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GENERAL BOARDS => Other Artisan Crafts => Topic started by: Boofer on July 21, 2012, 04:03:59 PM

Title: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on July 21, 2012, 04:03:59 PM
My Dad's raspberries were just awesomely huge this season. I remembered in my foggy brain a thread from last year about raspberry liqueur (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,8336.msg58541.html#msg58541) and proceeded to research what I needed to make some. I was thinking, "This would be really nice when it's cold and blustery around December."

I started the raspberry liqueur two weeks ago. Today I started some blueberry liqueur. My local supermarkets had received some large, beautifully plump blueberries from Oregon. I couldn't resist. So I researched what I needed to make the blueberry liqueur.

The process is rather lengthy for each liqueur, but I wanted to put a stake in the ground for somewhat of a photo essay to document the process and subsequent results. I have never done liqueurs before so I am open to advice from those who have successfully gone before.

It occurred to me that after the fruit had been leached of its color, flavor, aroma, and character by the alcohol, that I could place several layers of muslin in my tall Tomme mould, put the fruit in there, and press the goodness out with my Dutch press. That would be the first of many filtering steps.

That's a 2.5 gallon container holding the blueberries.  8)

-Boofer-



Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Susie on July 21, 2012, 05:58:41 PM
I am very interested in seeing how this turns out! Fascinating.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: MrsKK on July 22, 2012, 08:05:41 PM
We have some Nanking cherry bushes.  The cherries are too small to pit, but they have good flavor.  I've made a similar liqueur with them.  Very tasty.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on July 26, 2012, 12:59:51 AM
Sorry...this is going to be a wordy posting.  :P

I checked on-line to find a recipe for making liqueur, specifically raspberry liqueur. I had recently finished a bottle of Raspicello and wanted to try to duplicate that delicious libation. The Raspicello lists 26% ABV on its label. I also have not quite finished a bottle of Peachcello with the same alcoholic content. In my freezer I have the last dregs of Lemoncello with a 30% ABV content. Those alcohol contents gave me a target for not just the alcohol level I needed to approach but also the mouth feel and fruit character.

What I found on-line was a collection of how-to-do-it documents and quasi-recipes that all fell short for what I needed to do justice to this drink. One of the first things that popped out at me was that a liqueur called for the addition of a “Simple Syrup”. I soon found that it was not so simple. Some recipes called for a one-to-one ratio of sugar to water, while others called for a two-to-one ratio. I Googled how much sugar could be dissolved in a cup (8 ounces) of water. That answer was two cups of sugar. Okay, that will be my Simple Syrup recipe going forward.

I found that there may be four ways to get the sugar mated up with the alcohol and fruit juice. To the container with alcohol and fresh or frozen fruit:
·   Just add raw sugar to the fruit and let the sugar draw the juice out from the fruit..

To the container with alcohol and fruit juice (already drawn from the alcohol sitting on the fruit for several weeks):
·   Add 1:1 Simple Syrup.
·   Add 2:1 Simple Syrup.
·   Add Invert Syrup (Simple Syrup that has been converted from sucrose to glucose and fructose by boiling for 10 minutes with a little lemon juice.).

I decided to make Invert Syrup with a 2:1 ratio to achieve a higher sugar density for my liqueur. I faced a little different problem that I made for myself by using a lot more fruit than any of the recipes called for. What that effectively will do is dilute the alcohol by volume content of the finished product. I need the higher level of sweetness without the added water volume that would further dilute the finished liqueur.

For my Invert Syrup I used 8 cups of white sugar and 4 cups of water. I brought that to a boil and then added 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. I then boiled the water and sugar, which changed from a cloudy white liquid (the sugar hadn’t completely dissolved) to a clear liquid over the ten minutes that it was boiled. Then I let it cool.

Here’s my recipe for my interpretation of Raspicello:

16 oz of alcohol @ 61% ABV
24 oz of raspberry juice (the carafe holds 64 oz. of berries)
8.5 oz of invert syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
4 oz dried wild blueberries
1 vanilla bean, with seeds scraped out and added in
2 TBS vegetable glycerine

The 16 oz of alcohol is comprised of the following:
1.66 cups of Smirnoff 40%ABV vodka
2.34 cups of Everclear 75.5%ABV grain alcohol

That gives me an alcohol mix of 4 cups of 60.8%ABV. The reason for this unusual mix is that I initially bought the Everclear, but then thought that it might be too potent for a quiet little liqueur. I thought I should cut its potency a bit. Now, after I have been through the process, I can see that I should have just followed through with the Everclear. I could always dilute the final product with a little extra water if need be.

