Fermentation took longer than expected -16 days - total cost to make was $42 for everything. By the time I was finished I ended up with 5 mason jars of applejack.
Lavlin's EC-1118 goes out to 18% under ideal conditions, and that takes around a month to ferment all the way out. Likely you are between 10% and 12% abv at most
Hi Mike , I'm fairly new to brewing, in fact these videos convinced me to try this as my grandfather made applejack. Something I've always wanted to try. I saw this and I have made it in a gallon batch. Loved it so much I'm making a 5 gallon batch. Thank you so much! Jack.
This process also concentrates the methanol content so you really should heat the final liquor up to 170 degrees F to steam out the heads, then transfer it back to a bottle to rack like wine and it will eventually clear up perfectly and look like a fine aged brandy. It also will taste better than any distilled apple brandy homemade or commercially made. I make this stuff and usually share with friends around Christmas time.
@@slavzurawski6123 yeah you'll probably be fine the hangover will suck but won't kill ya there's no more methanol than I your home brew and it doesn't really get that dangerous until you get to higher proofs lie 110 also it's not as much as safety consers as everybody's says not to sound like that guy but most of the fear mongering just came from the government as an excuse to make home distilling illegal
@@slavzurawski6123yes 1 full gallon of wine has the same amount of methanol as 1 full 750ml bottle of freeze distilled if u drank that full bottle u would have the same hangover as drinking the full gallon of wine before freezing 🤷♂️
Probably one of the best applejack videos I have seen. Anyone going into brewing blind will greatly benefit from this video. I hate when people say they use yeast activators and bentonite when you don't need them. Easily the best and cheepest way to do this. Thanks for posting it.
You actually don't need to freeze it solid at any point. The first freeze should only take an hour or two. You actually don't want a solid freeze. You want something like a slushy and be soft. The ice should form on the wall of the bottle and is mostly water; the middle of the liquid contains the alcohol. Soft freezes allow the alcohol to flow off easier.
I live close to Monmouth County N.J. where the Lairds started making Applejack in the 1700's. I buy Lairds Applejack and drink it on ice with Apple Cider that I buy at a farm in my town. Tastes awesome!
That's an awesome technique to making moonshine. I never would have thought to freeze the water to separate it from the alcohol as opposed to boiling (distilling) the alcohol from the water. You'll save a LOT of money by not having to invest in making or purchasing a distillery setup. Definitely gonna try this method out. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the video, just made my first batch of hard cider with your recipe and "jacked" it by your instruction. It is tasty. Dangerously tasty. Jacked it twice and now it won't freeze. Gave out a few quarts for Christmas and everyone loved it. Thanks again for taking the time to make the video. Now the wife wants me to turn other fruit juices into alcohol.
@@TStheDeplorable , served some out of the fridge, and it was good. Had it over ice, and that was good, and had it at hot summer night by the fire warm, and it was good. I almost tried it warmed up, but I worked so hard trying to get the alcohol level up I was worried I would burn some off, it would be steaming off. LoL
I've made it few times but I stick to running it through a still. I toss the first run due to the high methanol and acetone content then run the still a little on the hot side to get the some water content through along with some flavor for the rest. I'd say avoid brown sugar. Most of that stuff is made from sorghum and it produces a lot of methanol. That's why moonshiners steer clear of it. Use corn sugar fructose instead if you want a little more kick and maybe add some brown sugar later after it's distilled if you want that flavor. Even regular bleached sugar sucrose produces more methanol that corn sugar does.
A lot of people are talking about a "sour" taste after the first freeze/melt cycle. To avoid the sour yeasty taste it is critical that after moving the fermented cider into the gallon jugs, the jugs are left upright for at least a couple hours prior to freezing. This allows much of the sediment/yeast to fall to the bottom before freezing, and will filter out in the ice during thawing. In fact, after personally making this recipe, I recommend racking the initial fermented cider into a separate Carboy. Let this sit for a few days and you will be amazed at the clarification. After a few days siphon off into your jugs for the jacking process. After racking one could also add Chitosan or some other clarifier to increase clarity and separate the suspended yeast off. In summary, the more you separate the cider from the yeast the better! Thanks mike for the recipe, this stuff is awesome.
