New member here.

[Andyn]

Good morning all.
I'm a new member from Lancashire.
My name is Andy. I've been out of the home brewing game for a long time and was thinking of getting back into it.
I was reminiscing the other day with my g/f and telling her how back in the early 1980s my Dad used to make something called " Cumberland brandy"?
I recall him using raisins, sugar and some kind of wheat, and not much else.
I can't for the life of me find any / much info how to make it on the Internet.
I was wondering if anybody could point me i the right direction on any recipe or methods?
Thanks.Andy

 

[The Baron]

Welcome Andyn to the forum, A new one on me but hopefully some one will be able to shed light on it. The only thing is with your father using the word Brandy sounds like apples but if it is distilled? if so we do not discuss distilling on the forum.

 

[Andyn]

Welcome Andyn to the forum, A new one on me but hopefully some one will be able to shed light on it. The only thing is with your father using the word Brandy sounds like apples but if it is distilled? if so we do not discuss distilling on the forum.

It definitely wasn't distilled. It was made in a demi John and fermented like you would wine. I remember, very vaguely it being filled with some kind of whole wheat and raisins. It was Amber in colour and tasted quite strong and sweet. I was only about 12 or 13 at the time so anything alcoholic tasted strong lol.
He got the recipe off a neighbour of ours but both my Dad and the neighbour have sadly passed away.
Fingers crossed somebody has some information about it, have a recipe etc....

 

[The Baron]

Good Andyn then hopefully somebody will cast some ideas re this brew. If you have to experiment to try and get there yourself I would suggest looking at the high alcohol yeasts to get a more robust brew and the higher alcohol will help it to keep longer

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Donegal john]

Could it be this ?
Found it on the goggle by chance.
https://cjjberry.blogspot.com/2017/12/remembered-recipe-wheat-and-raisin-wine.html?m=1

 

[Andyn]

Could it be this ?
Found it on the goggle by chance.
https://cjjberry.blogspot.com/2017/12/remembered-recipe-wheat-and-raisin-wine.html?m=1

Brilliant. Thanks for that. It never crossed my mind to look for wheat and raisin wine as my Dad always called in Cumberland brandy.
I know he definitely used whole wheat grain, not chopped as per this recipe. So that prompted me to search for raisin and wheat wine.
Now I've come across this recipe that looks very similar to my Dad's recipe, except he didn't add any cinnamon or citrus.
So my question now is. Is there a yeast that anybody could recommend that is easily available?
In this recipe I've put a link to it just says " active dried yeast".
https://abbysplate.com/east-indian-black-currant-wine/

 

[Donegal john]

Can’t help on yeast

Brilliant. Thanks for that. It never crossed my mind to look for wheat and raisin wine as my Dad always called in Cumberland brandy.
I know he definitely used whole wheat grain, not chopped as per this recipe. So that prompted me to search for raisin and wheat wine.
Now I've come across this recipe that looks very similar to my Dad's recipe, except he didn't add any cinnamon or citrus.
So my question now is. Is there a yeast that anybody could recommend that is easily available?
In this recipe I've put a link to it just says " active dried yeast".
https://abbysplate.com/east-indian-black-currant-wine/

choice as I only brew beer sorry. Someone will be along soon to point you in the right direction though.

 

[Andyn]

Can’t help on yeast

choice as I only brew beer sorry. Someone will be along soon to point you in the right direction though.

Thanks. I really appreciate all your help.

 

[DocAnna]

Hi Andyn, your recipe and ingredients are close to being a mead, with really only the difference being sugar rather than sugar from honey. Though to be fair honey is a lot lot more expensive. On that basis I suggest you look at using a mead yeast with a high tolerance like Mangrove Jack's MO5 - which ferments up to 18% if brewed cool, and will add a fruitiness from the esters it produces as well.

 

[Andyn]

Hi Andyn, your recipe and ingredients are close to being a mead, with really only the difference being sugar rather than sugar from honey. Though to be fair honey is a lot lot more expensive. On that basis I suggest you look at using a mead yeast with a high tolerance like Mangrove Jack's MO5 - which ferments up to 18% if brewed cool, and will add a fruitiness from the esters it produces as well.