So I added the fruit to the carafe, crushed it, added the alcohol, capped it and let it sit for a week. Then I added the sliced and scraped vanilla bean to help round out and soften the raspberry character. Some recipes called for this so I thought I’d try it. It seemed to make sense. After several days, I stirred it down and crushed the berries even further.

After two and a half weeks, I decided to move it forward. I put a quadruple layer of cheesecloth in the strainer and poured the mixture through the strainer for the coarse filtration. I mashed the pulp with the back of a spoon, but that still didn’t extract all the juice. I emptied the pulp from the cheesecloth into a bowl for attention later. After I had extracted as much juice as I could from the cheesecloth, I put the pulp back into the cheesecloth, gathered the four corners, and squeezed it into the cheesecloth-lined strainer.The cheesecloth required rinsing several times. Finally I placed the rinse-able coffee filter in the strainer, poured the twice-filtered liquid through, rinsed the coffee filter, and repeated the process. The rinse-able coffee filter is a really good, efficient device for this job…much better than disposable paper coffee filters would be.

To this filtered alcoholic fruit juice I added one cup invert syrup and a tablespoon of glycerine. I swirled the carafe to mix the sweetener and then I tasted it. First of all, the aroma of the berries was very dominant…a promise of taste delight to come. The taste was slightly sweet-tart, fruity, but a little thin. My wife liked it and hesitated when first smelling it…savoring the aroma. She remarked that it was like fruit juice (thin character) and definite alcohol character. Looking at the glass…you could see the “legs” from the alcohol. But it wasn’t over-the-top in alcohol. My calculations indicated that.

To another half cup of syrup I added a second tablespoon of glycerine, mixed it in, then added it to the carafe. I again swirled the carafe to mix the added sweetener. When I now tasted it I found that it was softer, not quite so harsh, and a little fuller in body. I have a second carafe virtually identical to this one so it is important to nail down the flavor and texture profile of this one so that the other can just follow suit. The only difference is that the other carafe has added dried cherries which I hope will provide a more complex character.

I bottled the mixture at that point, satisfied that this would be fine for a first pass at liqueur-making. I imagined pouring a glass in the cold winter months ahead. Nice. I had a little problem corking the bottles because the plastic, ribbed stopper was easing its way out of the bottle. Duh! I had put a little too much liqueur in each bottle and the compression from the stopper was forcing them out of the necks of the bottles. I poured a little out (into my testing/tasting glass, of course) and restoppered the bottles. Then I labeled them and put them in the bottle box for a little nap. See you in the holidays!

My calculated final potency for this Raspicello is 18.7%ABV. I arrived there with the following:
2 cups alcohol @ 61%ABV
3 cups raspberry juice
1.5 cups invert syrup

2 cups alcohol @ 61%ABV/6.5 cups total liquid volume => 18.7%ABV

It’s not very close to the commercial Raspicello (26%ABV) or the Limoncello (30%ABV) but it seems quite acceptable for this run. I could probably boost the amount of glycerine I use in the next batch to develop smoother mouth feel.

I will take the traps I discovered and the tricks I learned from this effort and apply them to the other matching carafe of raspberry liqueur. I also have a batch done with brandy that will benefit from this knowledge. And later I have the blueberry liqueur. That should be fun. I have some tall 375ml bottles coming for it.  8)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Susie on July 27, 2012, 03:55:53 PM
Beautiful bottles! You will have to post again after they have aged and you give it a try.
I'm envious of anybody on the Boofer Christmas list.  8)
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on July 27, 2012, 04:30:35 PM
Fermeting the fruit slightly before adding your alcohol (and sugar to taste) will produce in most cases a much superier as the enzymes produced by the yeast will liberate many non volotile aroma compounds.   
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: linuxboy on July 27, 2012, 05:08:34 PM
Tomer, I've made a sort of berry port before with that approach, taking it to 3-4% (lower than usual port, but had less sugar in fruit), and then macerating and filtering. Was amazing. Might be worth a try, Boof. Have you noticed how we are having an incredible berry year here in the PNW. I was hiking yesterday and came across the biggest huckleberries I have ever seen. Salmonberries and strawberries are gone, but thimbleberries and blackberries are just starting up. Oregon grape is looking amazing, too... very sweet.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on July 27, 2012, 06:10:29 PM
My goodness Boofer, what's the next step, moonshine? You're a man with many talents... What about a white stilton with blueberries? Made that once and it's delicious.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on July 27, 2012, 08:57:16 PM
The style of having all your alcohol come from the fortifying agent (preserving all of the RS) is called Vins doux naturels. usually done with muscat verietals but It works great on fruit aswell.   You fortify to about 14-15% abv a day or two after active fermentation. (10% of the wine's volume using 190 proof or more so you bring as little water as possible)
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on July 28, 2012, 12:28:51 AM
My goodness Boofer, what's the next step, moonshine? You're a man with many talents... What about a white stilton with blueberries? Made that once and it's delicious.
You know, I thought about that a year ago, but decided against it after sampling a White Stilton with Apricots. Kinda put me off, so the blueberries went unused for cheese. They were used elsewhere.

