Apple the easier way ??

[Hemi]

I’m trying to decide if I need to heat store bought cider or just pitch the yeast in once the brix is right.

[cranky]

I’m trying to decide if I need to heat store bought cider or just pitch the yeast in once the brix is right.

Why would you heat it? and what do you mean by "once the brix is right."?

I don't like to make assumptions but if you are in the US the only way to buy unpasteurized cider is at the source, otherwise it has been pasteurized.

[Hemi]

I kinda figured I didn’t need to heat it after more reading.It was like 13and wanted it a little higher, 15-16. Got there by adding concentrate and a little sugar to 10 gallons. Then 1118. See what happens.

[Oldvine Zin]

I kinda figured I didn’t need to heat it after more reading.It was like 13and wanted it a little higher, 15-16. Got there by adding concentrate and a little sugar to 10 gallons. Then 1118. See what happens.

So if you want apple flavor fermenting it at 13 would be best, not a great yield but at least you will have some great apple flavors. Pump it up with added sugar and then you have a sugar wash with only a little apple flavor. your choice

Stay safe
OVZ

[Hemi]

I’ll remember that next time. I’ve been experimenting for about a year now getting some good and some not so good.There is definitely a learning curve. It seems I always learn what not to do the next time.

[Oldvine Zin]

I’ll remember that next time. I’ve been experimenting for about a year now getting some good and some not so good.There is definitely a learning curve. It seems I always learn what not to do the next time.

At least you keep learning

Stay safe
OVZ

[nerdybrewer]

Getting good fruit flavor in the distillate is difficult at best.
Over Thanksgiving I helped my friend distill his plum wine, made with plums he picked from his property.
As a wine it was too dry for his liking, as Eau de vie he was very happy, it had a bit of fruit flavor right off the pipe.

[Farside]

Another failed harvest means I don't have any cider to jack for 2 years running. I made 10 gallons of apple wine from store bought juice, but I added a bit of molasses for fun, and it tasted so good that I'm drinking the wash haha!

My 2 year old brandy made a bad turn because I made a mistake. I am aging it at 63% and all of a sudden a bunch of tannins are in there which give it a harsh edge that I don't like.

I'm hoping that over time they will soften because right now it's not a pleasant drinking experience.

[cranky]

Another failed harvest means I don't have any cider to jack for 2 years running. I made 10 gallons of apple wine from store bought juice, but I added a bit of molasses for fun, and it tasted so good that I'm drinking the wash haha!

My 2 year old brandy made a bad turn because I made a mistake. I am aging it at 63% and all of a sudden a bunch of tannins are in there which give it a harsh edge that I don't like.

I'm hoping that over time they will soften because right now it's not a pleasant drinking experience.

I actually made that mistake on my very first apple brandy. If I recall over time it got better. From that day on I always pre soak my wood in something else, usually neutral, for a bit before I add it to the brandy. I'm also very careful not to over oak it. I know, that doesn't help much right now.

One thought I have from reading your post in jimbo's thread and The Baker's reply to you is maybe get some store bought apples, juice them and freeze concentrate the juice and temper a bit with that or even soaking some dried apple chips in it to help add more apple flavor and tamp down that harshness.

[Farside]

Thanks Cranky.
It was about 3 or 4 months ago since I last sampled it and was so unimpressed I just put it to the side.

I bought it out again tonight, and tried another sample and the tannin has dropped a lot, and the toffee apple is now much more pronounced.

I'm thinking this may just be a natural process of chemical reactions over time. The tannin is still there but it is a lot softer.

Many of the intense flavors and aromas that were there immediately off the still are back, but without the sulphur / apple seed influence.

[Farside]

Over the summer I was cleaning out my low wine / feints stash, and found some apple jack that has been sitting for at least a year. So I ran it and put it on used oak and at a lower proof of 112.

Much better result already only after a few months. I think aging the apple jack did a lot. I noticed the acids had softened, and the gasses from the still were nowhere near as aggressive as they were the last time I ran apple jack.

Another thing I did differently was that I didn't make cuts apart from the foreshots, early heads, and tails. This is how my ancestors in Normandy made calvados.

[Farside]

I also got apples for the first time in a few years so there are 30 gallons of cider bubbling away right now