Apple wine on the cheap

[ceeaton]

Could somebody please enlighten me about sulfites & brown juice?

Post number 10 on this thread has a link to a thread with a detailed explanation. Here it is again:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51661

Look at post number 12 on that thread for a more detailed explanation.

 

[ceeaton]

This evening the SG checked out at 1.060 @ 64*F, so added my second half of the Fermaid O (4 grams more). Starting to notice some normal fermentation smells, nothing out of the ordinary and not super strong. Actually moving along faster at this temperature than I thought it would, so I plan on keeping it down here in the dungeon for the duration.

 

[ceeaton]

Missed a day, so I decided to check it just now. SG 1.022 @ 60*F, ambient room temp is 57.2*F. It's still going, surface bubbling when seen at an angle with the room lamp reminds me of the superbowl at kickoff, lot's of pin prick bubbles that would represent individual camera flashes.

Will hold off moving it to a warmer area unless it slows down for a few days, kinda liking this slow ferment (as long as it keeps moving the SG dial downward).

 

[Johny99]

I'd leave the acid alone if you are thinking a wine for the not dry crowd. It will let you use less sugar to back sweeten. At 3.64 I think you are safe.

 

[ceeaton]

I'd leave the acid alone if you are thinking a wine for the not dry crowd. It will let you use less sugar to back sweeten. At 3.64 I think you are safe.

Too late, already added 10g Malic acid (see earlier posts) and pH measured at 3.55, but fermentation was already starting, so not sure how accurate the measurements are at that point. Will measure again after fermentation by degassing a sample (need to verify my TA numbers too).

Checked today, temperature down to just below 60*F, specific gravity at 1.010, room temperature 56.8*F. Still chugging along nicely, no off smells (actually hardly any smell at all).

 

[ceeaton]

Noticed this morning that the apple wine bucket had slowed down to a blurp about every 30 seconds, so I figured I had best take a look and check the SG tonight. Rut row, I knew I was in trouble when I opened the top and could see a raisin resting comfortably on the bottom of the fermenter. Guess that nice cool temperature helps the yeast settle out pretty quickly. There still is some activity, but as you can see from my out of focus hydrometer image, not too much in the way to block seeing through that cylinder. Oh well, it still producing CO2 and pretty darn cool (56.7*F), so moved it upstairs and will rack when it settles for a bit. SG at 0.998.

 

[ceeaton]

Okay. It settled a bit (just joking, planned on racking the other night and fell asleep on the couch). I racked it tonight and it filled a three gallon carboy perfectly. No waste. SG was 0.996, and a real nice apple aroma, very clean for so young. Chilled the contents of the test cylinder and it really is pretty good dry, still obviously has a CO2 edge and some other interesting flavors, like most really young wines do, but I can tell this will be a keeper. Unfortunately it was made to be a given away wine, and I promised to back sweeten for our sweeter wine friends. Guess I'll whip up another batch, probably during the first snowstorm in January or February, when I'm stuck inside and need some entertainment.

 

[Mismost]

yeah, you're gonna wanna make some more. Get some time on it and it makes a very nice white wine...mine never has much in the way of apple taste...more like a Sav Blanc

 

[ceeaton]

yeah, you're gonna wanna make some more. Get some time on it and it makes a very nice white wine...mine never has much in the way of apple taste...more like a Sav Blanc

Surprisingly, this has more apple taste than previous batches, though I think that one was a concentrate or cheap kit...at work, physically awake, just not mentally. I'm thinking that the back sweetening and some age will bring out the apple even more. I'll have to slowly move up the SG scale when I back sweeten so I can taste test different sweetness levels on my way to "tooth decay city" sweetness.

I could see my first paycheck in January allocating $30 for my next cheap wine project. Helps keep my mind off of all my young red wine hiding in various parts of the basement. I'd like a case of most to make it to two years, three would be even better. I have a bunch in the carboys that are over a year or approaching that, I think that is my best way to keep them around longer. I've proclaimed a new carboy tipping ban in the basement. Can only use an approved wine thief for samples, which is located up the stairs, which means most wines in carboys are safe most nights, which is when my tipping habit manifests itself the most.

