Stackmonkey's Progress thread :-)

[stackmonkey]

Hmm,

[stackmonkey]

....

[jojo]

what is "turbo" cider?

[lockwood1956]

So last night I racked off the summer fruits for the 2nd time using a syphon and added 1 level teaspoon of pectic enzyme. I filtered through curtain type muslin in the process
The wine has a deep-ish coral colour, seems quite dry to my tastes (I have a sweet tooth) and seems quite light and fruity.

I also racked off the apple wine the same way and also added enzyme to that.
It looks like cloudy urine at the moment, but tastes quite nice and is a little sweeter than the summer fruits one.

Damson port may be the next one to be racked as it seems to have some small white bits in the surface on the wine in one of the demijons (bacterial contamination?)
Advice appreciated in this one, please.

Did you add pectic enzyme at the start of the ferment or is this your first addition?
Did you use boiling (or very hot water) in preparation of the must?
did you know the difference between filtering and straining? (not trying to be smart here just establishing the facts) filtering will NOT clear a cloudy wine...fining will do that or it will clear itself if there are no starch/enzyme problems.

Pectolase (bought in the UK ...normally in powdered form) is normally used at the rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon, if added at the beginning, however if you used boiling or very hot water to prepare the must then you will need at least double the ammount of pectic enzyme, if you are adding the enzyme after ferment then you will probably need about 3 to 4 times the ammount

The damson port...

How did you make this? (recipe/method)
do you have photos of the problem?
any additional info would be useful, as many things could cause the problems you describe

what is "turbo" cider?

Hard cider, in the UK cider is the term used for fermented apple juice, and in the US cider of course is pressed apple juice not yet fermented

hope all of this helps

please also see the "new members start here" section if you havent seen it allready, for some free downloads and lots of useful information

regards
Bob

[Nobby]

Hello Stackmonkey. Just joined. Turbo Cider? Never come across that one before. Nice idea. I spent three hours trying to squeeze juice out of my daughters orchard apples. Got this hand press(home made), which was bloody hard work. I gave up and juiced the chopped apples in a liquidiser then pressed the pulp. Got a gallon of juice from what seemed like 1,000kgs of apples! I just threw in 3lb of sugar and some yeast. I tell you this story because I like the simplicity of your method. I wish I'd joined the site earlier. Ah well. The apple juice is clearing nicely and I look forward to a taste before Christmas.

[Hippie]

Monkey, it does look somewhat like a mycoderma or other bacterial or viral infection. I say rack to a smaller vessel in which you can keep topped up well and be sure sulphite content is at an aseptic level.

[lockwood1956]

I spent three hours trying to squeeze juice out of my daughters orchard apples. Got this hand press(home made), which was bloody hard work. I gave up and juiced the chopped apples in a liquidiser then pressed the pulp. Got a gallon of juice from what seemed like 1,000kgs of apples!

The apples will juice much better (more juice) if you freeze them and then thaw...they will almost pulp themselves

regards
Bob

[lockwood1956]

Can I ask why you are adding sulphite at this stage if ferment is not completed?

It will surely not be helpful to the ferment

regards
Bob

[Hippie]

Ooops! I hope not because I said to be sure it has plenty......I am such a terrible moderator.

SORRY......

[lockwood1956]

We need to establish what levels of sulphite are there I think..

Adding the cordial may well have slowed or even stopped the ferment if the alcohol level in it was greater than the alcohol level present in the Damson, it will have shocked the yeast or even killed it.

Now bear with me here I'm not trying to be clever...it's just lessons learnt as I've gone along (many of them from Hippie)

You need to be methodical and keep notes, regarding Specific gravity temp etc , so you need a hydrometer and a thermometer (they are cheap)

I (like many of our friends across the pond) also record PH levels, Acid levels and Sulphite levels (but then I'm a geek)

there needs to be order in your winemaking.
Doing things randomly will almost always result in things not working properly.

Sulphite is added at the start to prevent wild yeasts from taking hold, it stuns them...too much will also stun the yeast that you add, this is why we wait 24 hours after adding sulphite before adding our yeast, I'm not saying you would never add during ferment, but you shouldn't need to, we add at the end of ferment along with pottasium sorbate, to stabilise the wine and to help it store long term. (normally 1 campden tablet per gallon)

the more organised and methodical you are...the less lost wine there will be.

IMHO (in my humble/honest opinion)

hope this helps
regards
Bob

[Hippie]

I concur with Bob

[Hippie]

1 idea is that fermentation should always be confirmed by a steady drop of SG, read with a hydrometer.
Another is that hopefully fumes from the silicon will not get into the wine. I have used silicon caulk and it will take my breath away.
Record SG with a hydrometer, wait a week, check again. If unchanged, you probably do not even have a slow active fermentation. Let us know please.

[lockwood1956]

I agree...airlock activity is no indicator of fermentation, S.G. levels measured with a hydrometer or Brix levels measured with a refractometer are the only ways to be sure.

Tape around the base of the bung is not going to seal too well and I would think that is probably where the CO2 is escaping. I would be wary about using silicone sealant too.

Although the ferment may be over and it may be the wine degassing itself that you see.

Try making bungs from optic corks for your smaller necked vessels, I find it works quite well. although you will need to fatten the stem of the airlock with tape wrapped around the stem.

hope this helps
regards
bob

[Hippie]

Sounds great dude!

Good to hear from you now and then!

[lockwood1956]

Well it's a lesson learned, but by sharing it with us here, someone else may not make the same mistake.....


But all is well now so

It's all part of the fun...

regards
Bob