Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

so i harvested some roadside plums... bout 9kg...ive got ec1118 yeast.

if i start a wash with the plums still whole (4.5kg plum, 4.5 kg sugar per 27 litre) can i chop em up in a few days with a paint stirrer? its been said that they will soften if soaked for a while.

otherwise im hand smooshing them in the morn while running some feints.

i know they look a bit green but are sweet to taste and falling off the tree. ive also read that purple plums have a better flavour? happily there is a purple fruit tree next to this one, just not quite ripe yet.

:)) :))

looking foward to this one ..... my first attempt at anything fruity!

Redux wrote:

plums.jpg

so i harvested some roadside plums... bout 9kg...ive got ec1118 yeast.

if i start a wash with the plums still whole (4.5kg plum, 4.5 kg sugar per 27 litre) can i chop em up in a few days with a paint stirrer? its been said that they will soften if soaked for a while.

otherwise im hand smooshing them in the morn while running some feints.

i know they look a bit green but are sweet to taste and falling off the tree. ive also read that purple plums have a better flavour? happily there is a purple fruit tree next to this one, just not quite ripe yet.

:)) :))

looking foward to this one ..... my first attempt at anything fruity!

Hi mate! :greetings-waveyellow:

I would just let them soften up a few days then tip some hot water in there with the sugar. Let them sit a couple of hours and then go to town with a paint mixer.. Don't wear your church clothes to do this. Then tip into fermenter and top up with water while adjusting temperature. Then throw in the yeast. Stir in the cap every couple of days. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Hey spit, why stir in the cap? I kinda figured the yeast will find the sugar no matter where it hid?

I think the cap floats up and could dry out when not in contact with liquid.

wynnum1 wrote:I think the cap floats up and could dry out when not in contact with liquid.

Exactly, with every one of my ferments the cap has sat well above (3 inches) the liquid. If this happens it can become dry and/or begin growing mouldy. I normally go with bigger ratios of fruit to sugar though so there is a lot of pulp in the fermenter.

Leave a fair bit of headroom too for fruit.. The ferment is very foamy

spit'n'shine wrote:Hi mate! :greetings-waveyellow:

I would just let them soften up a few days then tip some hot water in there with the sugar. Let them sit a couple of hours and then go to town with a paint mixer.. Don't wear your church clothes to do this. Then tip into fermenter and top up with water while adjusting temperature. Then throw in the yeast. Stir in the cap every couple of days. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:handgestures-thumbupleft: hiya dude, long time no see!!

ok, so ive soaked for 48 hours.. bought and used a paint stirrer(in a wet area :)) ) and added sugar. water to about 5 inches from the top and added ec1118 yeast.... ive left the drums in an unused bathroom so if the ferment gets too wild the drain will sort out the excess. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

once the ferment settles down a bit ill add a little more water to about 3 inches from the top.

do i need to add anything else to this? dolomite, Epsom salt or other such nutrient?

:text-thankyoublue:

Nuptial plums have a shit ton of nutrients, more than the yeast will need :handgestures-thumbupleft:

crow wrote:Nuptial plums have a shit ton of nutrients, more than the yeast will need :handgestures-thumbupleft:

swish cheers crow

here they are folks... from 3 45ish litre runs...



each row is one run....

a jar for white dog, just for comparo... wont actually drink these. 2 litre bott 65% on 10 g/l oak and a 700ml bottle, 65% with cherry wood, 10 g/l too. the extra 700 ml you see for the center and right row also have oak... i will use these for tasting.

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

So I lucked out and got my hands on some Damson Plums :D Put down 3kg plums/3kg white sugar. Fermented with red wine yeast from HBS ,Vintner's Harvest Wine Yeast R56 kept 1.5L @ 65, on french oak(med toast)12gm and 300ml white @ 40%. pic above is after 10 days.

Try putting the brandy on plum wood, the flavour marries better than oak will :handgestures-thumbupleft:

also damn tasty on cherry wood... med toast!
\

Might have to wait until next season now, will have to collect some wood to season, Redux is the Cherry wood from the fruit tree or Native Cherry wood?

Cheers

TasSpirits wrote: Redux is the Cherry wood from the fruit tree or Native Cherry wood?

i think it was from a fruit cherry tree near Young (NSW)... i think it was also from a tree that had been cut and had dried a little before cutting for our use....

Cheers :handgestures-thumbupleft:

If your fermenter is sealed then I can't see how the cap can dry out or mould.....none of mine have!

Well this year is a painful season. Plum trees were loaded and then the birds moved in while I was away. I had one day to mash them and had to leave so decided to let them go on wild yeast for a slow ferment. I went to add sugar but had only one box here with 2 75 ltrs of blood plums and one 44 of sour yellow wild plums (blackthorn) with a few even sourer sloes.I be come home to find the blood plums chugging along slowly but the yellow plums have exhausted the sugar. It will yield jack shit if I don't add some sugar and get it to re-fire

Redux wrote:

TasSpirits wrote: Redux is the Cherry wood from the fruit tree or Native Cherry wood?

i think it was from a fruit cherry tree near Young (NSW)... i think it was also from a tree that had been cut and had dried a little before cutting for our use....

Just about to cut down a morello cherry tree to make way for a couple of mirabelle plum trees. I'll be drying the wood in the shed. What level of toast did you use with the cherry wood, medium toast?

Bumper wrote:Just about to cut down a morello cherry tree to make way for a couple of mirabelle plum trees. I'll be drying the wood in the shed. What level of toast did you use with the cherry wood, medium toast?

yup... just a 2 hour @ 200c toast... same as i do for oak... just remember it will flavour quick but wont colour your spirit very much....

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Redux wrote:

Bumper wrote:Just about to cut down a morello cherry tree to make way for a couple of mirabelle plum trees. I'll be drying the wood in the shed. What level of toast did you use with the cherry wood, medium toast?

yup... just a 2 hour @ 200c toast... same as i do for oak... just remember it will flavour quick but wont colour your spirit very much....

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks mate!