Making liqueurs?

I searched on Google and on here and couldn't much information on thsi subject,
I was wondering how hard it would be to make something around 20 - 23 percent (so not distilling) that resembled fruit based liqueurs.

(A Guess)
Is it simply, Water sugar + super yeast then flavours?
How do you create the density of the liquid etc.


Thanks.

I would suggest maltodextrin for changing the viscosity and adding the texture that liqueurs usually have.

I'm curious though if yeast would be able to get ABV up to 23% without side effects/much difficulty. I have little to no knowledge of this aspect of your experiment though.

leviticus said:

I would suggest maltodextrin for changing the viscosity and adding the texture that liqueurs usually have.

I'm curious though if yeast would be able to get ABV up to 23% without side effects/much difficulty. I have little to no knowledge of this aspect of your experiment though.

Click to expand...

All i seen was 23% on a packet of yeast called "super yeast"
So i was wondering the same as you!

I've used a maltodextrin supplement for energy at the gym!

I haven't had as much experience with liqueurs as I would like, but if you're looking to get something that's around 20-23% ABV, you'll probably want to make/get some fruit purée/juice, then up the gravity using sugar. There are a few great distillers' yeasts out there, so if you want to get it to 20% or so without distillation, you can use a distillers' yeast like Wyeast 4347 Eau de Vie and it'll get your mixture up there. And seeing as the yeast won't survive past 21% ABV or so, once fermentation is complete, you could definitely backsweeten it to your taste.

Another good option is to basically make a fruit wine (using pretty much the same techniques described above) but to ferment with wine yeast (like montrachet champagne or something) and then do a little freeze distillation. That way you can just freeze it for a little while (not until the whole thing is frozen), decant off the ice, and keep the remaining liquid.

Of course the easiest way to get around this is just to make infused vodkas. They are amazing and wonderful and all you really need is some vodka, fruit/spices/flavorings, some containers (mason jars are good for experimenting) and a really small amount of time (usually only around 2-4 weeks). Easy peasy lemon squeezy...but those will be the strength of vodka (but they won't taste like it).

Good luck

Well, your other problem in getting a product similar to the shelf liqueurs would be flavors contributed by whatever you're fermenting. Distilling is what clears up and removes all the crap from grain alcohol...

I'm sure you could use sugars that would contribute little to the end result, but something tells me that there would be esters and such in there that would simply be too powerful to overcome with flavoring alone.

So...

perhaps a 1 gallon batch with enough dextrose to get an OG where you want, ferment with your superyeast, rack (filtering would probably be the bare minimum here), neutralize of yeast, and back-sweeten/texturize with maltodextrin & flavor?

cuttsjp said:

of course the easiest way to get around this is just to make infused vodkas. They are amazing and wonderful and all you really need is some vodka, fruit/spices/flavorings, some containers (mason jars are good for experimenting) and a really small amount of time (usually only around 2-4 weeks). Easy peasy lemon squeezy...but those will be the strength of vodka (but they won't taste like it).

Click to expand...

+1

i found Kits on midwest supplie to do exactly what you are talking about. Anyone know how and how well this works??

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/hazelnut-brandy-kit.html

I tried some of these "super yeast" packs a years ago and they were absolutely horrendous. They make high alcohol for sure, but that doesn't mean you can really drink it.

As already mentioned you would need a vodka or similar neutral alcohol base to flavour. The density or body comes from the sugars (never fermented), and sometimes added glycerine.

cuttsjp said:

Of course the easiest way to get around this is just to make infused vodkas. They are amazing and wonderful and all you really need is some vodka, fruit/spices/flavorings, some containers (mason jars are good for experimenting) and a really small amount of time (usually only around 2-4 weeks). Easy peasy lemon squeezy...but those will be the strength of vodka (but they won't taste like it).

Click to expand...

I think there's an old book kickin around my house somewhere that was given to my parents as a gift before I was even born that has tons of recipes that just call for adding fruit/spices ect to vodka and a few other hard alcohols as well.

I've been told distillers yeast should work fine to get you up to around 20% abv, but get a blowoff tube because they are ravenous monsters.

Don't use "Super Yeast" from your LHBS or anything of the suchlike - all I've heard is bad things, flavor wise. I'm fermenting a fruit cocktail "liquor" now using Gervin GV4 (which is a wine yeast,) - I've made it before, and because there's syrup in the recipe itself, it definitely comes out a little sticky! Might be something to consider. Can't speak for distillers yeast, no idea.

As for mixing vodka with fruit, they do this as a hobby in...Holland I think? I completely forget what it's called, but if anybody can find out what they call it, there's a site out there with a tonne of recipes on. To infuse, make sure you leave it in the dark, and for a couple of months - it'll lose the color otherwise. Gah, that's gonna bug me now.

Oh and, to reduce any sort of crappy flavors and get a purer liquor taste, there are some things you can do. Degassing is one, and have a read through this - although it's for beer, the information is pretty transferrable. The less of these off flavors you have, the purer your "liquor" will taste!

Make a huge yeast starter, it pitch on a yeast cake. Don't start with a huge OG. Let it ferment then gradually step it up with extract it boiled down wort. At each addition hit it with O2 so it doesn't stall.