Fermeting the fruit slightly before adding your alcohol (and sugar to taste) will produce in most cases a much superier as the enzymes produced by the yeast will liberate many non volotile aroma compounds.   

I'd be afraid I'd end up with nasty, moldy fruit instead of something elegant. These berries were pristine, as were the blueberries I used for that batch. The taster-tester glass was very nice even though it was very young and un-aged.

Salmonberries and strawberries are gone, but thimbleberries and blackberries are just starting up. Oregon grape is looking amazing, too... very sweet.
I haven't seen salmonberries in probably 35 years. Never seen Oregon grape. Where can I find either of those? Is it within reasonable driving distance of Parkland (Tacoma)?

Beautiful bottles! You will have to post again after they have aged and you give it a try.
I'm envious of anybody on the Boofer Christmas list.  8)
Yeah, Susie, I went searching for unusual bottles to contain these liqueurs. I lucked out. The little cannonball bottle just fits my hand. It and the smaller tall bottle are both 8 oz (250ml). The small tall will hold the brandy-based raspberry liqueur. I got not quite 48 oz of liqueur from the first carafe which nearly filled six of the cannonballs. I expect I'll fill nearly six of the small talls.

The tallest bottle just came in today. It holds 375ml. I have a case of 12 to hold that big glass container of blueberry mix. I'm very curious about the blueberry mix. It's probably going to be a very subtle aroma and flavor. Don't know what to expect.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: linuxboy on July 28, 2012, 12:50:45 AM
Quote
I haven't seen salmonberries in probably 35 years. Never seen Oregon grape. Where can I find either of those? Is it within reasonable driving distance of Parkland (Tacoma)?
They're everywhere in most of the woods in the area. Maybe go for a hike nearby in a reasonably big area? I was in Woodinville.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on July 28, 2012, 08:18:05 PM
This morning was time for racking and bottling. I did the second carafe and the brandy-based glass jar. I added to my education this morning.

I had used cheesecloth for the two carafes, but then I found that I had an unused package of cotton flour sack towels with a tighter weave. I cut a piece to fit the funnel I was using and proceeded to be amazed at the difference in filtering the flour sack gave to the effort. I poured some of the first-filtered alcoholic juice into the cloth-lined funnel and it trapped most of the small pulp particles. I had to rinse it and wring it out with every pouring, but in the end the liquid was clearer than it had been when I used the cheesecloth. I hardly needed the third filtering. Nice.

I also found that the quantity of glycerine I used was significantly higher than the recipes I found on-line called for. One had called for 1 teaspoon of glycerine per liter. I started out at 1 tablespoon per batch and easily moved that up to 1/4 cup (2 oz/59ml) per batch. The mouth feel at that point was satisfactory and certainly not excessive. It seems like the original Pallini Raspicello had a higher degree of mouth feel.

Next weekend I'll package up the blueberry batch. It will have had two weeks to leach out the berry essence at that point. It should be very nice in those tall, thin bottles (375ml).

In the first pic, the brandy-based batch is on the left and the second carafe (with dried cherries added) is on the right with the Raspicello bottle.  8)

All three raspberry batches have a wonderfully deep fruit character and all hover around 17% ABV. A nice warming sensation along with the burst of fruit flavor and aroma.  :D

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: linuxboy on July 28, 2012, 08:29:27 PM
if you don't mind using plastic, there are bags and material you can buy online with specific micron sizes. Typically used for hop bags in beer, for example. Something like a 100 micron bag would give you a very clear liquid, and you can go even finer. Can get them on ebay often as a filter for oil when making biodiesel for $5-$10. If you're making lots, might be worth it to buy one. They filter very quickly.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: MrsKK on July 30, 2012, 01:45:52 PM
Yum!  I'll expect an invite for the holidays, of course!

