Lets get carried away with fruity goodness

[cranky]

Today marks the day that last years apple season is officially, officially over Yesterday I ran off all the feints from all the previous apple runs and today I did cuts and blending. In total it looks like I am just a hair short of 5 gallons, I'm guessing it will be just enough to refill the barrel. I've been waiting to drain my barrel until I had enough to refill it. I have an idea that with the way I cut this one it's going to take considerable time in the barrel before I'm happy but I'm patient.

I am thinking about resurrecting my old boka to run these feints off to see if I can isolate the apple bomb, in the past the boka was actually extremely good at that. it would put out a single jar that was pure concentrated apple goodness.

[DAD300]

Started receiving cider Oct 2ish, Jan 15th we distilled the last of 1,750 gallons of raw cider. We buy the cider in 275 gallon totes. ~150 gallons of Brandy in the oak barrels at 63%. all as natural as possible, fermented with EC-1118. We'll start bottling some for an early release first of April for an Easter treat.

Good apple nose and a great fruit finish. The finish isn't necessarily apple, but certainly fruit.

[cranky]

Started receiving cider Oct 2ish, Jan 15th we distilled the last of 1,750 gallons of raw cider. We buy the cider in 275 gallon totes. ~150 gallons of Brandy in the oak barrels at 63%. all as natural as possible, fermented with EC-1118. We'll start bottling some for an early release first of April for an Easter treat.

Good apple nose and a great fruit finish. The finish isn't necessarily apple, but certainly fruit.

Daaaamn!!! I'm jealous Here I thought I was doing good getting 5 gallons. You don't think it's going to be a little rough having aged for less than 6 months?

[Bushman]

I am sure he will do a taste test to make sure it is ready for bottling.

[DAD300]

Our cuts are heavy as we take out a huge amount of heads.

As dif kinds of apples are involved, some barrels will be ready before others.

[cranky]

Our cuts are heavy as we take out a huge amount of heads.

As dif kinds of apples are involved, some barrels will be ready before others.

I'm curious,
How much does a 275 gallon tote of apple juice cost?

[DAD300]

Raw, juice only treated with UV, delivered, just shy of $1,000usd.

[cranky]

I finally got around to emptying my 5 gallon barrel. It's been aging in that barrel since Dec 12th 2017 but it really needed that long to properly age.

You might be wondering about how much the angels took in that 2 years 4 months and I really can't say because I have taken a couple of bottles out and did some test samples over the years but what I got once it was emptied was this

That's just a little bit short of 3 gallons at 120 proof. The bottle on the left is a one liter that is going MCH at barrel strength

Immediately after emptying I refilled the barrel with this years and last years brandy. I'm actually much happier with this years brandy than I was with the batch I just took out of the barrel so it might not have to age so long.

[Oldvine Zin]

It seems like the extra age and patience was the way to go!! You may not be happy with the results but just saying, if only my apple was half as good as yours I would be happy. Ive got a lot to learn about apple.

Thanks again for the taste treat and motivation to try another batch of apple this year.

Stay safe
OVZ

[Hambone]

Cherries are almost ready here...but my peach trees are barren this year.

[cranky]

It seems like the extra age and patience was the way to go!! You may not be happy with the results but just saying, if only my apple was half as good as yours I would be happy. Ive got a lot to learn about apple.crankyapple.JPG
Thanks again for the taste treat and motivation to try another batch of apple this year.

Stay safe
OVZ

Thank you OVZ


In case anybody is wondering what OVZ is talking about my plans for today were to paint the Apple Reaper but as they say "the best laid plans..." My son has been struggling with some medical issues and not one but two specialists called him up yesterday and made short notice appointments for him today and his girlfriend wasn't able to take him so I did.

One of the appointments was at the University of Washington Hospital which happens to be in OVZs neck of the woods so I PM'd him and asked if he was free to meet me so I could give him some brandy. He was kind enough to agree to meet me when I had a few minutes to spare and we had a somewhat awkward handshake and nice, but somewhat short talk. I'm not very socially ept and didn't know whether to fist bump, elbow bump, stand back 35 feet and wave, shake hands or what in this time of social distancing. OVZ was kind enough to shake my hand...what can I say, I'm old school

Anyway, I gave him a bottle of apple brandy that was 4 years in the making. 2 seasons of apples, fermented and rested at least 6 months then into the barrel for 2 years. If you look back through this thread you will probably see the whole history of this brandy. Through those 2 years I have extracted a few samples from time to time and seldom been happy with them. Around the one year point I sent a sample to MCH who at least claimed to like it but in truth it was still a bit short of what I think it should have been. At the two year point I it had finally improved enough that I could be proud of it and stop letting the angels drink it. The angels were pretty thirsty on this one and once it was empty I got about 3 gallons at 120 proof. I set aside a bottle that I have yet to send to MCH due to shipping issues during the lock down so OVZ was the first to get a bottle. Don't worry MCH your bottle is here and hopefully I will be shipping it out soon.

