Making your own brandy at home is a great way to keep yourself warm, plus it tastes and smells great. Brandy is made by filtering fruit juice, which can be made at home using a variety of fruits. After the fruit goes through the fermentation process, the resulting liquid must be filtered once or twice to produce a fruit juice that has a strong and clear aroma. To find out how to make your own brandy drink, start by reading the first step below.
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Part 1 of 4: Making Fruit Juice
Step 1. Select the fruit you want to use
By making this brandy drink yourself, you can freely choose the type of fruit you will use. Commonly used fruits are pears, apples, grapes, or peaches. Turn the fruit into a cider form, then distillate it to make it into brandy. If you want to make your own cider, ferment your selected fruit for at least a few months before you make it into brandy. If you want to go straight to the distillation stage, you can buy some of the fermented fruit you want and then move on to the next step.
- Make sure the fruit you are going to use is ripe.
- For this recipe, you'll need at least 2.8 liters of fruit, which will provide enough juice to make brandy. Add more fruit to ferment if you want more brandy to come out.
- Brandy that is usually sold in the market is usually made using grapes. Brandy made using grapes will have a slightly rough taste so it must be stored for a while in oak barrels to reduce the rough taste. Brandy made from fruit other than grapes is much better to make at home. In addition, by using fruit other than grapes, you do not need to store it in a barrel made of oak wood.
Step 2. Process the fruit of your choice
Wash the fruit that you will use, then cut it into small pieces. You don't need to peel the fruit you're going to use, but make sure you remove the seeds.
Step 3. Mash the fruit in a stone or glass container or crock
Place the fruit in a container, then crush it using a pestle. This will help the fermentation process to be faster.
- If you are using berries, which contain less sugar than other types of fruit, then you will have to add sugar. Add sugar to the bottom of the container you used before you placed the fruit. After the fruit is added, add the sugar again, and so on until the fruit and sugar are evenly mixed.
- Use a container large enough to hold all of the fruit you're going to use, and make sure you don't put too much fruit in as crushing the fruit will create bubbles that can overflow during the fermentation process. If you don't have a stone jar or jar, you can use another one made of glass or ceramic instead of one made of wood or metal.
Step 4. Add yeast and water
Add 6 tsp yeast to a cup of warm water. Use active yeast, not inactive yeast. Then mix the yeast into the results of the fruit mash, then add six glasses of cold water.
Step 5. Place the container in a tray and cover with a plate
The liquid inside will start to bubble during the fermentation process, so you will need to cover it to prevent evaporation. Leave it for a week.
Step 6. Stir the mixture once a week for four weeks
Open the lid of the container and stir the mixture using a long spoon, then close it again. Every week the alcohol content will increase.
Step 7. Put the juice in the bottle
After four weeks, pour the juice into a glass bottle and seal it tightly. You can store the juice for a few months to deepen the taste.
Part 2 of 4: Setting Up Equipment and Refining
Step 1. Set up the tool for the distillation process
To make brandy, you'll need a distiller that can hold the juice and can also sit well on the stove. A distiller that can hold as much as 1 1⁄2 to 2 liters may suffice. To get a distiller, you can buy it at a store that sells household goods.
- If you buy a new or used distillery, make sure you clean it before you use it.
- If you want to experiment with a little brandy, you can make your own distiller using a copper kettle and a plastic tube.
- If you want to make large quantities of brandy, you can use a distiller that can hold as much as 18 liters of liquid.
Step 2. Prepare other equipment
In addition to juice and a distiller, other equipment you will need are some clean glasses, spoons, and other equipment for this distillation process. Get some equipment and set it up in a clean work area that is easily accessible from the stove:
- A pot that can hold the distiller snugly. This pot will be filled with water and used as a double heater to avoid overheating of the distiller.
- Glass for the storage of liquid that comes out of the pipe.
- Measuring cup to measure how much result you get.
- Glass container or jar to collect brandy.
- A rag to clean up any spills that may occur.
Step 3. Place the distiller on the stove or other heater
First, fill the pot with a few centimeters of water, then place the distiller in it. Add more water if necessary. Then place the pot with the distiller in it on the stove or other heating device that you are using.
