straining and acid additions?

[drmick]

Hi all

I have about 4 gallons of apple wine on the go, its had seven days on the fruit and tomorrow I need to strain it into a new vessel and add sugar to it. I have two straining bags, a fine and a coarse one, which one should I use, does it matter if I have some of the pulp in the next stage? I have used the fine one previously and it was hard work to get the must out of it.

I am following a recipe but there are lots of similar recipes that advocate the addition of acid (either acid blend or citric acid) the one I am following doesn't mention it. Would it be wise to add a teaspoon per gallon to my wine or shall I leave it how it is - the apples are a mixture of cookers and eaters no idea what variety?

And one final question - I am meant to add 1kg of sugar per gallon - I was thinking of dissolving the amount of sugar in some water prior to adding it to the must rather than adding it and stirring it to dissolve as I suspect it will take a while for ~4Kg of sugar to dissolve. Is this OK or should I just add and stir.

Thanks
Michael

[Cellar_Rat]

Straining through a course sieve and leaving a bit behind will not hurt.

Add acid to taste - perhaps test it. Does it need it? Don't just add it according to the recipe - the acid content of the apples you used could be sufficient.

Sugar at this stage will/should get the yeast going again and turn to alcohol. You can add it to water and that will (obviously) dilute the end product. To reduce this you could make it up in hot water, this will reduce the water amount and make dissolving easier (cold before adding). If you add it direct to the must make sure it is all dissolved - sugar crystals can stall a fermentation.

[drmick]

Thanks Cellar_Rat

Just strained it through the course bag I have and went very smoothly. Got just under 4 gallons out, I dissolved my sugar in hot water this morning and let it cool through the day.

Go an OG of 1.074 which if my maths is right will give an alcohol content of about 10.5% plus a bit more due to the fermentation already done on the apples. Quite pleased with that.

Had a taste and it tasted like apple juice but quite sweet as had already added my sugar. Didn't add any acid as not sure it needs it. Is it possible to add acid after fermentation as will have a better idea of whether it needs it?

[Cellar_Rat]

Yup you can add acid any time you like. Often doesn't need it. Careful which type of acid you add!

[kampervan]

what was the og of the apple juice as mine is 1.040 and after 1 week is 1.000 so a drop of .040 added to your sugar drop will make a very hot wine

[drmick]

no idea what the OG of the apples were as it was fermented on the apples to start with and not juiced. I am going to make some cider with the rest of the apples that have been stored in the garage so I will see what the OG of them is and that should give me an indication. If its anywhere near 1.040 it will indeed be a rather hearty tipple (~16%?), if I remember correctly I did some cider with apples from the same tree a couple of years ago and its OG was 1.055 which would be even stronger. Its still bubbling away nicely so fingers-crossed it will turn out OK.

[Cellar_Rat]

........... If its anywhere near 1.040 it will indeed be a rather hearty tipple (~16%?), if I remember correctly I did some cider with apples from the same tree a couple of years ago and its OG was 1.055 which would be even stronger. Its still bubbling away nicely so fingers-crossed it will turn out OK.

Hold on! Off the top 1040 is about 5% and 1055 would be about 7% surely. 16% !! have you got a magic hydrometer there :-)
You would need to have an SG just shy of 1120 to get 16%

[kampervan]

1.074 plus 1.040 makes 1.114 just short of 1.120 but does depend on how much of the sugar from apples was still in must when the 1.074 was measured

[drmick]

I was assuming that the sugar in the must had already fermented when I added the sugar - according to the book I have adding a kg of sugar to a gallon should give a OG of about 1.075 so I'm guessing that it was down to 1.000 when I added it. Not to fussed what it turns out at as long as its drinkable