I make limoncello about every other year, as we have friends that adore it for Christmas.  I'm thinking I should be expanding my repertoire.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on July 30, 2012, 02:31:38 PM
Yeah, Karen, I'm anxious to finish the blueberry this week. I've got personalized labels coming for that tall bottle. Should be very classy. Hopefully it will be good when I finish.  :P No idea what to expect.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on July 30, 2012, 05:11:52 PM
Quote
It seems like the original Pallini Raspicello had a higher degree of mouth feel
Not all fruits are created equal.  some are light some medium and some are full bodied.
There are inactivated yeast based products like biolees which can enhance body and smoothness if your willing to go there.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 02, 2012, 11:43:25 PM
I had estimated getting about 64 ounces of juice from the 8 pounds of blueberries. I got 58 ounces. I had already put in as much grain alcohol as I had. That was 14 oz of Everclear (75.5%ABV) and 32 oz of Smirnoff vodka (40%ABV). That gave me 46 oz of almost 51%ABV (50.65%). The 46 oz of alcohol plus the 58 oz of juice was going to divide the alcohol potency down to roughly 22%...and I still hadn't added sweetener yet.

So I did a few extra calculations, adding 8 oz additional 75.5% Everclear and 8 oz of Simple Syrup (2:1 ratio), and arrived at almost 25%ABV (24.75%). I could live with that. It's closer to the target of 26% that the Pallini Raspicello and Peachcello had. I also added the remainder of the last bottle of glycerine that I had which was probably around 3 oz. I wished that I had bought a larger bottle.

So what did I learn with this project?

I hope to report a tasty treat in several months after these puppies have had a chance to rest and age a little.  8)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on August 13, 2012, 06:53:37 PM
Oh man, this is looking so nice. Brings back a lot of memories from the time I used to make wine myself... I still have almost 1 liter of 90% alcohol (imported from Luxembourg, because it's not for sale here) and one of these days I'm going to use that for a Cointreau-like liqueur...
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 14, 2012, 03:20:51 AM
Oh man, this is looking so nice. Brings back a lot of memories from the time I used to make wine myself... I still have almost 1 liter of 90% alcohol (imported from Luxembourg, because it's not for sale here) and one of these days I'm going to use that for a Cointreau-like liqueur...
Okay, Herman, where's the recipe? Sounds interesting.

One of these days, huh?  ;)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on August 14, 2012, 11:02:52 AM
OK, here it is in short version:
Clean an orange, a tangerine and a lemon very good (brush it with warm water). Cut the lemon in half.
String them on a nylon fishing line. Get a jar that is big enough for the fruit. Put 200 ml of 90% alcohol in it.
Hang the fruit in the jar, above the alcohol. Close it air tight and keep it in a cool dark place for 6 weeks.
Remove the fruit and mix the alcohol with water and inverted sugar to the right strength (I have a formula for this somewhere at home, but I'm pretty sure you know what I mean...)
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 14, 2012, 02:31:45 PM
I have seen other recipes similar to yours which suspend the fruit above the alcohol. I find it amazing that the magic happens and the citrus essence is able to incorporate into the alcohol.

Here's another take on the recipe:

"Cointreau is a French brand of triple sec, an orange-flavored liqueur, and is made from bitter oranges. If you are able to find bitter oranges use them in place of the oranges and lime. Cointreau is consumed both as an apéritif and as a digestif. Though stronger than a triple sec (which has anywhere between 15 and 40% alcohol), Cointreau (40% alcohol) is often considered either a triple sec or in a category of its own.

Yield:
1 Liters

Ingredients:
1 1/2 liters brandy
6 oranges
1 lime
4 cups of sugar
1 cup water

Preparation:
Source URL: http://www.foodista.com/recipe/LS433ZR2/homemade-cointreau (http://www.foodista.com/recipe/LS433ZR2/homemade-cointreau)"

Yep, since I'm already in this line of thinking, I think I might try this out too.

-Boofer-

Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on August 14, 2012, 02:52:58 PM
 Sounds really good too. Think I need an extra holiday  O0 Webshops here that sell stuff for making beer also have a lot of essences for liqueur so you can make anything you want, they even have special "water"distillers....
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on August 15, 2012, 10:28:31 AM
Gewurztraminer grapes are coming tomorrow :)
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 15, 2012, 03:17:02 PM
Gewurztraminer grapes are coming tomorrow :)
And what will you do with them?