I will say the latest 2 year batch that went in the barrel as this batch came out showed much more promise than that batch. I would actually say it is drinkable right now but it will get at least a year in that barrel, than I will see what I think.

OVZ also gave me a really nice bottle of camomile gin which I tried to take a picture of but I got a new battery for my 5 or 6 year old cell phone and I'm breaking it in, which requires fully charging and discharging several times before you can just partially charge it and it's at the nearly fully discharged phase and will need fully charged before I can take any pictures.

[cranky]

Now speaking of pictures, I've been meaning to update this thread for a while but have been busy doing other things and having trouble getting around to it.

I got my first blueberries today

It looks like another good blueberry year, which is a good thing since we only have about a gallon and a quarter of them left in the freezer. I would have taken a pic of the bushes but my phone battery is too low

The tree with the KD grafts is doing very well

The baby KDs are looking good too.

The Hazen is struggling this year but the grafts on it seem to be doing better than some of the other branches.
I think this is the only successful graft of the tree I always called the "antique" which is my favorite pie apple

If this is the antique it is the only surviving part of that tree. The branch it is on is strong enough this year to let it produce so I should know if it is the antique or not somewhere around late August or September. I can't think of any other cats head apple I would have grafted to it.

Cherries are getting close too

This is actually very late for cherries, they should have already been eaten by the birds by now. I read somewhere about hanging red stones in the trees to teach the birds not to eat them and may try that if I can get around to it. Time has a way of getting away from me.

As far as wild fruit the raspberries and salmon berries are ripe right now and easy picking if I only had the time.

I had to dig up and move the banana plum so it won't produce this year Pears seem to always be hit and miss and it looks like this year mine will be a miss but the European plums are showing promise.

[Bushman]

My blueberry bushes aren’t looking that good this year!

[cranky]

My blueberry bushes aren’t looking that good this year!

That's too bad, it's funny how we are so close but things can be so different.

[cranky]

Fruit season has officially begun Raspberries are ripe and I picked a significant hand full of blueberries and even some cherries that the bugs and birds have missed. Everything is extra sweet this year. I didn't have time to take any pictures before Mrs Cranky ate most of them

The Apple Reaper is torn down for painting and has been taking up most of my time over this past month while I'm off work. I go back July First and likely will not have it back together by then but hope to by the time my July vacation starts on the 5th or shortly after so Mrs Cranky and I can find the time to go to the blueberry park and pick a crap load of blueberries to carry us through the next year or two.

Then there is apple season, the Reaper needs to be up and running for that and there is only another week or two to go. I need to stop by the transparent and see how it's doing but I'm guessing it is going to be another good apple year I just hope I am in a position to take advantage of it, although I doubt I will be, so many other things really should be the priority but you guys know I can't pass up free apples

[cranky]

I'm a couple days from finishing the paint on the Apple Reaper and hoping to get it put back together in time to use it for picking the Transparent. In preparation of this I drove by the Transparent today to see how it's doing. As usual it's loaded but they look quite small, I think it is probably running a bit late this year, which is a good thing right now since I have been using far too much time on this paint job

[Tennessee_Spirits]

So far I've tried making strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry and cinnamon cordials. It was not as I expected. Blackberry wins over all! I'll list them best to worst

blackberry > blueberry > raspberry > cherry > strawberry > cinnamon

I think cinnamon, which is no berry, might be left as a spicy mixer to others and not alone.

The problem with strawberry is not enough flavor. I extracted it with two batches of NGS and still had to add flavor extract. I pitted the cherries which turned out to be expensive fruit and high labor cost and got the biggest disappointment.

Blueberries win the prize for year around availability. It has the best color. The fruit taste is incredible. Bring on the blackberry cordial!

[Tennessee_Spirits]

I tried double extraction with 2 tinctures of fruit and then two extracts with simple syrup and it tasted like cough medicine!

[cranky]

So far I've tried making strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry and cinnamon cordials. It was not as I expected. Blackberry wins over all! I'll list them best to worst

blackberry > blueberry > raspberry > cherry > strawberry > cinnamon

I think cinnamon, which is no berry, might be left as a spicy mixer to others and not alone.

