Plum Brandy

Comments

• TheMechWarrior

  16 January 2015 05:45AM

  Type in plum brandy into the site search function and you'll find enough to keep you busy for a while ;)
• Myles

  16 January 2015 05:53AM

  Use 5 or 6 lb plums per fermenter gallon. I freeze and defrost to help release the juice.

  I dump them from the freezer into the fermenter and pour hot water on them. Then topup to fermenter volume with cold water and whizz them with a sharpened mortar mixer. Mine is ok in that it does not break any stones, just lifts most of the fruit off.

  Then I take out a jug full and strain 3 pints into a clean demijon and add 3 pints of water. The yeast goes in the demijon and pectic enzyme goes into the fermenter. 24 hours later I pour the yeast starter into the fermenter and leave for 3 to 5 days.

  After the initial few days I just pour in an extra 1lb of sugar for each fermenter gallon. The small amount of extra sugar gives a more vigorous fermentation, a slight increase in yield, and IMO a better flavour. Probably due to the vigorous fermentation.

  When finished I put it through a big layered drum strainer to take out the stones and most of the pulp and clear the wash in 6 gallon water chiller bottles.

  I do a strip run on 50% of the wash, add those low wines to the other 50% of the wash and do a spirit run on the fortified wash.

  Mostly I drink it white and unaged.
• Moonshine

  16 January 2015 06:58AM

  @Myles, and now you can send over a bottle so that I can verify the result! :D

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• Unsensibel

  16 January 2015 04:42PM

  +1 Miles
• cleadus1

  24 January 2015 08:15AM edited January 2015

  Thanks @miles ill put some plums in my freezer until Iv purchased a ace of hearts then ill give it a go
• Sunshine

  24 January 2015 08:58AM edited January 2015

  The freezer is a ingenious idea! The plums spoil so quickly, when they are ripe. I guess, it could work with other delicate fruits too, like apricots. This way, one could avoid unwanted germs.

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• Lloyd

  24 January 2015 10:59AM

  So good to see you again @cleadus1.
  Freezing fruit breaks the cell walls and helps tremendously to release the sugars.

  Also makes them mushy which is the same thing? :)
• FloridaCracker

  24 January 2015 02:05PM

  This is why blueberries turn to mush when thawed out! Saves a LOT of work if you want juice.
• Kapea

  25 January 2015 08:05PM edited January 2015

  Freezing the prickly pears I used in my prickly pear melomel made all the difference. They go from being snot balls to being juice balls. I used to pick a couple of 5 gallon buckets full of them every Labor Day weekend on the dunes at Playalinda, in the shadow of launch pad 39B.

  Since I moved to the tropics ten years ago I have not had access to those Playalinda prickly pears, so I have not been able to try distilling a prickly pear melomel brandy.

  I'm more like I am now than I was before.