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: goatherdess on August 15, 2012, 03:42:22 PM
Wow! To me this post is really amazing and very creative. It looks so wonderful - I'm impressed!
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, & Cherry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 16, 2012, 03:18:29 PM
Dark cherries are currently in season. Even though I had gone through the process of making raspberry and blueberry liqueurs, it occurred to me that another ruby-hued liqueur in time for the holidays would be quite festive.

I'm still in my learning phase with these liqueurs with the Pallini Raspicello and Peachcello (http://www.castlebrandsinc.com/pallini.php) as guide markers on my quest. Those two drinks have a 26% ABV potency and a slightly viscous mouthfeel. I am also using Villa Massa Limoncello (http://www.villamassa.com/VillaMassaStore/showpage/1?LANGUAGE_ID=2) as an example. It boasts a 30% ABV with a similar viscous character. I had thought that adding glycerine to the final product when bottling my raspberry and blueberry liqueurs would provide the viscous characteristic I was seeking, but that didn't really achieve my goal.

So yesterday I washed, sliced, and mashed 5 pounds of fresh dark cherries I had just purchased from the store. I had 3 cups of Everclear left over from making the blueberry liqueur. I stirred that into the broken cherries, put the lid on, and placed the jar in the coolest, darkest part of the house with a towel around it to further exclude the light. There it will sit, with an occasional stir, for 2 months. Around October 15th, I'll strain the alcoholic liquid from the fruit pulp and add in my Not-So-Simple-Syrup (NSSS).

Starting with a base alcohol of 75.5% strength, my desire is to divide that in thirds, arriving at a target final strength of around 25%. The other two thirds of the liqueur would be made up of fruit juice and "NSSS". That goal should put me close to the 26% potency of the previously mentioned Pallini liqueurs.

I've bemoaned the confusion and disagreement of what constitutes "Simple Syrup". Some mark it as a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. Others post it as a 2:1 ratio, sugar to water. I used a 2:1 ratio for my raspberry and blueberry liqueurs. I discovered another ratio that really intrigues me when I checked out a Cointreau recipe (http://www.foodista.com/recipe/LS433ZR2/homemade-cointreau)... 4:1, sugar to water.  :o

I wasn't sure that 4 cups of sugar would successfully dissolve in 1 cup of water. Earlier when researching for the raspberry and blueberry Simple Syrup, I Googled how much sugar could be dissolved in a quantity of water. It seemed a consensus pegged it at 2 cups in 1 cup of water. Yesterday I successfully (?) dissolved 4 cups of sugar in 1 cup of water, stirring constantly. I didn't think this qualified as mere Simple Syrup of 1:1 or 2:1 strength, so I'm calling it Not-So-Simple-Syrup (NSSS). Why do I think I need the NSSS? Well, I'm trying to limit the volume of liquid in this liqueur so that I can approach my targeted 26% alcohol strength. How can I do that and still deliver the sweetening power that the liqueur needs? Hopefully that can be achieved by concentrating the sugar per water ratio. I am also hoping that the NSSS will contribute a more viscous mouthfeel to the final product.

Several cherry liqueur recipes suggest taking some of the cherry pits and cracking them to expose a slight bittering to the final product. I don't believe that's a great idea. Here's why (http://chemistry.about.com/b/2007/09/12/yes-apple-seeds-and-cherry-pits-are-poisonous.htm).

So now I wait until mid-October for the next phase of my liqueur education.  8)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on August 16, 2012, 04:22:04 PM
Gewurztraminer grapes are coming tomorrow :)
And what will you do with them?

-Boofer-
Basically do an off dry style.
First put them in the fridge to cool overnight.
Then press them as whole clusters, settle the juice for a few days to clearify the juice, reserve some of the juice (sweet reserve) in the freezer, ferment it dry at 13-14c , clearify, fine with bentonite, adjust the sweetness with the juice , filter and bottle. 

Quote
I had thought that adding glycerine to the final product when bottling my raspberry and blueberry liqueurs would provide the viscous characteristic I was seeking, but that didn't really achieve my goal.
Yeah, you really need to overdose it to get an increase in mouthfeel but than it just tastes weird.

I suggest you take out some of the juice to increase the juice-skins ratio and get a bigger bodied product.

I suggest you make an invert sugar syrup instead of 1:1 sugar syrup as it will add less water to your product.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 16, 2012, 06:14:49 PM
I suggest you make an invert sugar syrup instead of 1:1 sugar syrup as it will add less water to your product.
I did a 4:1 invert syrup with a little added lemon juice to invert it...my "NSSS".

