I have been trying my hand at different wine and hard cider, plus apple pie moonshine. The apple pie moon shine is very simple and my wife loves it, its strong to.
The wine I made about a month ago with apples and strawberry's and i'm waiting for it to fully ferment. The wine was simple, I cleaned and prepped 6 Mason jars, boiled about a gallon of polland springs water, added two cups of sugar bring to a boil. While that was coming up to a boil I chopped around 8 large apples and put them in equal parts in the mason jars.
Added the hot water to the jars and let cool down, leave plenty of room for expansion and don't tighten the jar lids, just put them loose.
You have to let the gas escape, but also make it so nothing can burp back in. My grandfather told me this is how he did it back in the depression and make a ok living selling it. Biggest thing is you have to strain it several rimes to get it clear.
The moonshine is really not moonshine, its grain alcohol mixed with apple cider. Take the cheap stop and shop apple cider and apple juice, half gallon containers. Add them to a large pot, bring to a low boil add one cup brown sugar and one cup regular, add one half tea spoon of cinnamon, let it dissolve and let it cool down.
The cinnamon wont break down and it will need to be strained off. I filter threw a funnel back into the juice bottles and using paper towels, this is the longest part of the processes, but its needed as the cinnamon wont break down unless you really boil it and that kinda kills the flavor of the juice, trust me.
Once its filtered good and its clear ( several time back and forth ) you wipe out your boiling pot ( no cinnamon ) and then add the juice back in, open the bottle of grain alcohol and the hole liter, get a liter of Smirnoff whipped cream vodka add half of that and stir.
Very simple and taste like apple pie. My next adventure is making the moonshine from corn in a mash. But i am seeing that the head or the first bunch that comes out can make you go blind, so I think for now I will stick with the Graves lol.
Already can weld and have a nice shop at my house, did that for 20 years, can fix most anything on wheels or tracks so figured why not do something I've never tried, making booze.