Blueberry?

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Woodworld
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Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

Anyone tried blueberry brandy? I have 5+ lbs and wanna try...e 118 yeast...will post results
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Bushman
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Bushman »

Keep us updated, I have two blueberry bushes and would love to find a good recipe.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Stonecutter »

Crazy! My wife was just asking for a blueberry wine. 5lbs ain’t a lot but it’s a start…kind of.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by 8Ball »

I visited a micro distillery in Central Florida that was located on a blueberry farm. Their spirits were blueberry/purple in color, so I’m guessing it was a panty dropper with a twist: they aged it for awhile in 5G oak casks. Had a sample & deemed it good, but not $40 a bottle good.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Interested to see where this thread goes.
The blueberry industry is pretty big in this area.....always a chance I could get second grade berrys free or very cheap.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by HDNB »

did it once, got a great brandy. loved it so much i saved a ration for down the road....a couple years later wanted a treat and broke it out and the flavour was gone.. moral of the story? drink it fresh.
I finally quit drinking for good.

now i drink for evil.
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cranky
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Re: Blueberry?

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HDNB wrote: Sat Aug 21, 2021 8:28 pm did it once, got a great brandy. loved it so much i saved a ration for down the road....a couple years later wanted a treat and broke it out and the flavour was gone.. moral of the story? drink it fresh.
Funny you say that. Some time back someone sent me a sample of their blueberry brandy and it tasted very good. I tried it again a couple weeks ago and the blueberry flavor is gone.

I'm fortunate enough to live near a blueberry park where you can pick all you want for free. Unfortunately it takes a lot of time to pick enough blueberries to make brandy and I don't have enough of that so they always wind up in a mixed berry brandy.
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Re: Blueberry?

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I find them too bland to expect them to make a decent brandy, so I haven't bothered. That said, I have had several tries at making an unrelated fruit brandy that also loses it's characteristic flavor very quickly after distilling. After losing it's flavor, it still makes a very fine base spirit for gin, but it's never the 'hero' flavor of the gin and it's a lot of effort to go to when it's unlikely that anybody will notice it.
Woodworld
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

Went from 5 to 28 lbs of blueberries.. added 6 ibs of sug and 6 gallon H2O...keep ya posted...
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Woodworld wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:04 am Ec1118 and
Bakers yeast
What is the theory behind the two yeasts ?.....if one is good , two must be better? or something more complex?
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

Exactly...why one when can have 2...
I didn't have enough of one kind...so figured would use both .... I may be on to something tho...
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by cranky »

Woodworld wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:07 am .... I may be on to something tho...
Personally I believe you may be on to a lesson about what yeast not to use. There are ways to make enough yeast out of not enough yeast without having to resort to one that doesn't work well with fruit. Not to mention the different working temps of the two yeasts. Hopefully the 1118 will just eat the bakers yeast so it won't do much harm.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Sat Aug 21, 2021 7:01 pm Interested to see where this thread goes.
The blueberry industry is pretty big in this area.....always a chance I could get second grade berrys free or very cheap.
At the risk of offending someone in your area, blueberries and water theft are big in your area! (from what I have read in the papers).

All the banana farmers pulled up their plants for blueberries right?

I would drive through your way every month up north, beautiful country and beaches.

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Re: Blueberry?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:29 am
Woodworld wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:04 am Ec1118 and
Bakers yeast
What is the theory behind the two yeasts ?.....if one is good , two must be better? or something more complex?
I thought the different yeasts competed for nutrients and as said above, completely different temperature ranges.

Bakers optimal at 30C and EC118 at max of 18C
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NZChris
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by NZChris »

CoogeeBoy wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:40 am ...and EC118 at max of 18C
10-30°C according to their website.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

cranky wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:35 pm Hopefully the 1118 will just eat the bakers yeast so it won't do much harm.
That was my point before when I asked why. One will just cannibalize the other is my feeling, probably the EC1118 will win........but then bakers is tough stuff too, it could stand a chance in the fight , depending on wash temp maybe.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

NZChris wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:44 am
CoogeeBoy wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:40 am ...and EC118 at max of 18C
10-30°C according to their website.
oh, I don't know where I got my range from. I stand corrected thank you.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by cranky »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 1:43 am
cranky wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:35 pm Hopefully the 1118 will just eat the bakers yeast so it won't do much harm.
That was my point before when I asked why. One will just cannibalize the other is my feeling, probably the EC1118 will win........but then bakers is tough stuff too, it could stand a chance in the fight , depending on wash temp maybe.
You do have a point which I failed to elaborate on. I think a lot will depend on the temperature the wash. If it's over 80f (27 Canadian) the bakers may win because the 1118 gets lazy in the heat, under 80 the 1118 should win, it's pretty aggressive in the right circumstances. I don't believe Woodworld posted the temp of the wash so who knows.
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Re: Blueberry?

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I knew I liked you shiners...I honestly have no idea what I'm doing ..besides trying to make something i like to drink...the temp was warm so moved into cooler room...is 82 f at present..and hope fully cooling..was no movement when moved ..
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

Paddle got a new shade thanks to the berries
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

It's been 8 days and not sure if should take blueberries off the top and trash them...it's still sweet tasting so I don't think is done but not sure if leave fruit till the end
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

Ok ..so I'm stuck...my blueberries are still sweet..not sure if should run or wait...been 4wks..any thoughts
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by The Baker »

Woodworld wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:16 am It's been 8 days and not sure if should take blueberries off the top and trash them...it's still sweet tasting so I don't think is done but not sure if leave fruit till the end
If the berries are floating on top, push them down into the liquid.
A bit gently, the idea is to wet them and get them into the fermenting liquid,
too vigorous and you introduce oxygen into the
ferment at a time it wants to work without oxygen.

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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Windy City »

Woodworld wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:16 am It's been 8 days and not sure if should take blueberries off the top and trash them...it's still sweet tasting so I don't think is done but not sure if leave fruit till the end
Did you crush the berries first or did you try to ferment them whole ??
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by jward »

Woodworld wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:07 am Exactly...why one when can have 2...
I didn't have enough of one kind...so figured would use both .... I may be on to something tho...
Some yeasts play well together and some don't. You might find better results by splitting the batch for separate fermentation and combining the results. This will probably be easier to reproduce results too.
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Re: Blueberry?

Post by Woodworld »

I have pushed the berries bout every other day...it's finally working good...hope almost ready to run...
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Re: Blueberry?

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Still questioning did you crush the blueberries before you tried to ferment them???
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