A lot of talk about the by products but one thing nobody has mentioned is the fermentation. The health of your yeast and fermentation temp is what's going to give you your starting alchohol profile. If you don't want a lot of methanol, acetone, fussels etc... the FIRST place to start is making sure you have viable, healthy yeast and controlled temps. Use yeast nutrient in the start of fermentation as well. The Cleanest applejack will be determined by the cleanest fermentation.
I've found out by using a auto syphoner when syphoning out of the carboy you don't get any yeast sediments in your jugs. I found it at my local brew store / beer warehouse
Ray lavalamp using two packs of yeast will not hurt. As for the color there are a lot of things that could effect it. The color of the sugar you put in would egfect the color. White sugar would make it a blonde. Light brown sugar gives it an amber color and dark brown sugar gives it a dark red. The type of apple cider you use could effect it too. Hope your first batch was tasty.
Thanks for the great tutorial!!!!! Great explaining . . . .. I am currently trying to make some of my own applejack and will let you know how it ends up in a few weeks! Thanks again!!!
Mike Walker Hey again Mike . . . . my carboy has been fermenting for 8 days . . . with 1-2 bubbles in the airlock every second for the first 7 days. Today (day 8) the bubbling seemed to stopp completely in the airlock. I kept an eye on it for about 10 minutes and nothing . . . . I put my ear to the carboy and could still hear the fizzing . . . . the surface of the juice still has lots of bubbles. I picked up the carboy and gave it a gentle swirl and immediately got 1-2 bubbles/second popping in the airlock again. Is a gentle swirl something I should be doing everyday? Please let me know your thoughts on this.
Yes. It helps the yeast. What happens is things start to settle at the bottom. So swirling gets things floating around again and the yeast came do its job.
Mike Walker Hello once again Mike . . . . Well . . . . interesting news . . . . I noticed the bubbling in the airlock has stopped again, and as I was giving my brew a gentle swirl, I caught a view of the bottom of the carboy in a mirror I have in the basement . . . . It looks as though all of the yeast has settled. I looked at your video again, and it looks exactly as you describe it in your video at 0:25. It is normal for fermentation to end after only 9 or 10 days? I was thinking 2 to 3 weeks. It was releasing a lot CO2 at a fast rate all week. Do you think all the sugar has been converted already? It does have a pretty good smell though . . . . like a strong appley beer. Sorry for all the questions Mike, I hope you don't mind me pestering you, but I just wanted your thoughts before I proceeded with freeze concentration.
Lot of comments here about methanol. Yep, the methanol is concentrated along with everything else. But, if you think of this as a sipper, no more than 2 shots after dinner, you'll never have a problem with a hangover. It's absolutely delicious and is worthy of being slowly savored. I've made 4 batches since I saw this vid last year. So far, no hangovers. And I freeze mine 3-4 times, enough to get it to burn with a pale blue flame, roughly 80 proof. Thanks +Mike Walker!
So I am not quite clear on knowing when it is done during the jacking step (when you are letting the ice melt). Because of course if you just left it there, eventually all the ice would melt and you would have the same thing you started with. But if you finish too soon, you are going to be throwing out a lot of the alcohol. How do you know when it is done and you should stop melting the ice?
I saw a fellow here on the tube freeze some fruit wine in a bowl, then he crushed it up loose, put it in a salad spinner and slung the unfrozen alcohol out in no time flat. I thought that was a great idea also.
I think that if I try this out that I will want to try it in a smaller batch, first. Perhaps only doing 1 gallon at a time, just to get the process down. Looks simple enough.
I used the same yeast and I measured it to 21%. I was kinda hoping for 14 to 16, never expected 21%. So YES, it is possible. I am also in summer in the tropics .. this might have something to do with it too.
1:12 secs.....run Ricky its the cops...there bustin up the dirty liquor brewin brewing operation ....hide the stuff in my shed with my kitties...love the video...brewin up my first batch right now....i threw in a big bottle of 100% Canadian maple syrup a few vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks..cant wait to try it out
I have made homemade limoncello, with our Meyer lemons, but the process is more of an extraction (soaking lemon peels in 100-proof vodka, than straining and adding simple syrup), and not actual fermentation. This looks easy for a beginner like me. I think I'll try it when good apple cider is locally available this Fall. Thanks!
Hey Mike, I love your applejack videos. My grandpa grew apples commercially and made applejack every year. Now I know why the old-timers were always hanging outside by the cider barrels. I read in the comments you've been experimenting with other methods and products like back sweetening, distillation, and brandy. Can you make some videos on your experience with this? More videos on spirits! 🍹
Have you ever tried aging it in oak before? My current project is making whiskey (corn and rye grains) using this technique and then adding Everclear to get it to 130 proof (cask strength) then aging it with charred oak for 8 months to a year. Have you done or have thought about doing something like that?
