Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi I've got a huge fig tree in the back yard it is loaded to the hilt with fruit that'll be ready soon and go to waste (i eat about 6 of them) does anyone know if a descent spirit can got from them and what would be the way to go about it

Figs are pretty high in sugaar content I think so they should ferment ok........beyond that .....I have NFI

Yeah was thinking that these taste like sugar and gelatin and maybe a little caramel but everything I've found about make a wash out of them seems pretty vague . going by what happened when they dropped in the kids swimming pool last yr I think they'll ferment alright :laughing-rolling: PS have tarp over the pool now

Here you go mate,
try this ;-)

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 0#p6792752

A little digging around has revealed this "Boukha is a spirit produced from figs. It originated in Tunisia, where most of it is produced nowadays. Its name means 'alcohol vapor' in Judeo-Tunisian Arabic dialect. It is obtained by simple distillation of Mediterranean figs. Its alcohol percentage ranges between 36 and 40 percent."
A few google searches for Boukha should help.

Settled I'm going to try them , Heading to SA for 3 weeks figs will be right to go by then . Hopefully I get to test the still out over there (picking it up on the way) on something quick and simple , one of those sugar washes should do for that time frame ?

I'd pick the figs when they are at their ripest and stick them in the freezer for a week. Pull em out and let thaw and then mush em up with a sharpened paint stirrer or mortar mixer in a bucket with a drill.

Add some pectinase if you can get it while mushing. Strain it through some mesh to get the skins out and ferment. Pitch Pasteur red or distillers or wine yeast.

The pectinase should break down the remaining fruit mush while it's fermenting, but do a trial of 10l or so for the first one to see if it's going to work.

I'd add some sugar to the initial ferment if the hydro reading was under 1050-60 but only if it was under.


I'd also consider adding sugar to 100% backset for a second strip before combining them with some fresh wine for a spirit run.



For a macerated spirit that is quite an interesting liquer, i can reccomend this one i developed last year....

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =32&t=4129

Hey thanks 5Star will do , where would I be likely to find pectinase . Oh and your link reminded me of something I did with dates and different spirits 10 yrs or more ago ago and just realized my experiment is still in a cupboard at my parents , be checking that out next week

Try one of the better brew shops, winery supply places on the net etc.

http://www.brewcraftsa.com.au/showProdu ... ring/60035

http://www.shoptown.com.au/products/Pec ... ewing.html

Cool thanks 5Star , really starting to look forward to this . Had a real good look around all the forums saw where a few (and not many) ppl said they were going to try this but no one seems to have posted how it went :? hope that's not an omen

The Greek fellas I used to work with recommended I use figs to make rakia, saying it made a really smooth product. Good to know too coz I want to espalier some. I hear they grow well in Queensland.

I've been lucky enough to try fig 'rakia' too! It was called grappa by the maker... but WTF. IMHO, I thought it to be better than grape-flavoured grappa and definitely worth trying if you like a sweetish drop (or something quite different anyway).

IMHO, around 'these parts' at least, figs (be they native or Brown Turkey etc) are certain prey for fruit birds....afterall there IS even a native Figbird...so I'd consider netting your crop, if you can, to avoid losing 'the lot'. Meanwhile perhaps check (via the interweb) for best times to harvest re shape/colour etc as figs mature quite quickly(?). Enjoy and please tell us the results too :handgestures-thumbupleft:

In SA now so hope the birds don't get to carried away . Definitely I will post how I got on :D

We've got plenty of fruit bats out this way too. I've seen trees netted to keep birds out; is a simple net suficient for bats or would you have to rig something special?

Apple,
I recommend sit'n out the back at dusk in a comfortable deckchair with a bottle rum and keeping watch over your harvest. and if the wife asks why are you drinkin so much, you can say it's to keep you warm. I don't know what you do if some bats do turn up, but at least you can drink in piece, if you know what I mean? :clap: :clap:

Modernity wrote:Apple,
I recommend sit'n out the back at dusk in a comfortable deckchair with a bottle rum and keeping watch over your harvest. and if the wife asks why are you drinkin so much, you can say it's to keep you warm. I don't know what you do if some bats do turn up, but at least you can drink in piece, if you know what I mean? :clap: :clap:

:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Yeah my hass is starlings bit cold for bats , got an old side hammer double barrol but my neibours might shit a brick if I shooed them off with it :laughing-rolling:

I saw a sign out the front of an archery store that said "Slingshots available here". I didn't think they were legal in Queensland.

From the POV of 'minding your keep', bats work at night and birds during the daylight.....so you wont see the bats at play unless you have alternative intoxicants or major willpower or both :laughing-rolling: .

I'm pretty sure suitable nets (ie think fine mesh, robust, large dimension) will keep birds away as long as the nets are supported over the figtree... as just draping it 'soft' on the tree will not keep birds at bay but will almost ensure you can't get at the ripening fruit or will knock it off crawling under the canopy etc. :angry-banghead:
From what I've been told by those who know, 'soft' nets also can f#ck'up bats because they have lots of trouble using :think: 'echo location' to 'read them' and can get stuck/trapped in the net. Not a win/win if you find a severely distressed/dehydrated native fruitbat caught in your figtree net that's for sure ;-)

Well back in Vic. fckin freezing , figs have ripened unevenly ( might be the hot and cold weather ) some are ripe some look like they're weeks off . Anyway picked 3 big buckets of them so Ill let ya all know how I get on with them