Favorite Apple Varieties for an All Fruit Brandy

[Avalir]

Hey y'all.

So I'll likely soon be taking at least a few year hiatus from this wonderful hobby to raise some youngins - I think it's safe to assume the sparse free time I currently have will go out the window, but a sacrifice I'm more than happy to make.

That being said, I think I've dragged my feet long enough on planting some fruit trees and I figure by the time I can start back up I can have me some mature fruit trees. I'll double check, but I believe most all varieties of apples will grow well or well enough in my area and I've always wanted to attempt an apple brandy, but without growing your own or knowing someone, an all fruit ferment can get pricey quick.
So, to the apple brandy making folks here, is there any specific varieties of apples that you prefer over others for brandy (besides the obvious answer of 'free')?
I know fully well this is one of those questions that is purely subjective and depends on individuals' taste and preferences, so no need to inform me of that - I'm looking for each of y'alls own personal preferences on apple varieties and/or blends that you enjoy in your brandy (also if there's any thoughts on varieties to, not necessarily avoid, but that can be dismissed as they land too far down the list to make the cut).
I fully plan to grow several varieties and will toss them in the fermenter together as they're harvested - I'm not necessarily looking for the best single variety apple to use for brandy is (although I'm not opposed to hearing about it if someone has thoughts on that because I'm a little curious and am willing to try anything once).

At this time, I know I'll at least grow some granny smith and golden delicious. Hoping to find one or two more varieties to add to the mix.

On a side note - in the past I recall reading about someone mentioning they like to dehydrate the apple peels and toss some in with the oak when they age and that it gives a boost to aroma - I recall looking into it further afterwards and believe the residual malic acid in the peels also helps to soften the rough edges of the spirit. So I think the granny smith peels would be optimal for that since I don't plan to be growing any crabapples. Any thoughts on this aspect would be appreciated too.

And in case it matters at all, I intend to use pectinase when preparing the apples for fermentation and I think I've settled on cotes de blanc for the yeast.

Thanks in advance for the replies! I'm excited to see what the community has to say.

[The Baker]

I wonder if you need to peel (and core) the apples at all?
Extra effort and you may be losing flavour.

Geoff

[Avalir]

I wonder if you need to peel (and core) the apples at all?
Extra effort and you may be losing flavour.

Geoff

Well, with respect to the apple peels, I was more so thinking of saving them for later use when the wife makes a pie. Can't imagine I could be bothered to peel apples when staring down at several bushels - into the fruit shredder I say! I would think 1-2 apples worth of peels per gallon of brandy would be more than sufficient.

[Ratbastrd]

I wonder if you need to peel (and core) the apples at all?
Extra effort and you may be losing flavour.

Geoff

Fully agree with Geoff! The more diversity of starting ingredients (generally) the more complex the final product. I've never fermented on skins, but am attempting this year for the first time. I prefer wine yeasts personally, taste being the primary, hoping the D47 captures it

[Demy]

I make apple brandy with what I salvage. ... but I would say that all aromatic apples are suitable .... I don't find Granny Smiths particularly interesting from what I have experienced but if used in the mix it could be fine.

[Demy]

Add: fermentation on the skins (greater aroma) and very ripe fruit (if possible)

[tjsc5f]

The one time I made apple brandy it was with Gala apples. I ground them up whole, skins and cores included. Fermented on all of it and used a double boiler like setup to distill on the slop.
After a year in a once used badmo style barrel, it is remarkably similar to a 5yr BIB apple brandy from Laird's.

[WiAppleOak]

I am also in the midst of planting apples. My advice would be call around and see what grows well in your area, no sense planting a tree that could die because of local infections or weather. Id recommend Macintosh as I love their flavor, golden russet as it's said to produce flavorful juice thats very high in sugar, Liberty is supposed to be good tasting and resilient, chestnut crabs are high in sugar and taste interesting, golden delicious is a fantastic idea but the goldrush tree is a more resistant form of it.

I am aiming to make cider and brady so I have a smattering of apples including a growing number of varieties classified as bittersweets. In the end, I'd buy what makes you happy.

[subbrew]

Check your local diseases and make sure to get resistant ones. In our area Fire Blight is very bad so it makes no sense to plant something that is not at least moderately resistant. That makes planting cider specific apples almost impossible since those tend to all be older European versions which are very susceptible to fire blight. Usually you can check with your local extension agent (assuming in US) or often the ag department of your local college will have experimental data posted.

[subbrew]

Here is a good link for looking up apple disease resistance https://blogs.cornell.edu/applevarietyd ... on-apples/