BlackBerry Wash

[ErickPanther_1]

I'm looking for a simple recipe to follow. I have been search but have had no luck getting a clear one. Anyone out there have a good one?

[W Pappy]

Just make blackberry wine run it and you will have blackberry brandy.Not sure what you mean by blackberry wash?

[cranky]

All depends on if you want brandy or something else. For brandy, squish the blackberries, I juice them to remove the seeds but you don't have to, Then you decide if you want to add sugar. If you want a true Eau de Vie just ferment blackberry juice and run it, no sugar, maybe a few nutrients but that's about it, and run it when it's done. If you add sugar you are in essence watering down the flavor of the final product but it's up to you. I tested my blackberry juice this past year and it came to about 6% potential alcohol which I think is pretty respectable and had I managed to get enough juice to fill a carboy would have done just what I said above, juice, yeast, let it work dry, run, but I concentrated on apples and blueberries this past year. That said, it takes a lot of blackberries to make 5 gallons of juice and I probably have 3 gallons of juice in the freezer, so next summer I should be able to make a 6 gallon ferment (Wash/ must/ wine, whatever you want to call it) and get a bit of special Eau de Vie.

[ErickPanther_1]

Pappy I'll do that. What yeast should I use. Haven't ran for awhile better half decided she wanted divorce.....How have you been?

[bearriver]

I like macerating the blackberries in neutral then distilling it. Like raspberries, blackberries are low in fermentable sugar.

Search himbeergeist for some useful information.

[T-Pee]

What yeast should I use.

Lalvin EC-1118 would be my choice.

tp

[W Pappy]

What yeast should I use.

Lalvin EC-1118 would be my choice.

tp

Rite on

[redmud]

When I made mine it was hard to not just drink the BlackBerry wine/must

[bearriver]

When I made mine it was hard to not just drink the BlackBerry wine/must

I agree. If I fermented straight blackberry juice, I'd feel distilling it to be a waste of some beautiful flavors. Berries are like gold. No matter your opinion on how to handle them, they should be fully utilized.

[cranky]

When I made mine it was hard to not just drink the BlackBerry wine/must

I agree. If I fermented straight blackberry juice, I'd feel distilling it to be a waste of some beautiful flavors. Berries are like gold. No matter your opinion on how to handle them, they should be fully utilized.

I agree, I just finished off the last of an absolutely amazing dessert wine where I used ( I think) 50% blackberry juice, might be a little more, it was very full bodied, from berries picked throughout the season. I noticed that around me as berry season progresses they go through phases that add to the whole when made into wine. Early season berries are tart, then they go through a sweet phase, coinciding with the sweet phase of the Himalayans, the evergreens begin to ripen which are more delicate flavored but sweeter still, then they begin to turn bitter. The later in the season the more bitter they seem to get. I usually stop picking somewhere around Oct but I still had berries outside my Kitchen window at Christmas. The long season and changes in the berries coupled with a good dessert wine yeast, I used Wyeast sweet mead for larger batches of dessert wine, and a long slow cool ferment all came together to make an amazing wine that that would have been a shame to have distilled.

[bearriver]

You'll notice more than one variety of wild blackberries in the PNW. Some of which simply aren't worth picking.

Identification can be made by looking at the leaf color and structure.

[cranky]

You'll notice more than one variety of wild blackberries in the PNW. Some of which simply aren't worth picking.

Identification can be made by looking at the leaf color and structure.

I generally go by taste, there are plenty of other berry patches if one doesn't taste good, I do notice subtle differences in the way they look but don't pay that much attention except to note the evergreens which are the best.

[TheSerious1]

I couldn't imagine how many berries you would need for that wash .. I've only ever done a grape juice wash but yours seems amazing

[ErickPanther_1]

I got 3 flats of red raspberries on Monday that are now in freezer for free. Still in search of a recipe

[W Pappy]

I would just fallow the strawberry panty dropper recipe with them, you will get the best flavor in my opinion.Just look in tried and true recipe's.

[bearriver]

I got 3 flats of red raspberries on Monday that are now in freezer for free. Still in search of a recipe

I thought this thread was about blackberries

Juice em, (add a pinch of DAP if your friskey) then pitch EC1118. Keep it at 70° F

Raspberries don't have squat for fermentable sugar so you can expect an abysmal yield. Look into the German raspberry schnapps I suggested earlier. (Himbeergeist)

Or do a raspberry sugar head. But I would advise against it.

[cranky]

I'm more or less with Bearriver on this. According to the distilleries that make raspberry brandy it takes 80 pounds of raspberries for a 375ml bottle of brandy. So my recommendation id a panty dropper or schnapps. I think you will get the most out of the raspberries that way.

[thecroweater]

wild blackberrys abound everywhere here but the time it takes to fill a bucket i can't imagine making brandy of any amount with them. its blackberry season right now a bunch of locals all get together and go picking then make something they call blackberry nip, I have been invited before but couldn't go so maybe i'll call them and see what they are upto

[Bushman]

Seems like I am always gone when the blackberries in our area become ripe. Growing up we always went out as a family and picked blackberries for jam and pies. One of these days I will definitely do sometype of blackberry infusion. Our blackberry season is just opposite yours crow!

[thecroweater]

yeah its a bit late this year and being a dryer year the berries look small from what i have seen might follow the creeks this year for bigger berries

[cranky]

This year I'm determined to pick enough to make at least a small batch of true blackberry brandy. I have 2 or 3 gallons of juice in the freezer from this past year but blueberries and apples took precedence just due to available time and ease of picking. This summer I should easily be able to make at least a 5 gallon run of straight blackberry juice and see just what kind of product I get.

[bearriver]

Good plan. You doing brandy or eau de vie? If it's brandy, I'd let that sit on oak until the cows came home.

[cranky]

Good plan. You doing brandy or eau de vie? If it's brandy, I'd let that sit on oak until the cows came home.

I'm thinking Eau de Vie, I like fruitiness, but depends on overall yield. I've made some runs of blackberry wine with sugar added and then tempered with straight blackberry juice and been very happy with the results although the one I did where I actually let the berries soak in the alcohol like the panty dropper recipe tells you, gives an awful headache so from now on it will be seedless juice instead a proper maceration when I go that route, it's very tasty though but I only drink about an ounce in my Eau de Vie glass every now and then to avoid the headache.