Did I mention that in my posting?  ::)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on August 16, 2012, 07:11:30 PM
I always keep some around as it doesnt spoile, I sweeten overly dry white wines and extra brute sparkling wines with it :)

 
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on August 17, 2012, 12:54:20 AM
Good point, Tomer. Also good for those wonderful summer drinks like Mai-Tais.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry & Blueberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on August 17, 2012, 01:49:38 PM
This is a very hard to get verietal, paid 0.875$\lb.    A winery bought the entire vinyard (3 tons of fruit) to product a mock ice wine. The vintner was able to put aside about 60kg.

(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/s720x720/190047_427671873940567_1638924872_n.jpg)
(http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/527916_427671580607263_905490969_n.jpg)
(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/578716_427929153914839_760682794_n.jpg)
(http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/393907_427928897248198_896914201_n.jpg)
(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/422373_427929880581433_12927303_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on September 16, 2012, 04:25:21 PM
When I put the cherries into the big jar, I had sliced them and mashed them as best I could. At extraction time I had some difficulty getting a good squeeze on the cherries because of the pits. Even so, I believe I was able to derive a good cherry essence and significant juice to make the liqueur. Some recipes had recommended cracking some of the pits and adding that to the juice. Not wanting to possibly incorporate cyanide into my elixir I added almond extract instead to boost the cherry character.

This is my third rendition of a berry-based liqueur and I wanted to give the "Simple Syrup" another try. Remember that there were already Simple Syrups based on a 1:1 and 2:1 ratio of sugar to water. Following another SS recipe I had tried to make 4:1 syrup. I succeeded but that appears to be a very dense combination, bordering on unusable. For the cherry blend I decided to step it down to 3:1. That works much better. I boiled 3 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water and then added some lemon juice when the concoction cleared, and boiled for 10 minutes more, aiming for an invert syrup.

The 3:1 Super Syrup (no longer just a simple) allowed me to sweeten the liqueur without diluting the alcoholic content. My target is still 26-30% alcohol by volume (ABV), following the Pallini model. I also dragged out Tuaca and Frangelico from the back of my liquor shelf and they boast 35% and 28%, respectively.

My calculated potency for the cherry liqueur is 32%ABV. It needs a little aging I think. It tastes a little like cough syrup :o.

Edit: Added finished bottles.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on September 16, 2012, 04:34:49 PM
Just as I was about to finish up the cherry liqueur my Dad called with an offer of some blackberries that were begging to be picked. I thought "Why not? This will cap the year of my berry liqueurs just right."

I'm trying to implement what I have learned in the first three liqueur episodes of this thread to improve this final berry liqueur. I have the 3:1 Super Syrup ready to go. I think I have established the guidelines for a robust and full-flavored liqueur. I crushed the berries and added the 75.5% Everclear to let the mash steep for a week or two. I'm not sure it needs any longer than that to extract the fruit goodness.

My Dad picked two containers full of berries. Each container has a capacity of 13.5cups/3208ml/108.5oz. Combined, they fill the 2.5 gallon jar. Crushed, they fill not quite half the jar.

Now I wait....

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on September 22, 2012, 05:53:15 AM
Extracting the alcohol-encouraged juice from the pulp of these blackberries was more difficult than the previous three efforts. There was a lot of pectin and fine particulate. Even after four or five filterings the resulting liquid still contained some suspended particles. It will have to be carefully racked when it's served.

Final alcohol level for the blackberry is around 22%. It has a slight tannin note. All of these liqueurs need a little rest time in their bottles to gently age.

I was particularly happy with the results I got from the labels. I was able to find sharp, colorful, fruit pictures to insert into the Vistaprint (http://www.vistaprint.com) template, which help to define the fruit contained within.

That last photo of all four bottles is the package I will present to my son and daughter-in-law for Christmas, along with perhaps a wedge of cheese.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Susie on September 23, 2012, 05:56:34 PM
I just think this is the neatest thing and what an awesome gift! Those bottles are so pretty. I can't wait to hear what you think about taste after they have aged a bit.

I wonder how much syrup it would take to make the persimmons in my yard palatable.  :o
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: iratherfly on September 23, 2012, 10:43:13 PM
Oh boy, I am getting boozed just reading through this thread.  Beautiful process, beautiful fruits. Beautiful bottles ...and you labeled them too! NICE!!!

