Hello! Thinking about fruit brandy/Eau-de-vie?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:14 am
Hello from Virginia! I am a longtime homebrewer (beer + wine) and never really gave distilling much of a thought as I don't care all that much for hard liquor.
However, after a few trips to Europe, I have gotten a liking for Kirschwasser and other fruit eau-de-vies (apricot, pear, plum), and reminded me of my german grandfather who'd swoon over those, and now I understand. Now, each time we go, I always bring back several bottles now as that stuff is crazy expensive at the ABC store as it is imported and a "specialty item."
Living in a rural area with lot of fruit stands made me think if I could learn to make eau de vies inexpensively come summer. I've been reading a lot here and elsewhere, but only see few threads on making fruit brandies, so I thought I'd ask some questions before starting:
So my question before I embark on building stills and all, is the yield for the effort and cost of the raw material. How many 750 mL bottles of 40% abv brandy can I get from a 5-gallon fermenter bucket full of mashed up peaches (maybe add a little sugar)?
Thanks in advance for feedback!
However, after a few trips to Europe, I have gotten a liking for Kirschwasser and other fruit eau-de-vies (apricot, pear, plum), and reminded me of my german grandfather who'd swoon over those, and now I understand. Now, each time we go, I always bring back several bottles now as that stuff is crazy expensive at the ABC store as it is imported and a "specialty item."
Living in a rural area with lot of fruit stands made me think if I could learn to make eau de vies inexpensively come summer. I've been reading a lot here and elsewhere, but only see few threads on making fruit brandies, so I thought I'd ask some questions before starting:
So my question before I embark on building stills and all, is the yield for the effort and cost of the raw material. How many 750 mL bottles of 40% abv brandy can I get from a 5-gallon fermenter bucket full of mashed up peaches (maybe add a little sugar)?
Thanks in advance for feedback!