I watched both your videos I'm making Applejack. Really good content thank you for taking the time. I would like to suggest one minor correction. You stated that the ice acted as a filter to remove the impurities from the alcohol. That is incorrect in fact making Applejack with the freezing method concentrates the impurities. if you're interested in knowing more about this look up the term "apple palsy". It's quite a good read.
Mike walker. I got some questions. I basically followed your entire system and its my first time doing this. Itd be nice if you could answer some of my questions.
i have a question how would you compare the taste when its just wine and after its applejack? i would think you would have to mix it with something if its 40% or drink it like whiskey? what are your thoughts? ty for the video very helpful i hope my cider turns ok its fizzing now
i tried it exactly as you described but i make my patch 2 half and i freeze half and distilled the other half the result with distilling is way better than freezing the bottles thanks
sulaiman saleh that would be cheating, the idea is to keep some of the natural cider flavors, color, character etc. by distilling it you are only getting alcohol with very little flavor, I guess you could cut it back down with cider...but again that's cheating lol
Hey Mike, followed instructions, and everything seems to be going as it should. I just like to plan ahead, so I'm wondering, how can I tell when it's ready to what I call "phase 4" which is syphoning it out of the container into my smaller ones? I went out and bought 5 of the same exact Peak teas so I could use those instead of the original cider jugs (they don't look to take up as much space). Even drank the tea, which I always steer clear of store bought tea (always nasty!), but it was delicious by the way. Anyway, I'm still getting some activity in the airlock, rising wiggling and clicking, not as vigorously as in the beginning, a little slower now, still got not quite an inch of thick foam ring around the top of liquid level, and I'm on day 7. I know you stated anywhere from minimum 6 days to 16 (from part 2) so I just wanted to make sure everything seems to be ok still. Just amateur unsure of my skills and un-knowledge.
sounds like your batch is doing good. It's still fermenting (foam ring and air bubbles) so let it continue. When it stops wait a day to make sure. then you should be ready for phase 4 ;) I'm working on a batch that's taken 3 weeks to finish fermenting. temperature has a lot to do on how long it takes to finish. I'm also trying something new. I took a gallon of applejack and a bag of Jack Daniels wood chips and 5 gallon bucket to try and age it and give it more flavor. I'm going to let it sit in it for 4 months. But I will take a taste test each month to see how it changes its flavor. I live on gold peek diet tea. it has a home brew taste.
Does just a normal freezer freeze the origional hard cider? Mine has not been freezing thus far in my freezer, or outside (15 degrees F). Just curious as to why this 5-6% alcohol isn't freezing as yours does.
Got two questions. 1) How long can you keep the 80 proof stored for at room temperature without it getting old? 2) What size are the mason jars and how many mason jars fill up from the end of the product? Thank you
It is possible to distill through boiling and condensing instead of jacking for possibly higher ABV? I know you won’t have a good yield just curious. Newbie here
Hi Mike, After the applejack has dripped out of the ice, do you put it back into the same jar with the remaining ice and freeze it again? Am I correct in assuming that every time it is "dripped" and refrozen, the ice would become less and less?
I can't wait to try this! Thank you for the video. I'm going to try the concentration process on my mead. The mead recipe I use ends up between 12 and 15% alcohol; concentration should make for a decent honey treat. One kind of stupid question though: Is apple cider a strict requirement or can i use 100% apple juice. I really don't know what the difference is.
Hey I got a question, when you freeze it the second time I noticed you've got a lid on the bottle do I need to do this with mine and how many holes do I need to put in the lid
this is my first attempt at any home making ciders and I put 2 yeast pkgs in because it didn't look like the first pkg work. (but it did) Will that hurt anything and also mine was a lot darker than yours in the video. Why is that??
Thank you for the instructions Mike. I was wondering how did you manage to remove methanol, propanol, and other harmful derivatives that can be removed removed with classic distillation. these derivatives have freezing points way below zero Celsius and must be a part of your end product. exposure to methanol and glycerol could cause harm.
damjan69 Any methanol in the end product was the same amount that was there in the beginning from the apple cider. Methanol is present naturally in fresh apples in small amounts. Distillation does not remove all byproducts as no process is perfect. If you have qualms about harmful chemicals in food or drinks, you should think about what is in that bottle of water you take a sip from or that sandwich you took a bite of. All things in moderation my friend.