Hi there. Thanks for that. I had been looking at Mangrove Jack's yeast earlier today. I saw one called SN9 which says for high alcohol wines, mead and perry which also ferments up to 18%. Would you think the one you recommended would be better the SN9?

 

[DocAnna]

Hi there. Thanks for that. I had been looking at Mangrove Jack's yeast earlier today. I saw one called SN9 which says for high alcohol wines, mead and perry which also ferments up to 18%. Would you think the one you recommended would be better the SN9?

I can only really comment on the MO5 which I've used for mead several times in the past. Both are designed to tolerate relatively nutrient poor conditions, so your choice likely comes down to whether you'd like the slight fruitiness that the MO5 will bring from ester production or the more neutral tasting SN9.

 

[Andyn]

I can only really comment on the MO5 which I've used for mead several times in the past. Both are designed to tolerate relatively nutrient poor conditions, so your choice likely comes down to whether you'd like the slight fruitiness that the MO5 will bring from ester production or the more neutral tasting SN9.

Thank you. I'm still reading different methods and recipes before I make my choice. I appreciate your input

 

[NeilE1970]

Welcome Andy!
im new to the board myself.
your recipe sounds like a variant of the Ukrainia Kvass/ Latvian Girá. But that uses toasted rye bread , raisins, sugar lemons, caraway seeds, bakers yeast….very tasty stuff too, and it can get potent. Worth a try if you’ve never had it.
have fun mate that’s what it’s all about.

 

[Andyn]

Ok. So I've made another batch of this Raisin /wheat wine. It's been sat for a while in the fermenting bin. Longer than I wanted but some personal things got in the way.
Anyway. I'm a bit confused as to the strength. I've just racked it off into some demijohns tonight. It already tastes delicious and feels like it has a bit of a kick.
The OG was. 1.098. The FG is what I think 1.260? Or is it 1.026? Please see attached photo. If it is 1.026 the alcohol would be 9.71% which doesn't seem right to me. Like I said. It definitely feels like it has a good kick with it.
Am I reading the hydrometer wrong?

 

[Rodcx500z]

That looks like 1026 to me so yeah you read it right, were abouts in Lancs are you, i am in the south on the Cheshire border, and good luck with the brew it looks nice

 

[Andyn]

That looks like 1026 to me so yeah you read it right, were abouts in Lancs are you, i am in the south on the Cheshire border, and good luck with the brew it looks nice

I'm in Accrington. So if it's 1026 and the OG is 1098 that would be only 9.71% alcohol? It sounds quite weak but tastes much stronger than that.
The flavours amazing. It's got a definite hit of currants, which is what I wanted to achieve.
I was trying to replicate something my Dad made when I was only about 10 years old. I remember the colour and the flavour. He let me have a sip haha. He called it Cumberland Brandy. But searching the Internet the nearest thing I could find was an Indian raisin wine. It's a sweet wine with lots of flavor.

 

[Caramel Ox]

I would expect a largely sugar fermentation to finish close to 1.000. What was the fermentation temperature?

A couple of suggestions - the hydrometer should read 0 in water, worth checking. Also it is calibrated for a certain temperature normally 20 degrees, if either OG or FG samples were at a different temperature the reading needs adjustment- there are calculators available.

 

[Andyn]

I would expect a largely sugar fermentation to finish close to 1.000. What was the fermentation temperature?

A couple of suggestions - the hydrometer should read 0 in water, worth checking. Also it is calibrated for a certain temperature normally 20 degrees, if either OG or FG samples were at a different temperature the reading needs adjustment- there are calculators available.

Fermentation temp was about 24*C. I used a fish tank heater inside the fermenting bin to keep the temp even.
It's been sat in the fermenting bin for a couple of months due to some personal circumstances. The lid was tight on and the heater was off for the most of that time.
This is the hydrometer reading in water. That's correct isn't it?

I would expect a largely sugar fermentation to finish close to 1.000. What was the fermentation temperature?

A couple of suggestions - the hydrometer should read 0 in water, worth checking. Also it is calibrated for a certain temperature normally 20 degrees, if either OG or FG samples were at a different temperature the reading needs adjustment- there are calculators available.

 

[Caramel Ox]

Yes the hydrometer looks fine - how much of what yeast was pitched?