PLUMS BRANDY !

Information about fruit/vegetable type washes.

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Demy
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PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

I have collected a small amount of plums, others will be collected later ... this is very small but they are ripe and they are not eaten so each they have if I have the possibility I do a little brandy. My process is simple: ripe fruit (most), no sugar, yeast ... this time I tried a blend of baking powder/ wine/ lager so as not to bore me.
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Initially I had a very low pH (3), I adjusted to about 4.5
It seems to ferment well.
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Chauncey
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Chauncey »

Neat

What's the batch size and how do you plan to run
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Chauncey wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:57 pm Neat

What's the batch size and how do you plan to run
I have a volume of about 40 liters, I usually strip it then I do a spirit run.
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Chauncey
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Chauncey »

Nice. That'll do ya a couple bottles for sure

I haven't made Brandy in a while except once on the flute. Back in the day it was my bread and butter.

And by wine lager and baking powder did you mean wine, lager, and bakers yeast?
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Chauncey wrote: Sat Jul 02, 2022 11:40 am Nice. That'll do ya a couple bottles for sure

I haven't made Brandy in a while except once on the flute. Back in the day it was my bread and butter.

And by wine lager and baking powder did you mean wine, lager, and bakers yeast?
Forgive my language ... I used Ale yeast (similar to us-05), lager yeast, bayanus yeast for sparkling wine ... a mix
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Chauncey
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Chauncey »

Nice! Let us know how it turns out
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Chauncey wrote: Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:16 pm Nice! Let us know how it turns out
CCertainly .. Generally from the plums you get an excellent product. I happened to offer some brandy a little, my guest as he spoke emanated a scent of plums from his breath ..... a remedy for the mints for the breath? :lol: :lol:
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by leont »

You said that these plums are not eaten - why, if they are ripe?

Wait for your results here. Sure you'll have a perfect brandy.
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

leont wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:35 pm You said that these plums are not eaten - why, if they are ripe?

Wait for your results here. Sure you'll have a perfect brandy.
They are too ripe to be eaten (not all but most of them), beyond that you would not be able to finish eating them and they would become compost ... better distil them
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by tommysb »

Hi Demy!

I have a lot of plums in my garden so I should do the same thing.

How do you prepare the plums for fermentation? Do you just blend everything together? And ferment on the stones?

I saw some people saying to just put all the plums in a bucket, mash/blend with a sharpened paint mixer, then let it ferment. Is it what you do?

Cheers!
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Ben
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Ben »

Try 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme and 1 teaspoon citric acid per 10 lbs of plums, a little yeast nutrient doesn't hurt either. For a ferment you are going to distill EC-1118 yeast is probably a good call, should help the initial ferment and make sure the yeast take over quick and ferment dry.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Fermentation finished, I should have waited a few more days but that's okay. I am stripping as is with no filtration whatsoever, using my humble self-made steam jacket.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

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Today I collected 2 more buckets of plums from another tree ... now I will ferment, then stripping so I can combine the low wines of the first and second ferment.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by dieselduo »

I only got about 25 lbs of plums this year. The bears tore the tree up. Have to figure a way to keep them off of it
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

This new batch was made with spontaneous leavening, the indigenous yeasts seem to be very active, the temperature here is high.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by stillanoob »

tommysb wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:40 am Hi Demy!

I have a lot of plums in my garden so I should do the same thing.

How do you prepare the plums for fermentation? Do you just blend everything together? And ferment on the stones?

I saw some people saying to just put all the plums in a bucket, mash/blend with a sharpened paint mixer, then let it ferment. Is it what you do?

Cheers!
I wouldn't use a sharpened blender. I don't want to break the stones. Yes, ferment with the stones. After having some fabulous Czech slivovitz I can see why they do the stripping run on the stones too. I am going to try that, I have 20 gallons of plums fermenting right now.
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

tommysb wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:40 am Hi Demy!

I have a lot of plums in my garden so I should do the same thing.

How do you prepare the plums for fermentation? Do you just blend everything together? And ferment on the stones?

I saw some people saying to just put all the plums in a bucket, mash/blend with a sharpened paint mixer, then let it ferment. Is it what you do?

Cheers!
Sorry for the delay of the answer, I really didn't see it. The fruit is ground entirely, the hazelnuts must be left but they must not be broken, they must be whole. In this case I used a modified (slightly sharp) varnish mixer, whatever it is fine, you could also use your hands if the fruit is very ripe. I built another hard fruit tool (for example apples) but I only use it with hard fruit ... the paint mixer is very comfortable as it is easy to clean.
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Demy
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Demy »

Second finished ferment, I noticed that wild microorganisms have an excellent ability to demolish pectin because this lot is more liquid than the lot made with normal yeast. I have been preparing fruit for years but I have never noticed this. Do you have similar experiences?
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by JustinNZ »

I found that an oversized Head tennis racquet worked perfectly to filter out the stones but retain all the thick wash. This was  part of 70kg of plums fermented after being smashed by a paint stirrer. Used a bit of pectin destroying enzyme and baker’s yeast. Stripped 3/4 yesterday and finishing with a 1.5 today. Pretty mild smelling but should still be nice. Hopefully. The 70kg went through the strings in less than 20 mins. Sensational performance.
I found that an oversized Head tennis racquet worked perfectly to filter out the stones but retain all the thick wash. This was part of 70kg of plums fermented after being smashed by a paint stirrer. Used a bit of pectin destroying enzyme and baker’s yeast. Stripped 3/4 yesterday and finishing with a 1.5 today. Pretty mild smelling but should still be nice. Hopefully. The 70kg went through the strings in less than 20 mins. Sensational performance.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by JustinNZ »

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 stirred a few times while raising the temp.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by stillanoob »

JustinNZ wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:09 pm 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 stirred a few times while raising the temp.
Last year I did the stripping run with the stones. What a fabulous taste addition! I will never remove the stones again. If you want and idea of what it tastes like, get a bottle of Jelinek 5 year white slivovitz. If you like that, keep the stones. Less work too. Last year I used a polyethylene glycol bath which worked but was a pain. For this year I have a thumper ready to do a steam strip.
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Re: PLUMS BRANDY !

Post by Bradster68 »

I'm jealous Demy. I have 2 plum trees planted but are new and have not produced plums first year I'm hoping this year I can't wait to make some plum brandy also. Good luck with everything 🍻
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