 

[Arne]

I have a bunch in the carboys that are over a year or approaching that, I think that is my best way to keep them around longer. I've proclaimed a new carboy tipping ban in the basement. Can only use an approved wine thief for samples, which is located up the stairs, which means most wines in carboys are safe most nights, which is when my tipping habit manifests itself the most.[/QUOTE]

Called wine gremlins. They run around, stealing wine, laughing, talking and partying. One of these days I'm gonna figure out how to trap them and get them out of the basement. Hasn't worked so far, good luck with yours. Arne.

 

[ceeaton]

Checked the SG today, 0.996, has been that way for a while. So I racked it and added Kmeta. Took a sample, degassed and got a pH of 3.92 and a TA of 5.7 g/L (pH was 3.55 last test, but I didn't degas the sample very well). Haven't had to fine tune my pH meter for quite some time and measures 4.01-4.02 in 4.01 test solution. Did the 71B-1112 really remove that much malic? Yikes. Will retest tomorrow before I drink a beer and after I change my solutions. I know time is on my side but was hoping for no further acid adjustments. Just can't see leaving the pH up that high, I'd have to maintain a SO2 level higher than I'd like.

 

[knifemaker]

Gotta say I've learned a few things from this thread, I've always had apple juice oxidize when grinding and pressing and always thought it was the nature of the beast. Next year I'm going to have try it without sulfite and see if it doesn't come out with a lighter color. Dale

 

[ceeaton]

Gotta say I've learned a few things from this thread, I've always had apple juice oxidize when grinding and pressing and always thought it was the nature of the beast. Next year I'm going to have try it without sulfite and see if it doesn't come out with a lighter color. Dale

Actually, this second picture is closer to the real color, the flash in the first one made it look darker. The reason I used the flash image was that the non-flash image is low enough light that my vintage camera (2002?) does not fill out all of it's pixels with my old style CCD.

 

[Mismost]

Clears nice doesn't it?

 

[ceeaton]

Clears nice doesn't it?

Have no complaints there, for sure. Nice apple aroma at this point, my wife walked into the other side of the kitchen and could smell it immediately, then as she got closer she got a wiff of the Kmeta I had just rinsed down the sink, she exited the kitchen for the basement quickly, good wife repellent.

 

[Mismost]

Have no complaints there, for sure. Nice apple aroma at this point, my wife walked into the other side of the kitchen and could smell it immediately, then as she got closer she got a wiff of the Kmeta I had just rinsed down the sink, she exited the kitchen for the basement quickly, good wife repellent.

bet you could still hear her though!!

 

[knifemaker]

Have no complaints there, for sure. Nice apple aroma at this point, my wife walked into the other side of the kitchen and could smell it immediately, then as she got closer she got a wiff of the Kmeta I had just rinsed down the sink, she exited the kitchen for the basement quickly, good wife repellent.

My wife reacts the same way when I'm brewing, She can't stand the smell of boiling wort and hops, I think it's heavenly! Dale.

 

[ceeaton]

My wife reacts the same way when I'm brewing, She can't stand the smell of boiling wort and hops, I think it's heavenly! Dale.

I just did my first batch of beer today since last February, she was at work...I will admit I always boil outside, I used to do it inside but it took a while for the "organic" aromas to die down (like several days).

My kids are still off from school, so I went in and was describing the aroma of the Apollo hops I was using for bittering verses the Willamette I was using for flavor/aroma to my 18 yr old. He didn't quite understand my excitement, if you know what I mean.

 

[PhilDarby]

@ceeaton ive previously used one teabag per gallon to add tannin to wine, leaving it for about 3 to 5 days only, before taking back out.

Also, don't forget a whole industry is based around fermented apple and in recent years its ability to blend, well, usually at around 20 to 33 % of other fruits, for a straight, simple blend, less, in a complexed blend, of multiple other fruits.

The mean being around 25 %

 

[ceeaton]

Now that I can test my NaOH, I retested the apple wine. pH 4.01 solution was 4.02, pH 7.01 solution was 6.99, newly purchased pH 3.0 solution was 3.0. So all is good there. Tested the apple wine and got a pH 3.98 and TA 5.7 g/L. Guess it's time to toss in a small amount of malic acid (small, really small). The flavor is okay but I don't want to have to pump the SO2 levels up really high if I can help it, so will do little micro adjustments (gram at a time) let sit for a day and taste test (it's a tough job but someone has to do it). I'll probably be down a gallon by the time all this tasting and adjusting gets done. Still clear as a bell, maybe even clearer than before. Nice aroma too, you can tell there are some apples in that there wine.