Apple wine

Impressed, is there a minimum that you need in order to bottle the wine? The concern over a min to preserve the brew is why I alway froze distilled it.
 
Neither the alcohol content nor the final gravity are what preserves it from going bad - the key is scrupulous cleanliness and sterilisation of the bottles.

In the past I've bottled some at 1050 (banana wine, lots of unfermentables - don't do it, it was horrid) and others at 970-975 (mead if I recall) - if it's still bubbling through the airlock, it's not done and if you bottle it then expect either corks popping or bottles exploding (depending on the capping/corking arrangements)
 
Also, if it's completed fermentation (as long as temperature has been maintained) the final gravity reading should be the same over consecutive days then you should add a stabilizer/preservative to kill any remaining yeast.

That'll reduce the chance of spoilage as well as prevent the brew refermenting causing any inpromptu indoor water works.
 
Well, it's been in the demijohn since yesterday. Nearly choked myself a few times...don't think the syphon tube is quite long enough for a barrel, what with trying to get it down below the bottom of the barrel. Maybe it didn't help that there was only a bit more than a demi john in the barrel. Anyway, it's bubbling constantly, albeit it's a murky looking mess at the moment. I'm hoping that's normal at this stage.:huh:
 
Great to hear from you again is was wondering how everything was gong. As long as there is life, there is hope. The bubbling is good. You still have it in the dark and it's working.
Think your next move is the scientist in the group with their measurement analysis.
Impressed!
 
It's not in the dark, it's on a worktop in front of a window. Is that bad?
I had no idea that the hydrometer reading was a comparison of the beginning and the end. So with no initial reading, the only way to test the strength will be by sacrificing myself as a human guinea pig. Jeez, life is hard sometimes.:icon_rolleyes:
I'm beginning to think my internet recipe was presupposing a certain amount of prior knowledge.....or intelligence.:huh:
Never mind, at least I think it is as clean as can be. I've sterilised everything with campden tablets, and resisted the strong urge to constantly lift the lid to sniff and look.
The demi john is still looking very murky, and still bubbling away. The new barrel of apple pulp as opposed to juice is also bubbling. I'm hoping I may be onto something there. Alcoholic pulp ideal for eating with a spoon for invalids and convalescents. Nanny's Cyder Pulp; catchy, eh?
 
"some things are better done in the dark". I did mine on an enclosed back porch in a dark corner. Not total darkness but out of the sun.
Ideas gentlemen?
 
Out of direct sun for sure - total darkness not required.

Murky is normal - since there will be some yeast in suspension as it ferments the sugar into alcohol & carbon dioxide, some yeast inevitably sticks to the CO2 bubbles as they rise and sink again when they reach the surface & pop...

When the airlock bubbling slows down to nearly nothing, give it a swirl (will stir up the yeast, but also knock some of the CO2 out of solution too - may also restart the fermentation for a last 'hurrah') - should then settle out relatively clear.

Then it's time for racking off (and optionally finings to get rid of the last remnants of the suspended yeast - not to be confused with a pectin haze which you can filter & fine forever - pectolase is the only solution there)
 
Right, I've put a towel around the demijohn, even though no-one has explained why, and library still has no books.
I put some pectolase in Hunny, so hopefully that's o.k.
As for the catchy pants Antdad......it is a worry; I'll have a better idea when I move it from the barrel where I can see nothing, to the demijohn. Right now as far as I can work out from looking through the white plastic barrel, there are two distinct layers......hopefully one isn't mould.
 
You sound like you're doing very well. If your not smelling vinegar or worst that, it sound/smells like it's ok.

Remember people do this in cells with prunes, orange juice, sugar cubes, bread, and ketchup. It's not that hard.
 
I knew someone once who knew someone who did this in cells.......people went blind. But I think it was temporary. That's Poitín for you.
But yes.....I worry too much.:icon_lol:
 
I peeked into the barrel of sludge today, and it's got a healthy growth of mould on top of the layer of froth on the top. I'm guessing that's not a good thing. The demi john is still looking good though.
 
soapalchemist said:
... a healthy growth of mould on top of the layer of froth ...
Click to expand...

Sounds like the cider my dad made one year when the windfalls got out of hand. There were all sorts in that - Ellison's Orange, Bramley, Lord Derby, even a couple of Peasgood Nonesuch. By God, it looked terrible, all cloudy and malevolent with fragments of apple core bobbing up and down ... fantastic stuff. :icon_mrgreen:
 
I've binned the mouldy one, and the demijohn has slowed down with the bubbling. But that may be because it's getting colder. How long should it take to be ready to bottle. And what temperature should it be to make sure it won't start up again as soon as it warms up? Which it will do when I put the heating on, and put it beside the radiator. And does it do any harm to leave it in the demijohn when fermentation is finished. Just got notification today from library that someone has finally returned one of their wine making books, so I can have it. Now I can learn all I have done wrong.
 
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