The problem with strawberry is not enough flavor. I extracted it with two batches of NGS and still had to add flavor extract. I pitted the cherries which turned out to be expensive fruit and high labor cost and got the biggest disappointment.

Blueberries win the prize for year around availability. It has the best color. The fruit taste is incredible. Bring on the blackberry cordial!

I like blackberry too, one thing I find is the best results come from a brandy (even a fruit sugar head) rather than NGS because there are flavors in alcohol distilled from grain that may not get along with the fruit flavors.

[cranky]

I've been so busy rebuilding the Apple Reaper this year that I haven't had time to even consider picking fruit but since the project is finally coming to an end my thoughts are turning to fruity goodness. On my way to the hardware store the other day I drove by a Vista Bella tree that hadn't yet shed it's fruit and that made me start thinking about the Transparent that I usually pick the first week of July. The Vista Bellas are running late so maybe everything else is. So I drove by the Transparent and it is still heavily loaded

Now I need to figure out how to find the time to pick and process that and the back yard tree without Mrs Cranky finding out, because she would NOT be happy with me "wasting" time on apples when I have spent nearly every single day for the past 3 months working on the truck

[NZChris]

I like blackberry too, one thing I find is the best results come from a brandy (even a fruit sugar head) rather than NGS because there are flavors in alcohol distilled from grain that may not get along with the fruit flavors.

Much of my gin base spirit is now distilled from sugar heads made using the lees, feints and backset from my brandies. I'm finding that a hint of fruit is a better match than GNS for many of the products I make.

[cranky]

Yesterday I tried to get something over on Mrs Cranky

I needed to get propane for my grill and had the need to pick some apples so I loaded up some buckets and a big bin and headed out. The guy at the propane place recognized me as "the apple guy" and we talked about the Vista Bella tree that is within view of the propane tank. I went over and picked a couple to try and they are still not ready and running right at 12-12.5 brix.

Then I had to go get a part for the truck, which still isn't on the road but is very very close.

On the way back I stopped by the transparent to see how quickly I could get 3 buckets of apples. There were at least 100 pounds on the ground under the tree. The owner saw me and came out and talked to me about it. He is very anxious for me to pick the trees. I told him I was lucky to find the time to pick 3 buckets full and may not be able to pick any more but I'll try.

The back yard tree is also loaded but not yet dropping them.

I did a quick lap of the tree picking what was easy to reach, which filled the 3 buckets, then I headed home.

When I got home I took a quick picture, sent it to myself, stashed them in the shed to hide them from Mrs. Cranky and went inside.

When I sat down at my desk to open my email to begin working on the picture so I can show you guys Mrs. Cranky asked me why i sent her a picture of 3 buckets of apples. DOH!!!! I somehow sent it to her by mistake

So I had to fess up that I had been apple picking . She took it pretty well but I doubt I will be able to sneak away and pick any more any time soon. Truthfully there is just too much that needs done around the house right now.

Besides, when I tested them they tested very low on sugar at only 10 brix even though they are most certainly ripe. I'm considering using Jimbos method of laying out a big tarp under the tree and shaking it and see what I get.

[MichiganCornhusker]

She took it pretty well but I doubt I will be able to sneak away and pick any....

I'm considering using Jimbos method of laying out a big tarp under the tree and shaking it and see what I get.

I see what you did there!

It is a beautiful thing that the worst thing you would worry about is hiding 3 buckets of apples from the Mrs.
God bless the two of ya!

[cranky]

She took it pretty well but I doubt I will be able to sneak away and pick any....

I'm considering using Jimbos method of laying out a big tarp under the tree and shaking it and see what I get.

I see what you did there!

It is a beautiful thing that the worst thing you would worry about is hiding 3 buckets of apples from the Mrs.
God bless the two of ya!

Well you see I have a little trick. Mrs Cranky likes deep fried squash and green beans and even though I don't make them that often I do as an occasional treat. Mrs. Cranky doesn't like the taste of beer so I use apple cider to make a beer batter to fry them. So of course I need to make apple cider or I can't make fried vegetables

[stillanoob]

I'm very lucky. The Mrs, while not much of a drinker, does love our hard cider. She also is the hostess with the mostess, so she likes how much guests enjoy our cider. And she likes the vinegar too.

As to fruity goodness, tomorrow me and my still buddy are going to pick a crapton of plums. Hopefully we get enough for at least 10 gallons of wine, maybe more. Good plum year around here so we may be able to make a fair bit. Never made plum wine before so we will see how that goes, I have been doing some reading. I have never had plum brandy and am looking forward to seeing how it tastes.

