Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Has anyone tried to make Rhubarb brandy? my plan is to chop up about 7kg of rhubarb, macerate with 7kg of sugar for 3 days, chuck some boiling water in, add some cold to bring it up to 50L @ 25' add some 3 in 1 enzymes and ferment with ec1118. Rhubarb has about 11g of sugar per kg so its only for flavour. :handgestures-thumbupleft: Slow run through the bubbler then age on French oak.

Sounds yummy. It would be a nice desert liqueur :handgestures-thumbupleft:

After successful plum brandy last year and some very good apple brandy(from failed cider) some fruit brandies are on the to do list. Lots of free fruit this season :teasing-tease:

Why oak it?

Wobblyboot wrote:Why oak it?

Both the Plum and Apple have benefited from light oaking imho. I will keep :handgestures-thumbupleft: a little white to sample.

I'm quite interested in fruit brandies, my reading so far is aging with used medium toast French and American oak at about half our normal G/L ratio seems to work well.

Very interesting idea with rhubarb. I think some testing would be a good idea.
1as you mentioned, one with the rhubarb simmered to extract the flavour...

I wonder if the bitter and tart flavours could come across.
Also make sure its ripe and free of the green leaves, they contain a poision.

Started a trial batch today, 3kg frozen chopped rhubarb, 4kgs of sugar macerating for 3 days. Might try a fruit wine yeast, undecided as yet :think:

Might have to find a spot in the garden for some rhubarb :handgestures-thumbupleft:

We make some very slightly alcoholic Rhubarb champagne every xmas, most just goes to waste. Not anymore, I hope :pray:

Do you have a recipe for the champas, Tas? Sounds like a good present for the non spirit drinkers in the family lol.

TasSpirits wrote:We make some very slightly alcoholic Rhubarb champagne every xmas, most just goes to waste. Not anymore, I hope :pray:

Ill post it tonight :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Rhubarb champagne

1.6kg rhubarb, chopped and frozen overnight
1 sliced lemon
1.2kg sugar
1 dessert spoon of apple cider vinegar
top up to10 with cold water

Chuck it all in your fermenter, stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar over 3 days, stain through something and bottle.
The longer its left the drier and more alcoholic it becomes, we usually leave the kids stuff a week, then put it in the fridge, for the adults we taste once a week and when we are happy with it put it in the fridge.

If using glass beware, we are still finding glass from 2 years ago when a whole box went up, 30 + meters, we only use plastic or glass bottles with a pin pricked ballon on top. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks, sounds great! I assume you use yeast?

Dig Brinker wrote:Thanks, sounds great! I assume you use yeast?

Only whats on the rhubarb, if you want something more alcoholic I would make a wine like I m the prime the bottles. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Running this today, the wash is quite tasty, a little dry, without the tartness I was expecting. It fermented out fine using M033 wine yeast, will post results tomorrow. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

So the flavour has come through fine, I seem to have avoided the tartness. Put 900ml on 5gm of French oak. Going to do a large batch next. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

giving this a go, had 4kgs of rhubarb and went with 5kg of sugar, not sure how to do it (winging it) so I just layered the rhubarb and sugar in my fermenter, leave it for a few?? days and top up to 20ltrs?. besides yeast should I add anything else.

williewonker wrote:giving this a go, had 4kgs of rhubarb and went with 5kg of sugar, not sure how to do it (winging it) so I just layered the rhubarb and sugar in my fermenter, leave it for a few?? days and top up to 20ltrs?. besides yeast should I add anything else.

I didn't add anything else, left it to macerate for 3 days, it fermented out fine, 5kg seems a lot for a 20L ferment maybe cut it down to 4kg, next one I do I will be keeping half white. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

could I get away with lowans yeast? might bump it up to 25ltrs as well.