Cinnamon in apple wine

[silverbullet07]

I have 4 gals of apple wine ready to back sweeten. Today we did some bench tastes and I stuck a little piece of cinnamon in 100 ml for a few hours and it changed the taste enough that we both really liked it. it gave it just a hint of cinnamon. I want to add about 4 -5 sticks to two gals for a week or two to try to replicate the taste. Do you think that will be enough to get it there? Should I just taste it every few days to see what it is doing?

 

[Scooter68]

I'd go easy on that sort of addition. You can always add more but once in there - it's there forever. I'd start with 1 stick.

 

[hounddawg]

i got 2# 6's of straight apple and 2# 6's of apple with 4 sticks of cinnamon and 20 grams of allspice in the second 2
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

that's 4 sticks in each 6 gallons
Dawg

 

[Jovimaple]

I had 2 sticks of cinnamon and 2 whole nutmegs in a gallon of apple wine in secondary and that was way too much. I am hoping it will smooth out with age.

 

[hounddawg]

I had 2 sticks of cinnamon and 2 whole nutmegs in a gallon of apple wine in secondary and that was way too much. I am hoping it will smooth out with age.

yep, I'm a little hesitant, but way to late, I know when i bottled the banana it was heavy on 6 gal. using 4 sticks and 20 gram all spice, but i had already put 4 sticks per 6 gal, in 2 of my apples, been contemplating making 12 gal of pear, and blend the two with the C stx in them, just to tone it down some, don't know yet, i might bottle1 apple cinnamon, just to see how it ages out,,, you can bet this old dawg will not play so fast and loose again, but i am a risk taker to began with,,, ok don't bet on it,, lol
Dawg

 

[Eddy Monsoon]

Go careful with that stuff, too much and you can't take it out

 

[cenk57]

I started a batch of apple cranberry in January to hopefully be ready by this Christmas. To my secondary fermentation vessel, I added one stick of cinnamon, 1/4 whole nutmeg and 1 allspice berry per gallon for about 2 weeks. I tasted when I transferred to my bulk aging carboy. Although it is cranberry and still a bit harsh, the spice notes were there in the background. Seemed perfect to me. Good luck!

 

[my wine]

I used half a stick of cinnamon in 4 gallons of Cranberry/apple and there was enough taste there that I didn't add anymore. I suggest you go light and add more later as you taste it.

 

[silverbullet07]

Maybe I should add one or two and check it every day until it hits the point I like. the 1/4 piece I put in 100ml was perfect in a couple hours. Thanks.

 

[winemaker81]

Wine doesn't have convection currents, so the wine closest to the stick will have the most flavor. Before tasting, gently stir so the flavoring is distributed.

 

[Raptor99]

Wine doesn't have convection currents, so the wine closest to the stick will have the most flavor. Before tasting, gently stir so the flavoring is distributed.

This has raised an issue for me a few times. I stir so that I can taste the effect of spices or oak. Then if I decide that the added flavor is strong enough I am ready to rack. But since I stirred, if there is any sediment at all it is now all stirred up. So I guess that either the wine has to be completely clear before I add any spices or oak, or else I need to be prepared to let it sit for at least a week or two before I rack. Or I guess I could rack the now-unclear wine, and then rack again later to get it off the sediment. I am trying not to rack my wine again and again if it is not necessary.

Lately I have been trying to add a small enough amount of spices or oak so that the flavor will be completely exhausted when it is about right. To see if it is exhausted, when I rack the wine I crew on the spice to see if it has any flavor left. Recently I did that with a chocolate nib, which you can actually chew up and eat. It had no discernible chocolate flavor left. That way I can leave the spices or oak in the carboy for as long as I want.

 

[reeflections]

For more control over the cinnamon strength, you could put some sticks in vodka to make some extract. It doesn't take long - a few weeks depending on the amount of sticks : vodka ratio. After you remove the sticks you have a known strength of cinnamon you can bench test with. There's no hurry to add the extract.

Just a thought.

 

[Scooter68]

The key point here is to remember to go slow with adding flavors and whenever possible do a bench trial so that you aren't committing your entire batch down a path of no return. Sometimes what may seem interesting as a taste sample becomes overwhelming when drinking a full glass.

 

[silverbullet07]

I put one stick in tonight. Will check it out tomorrow and see how much it took. I did do bench trials but my small trials only needed a small piece and it only took a couple hours To have a nice spice to the apple.

Thanks for all the help

 

[silverbullet07]

For more control over the cinnamon strength, you could put some sticks in vodka to make some extract. It doesn't take long - a few weeks depending on the amount of sticks : vodka ratio. After you remove the sticks you have a known strength of cinnamon you can bench test with. There's no hurry to add the extract.

Just a thought.

That is a great thought. Thanks.

 

[reeflections]

Sometimes what may seem interesting as a taste sample becomes overwhelming when drinking a full glass.

That is so true.

 

[Eddy Monsoon]

The key point here is to remember to go slow with adding flavors and whenever possible do a bench trial so that you aren't committing your entire batch down a path of no return. Sometimes what may seem interesting as a taste sample becomes overwhelming when drinking a full glass.

Yep

Made a Xmas beer and overdid the cinnamon. Had to drink it all myself.