[stillanoob]

Went and picked plums. We ended up with about 8 gallons of very thick must. So we added 2 gallons of water and 3 pounds of honey and 2 pounds of sugar. This should boost the ABV by about 3%, which seemed reasonable. There was no way to measure the starting gravity as the must was way too thick. We pitched 2oz of bakers yeast, not the ideal choice but all we had. We put an aquarium heater in there set at 73F. That less than the yeast would prefer but the must is so thick I don't want to scorch it. This morning there is good activity. Will the must thin out as fermentation progresses? How often should I punch it down? I am also concerned it is a little thick, I'm going to go give it a stir and see just how thick.

Since we only have 10 gallons of must when it comes time to distill I might add 5 gallons of apple cider that I have. I also have about a gallon of tails from the last apple brandy run that I might toss in there as well. If so we have decided to call it "plumpple brandy". I know what we are doing here isn't "right" but hey, at least we are getting carried away with fruity goodness!

[stillanoob]

We ended up getting another 15 gallons or so of plums a few days and processing them and adding them to the already fermenting must. These were Greengage plums and much sweeter than the other plums. Again we added enough sugar for a 3% boost in ABV but didn't attempt to measure the actual gravity. Daily punch downs were performed and I see now why they are required as massive amounts of CO2 is released. We racked from the primary to the secondary which was a messy business. The must has a gelatinous quality and isn't easy to filter. We lost quite a bit, netting about 13-14 gallons out of 20. We could have gotten more if we had allowed more gelatinous mess through but it seems like that would be a scorching hazard. We are letting it clear for a couple of weeks before running. When we racked the ferment appeared to be about done, the gravity was close to 1.00 and very dry.

The must is very acidic and by taste I would say around 8%. The acidity increased markedly during fermentation. I know that CO2 in water produces carbonic acid and the cap was holding CO2 in. Is this a likely driver of lowering pH? Is there a lower limit of pH that we should distill? I do have a pH meter and can test it before we run.

[Slivovitz]

I have 180lbs of plums fermenting naturally in barrel.

Whole plums left to soften 3weeks, blended will strain out stones and run the pulpy mess low and slow.

Plum brandy if done right is smooth on palate and burns in the belly.

Lots of flavor in that mush.

Research slivovitz or palinka!

[Twisted Brick]

I recently had the pleasure of running a trusted neighbor's plums (strained juice from 100lbs) from his backyard tree. With added sugar and a can of frozen juice concentrate, his SG was 1.10, and after 2weeks of fermenting on EC-1118, ended up with a FG of .990, or 14%ABV. We strained the ferment and let it clear for 2 days. The cleared must (9gal) smelled fruity, dry and wonderful.

Starting at 7am, we stripped 8gal of must, holding 1 gal back for the spirit run. We ended up with 3.2 gal of 40%low wines, to which we added the reserved must and .75 gal of water. The ensuing spirit run at 1pm went smoothly and we collected 7.1l in 14 pint jars and 3 quart (1 heads, 2 hearts) jars. We let them air out for about 6hrs and made cuts the next day. We started from the center and worked our way outwards, starting with tails. Each sample was a ml of spirit to which we added a ml of distilled water.

We ended up keeping jars 4-15 (82% - 58%) discarding about 1.6l of heads and the 1.2l of tails. The majority of sweet flavor was in the heads, and after diluting most of it to 62%, we added some toasted/uncharred sticks and each kept a pint jar of white to drink at 50%ABV.

Given the smoothness and flavor of this spirit I am now hooked on plums. I've only done grain in the past and look forward to trying all the other fruits members have reported on. I also have to add a tip of the hat to OVZ, who graciously steered us to omit the pectins, sulfur and tannin called for in the original recipe. If we repeat this exercise next year, the plan is to omit the sugar, or at least as much as possible for max flavor. My neighbor has already begun collecting the pieces to replicate my keg pot still, so there are no guarantees he's gonna need help again.
.

[stillanoob]

Sil, I have been reading on the forums about palinka and slivovitz. As you noted in another thread, there isn't all that much and what there is differs greatly. I have been meaning to start a plum specific thread. This was a last minute thing so we just did what we did. Any more details of your process would be most welcome! It sounds like you only strain the stones out and run it?

Twist, can you tell me a little more about your fermentation process? Thanks much for the details of your run, we will be doing ours next week after it clears a little and your info is very helpful.

As my first fruit with skin fermentation this is the first time needing to punch down the must. I am curious if the cap holding in CO2 decreases pH with carbonic acid. The must dropped a lot in pH. I will measure it on run day.