jamesjensen1068

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Sorry for the title, just trying to get your attention. Ok I've got 20 gallons of apple cider going in my basement. I'm thinking of making some Applejack with a 5 gallon batch. I think that I want to oak it too. So here are some of my questions

1.How much final product should I expect from a 5 gallon batch (1 gallon...more?)

2. Should I oak it before or after I make it into applejack?

3. It finished at 7.3 ABV. What ABV would I expect in the final product

4. Is there any way to scientifically determine the ABV/Proof after I've converted it over to applejack?

5. Would there be any benefit (taste) to run it thru a Britta Pitcher charchoal filter?

Thanks

Calder

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Distillation of any sort is illegal. That includes distillation by heat and freezing.

jamesjensen1068

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http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/freeze-distillation-104882/

I believe this has been covered in previous posts and is not illegal...if I'm wrong please show me a link to a government site stating so. If it is illegal then of course I wouldn't even think of doing it.

Cheers

PJford15

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Spirits

You cannot produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant. [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.] There are numerous requirements that must be met that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use. Some of these requirements are paying excise tax, filing an extensive application, filing a bond, providing adequate equipment to measure spirits, providing suitable tanks and pipelines, providing a separate building (other than a dwelling) and maintaining detailed records, and filing reports. All of these requirements are listed in 27 CFR Part 19.

Spirits may be produced for non-beverage purposes for fuel use only without payment of tax, but you also must file an application, receive TTB's approval, and follow requirements, such as construction, use, records and reports.


Source: http://www.ttb.gov/faqs/genalcohol.shtml

JeepDiver

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As has been posted on HBT several times, freezing is legal and allowed by the mods here

dinnerstick

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i would argue that freeze 'distillation' is not distillation at all but partial fractionation, if distillation (come on wikipedia) is defined as separation "based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture"

dinnerstick

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6. is there enough advil in the world to counteract 1 gallon of applejack

jamesjensen1068

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Ok so the fact that it is legal....would anyone like to answer the questions???

dinnerstick....all things in moderation

DKershner

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1. The answer to this question depends on things like ABV, temperature used, and how effective you are at getting the resulting liquid. You should expect more than 1 gallon though. Although I am not that familiar, I believe each reduction causes around 2/3 volume to be left.

2. After.

3. I read a formula...but I remember thinking that you could just multiply the ABV by 1 + the percentage the liquid was reduced.

4. If you have a refractometer and a hydrometer you can use the readings to determine the "OG". That isn't all that scientific, but its the best you can do without a microscope.

5. Not to my knowledge, but you can always try it. It would probably change the taste, but it depends on what kind of water you used to begin with what changes would be made.

__________________

jamesjensen1068

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So what you are saying is that you would use the OG and FG like in normal brewing except you'd subtract the numbers in the opposite order and multiple by 131.