Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

That's dedication :laughing-rolling: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Ah well be hotter in SA ;-) , got my tunes cranking (hank snow right at the present) and I can just get up an nip out side in the breeze every time I think I'm about to faint :laughing-rolling:

I hope your sampling straight from the still? :smile:

Ok I've done a taste test on the sliv verses plum brandy and all I can say is of you can tell the difference your a better man than me gungagin . Might mention I got not headache from it either :teasing-neener:

Nah mate, the hooch might not give you a headache, but that music surley will.

Drink enough and you'll get a headache!

EDIT; so you think I should go sugar up the plums I got fermenting?

Up to you but I noticed no real difference except about half the yield ;-)

Thats ok by me. I can live with a low yeild since the plums cost me nothing.

Yes me to but they are work so I'm happy to get a higher yield providing the final product is not negatively affected , will be 12months before I can make some more ;-)

Its really only the headache test I'm worried about.
I drank too much beer not long ago, and woke up with a G-clamp (or F-clamp for you chippies) on my head. Reminded me of what that store bought spirit crap does.
And since I only get to make it once a year too, I like to do it right :teasing-neener:

Either way, I'm glad you got it nailed mate. But the new still was always going to do a good job on that stuff.

Scored a couple of boxes of plums today to have a crack at this, just hope I've got enough to get a decent yield :think:

First couple of boxes



They're so sweet and juicy I went back for a few more boxes



Then I put them in the shed



Best freebie I've scored in a long time :happy-partydance: :dance: :happy-partydance:

Good stuff, :handgestures-thumbupleft: yeah this stuff I made is top shelf particularly lightly oaked , worth the bullshit :D

So would you squash em in the press and split the ferments, say one on the pulp & another with just juice ?

Or just squash em and ferment the lot in one drum?

Just had a look and only got bakers yeast, so I'll have to use that, can you see any issues?

Mac gets to ask noob questions :happy-partydance: :laughing-rolling:

I'd squash them and ferment the lot, get the full flavour of the seeds and flesh.

If I learnt anything from my go at plum brandy it's: "Oh god, why did I use bakers yeast with this, I think I'm going to throw up". See if you can find some wine yeast, or alternatively (if you're really patient), let the wild yeast do it's thing.

Also, chuck in some soda ash or bicarb soda, the pH of plum wash is something like 2 normally.

Finally (and I don't mind being corrected here), I'd add some sugar to the wash as well, the yield from plums isn't great.

OK bi carb I got, sugar I got and I can get some champagne yeast down the road..... so I'm off to the brew shop :scared-eek:

Fucked if I know how I'm gunna get through 1200kg of plums :angry-banghead: :laughing-rolling:

MacStill wrote:
Fucked if I know how I'm gunna get through 1200kg of plums :angry-banghead: :laughing-rolling:

How about a grape press?

So so so jealous. And me with a grape press here doing nothing!

I disagree with fermenting the lot, make your life easier and do as much juice as you can, then do the pulp separate. Even with your new toy trying to rack and filter fermenters full of pulp mush wash will do your head in.

Nup press it all with that amount I would invest in a bunch of drums and if you can't be fagged straining the mark, with that amount who gives. just strain it though chicken wire and turf it. A couple of my boiler charges have been almost chewy and I had no issues with puking or burning :handgestures-thumbupleft:
:text-+1: on the bakers yeast not to flash with fruit, my experience is it will almost surely wreck you spirit with unwanted esters

BackyardBrewer wrote:So so so jealous. And me with a grape press here doing nothing!

I disagree with fermenting the lot, make your life easier and do as much juice as you can, then do the pulp separate. Even with your new toy trying to rack and filter fermenters full of pulp mush wash will do your head in.

ring around or go for a drive there are thousands of ton of unpicked grapes in the Mc Calren vale area or the Barossa

I got EC1118 yeast from up the road, grabbed all they had and the young girl looked shocked :laughing-rolling:

MacStill wrote:I got EC1118 yeast from up the road, grabbed all they had and the young girl looked shocked :laughing-rolling:

That's a cracker yeast, my fave. It's not often stocked later in the year. After grape season it tends to disappear so stock up.