# How long should a 1 gallon batch take?



## Todd (Oct 27, 2006)

I'm trying to make some apple wine right now, it is about a week old and consists of 1 gallon fresh cider and 1lb sugar, I used nottingham ale yeast because it was what I had at home. Bubbles have pretty much stoped and I plan to rack to a 1 gallon jug next week. How will I tell when it is done? Just wait till it clears?


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## kc_lupo (Oct 27, 2006)

Rack to secondary and check your hydrometer reading. Your hydrometer should tell you when fermentation is done and bottling should take place.


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## Todd (Oct 27, 2006)

kc_lupo said:


> Rack to secondary and check your hydrometer reading. Your hydrometer should tell you when fermentation is done and bottling should take place.



Oh one of those wonderful things. I don't have one. I suppose I could pick one up. 

The reason I was asking about time is, I know starters for beer ferment out in a day or two and thought that maybe the small batch of wine would be similar.


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## kc_lupo (Oct 27, 2006)

Todd said:


> Oh one of those wonderful things. I don't have one. I suppose I could pick one up.
> 
> The reason I was asking about time is, I know starters for beer ferment out in a day or two and thought that maybe the small batch of wine would be similar.




Wine takes a lot longer to ferment out because the alcohol content is higher (more fermentables). Then it has to sit in the bottle for a long time to age before it tastes good.


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## smurfe (Nov 15, 2006)

I agree, you really need a hydrometer. Temperature of the fermentation will affect the speed of it as well. Get yourself a hydrometer. They are cheap and essential. 

Smurfe


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## Todd (Nov 15, 2006)

smurfe said:


> I agree, you really need a hydrometer. Temperature of the fermentation will affect the speed of it as well. Get yourself a hydrometer. They are cheap and essential.
> 
> Smurfe



In my case I'm not that worried about it being perfect, it is apple cider but after a month it is still extremely hazy. Is that still yeast? I was under the impression that it should start to clear as fermentation is stopping. Still a fair amount of bubble coming to the surface and I'd say it is in a 66 degree room. With the ale yeast I used that should be fine.


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## smurfe (Nov 15, 2006)

Todd said:


> In my case I'm not that worried about it being perfect, it is apple cider but after a month it is still extremely hazy. Is that still yeast? I was under the impression that it should start to clear as fermentation is stopping. Still a fair amount of bubble coming to the surface and I'd say it is in a 66 degree room. With the ale yeast I used that should be fine.



The 66 degree temp will slow clearing down as well as the release of CO2 which might be causing the bubbles as opposed to actual fermentation. You really need an SG reading to determine if there is any actual fermentation going. With a fruit wine you could still have fermentation though after a month with the lower temperatures. The haze could be a protein haze as well which may require the use of a clearing agent such as Innisglas or Bentonite. Fruit wines are slow to clear as opposed to grape wines.

Smurfe


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## cpfan (Nov 15, 2006)

Personally I'm wondering if the beer yeast will be capable of fermenting all of the sugars in a batch of wine. Since Todd doesn't have a hydrometer we don't know where it started.

Steve


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## Caplan (Nov 16, 2006)

cpfan said:


> Personally I'm wondering if the beer yeast will be capable of fermenting all of the sugars in a batch of wine. Since Todd doesn't have a hydrometer we don't know where it started.
> 
> Steve


Apple juice alone usually gives a reading of approx 1.050 (it varies of course but not that much), add a pound of sugar to that and he's probably around the 1.090 area. The yeast he used will ferment out dry. I use similar ale yeasts for high ABV cider and they cope well with the extra sugar.


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## Todd (Nov 17, 2006)

Caplan said:


> Apple juice alone usually gives a reading of approx 1.050 (it varies of course but not that much), add a pound of sugar to that and he's probably around the 1.090 area. The yeast he used will ferment out dry. I use similar ale yeasts for high ABV cider and they cope well with the extra sugar.




I used this yeast on a 1.088 scotch ale and it did fine. So I think it will be ok. 

There appears to be more and more yeast settling out each day so I think it should be finishing up before long.


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