Strawberries

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Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Fri Aug 28, 2020 6:01 pm

G'day Guy's,
Well with winter this has been a very long ferment and originally I did just a 4 litre ferment in my 5 litre beaker.

600 grams of diced strawberries then frozen for for about a month to ensure it was a brick.
Inverted 2 kg of sugar to make a simple solution
Re-hydrated some EC1118 yeast

Made a paper towel cover using some mnasking tape and found over night it had foamed up something horrid and lost about 300ml. Anyway wrapped it up after cleaning up the mess and bubbles were present showing the ferment was still going. Left it for a month and took a sg reading and WFT :teasing-tease: 1118 SG. :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

So decided to get my old 25 litre fermenter out and I diluted the ferment with 100% of rainwater, took a sg reading and it showed 1065 so just let it ferment out. Last weekend did a sg check and 1010 was the reading and the other day I took another and it's down to 1001 and still active. So the EC 1118 yeast is doing a great job and that is the one I bought off the group buy a few years ago. Still haven't cracked open the second block but both live in the fridge so usebuy dates are only a guide.

The plan is to do a couple of strip runs in my old 2" pot still and as it's going to take ages for the TPW wash to finish I'll use some of the low wines of TPW I made to boost the yield of the strip runs. Then I'll do a nice slow spirit run in the pot still and temper it down to 65%, time to get the hacksaw out and saw a bit more off my big domino that originally weighed up to 2.2kg. It came to me after I gave a bottle to my mate to give to a foreman, now how was I to know this foreman toasted French Oak. So he put a 5kg lunp of French Oak in the toaster and gave me the result. A fully toasted domino to provide years of aging different brews and so far the result of this oak is outstanding.

Basically with any fruit if it has any brix the EC1118 yeast will ferment it but always freeze first to bring out the sugars then just bump it up with some simple solution to get the right sg for the volume.

Anyway I'll check the sg this weekend and as always I let it clear for a week or two before strriping that way I know it won't foam up due to the yeasties being still active.

More to come when I am ready to strip this ferment and I do know it will be an interesting drop to try at xmas.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Aug 29, 2020 3:55 pm

Checked the sg this morning and 999 was the reading and still hearing activity so put the light on give it a bit of heat as it has been so cold so it may still a few weeks before the strip run.

Now on tasting the wash it just so sweet I really think it is going the next step on the G-string Dropper and putting it down on toasted French Oak will give this spirit another twist.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Wed Sep 02, 2020 4:39 pm

Checked the sg today and 994 with no activity, nothing on the airlock and no fizzing sound in the fermenter so this wash is ready to run and in the morning i'll strip the wash and in the arvo do the spirit run.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:49 pm

Well stripped the first run before lunch and having a distillers privilege :happy-partydance: this going to be one great experiement. the taste of the strawberry comes thru along with the sweet taste and it will be interesting after the spirit run to see how much flavour pass's thru.

Onto the second strip run and with the first got 2 litres to 40% so expecting that much or a tad more as the boiler is filled to the max with the last of the wash.also i did throw in a litre of the tpw low wines to increase the yield.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:28 pm

Did the spirit last Friday and put a tad under 3 litres @65% on toasted/charred French Oak from my big domino and had a sample just before. Man :scared-eek: :scared-eek: is going to be a nice drop come xmas only if it lasts until then :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

I'm going to see the local strawberry farms to see if I can't get a few decent kilo's so i can do a full 50 litre ferment and run it over 4 plates or just strip the first ferment and keep going until I get enough low wines to do a full spirit run in 4" pot still.

With the price of barrels these days it may be time to learn how to make them my self as watching video's of them being made it does look like a nice project and huge money saver for my hobby.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby brisvalleymoonshiner » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:00 am

Nice write up,
I just completed my 1st fruit wash and I failed :crying-blue: I had approx 15kgs of strawberries mashed them up added 6kgs of sugar and added lavlan wine yeast to a 50ltr wash. Left it for about 3weeks. The fg was in the range of .990. I ran it through my 4 plates with minimal reflux. Collected down to 30% in 300ml jars. Sad to say no flavour. My thoughts are, not enough fruit, or I got too keen and ran it too early as the wash still had a fair bit if "fizz". On the bright side. $20 for 15kgs of strawberries is a cheap way to learn how to ferment fruit :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Strawberries

