Will this brandy recipe work even though there is no distillation?

Question

I found this recipe on the internet for homemade brandy. I thought brandy was distilled wine, so how would this work? Would it have a high alcohol content? Thanks,.

Ingredients:
3 Qt Fruit
3 Gal. Water at 112F
1 Small Cake Champagne Yeast
10# Sugar, best is Cane, not Bee
3 Quartered Lemons

Procedure:
Stir once everyday for 7 days. Add 4# raisins. Let stand 21 days and remove fruit and siphon. Let stand 5 days, siphon and bottle. e without my Grandma's Negus. To make a long story short, on a recent visit to my grandmother's house I found the recipe and took it. It was discovered missing and I have since been disowned by my family. I thought I'd pass on the recipe to you in hopes of being invited over this Christmas."

Garacaius, I could be a politician, but you certainly could not be a journalist or a critic.

http://www.stoutbillys.com/stout/recipens/(Flat)/6F41453A.htm

I just copy pasted the recipe. It's not my grandma...it's the author's. Thanks for the answer though.

Answer 1

For brandy, it will not work. For a homemade wine, it will do ok...you will essentially get a fruit wine. Once you reach a certain level of alcohol via fermentation (champagne yeast is tolerant up to nearly 18%) the alcohol kills the yeast.

Brandy is far stronger than that wine and does require distillation in order to get that level of alcohol.

Answer 2

The recipe will work but it wouldn't be "brandy" as brandy is to be distilled and then aged in oak, whether a barrel or chips. Natural fermentation cannot be more than around 13 percent or so I believe. Brandy is stronger than this. This recipe is more of a wine than brandy.

Answer 3

You need to forego a career in politics. You have to get your story in order before you talk to the public. At the start you say you found this recipe on the net, then later you say you took it from your Grandmother's house. Hmmmmmmmmm. As for your initial question, yes it would work, it could be quite good. I personally like peach brandy, yummy - I can taste it now. And if you could make it richer and thicker, would be really good on ice cream ( lol-lol ).