How to make watermelon brandy |Distilling and blending cuts

[@stillworksandbrewing]

I have never tried watermelon brandy before but now you got me wanting to try cheers

[@jasona.shaffer6348]

I was waiting for this one. Thanks Cyrus and Wyndsong.

[@StillnTheClear]

You bet. Thanks for watching.

[@lyleh1659]

Looking forward to the MileHi Dual Purpose Pro review, very close to pulling the trigger on one, I’ll wait until I see what you have to say about it. Great video!

[@StillnTheClear]

Coming very soon. I'm recording this week.

[@hunterturner1836]

What kind of burner are you running?

[@kenharrison3364]

I’ve never tried to make a watermelon brandy or drank any but I heard you should ferment with some of the rind to balance it out. Not sure if that’s an old wives tale or not just info I’m passing on. But I’ll have to try making some now.

[@Rubberduck-tx2bh]

Isn't it amazing what a 24 hr "airing out" will do? Get yourself a thumper if you're a one-and-done guy? All sorts of experimentation possible, including (in this case) throwing watermelon chunks to enhance the flavor of end product. FYI you had a a frame freeze from about 9:00 minute mark until 11:30 mark.

[@StillnTheClear]

I have used them in the past. I am also planning on getting a new one with an infusion chamber. Thanks for the heads up on the freeze.

[@williamferraro4671]

i just did cantalope brandy . and didnt leave chunks in there . mashed up cantalope with pectic enzyme. cooked it with water .ran it thru a brew bag to keep the solids out . i read that certain melons are anti bacterial so it wont ferment all the way if you use the solids . maybe thats what happened on the ferment. i sugar bumped mine to .060 . i did used about 25 lbs of cantalope for 5 gal run. i did have cantalope foam coming up thru the airlock day 2 of ferment. when i distilled it i blended cantelope and some tails from a different run and put that in my thumper. when all done it had the essence of cantalope . more than i thought actually. i now have cantalope maserating in the spirit and its super good taste after a week. will leave it another week. maybe back sweeten a bit. oh i used bread yeast too. it does good with fruit brandy . and yeilded alot of likker. a gal when proofed down to 90 proof. love your videos cyrus. just like you i was surpried how decent it was. oh when it finished the ferment it was dry o.ooo. tasted like cantalope wine. maybe the solids messed with the ferment. just my guess ..

[@StillnTheClear]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@williamferraro4671]

@@StillnTheClear sorry for the long ass comment. just wanted others that see this to get an idea of my approach.

[@StillnTheClear]

@@williamferraro4671 no worries, I think it's great.

[@Donald-fg2ew]

So I made my first batch the wash about 11 gallons. I thought it turned out great for my first try. It does have a heavy cucumber/ watermellon rind type flavor. But very pleasant.

[@StillnTheClear]

@@Donald-fg2ew That's awesome, brother. Keep it up.

[@cowdough94]

hey guy! I stopped in your store this past weekend. I've got my mash going strong. I'll update in a week when I get it done. thank you for all your help and info by the way.

[@StillnTheClear]

You're quite welcome. I'm happy to help. Keep us updated.

[@cowdough94]

@@StillnTheClear well for some reason I'm having a tough time even getting 4 days of fermentation, but anyway-out of almost 20 gallons of wash I ended up with about a gallon and a half of good stuff. I went ahead and threw it in a barrel. this run made me see that I'm a wheat guy for bourbon. that's been the best so far. so how do I get fermentation to go beyond 4 days?

[@terrybaldwin1182]

Yes, Please review both, Keep on Keeping on....

[@thealchemist-hr8me]

The watermelon rum I made was a completely different experience with watermelon spirits than you had... Mine was double distilled. And it was infused on the spirit run. But to best compare it to your single pass spirit I can share my notes from the first distillations/stripping runs i did::: [Prior to foreshots there was already a sweet watermelon smell in the air. After all foreshots and a small portion of heads was discarded at the beginning, the very first flavor i noted was sharp and sweet with just a hint of watermelon. (Acetone and isopropanol mostly) Then as soon as distillation of the acetaldehyde started coming over just before the hearts it turned super sweet and a flavor best described as "watermelon jolly ranchers dissolved in cheap vodka" just popped up out of nowhere right with it. At the beginning of the hearts it lost a lot of the sweetness but it was still pretty steadily "watermelon jolly flavored” just with a lil less and less sweetness as the distillation continued. Up until the end of the hearts where it was quite flavorless honestly, with just that hint of watermelon in there in the background. The beginning of the tails were surprisingly flavorless as well but started to get something I'd describe as "similar to wheated-whiskey tails" kinda almost "dusty" and "funky" is what i noted. Which soon after that i just hit a wall of pure funk along with a massive, rapid, decrease in proof as that was all the distillation had to offer. The tails cut was surprisingly small, as well as incredibly clear, especially for the proof they were at. I'm talking almost completely clear jars down to about 40proof. Which was a trend that was consistent for both 10gal stripping runs i did of my watermelon rum wash.] Oh and BTW the mash bill was 90lbs watermelons, 1gal supreme baking molasses, 25lbs inverted pure cane sugar, and maybe about 9gal water to make a 20gal wash. It was infused with watermelon & blackberry on the spirit run. Turned out delicious 🤤😋🫠