I am gearing up for making hard cider this fall.  Don't have space for a fruit press but I think I will crush the apples in a cuisinart very roughly and then press them in a cheese press with a ply-ban lined tomme mould. I will take the slurry and put it in a cheesecloth bag to infuse in the virgin juice for the first 24 hours or so.  Have you ever made hard cider? Boofer? Tomer? Anyone?  I am aiming at making it a moderate boozer but I am really not experienced. Should I get a refractometer and alcohol hydrometer? I already have the glass carboy, siphon and vapor lock on standby. Getting champagne yeast for this (unless better suggestions out there).  I would rather not add alcohol but have it arrive naturally. I realize more sugary apples would do that but I want to keep it a bit dry so I may get less sweet apples and add lactose? I have no idea what I am doing
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on September 24, 2012, 05:20:10 AM
It's important to be able to measure the gravity so you know how much sugar to add. Champagne yeast will do fine for cider, Be sure to activate the yeast before adding it to the pressed juice so you have a kick-start. Do not clean your bottles with something that contains chloride, the slightest residue of chloride will spoil your wine. I used to add about 80 % of the sugar at the beginning and the remainder in smaller parts later in the process, depending on the "speed of yeasting". (Mmm, I'm not used to translate this kind of stuff into English...). If you add all the sugar in once you have the risk that the yeasting stops before all sugar is consumed and you end up with a wine that is too sweet.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: iratherfly on September 24, 2012, 07:00:44 AM
Thanks for the tips Herman. Seems like the rules are the same as in cheese.  Use no-rinse sanitizer, never chlorine or iodine, don't overload with cultures because they will eat the stuff up too fast; I got it!
So you are saying I should proof the yeast first? Just put it in 1/2 cup of water with a teaspoon of sugar for 10 minutes?

My assumption is that I can always add a bit of sugar to kick up the alcohol production but if it's too sweet it won't be very dry. I suppose I can add lactose instead of sucrose to make it less sweet but just as active.

Then, I taste it when I do the bottling and I can add some simple syrup at that time if it doesn't seem sweet enough. As I understand it, the alcohol at that point will no longer change so this is the final point to measure alcohol gravity, right?

Fascinating stuff!
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on September 24, 2012, 09:49:42 AM
If you dont have a press, Id advice you to ferment on the fruit and add maceration\pressing enzyme (pectic enzyme blend).
It will save you hours of trouble trying to extract juice manual. (believe me, it doesnt work very well and its a ton of work)
After about 2-3 days of fermentation the pulp will turn into empty shells (by the aid of the cell breaking enzyme) and can be strained thru a cheese cloth and lighly pressed.  after 24 hours you should rack it from the gross lees (a layer of sludge at the bottom of the tank).  this will produce better aromas.

Also, Think about renting a press or buying freshly pressed cider (during season).


You will need to measure the gravity of your must (will likely be around 10-12 brix, depending on apple sweetness) and add sugar to reach about 22 brix.
I would not use champgane yeast, You want a slower fermenter IMO that will allow you to ferment it slowly and cold (between 10-15c).
You can try V1116 (clasic fruit wine yeast) or D47.  Cotes des blanc is also nice but its a bit fast.
You will also need to buy some yeast nuetrient.



Quote
So you are saying I should proof the yeast first? Just put it in 1/2 cup of water with a teaspoon of sugar for 10 minutes?
No, Just follow the instruction in the back of the package.  Rehydrate in 37-41c water for 10 minutes sprinkling on top, stire and wait additional 15 minutes, slowly equalize temp (add 40-50% of the starter volume with cold must and wait 10 minutes before adding more if needed) untill starter and must are less then 10c difference and pitch the starter into the must.  this will prevent yeast death.



Quote
My assumption is that I can always add a bit of sugar to kick up the alcohol production but if it's too sweet it won't be very dry. I suppose I can add lactose instead of sucrose to make it less sweet but just as active.
If you reach a point when it wont ferment any further and you still have residual sugar, you wont have wine but jet fuel. (15-16% alcohol).
You dont want that, you want 10-11.5% something like a light white wine.

You can let it ferment dry and add lactose to sweeten. (lactose is unfermentable by wine yeast). I suggest you do it before bottling when the wine is clear and ready for bottling.

Quote
Then, I taste it when I do the bottling and I can add some simple syrup at that time if it doesn't seem sweet enough. As I understand it, the alcohol at that point will no longer change so this is the final point to measure alcohol gravity, right

This can be done but you will need to use pottasium sorbate to prevent refermentation. 200 ppm. 
You will also need to add Kmeta at a dose needed to reach 0.8 ppm molecular so2 (This can be easly calculated with a free tool called Fermcalc, you input pH, Volume and mol so2 needed and it spits out how much kmeta you need to add by weight).