If you are using a distiller that is large and cannot fit into the pot, then you can place the distiller directly on the stove
Step 4. Put 3/4 of the juice in the distiller
No matter how big the distiller you use, leave 1/4 of the distiller empty. When the juice is heated, the juice will boil and produce bubbles that can spill over if you fill the distiller to the brim.
Step 5. Install the distiller
Put the cap on the distiller, then connect the tube or pipe from the cap to the condenser coil. Add cold water to the condenser and place a glass under the spout to catch the liquid that comes out. Each distiller has a different way of assembly, so read the instructions carefully so that the distillation process goes well.
Part 3 of 4: Straining Fruit Juice
Step 1. Heat the filter
When making brandy, make sure that the contents in the distiller are not too hot; the distillation process is slow. The juice should be well heated but not too boiling. Start heating the distiller over the heat, and keep it until the alcohol starts to drip. If the alcohol drips too heavily, then you will need to reduce the heat. Don't let the alcohol drip more than one drop per second.
- You can tell when the alcohol will start flowing by watching whether the water in the pot looks boiling or not.
- The slower the dripping liquid, the better the quality of your brandy.
Step 2. Collect fluid foreshots
The liquid from the first distillation process (about 7.5 ml per 1.5 liters of juice) that comes from the distillery is called foreshots, which contains a toxic combination of acetone and methyl alcohol. Measure the foreshot fluid that comes out or do it by inhaling it; when the pungent odor of this liquid is not smelled, it means the liquid has disappeared. Foreshots should be discarded as they are not drinkable.
Step 3. Collect the liquid heads
The liquid that comes out next is called heads, which contains a combination of acetone, methyl alcohol, methanol, and ethyl acetate. If you plan to make more brandy, then you can collect these heads, which can be distilled a second time. But you can also throw it away.
- Collect the heads in a small glass. You have to collect any good distillation – the liquid called hearts – which comes out after this head liquid. Collecting the distillate in a large beaker will increase the chances of everything being mixed.
- Continue to inhale the aroma of the flowing distilled liquid. Heads fluid smells better than foreshots fluid, but still no better smells than hearts fluid.
- Liquid heads and foreshots will be at least 30 ml per 1.5 liters of juice.
Step 4. Collect the actual distillation results (liquid hearts)
When the hearts start to drip, the liquid will have a slightly fruity flavor that you use to make fruit juice. You will inhale the fruity aroma you use without smelling the acetone. The result of distillation must be in the form of a liquid, not like a liquid milk. Continue to collect the liquid that comes out while still smelling if there is a change in aroma.
- Adjust the temperature if needed. By the time the distillation process reaches the end, you'll need to increase the heat to get an even result. Raise the temperature little by little every one drop per 1-3 seconds.
- Do not allow the distiller to overheat, or the liquid in it to boil.
Step 5. Pay attention to the tails
The last liquid that comes out of the distillation process is called tails, which has a bad taste. If you smell the aroma of fruit starting to decrease and the liquid that comes out is a liquid like milk, that's called tails. This liquid must be discarded. If this tails liquid starts to come out, turn off the heater.
After the distillation process, it is very important that you clean the distillery thoroughly
Part 4 of 4: Final Steps
Step 1. Pour the liquid hearts into a large glass
You should get 300 ml of brandy from 1.5 liters of distilled fruit juice. Place the brandy in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Step 2. Smell and taste the brandy
If you feel the strong acetone and methyl alcohol in your brandy, then you can cover the brandy container with a cloth tied with a rubber band and keep it for a few days. The unpleasant taste and odor will disappear, which indicates that the acetone and methyl alcohol have evaporated.
Step 3. Store brandy for a long period of time
If you're not in a rush to drink your brandy, you can store it for a few months before drinking it. Cover the brandy container very tightly and store in a cool place for several months. When you open the brandy, it will have a softer taste than when you first strained it.
Step 4. Consider refining your brandy
You don't have to do this, but you can still re-distill your brandy to increase the alcohol content in it and improve the taste. But if you feel that this process is too time consuming and you don't quite master your distillation technique properly, then you can skip it.