+damjan69 As you concentrate/process the cider, you are concentrating the methanol. Think about refining marijuana into hash oil. You might be taking two ounces of weed and concentrating the THC into what could fit into a single bong hit. No one would want the buzz that would come from that. Methanol is dangerous and Mike's recipe here could conceivably concentrate five gallons worth of Methanol into perhaps a single sip. That can cause harmful effect to the human organism. It's a crapshoot. One I'm certainly willing to take, but everyone should make this decision with the full facts. Great Vid Mike.
OK, The total fermentation time for my batch was 24 days! I siphoned it out this AM and it is in the freezer. So Far, So Good. I will do the two step freeze process and I will see how it comes out!!
Im using 15 liter of pure pressed cider...6 lbs of dark brown sugar...1 bottle of 100% pure Canadian maple syrup...shot of vanilla and a few cinnamon sticks..2 packs of activated lavilin yeast....i cant wait to freeze it off and see what happens 😎🤟
Hey so I've done the freezing process, and I'm still getting a pretty cloudy product. It tastes kind of sweet kind of tart. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be like this? Could I have done something wrong?
When you re freeze it whats going to happen is there's going to be a point were it will not freeze anymore thats when your applejack is ready. It will take aleast freezing it 3 times before you get to that point.
Hey man I really enjoyed your video! I'm currently trying to make some myself and it's been 10days. We're using the bucket with airlock you would use to make beer (it's been sterilized of course) so we can't see through it to see if the yeast has settled to the bottom. Do you think it would do any harm to pop the seal and check it?
If you paid attention it's because hes basically removing the water. Water has a much higher freezing point (I cant remember exactly but say water freezes at 32F alcohol at -20 ) so the alcohol will melt faster
Mike Walker sad. Ok. I'll do this with some after fermentation and see how it goes. Then heat distill the rest. If the flavor is better I'll add it to the rest and go from there.
The yeast has nothing to do with the proof. The proof is gained by freeze/thaw. Say your mash is 20% ABV in a 5 gallon mash. That would yield 1 gallon of ethanol. If your mash is 10% ABV, your mash will yield 1/2 gallon. The yeast makes more alcohol, the freeze/thaw removes the water, which make the alcohol more "pure".
When the applejack has dripped out of the ice you want to discard the remaining ice in your container and re sanitize it then add your applejack and re freeze.
I have one gallon glass jugs. Only two of them. So can I make it in them? Also do I need to cook my Cider ? How much sugar for two gallons ? Thanks John
Yep, the yeast has a terminal fermentation point of around 12 or 15 percent at the most.This is what I've experienced making wine or beer. Alcohol is concentrated by removing the water content. Using a hydrometer at the beginning and the end of the fermentation will allow you to calculate alcohol content.
TBF .. just made my first batch, I used a hydrometer and came out at 21%. This guy might have more experience than you. I also took him with a grain of salt, use these vids for what the poster can offer, take what you need and look at a few more. Even if you only come out with questions you have gained something. I used the same yeast he does as its common here. My freezing didn't go as well, more like a frothy frozen block .. I am looking at more vids to see if I should have degassed after the ferment then frozen ..
Alcohol and sugar doesn't freeze with the water solvent so by doing subsequential freezing you can separate the alcohols. The only problem is that you can't separate methanol from ethanol without actual distilling/ boiling
Also regarding cloudiness ... That is what distillers call the head ... It is non-grain alcohols that have a lower boiling temperature then the good grain alcohol you want ... They are what reacts to the body and brain giving you hangovers and are really not good for you ... If you bring it up to around 140-150 degrees on the stove after primary fermentation you will pretty much boil them off ... Then you can use the freezer ...
I'm glad you brought this up because I always suspected this would work. I asked if this method of distilling the heads out would work on a forum and they said it was dangerous and locked my thread. This is the reply I got - "OK , no that idea is stupid, fully open to the atmosphere boiled like that everything will come off together (smearing) . Everyone does cuts for a reason." How long have you been using this method? I was thinking about buying a distiller but I might just stick to this method. I've read that "bad oils" are left behind that can't be boiled out, but when doing a freeze distill, I'm guessing the ice filters all that stuff out? Also, I only do pure inverted sugar washes so I'm guessing I'm not getting much nasties anyways.
