Hello from the south

[bamaspearo]

I remember as a young kid spending summers in Germany and helping my Opa make plum shnapps, and have always wanted to do it myself. Going to give it a try, just doing research to try an figure it all out.

thanks!!!

[Tater]

Welcome to HD

[paramedic68whiskey]

Hello and welcome from the North.

[MDH]

Hi bamaspearo,

There is a book called "Distilling Fruit Brandy" by Josef Pischl, who is German, that might interest you.

Here is also a thread about plum brandy.

If you aren't ready to read several walls of text, you should get the basic details down first:

-Most plum brandy is fermented by natural yeast which lives on the skins of the plums
-Most plum brandy is distilled only twice
-All the spirit is distilled with the mashed up fruit, and occasionally, stones inside of the still. Because of this, some way of agitating the mash during distillation or a double boiler (known as "Bain-marie") is extremely recommended for distilling fruit brandy.

Best of luck to you.

[Boda Getta]

Welcome, y'all. You will find this is a great bunch of guys. Most will be very helpful and get you through the "rough patches". There is a bunch of great reading on this site that will answer many of your questions. Be sure and read the Safety and Welcome sections first; the novice and Tried and True Recipes are also great.

BG

[bamaspearo]

thanks!!! think i am going to start with a Keg pot and a simple 2 inch wiskey still and then make a boka.

[Sparhawk]

Welcome!

For flavored alcohols, like your plum brandy, the pot still is all you need. The boka is for neutrals the reflux action will strip the flavor.

That being said there are some plans on here for a modular one that can be interchanged from the pot to the reflux so you can save on some of the cost of construction.

[Richard7]

I'm guessing from your screen name we are neighbors. Best of luck to ya and keep it safe!