[@StillnTheClear]

Thank you for that detailed description. Did you put any of it on oak?

[@thealchemist-hr8me]

@@StillnTheClear no problem. Nope, I typically only do flavor infusions on things I intend to keep clear. I have the pallet of a former chef and something tells me not all watermelon would create a synergy with oak. IMO it would have to be a particular more savory type watermelon flavor to not clash in some way with oak... But what do I know I'm an amateur who's not infallible, just some random guy really 🤷😅 and aging is a complicated process that mankind has yet to fully understand. I've definitely been surprised by the difference some time+oak+oxygen can make before, so you never know... 💚🫠

[@ajturner6607]

If the hydrometer works based on buoyancy, would the watermelon fibers still in solution throw your reading off?

[@StillnTheClear]

Yes, you're correct. It could throw it off slightly and depending on how dense the mixture is with pulp.

[@jeremiahroland7182]

Where do I get the burner your using

[@StillnTheClear]

I got it from Amazon. Here's the link amzn.to/3Qf3T50. This is one of the purchases I have definitely not regretted.

[@kptstyle423]

I think double distillation would clean it up a lot I just made watermelon strawberry mountain brandy and it was great

[@lacywebb7851]

The first time I tasted watermelon brandy a farmer in Cordell Georgia made it back in 1988 and it was sweet and I tasted others that was sour so it maybe different fermentation process…

[@nodnarb1520]

I fermented watermelon and the smell made me think it turned to vinegar but it tasted ok. But I couldn't get past the smell and poured it out.

[@d-railg4302]

I wasted $100 on watermelon trying to do a brandy. Didn’t ferment. I used regular sugar as well as a alpha and beta amalaze and yeast nutrient. Bread yeast was my only option at the time so I went with it. Basically no fermentation just 15 gallons of sour stinking watermelon juice.

[@mutantryeff]

"Legacy" watermelon grows to a Brix of 12. That is a good watermelon to start with.

[@DrAppalling]

Could be that your final SG is a little high because of watermelon pulp remaining in your wash.

[@StillnTheClear]

You could be right, but I did strain pretty thoroughly.

[@bullithedjames937]

Comment for algorithm

[@beardedswamplife]

What kind of burner is that?

[@StillnTheClear]

I got it from Amazon. It is by far the best burner I have ever used. amzn.to/3z8lWmE

[@michaelblocker7968]

What's the name of that burner??

[@StillnTheClear]

I've had several burners. This is by far the best one I've ever had. I got it on Amazon. amzn.to/3v2UpRG

[@slobberinrocco3247]

I’ve done watermelon twice both times it came out weird with a strange taste

[@StillnTheClear]

Interesting. Do you remember if you had problems getting the ferment to finish?

[@slobberinrocco3247]

No, it didn’t finish and I tried different yeast on it the second time, and I still had a funny off taste to it. It tasted like watermelon rind for the most part.

[@rogersilva77]

I like your videos but you don't explain it explicitly like when you put those beads in What a melon Wash what were the Be called

[@StillnTheClear]

I don't recall using anything like beads. Can you describe what you're talking about in a different way?

[@dustinhigdon6508]

I tried watermelon before and it came out horrible even after a second distillation it was rough!

[@jacobhemmingsen7028]

Good video but it cuts off towards the end

[@ericenos1097]

although the heads are fire most of your Brandy flavors are there

[@albertlewis7959]

Need to clear up the sound

[@StillnTheClear]

Yes, I have a new mic. It seems to be doing a better job.

[@richarddcvd8868]

Too bad the sound aint great... good video, though!!!

[@WildDUCKSrcuul]

How do i convert this mash into a 15 gallon mash