Distillerie Hepp - Eau de vie - Mirabelle d'Alsace - 45%
The Hepp Distillery is located in Val-de-Moder, Alsace. The Hepp family perpetuates its savoir-faire in eaux-de-vie which began by distilling the fruits of their orchard for the inhabitants of Uberach until 1972. The Hepps then decided to create a distillery while obtaining supplies with the fruits of the town and its surroundings but always respecting the traditions. Yannick Hepp, now head of the distillery, and his father began restructuring the artisanal distillery in 2000 to renew the equipment and increase their storage capacity. The manufacturing policy is based on three axes: quality raw materials, respect for time and development, the constant search for quality improvement.
The selection of fruits is rigorous. When the fruits have been finely selected, two manufacturing processes are available to the distiller: distillation after fermentation of the fruit and distillation after maceration of the berries. In the first case, the fruits are put in vats. They very quickly form a thick and sweet must; after 24 to 48 hours, fermentation takes place under the action of the natural yeasts of the fruit. This fermentation continues for about ten days, slows down and then stops definitively after six weeks when all the sugar is transformed into alcohol. The tanks are then sealed, while awaiting the distillation which will allow the extraction of the brandy. In the case of maceration, the berries must macerate in wine brandy since raspberries, blueberries or wild fruits do not have the necessary sugar concentration and fermentation would not produce enough alcohol. The distillation is carried out by heating according to local traditions. The process will collect the "heart" of the pass by isolating "the heads" and the products from "tails".