm
How much plum wine are you expecting from the 90#? About 5-6 gallons? 200# more sounds like a cool neighbor in my book!
Cheers,
jonny
My cool neighbor is letting the rest of the fruit hang on the tree until they start dropping then they are all mine
stay safe
OVZ
jonnys_spirit wrote:What's the difference between fermenting on the stones or not? Some bitterness or a certain flavor?
Thanks,
jonny
I can’t speak for slivovitz, only Hungarian pálinka. Everyone I know in Hungary removes the stones. I believe that leaving them in gives you more methyl alcohols which are not pleasant or healthy. These mostly come out in the foreshots and early heads. Some will smear into your final product.
I’m fortunate to have a large productive plum tree so I pick ripe and fallen fruit most days for about a month. I split them by hand, put the fruit in the fermenter, top up with water as needed and bin the stones. This way I only have a bucket to do at a time. Works well with all natural fermentation.
I’m not sure if measuring sugar content / specific gravity is really worthwhile as a lot of the fruit sugar is locked in the flesh and releases slowly during fermentation.
I managed to pick some plums from my son's tree the other day. I got a 5 gallon bucket full after pitting, they are doing a natural ferment because I don't have any yeast I have various small containers of fruit juice and have been debating adding them in for a mixed fruit brandy, or maybe trying to find the time to pick more plums.
I managed to pick some plums from my son's tree the other day. I got a 5 gallon bucket full after pitting, they are doing a natural ferment because I don't have any yeast I have various small containers of fruit juice and have been debating adding them in for a mixed fruit brandy, or maybe trying to find the time to pick more plums.
Nice one, keep it natural I say. No added yeast or juice. Stir daily until the cap is broken up and ‘dissolved’ and it will reform - stops keeps the fruit from drying out, helps to extract the sugars from the flesh and reduces infections.
My product this year is all hearts (with a little smearing from the pot still) and it tastes as good as any Pálinka I ever tried. [emoji2]
I'm not a big fan of natural yeast. My thinking is that unless the plums come from a large well established orchard or wild plum thicket and the yeast have had time to adapt to that specific fruit it's a crap shoot. I much prefer having control over the yeast when possible but time has not been my friend this year so wild yeast is what I currently have.
I will probably order some on Amazon in the next couple days so I can get ready for the late season apples.
I've tried three natural ferments in my life. The first turned out great and I thought "this is awesome!". The next two turned out like crap. Nowadays I just don't want to risk all the hard work that takes and want a consistent result. So pitching yeast it is for me.
cranky wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:16 pm
I'm not a big fan of natural yeast. My thinking is that unless the plums come from a large well established orchard or wild plum thicket and the yeast have had time to adapt to that specific fruit it's a crap shoot. I
I totally agree that it can be a crap shoot and also unless you are working with the same orchard year after year and have tested the natural yeast there is no repeatability year after year. I prefer to control what yeast gets to live happily in my ferments, the key words are a happy ferment, if your ferment goes to shit well you are going to produce shit.
cranky wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:16 pm
I'm not a big fan of natural yeast. My thinking is that unless the plums come from a large well established orchard or wild plum thicket and the yeast have had time to adapt to that specific fruit it's a crap shoot. I
I totally agree that it can be a crap shoot and also unless you are working with the same orchard year after year and have tested the natural yeast there is no repeatability year after year. I prefer to control what yeast gets to live happily in my ferments, the key words are a happy ferment, if your ferment goes to shit well you are going to produce shit.
Stay safe
OVZ
That’s interesting to hear. Perhaps I’ve been lucky. I hope to stay lucky!
The strains I normally get hear produce some really wonderful flavours but tend to work very slowly. I do always add some water as I think without it you are setting yourself up for trouble with regard to plums, it's just way too thick to ferment or strain. I have only had one or two ferments stall or slow down enough to virtually stall and so I added a neutral or white wine type yeast to finish it with no problems. If I am using particularly sour plums then I will be adding sugar accordingly to maintain a respectable yield and if that is more than a bit then a more robust yeast might be required.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.Benjamin Franklin
thecroweater wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 4:02 pm
The strains I normally get hear produce some really wonderful flavours but tend to work very slowly. I do always add some water as I think without it you are setting yourself up for trouble with regard to plums, it's just way too thick to ferment or strain. I have only had one or two ferments stall or slow down enough to virtually stall and so I added a neutral or white wine type yeast to finish it with no problems. If I am using particularly sour plums then I will be adding sugar accordingly to maintain a respectable yield and if that is more than a bit then a more robust yeast might be required.
So for the plums that I received they were between 17 to 26 brix and the average was was 20 ish. so no water added just using the natural sugars and breaking down great without added water, Just two punch downs a day I think is the way to go
Bushman wrote:Just picked a bunch of plums today now I have to fight my wife for them.
I hear you bro [emoji13]. I use Italian plums from my allotment. They have deep blue/purple skins and bright green/yellow flesh and they are super sweet. They taste amazing fresh off the tree so I always have to compromise with the family.
I lost my main plum tree due to neighbours wanting a higher steel fence. It was a large tree planted in the 1800s so if not happy with the loss but it was a stewing or canning variety, great yielder but a bit sour to eat too many fresh. I will plant something else but it may be awhile before I get a good yeild, my other neighbour may let me have quite a few of her blood plums as she normally wants a bucket or so and tells me to take the rest. What varieties do you blokes think would be a good one to look out for?
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.Benjamin Franklin
jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:52 am
What's the difference between fermenting on the stones or not? Some bitterness or a certain flavor?
Thanks,
jonny
So my unscientific thinking and calling it that, stones = wood, wood = wood alcohol, wood alcohol = methanol. maybe my thinking is way off base but for me it's so easy to remove the stones and is my preferred method. Also maybe the stones add some bitterness, i can't say because I remove them
thecroweater wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:43 pm
What varieties do you blokes think would be a good one to look out for?
A variety of Prune called Splendour a cross between a French and Hungarian prune.
Eats well fresh and can be dried as a prune is a freestone variety and has a sugar content of 11%.