Postby wynnum1 » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:23 am

brisvalleymoonshiner wrote:Nice write up,
I just completed my 1st fruit wash and I failed :crying-blue: I had approx 15kgs of strawberries mashed them up added 6kgs of sugar and added lavlan wine yeast to a 50ltr wash. Left it for about 3weeks. The fg was in the range of .990. I ran it through my 4 plates with minimal reflux. Collected down to 30% in 300ml jars. Sad to say no flavour. My thoughts are, not enough fruit, or I got too keen and ran it too early as the wash still had a fair bit if "fizz". On the bright side. $20 for 15kgs of strawberries is a cheap way to learn how to ferment fruit :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Leave the sugar out and just ferment the strawberries as all the sugar will add is more alcohol.
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Re: Strawberries

Postby brisvalleymoonshiner » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:35 am

wynnum1 wrote:
brisvalleymoonshiner wrote:Nice write up,
I just completed my 1st fruit wash and I failed :crying-blue: I had approx 15kgs of strawberries mashed them up added 6kgs of sugar and added lavlan wine yeast to a 50ltr wash. Left it for about 3weeks. The fg was in the range of .990. I ran it through my 4 plates with minimal reflux. Collected down to 30% in 300ml jars. Sad to say no flavour. My thoughts are, not enough fruit, or I got too keen and ran it too early as the wash still had a fair bit if "fizz". On the bright side. $20 for 15kgs of strawberries is a cheap way to learn how to ferment fruit :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Leave the sugar out and just ferment the strawberries as all the sugar will add is more alcohol.


So Putting sugar in weakens the flavour?? Should i have cooked them for a bit??
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:43 pm

I did find the same thing when after a week on french oak there was hardly any taste but on tasting the otherday the taste is starting to come thru nicely so I reckon another 6 months on oak will make for a nice sweet drop that will soon drop the panties off the gals when they try it :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Strawberries

Postby bluc » Fri Oct 16, 2020 4:56 pm

Putting sugar in finished spirit is not same thing. That will enhance the flavour. But by adding white sugar in during fermentation you essentially produce a natural tasting spirit with the added white sugar as opposed to strawberry flavoured you get from the sugar from the strawberry.
Also fruit brandy does not come out like a fruit infusion.
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Re: Strawberries

Postby brisvalleymoonshiner » Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:21 pm

bluc wrote:Putting sugar in finished spirit is not same thing. That will enhance the flavour. But by adding white sugar in during fermentation you essentially produce a natural tasting spirit with the added white sugar as opposed to strawberry flavoured you get from the sugar from the strawberry.
Also fruit brandy does not come out like a fruit infusion.


what does it come out like Bluc? . Should there be some flavour cuz I got none
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:50 pm

Eh Bris I did do mine thru my 2" potstill and did a stripping run then a spirit run in the potstill. Now with my first AG run all 3 gens when over 4 plates and I had just enough wash left over to do a few strip runs in my 2" potstill and a spirit run. Now having a sample on all of the aged products the potstilled one is coming out the best by a long shot.

So for me all my fruit experiments will be put thru a pot still rather than the bubbler over 4 plates, I have found by stripping then doing spirit runs once aged the product is more flavoursome.
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Re: Strawberries

Postby bluc » Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:54 pm

brisvalleymoonshiner wrote:
bluc wrote:Putting sugar in finished spirit is not same thing. That will enhance the flavour. But by adding white sugar in during fermentation you essentially produce a natural tasting spirit with the added white sugar as opposed to strawberry flavoured you get from the sugar from the strawberry.
Also fruit brandy does not come out like a fruit infusion.


what does it come out like Bluc? . Should there be some flavour cuz I got none

Very limited amount of brandy I have done I find white it has a hint of original fruit flavour best drunk at room temp straight. Once oaked takes on completely d8fferent taste. Not done strawberry but done banana apple watermelon grape..
Last edited by bluc on Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Strawberries

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:06 pm

bluc wrote: Not done strawberry but done banana apple watermelon grape..


Ok Bluc is getting off topic by here is one to try, go and grab some red wine then mull it with mulling herbs and cut up a fresh navel orange and add it. Don't go above 70C as we don't want to boil the alc in the wash and mull it for 3 hours. Do a few strip runs then add the herbs and orange in the boiler when doing the spirit run. Age on French Oak and report back, it is one nice drop that only gets better with age on oak.

Cheers Bryan
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