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I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this thread. I don't do sweet wine so the recipe part of the discussion was only passing interest to me but the rest was informative and interesting. A great example of the best of this forum. @Sunshine Wine to have started this on a whim, ending up where you did was a fantastic result IMO. I hope you don't leave it as you may have a bright future in home wine making.
Good luck!
Thank you so much! It's great to get all the encouragement! Everyone has been a huge help!
 
don't put pressure on yourself, you ain't got to please anyone but yourself,,, just enjoy the journey, for me the whole point is a mindless no pressure hobby, and you get the joy of if it ain't so tasty ,, you can enjoy making your husband drink it,,, lol
Dawg
Lol..
 
Actually it's pretty simple. I do check the SG but the idea is to let the Apple Juice ferment without any additional sugar. You adjust the pH add the standard recipe additives: Pectic enzyme, Yeast Nutrient, and wine Tannin if desired. I did not add any tannin. If you want to make it "au natural" you can bottle sooner and not wait for it to clear - just say "I just opened the top and let the wild yeast do it's thing." (Of course I forgot - yeah, add yeast too, we don't want to go overboard with the 'natural idea." ) :i

If you look at the picture, beside those snap-top bottles are some dark bottles with a brown label. That is also Apple cider but for it I sweetened it up with Honey instead of Sugar.
The only issue I had was that the second batch was flat tasting, then I checked the pH (This was as I was getting ready to bottle it) SURPRISE, the pH was 3.87 and that's way too high (Not near enough acidity) I added acid blend and brougt it down to 3.43 and then bottled it. By the way IF you do any additions to a batch like that - wait a day or two before bottling. That second batch of cider with the new acid blend dropped about 3/4 of white sediment overnight. Before bottling I siphoned off of that since I'm not certain what that was. Taste was still excellent and definitely had that honey sweetened taste.

All that to say - it's pretty easy to make if you can find some Raw Apple Juice and even if it has some preservatives it should still work fine, just might take a little longer. Just make sure it isn't watered down/reconstituted juice. I'm pretty certain they take liberties with that sort of juice and add extra water, I mean who is really going to check that, after all they say "reconstituted" or "From Concentrate" right on the label so how much water is too much. Just an extra 2-3 percent adds to the makers bottom line.

So yeah find some pure non-reconstituted Apple Juice and go for it. (And I have heard people say that they literally just broke the seal on a gallon jug and then let ir ferment on it own. Could be risk if it foamed up but...
 
By the way typically no sugar additions to straight apple juice will yield about 6.5-7.5 % ABV. At least that's what I've got from my home grown apples and a bottle of unfiltered pasteurized apple juice from our local orchard store. They are my peach source and apple juice if I need it.
 

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