I suggest you add to the crushed fruit\juice Kmeta (so2) at a rate of 30-50 ppm to prevent spontanious fermentation taking off before your culture does, this will also prevent possible lactic bacteria spoilage.

You want your pH at no more than 3.4, add tartaric acid or acid blend to get it down if needed (very sweet apples are often very low in acid).






Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: iratherfly on September 25, 2012, 09:32:59 PM
Whoa, okay! Fantastic info Tomer. I will talk to you directly. This is my first project of this kind so it's a little too much... I want to make a simple hard cider; as natural as possible.

I get your fruit advice - ferment it BEFORE pressing it so pressing is easy and there's already activity in the fruit.  10% alcohol? Oh no, that's too much for a cider for me. The Normandie style apple ciders are often 2%-4%. More modern ciders sold in cans and bottles in beer shops go as far as 7.9%. I want it dry, not sweet, so it seems from what you are telling me that I won't have to add any sugar.

The freshly pressed cider from the farmer is available (New York is not called the Big Apple for nothing... Holly molly there are lots of apples growing here in the fall). Problem is that it's a very sweet variety (Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Cortland) and I feel that it would be like making great pizza ...with store-bought dough. I want to have an intimate moment with my fruits... so I thought that pressing my own will be great. An alternative is to go to an Apple orchard outside the city. You pick your own apples, pay for them by weight and then you can use their press to make your own cider. That may work!

I won't use Potassium Sorbate (E202?) -the day I begin using preservatives in artisan food is the day I stop making artisan food... I can stop fermentation in other ways.

I have yeast nutrient ...know what I use it for?  MORGE!!! It keeps it alive and attracts more yeast to the cheese.  Shhhhhh.... this is still experimental. I will report back when my 3 month study is completed :) Kids, don't try it at home yet, I am your guinea pig on that one.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Tomer1 on September 26, 2012, 01:20:20 AM
Ah... making french style cider is a completly different story.  It requires a very specific process to strip nitrogen from the must (a combination of calcium chloride and specificly prepered enzyme combo. (basically fancy pectic enzyme)
Allowing the pressed juice to form a cap during cold storage over a few days and siphoning the nitrogen poor juice from under the cap and above the sediment layer.

Very low fermentation temp and the use of wild yeast (not a robust alcohol resistant wine yeast culture).
Continious racking off the lees during fermentation to reduce the size of the yeast colony and finally a high dose of so2 to kill it.


Quote
I can stop fermentation in other ways.
Only way I can think about is pasteurizing or sterile filtration (A basic setup will set you back at least 400-500$, take a look at the enolmatic tendom system)  or using a centrifuge  :P

Or fermenting dry and adding lactose as you suggested to sweeten things up.   So2 will be needed anyhow to control oxidation and spoilage.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: iratherfly on October 07, 2012, 03:40:19 AM
I must have missed that answer. That's great Tomer. I just got some apples from the farmer for a test crush run. I will let you know if it works. In any case, I will email you and we can figure out some easy wild cider for me to start with.

I just got an incredible Applejack liqueur from Upstate NY (It's the American version of Calvados; basically a hard cider that has been distilled and aged in oak barrels for 2 years). This one added a touch of NY Maple syrup into it which makes it super flavorful and exciting. Going to fume age some lactic cheese with it. That's going to be a good batch. Gives me inspiration to create my own local cider and age my local raw milk cheese in it - so the wilder, the better.
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: Boofer on December 12, 2013, 04:13:04 PM
Checking in with this project a year later....

The raspberry liqueur is a decent little cordial (17% ABV) after maturing for a year in the bottle. This one is brandy based. Good fruit essence.

I would also give a positive nod to my blackberry cordial which has a bit of a tannic tone to it. Very pleasing.

As for the bing cherry and blueberry cordials I made...they have the character of cough syrup. :o The only thing missing is the actual drug component (dextromethorphan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextromethorphan)). Must be directly related to the kind of fruit used.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: hoeklijn on December 14, 2013, 10:53:23 AM
Ok, I'm a volunteer to get a cold, you send me a bottle  ^-^
Title: Re: Preserving Summer Goodness -- Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Blackberry Liqueurs
Post by: george on December 14, 2013, 11:24:55 AM
I wonder what it is about blueberries and cherries that make them ferment so differently?  When I used to make a lot of fermented fruit drinks (a la WAPF), the raspberry was always fantastic, whereas the cherry was only mostly okay.  And the blueberry was just positively nasty, as far as I was concerned, but a couple of customers liked it, so I made it occasionally anyway.