Applejack-like Apple Spirit without Distillation

[CampFireWine]

....plus odds are I will produce less of the bad alcohols that will make it taste bad and are very bad for you....

Bad alcohols are produced from the destruction of the pectin chain. This production can be limited by not using pectic enzymes, wood barrels or capping it in a carboy during active fermentation. I haven't noticed a direct correlation between ABV and bad alcohols.

 

[ThunderPanda]

Bad alcohols are produced from the destruction of the pectin chain. This production can be limited by not using pectic enzymes, wood barrels or capping it in a carboy during active fermentation. I haven't noticed a direct correlation between ABV and bad alcohols.

Well i didn't mean specifically the high ABV would cause the bad alcohols (although I did hear that due to the stress from high gravities and such that the yeast get stressed and produce more bad alcohols, which can be minimized but not eliminated with degassing and SNA), what I meant was that distillers yeast like "super yeast" is a strain that is made specifically to produce an alcohol to be distilled. The standard distillation process effectively eliminates the majority of the bad alcohols. As a result, these distillers yeasts have been cultured ONLY for their high alcohol tolerance, with no regard for how much of the other stuff they produce. And I have heard this confirmed in other places that you can taste the bad alcohols when using these types of yeast.

So instead of using distillers yeast, I will probably use a wine yeast of some kind, which should not produce as much bad crap, but will not get quite as high in ABV

 

[CidahMastah]

Well i didn't mean specifically the high ABV would cause the bad alcohols (although I did hear that due to the stress from high gravities and such that the yeast get stressed and produce more bad alcohols, which can be minimized but not eliminated with degassing and SNA), what I meant was that distillers yeast like "super yeast" is a strain that is made specifically to produce an alcohol to be distilled. The standard distillation process effectively eliminates the majority of the bad alcohols. As a result, these distillers yeasts have been cultured ONLY for their high alcohol tolerance, with no regard for how much of the other stuff they produce. And I have heard this confirmed in other places that you can taste the bad alcohols when using these types of yeast.

So instead of using distillers yeast, I will probably use a wine yeast of some kind, which should not produce as much bad crap, but will not get quite as high in ABV

Now this is what I had been waiting on thunderpanda to conclude.

i.e. use distiller's yeast if you plan to distill, not to make flavorful cider.

The one person that posted about campfire's distiller yeast wrought hooch declared it wasn't that good (see his thread, comment was... I won't be making this again anytime soon). They said it could be used as a mixer, i.e. pretty harsh stuff.

Yeast selection and temperature have to be like the top 2-3 most important choices you make when you brew.

I can provide some anecdotal advice on ABV with cider. I have made excellent ciders at 13.6-14% abv from my fresh pressed ciders. One of the main reasons I haven't gone up from there is... you have a pint of that stuff and the alc is quite high enough for my liking. Wish they would change the distillation law though, apple jack would be great fun to try, just not worth the risks given the felony status of it all, IMO.

 

[MazdaMatt]

I can't imagine possibly being caught freeze-distilling. Wait till that week in January where we see -20C to -25C (Welcome to Canada), walk out to the garage with a bucket, go out two days later at 7am, break the ice, toss it out and carry the bucket back inside.

The only way to get caught is to kill your family on a drinking night due to bad alcohols.

Good luck!

 

[CidahMastah]

I can't imagine possibly being caught freeze-distilling. Wait till that week in January where we see -20C to -25C (Welcome to Canada), walk out to the garage with a bucket, go out two days later at 7am, break the ice, toss it out and carry the bucket back inside.

The only way to get caught is to kill your family on a drinking night due to bad alcohols.

Good luck!

I meant the real deal heat distillation - that is the only route I would go (if it were legal).