A Laz I use a still and a pint jar at the beginning to get the head cut ... Just keep dumping it until!I get clear ... Then I switch the quarts and dump the last one ... Just to be safe ... If I want it purer I freeze or " jack" the good run from the still ... Makes nice clean clear " fuel " ... Lol ...
So would you say it's advisable to buy a still to get the head cut, or would boiling at 140-150 degrees for 15 minutes and then freeze distilling be sufficient for sugar washes (i plan on mixing my sugar washes with condenses frozen juices)? In the Apple jack (/watch?v=sJqsJWJBaZY) tutorial video all he does is a freeze distill, says he's been drinking it for years with no ill effects. Since I'd be doing a sugar wash (which produces less bad alcohols), a boil, AND a freeze distill, I'm guessing that it'd be even safer to drink than his apple jack. Would you say I'm correct in my thinking here? I'm fermenting my first batches of sugar wine as we speak.
+A. Laz, they probably shut down your thread for any discussion of distilling out anything, even just the heads. That's illegal without a license and forums get very uptight about it. The only "dangerous" thing is if you get accused of manufacturing. Boiling off the heads might really screw up the apple flavor though.
I have been fermenting for 16 days now and my airlock is still bubbling about once every 30 seconds should I be worried or just ride it out and wait until it stops bubbling?
Tyler Let it ride! It's still fermenting which is good. Your going to get a good return. I've notice the longer it ferments you get more alcohol back in return.
Anthony Marzella Why would he need to? He already freeze concentrated it there at the end. Distilling it would only increase the alcohol by volume at the expense of removing the flavor. If your aim is producing high ABV, there are cheaper ways of doing it instead of going through all the trouble of using apple cider. Also distillation requires a license while freeze concentrating does not.
I live in the mountains, I plan to make applejack but let my bottles freeze outside during the winter so I don’t have to make liquor in my parents kitchen 😂
I've been doing this for years. And yet have a problem with the high concentration. I drink it my friends drink it and none of us have ever gotten sick. And yes I even distill it to make an apple brandy that is out of this world!
mike I have a question, if you don't mind. Now when you distill it you would be removing the color, correct? If yes then could you simply add a cider to your distilled batch to make an 80 prof would this turn out the same as the freezing? I have not looked yet at your channel to see if you show how to make your brandy but if you have not done a vid, could you? or explain the process? Thank you in advance Thomas Reddick
Hi Thomas Funny that you said that. I just got a new still, I'm breaking it in now. I will do a video soon on Apple brandy. You ferment it like you are making applejack but in stead of freezing it's distilled. And the flavor is great. Now I have added cider to my brandy to make what I call apple pie brandy. I should have something up in a couple weeks.
Yes distilling it will remove the color. It will be clear. I've put a couple gallons of apple brandy in 5 gallon bucket with a half bag of Jack Daniels wood chips and let them sit for 4 months. You get a nice caramel color and a apple flavored Jack Daniels which is pretty good.
great! realy enjoyed the two part vid on the apple jack. I'm sure the tast is different, is it not? and if it is which do you believe has the better taste? the brandy or the apple jack? Thanks again.
Applejack is something easy to make for someone getting into making there own booze. I enjoy making the high octane stuff. Brandy is my favorite. I'm glad you enjoyed the video's. I hope they helped.
Mike Walker on one of your comments you stated you ran it through a charcoal filter once after distilling. Did you actually run it through still or are you referring to freeze distilling?
Mike, Thanks for the video. It has inspired me to try making a batch. It has been fermenting for a week now, still bubbling at 10 second intervals. Can't wait to get to try the finished product. Cinnamon sticks are the only added spices you use? Have you added apple pie spice? Great videos, Jim K
Mike Walker Hi Mike, I finished the freeze process, and ended up with 5 quarts of reduced liquor. It tasted like a dry wine, I prefer a little sweetness. So I "bach sweetened" it with frozen apple juice concentrate. It made a big difference. Thanks for posting a great video. I have one question, should the finished applejack remain refrigerated, or can it be stored on a shelf? Thanks again, Jim.
Apples produce methanol naturally. It's such a low percentage that it's no harm to you. We are also fermenting at low temperature so it's not producing high amounts of methanol. This process does not produce any acetone because we are not using heat distillation. This process goes back hundreds of years this is not something new.
