white film on apple wine surface

hi all, i got white film on my apple wine surface. the pictures are attached. i actually have made a mistake from the beginning by using metal fermenter for the first fermentation. now the wine has been 2 weeks in first racking. i rack it in 6 liters plastic carboy sanitized. in the 1st week, the white film appeared as well. then, i added 1/8 tsp citric acid and 1/16 tsp potassium metabisulfite. that is my first time i added the acid and sulfite. the white film then disappeared but it appeared again after several days. the wine is about 1 liter. can i still keep this wine? if yes, what should i do? please advise me, if you need more info, please let me know, thanks for your attention.

Is that the carboy it's in ? If it is you got too much headspace for one and it looks like it's just fermenting. What was the sg at the beginning and now? Are you keeping it stirred? Was this made from fresh fruit or something like vintners harvest? Too much missing info here take us threw all the steps. Again it looks like it's just fermenting but if this was made with fresh fruit meta should of been added 24 hrs before yeast how does it smell and taste? Don't throw it out this early in the game!

I agree with barbiek - too little info and what we do have is confusing. What date did you pitch the yeast? Is the pictured vessel a cup with a small sample of your must, or is that the whole thing? If it is a very small batch, I guess there is little harm in throwing it out and starting over, but figure out what went wrong so you can avoid the same mistake. Apple juice is pretty cheap, but I find it leaves something to be desired after fermenting.

Also, never use a metal container on apple, it's too high in certain acids.

I also agree with the other posters, need more info.

it is not fermenting. what you have is a surface bacteria because of how much oxygen in carboy plus a incorrect ph. Rack into a vessel closer to one liter. add at least 1/4 tsp of K meta. this is stronger than normal but it is required to kill the bacteria. check the ph and if not in range of 3.3-3.4 add malic acid to porper range. failure to add the kmeta will allow the bacteria to convert the alcohol in wine to water. not good.

barbiek said:

Is that the carboy it's in ? If it is you got too much headspace for one and it looks like it's just fermenting. What was the sg at the beginning and now? Are you keeping it stirred? Was this made from fresh fruit or something like vintners harvest? Too much missing info here take us threw all the steps. Again it looks like it's just fermenting but if this was made with fresh fruit meta should of been added 24 hrs before yeast how does it smell and taste? Don't throw it out this early in the game!

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Bartman said:

I agree with barbiek - too little info and what we do have is confusing. What date did you pitch the yeast? Is the pictured vessel a cup with a small sample of your must, or is that the whole thing? If it is a very small batch, I guess there is little harm in throwing it out and starting over, but figure out what went wrong so you can avoid the same mistake. Apple juice is pretty cheap, but I find it leaves something to be desired after fermenting.

Click to expand...

dralarms said:

Also, never use a metal container on apple, it's too high in certain acids.

I also agree with the other posters, need more info.

Click to expand...

well, i'd like to provide more complete info.
this wine was made with fresh fruit, but it's my bad not adding kmeta before pitch the yeast. i used papaya peel to substitute pectic enzyme, it's just about 1/4 medium sized papaya, minced. i let it sit 24 hrs with the must, covered with cloth. it was on 24th May.
i used bread yeast here, as winemaking is not common in my country. i activated 1 tbsp yeast into lukewarm water and let it sit for 5-7 mins.
after pitch the yeast on 25th May, i stirred the must twice a day for the first 2 days. i let the first fermentation for 4 days (until 28th May) then i poured the must to the carboy.
yeah, i learned here, i has used wrong size of carboy. 6 liters carboy for 1 liter the must. i'm replacing the carboy after this.
the second fermentation lasted for 2 weeks and 2 days. i racked to another carboy on 13th June. the first white film was clearly visible on 22nd June. i added kmeta and citric acid on 23rd June.
it now appears again since 29th June.
i believe the fermentation has stopped, the airlock is not bubbling since racking. unfortunately, i don't have hydrometer yet, i'm buying it
please give me some cheat to win the game

salcoco said:

it is not fermenting. what you have is a surface bacteria because of how much oxygen in carboy plus a incorrect ph. Rack into a vessel closer to one liter. add at least 1/4 tsp of K meta. this is stronger than normal but it is required to kill the bacteria. check the ph and if not in range of 3.3-3.4 add malic acid to porper range. failure to add the kmeta will allow the bacteria to convert the alcohol in wine to water. not good.

Click to expand...

i'm replacing the carboy and add the kmeta after this. should i attach an airlock right after adding kmeta? or let it covered with cloth for 24 hrs then attach an airlock?
regarding the acid, can i still use citric instead of malic?

once you have racked to a smaller vessel and added the kmeta use a airlock. Citric acid is normally used for berry wines, malic acid for apple and tartaric acid for anything else. if malic is not available use tartaric.
having used bread yeast I would hazard a guess that the wine does not contain much alcohol. is there a wine supply shop near you? what country are you from?
I would suggest reading Jack Keller's web site, there is a lot of turtorial information there about wine making especially fruit wines. just Google "Jack Keller wine making".

Wow, that's a good tutorial salcoco, thanks for letting me know about that.
I'm from Indonesia, winemaking is not common here so there is no wine supply shop. This is my first experiment, so I prefer using ingredients which is easy to get. I will use wine yeast in another experiment perhaps.
There is so many tropical fruits in Indonesia, that's why I would like to learn about winemaking. I would like to have experiment with tropical fruit in Indonesia.

are there any commercial wineries in the vicinity. Maybe they can provide you with some wine making supplies.

ah, that's a good idea, will try to find wine making supplies there
i've just racked my must anw, it looks less than 1 liter now, i racked it into 1,5 liters pet bottle
i tasted it and you're right, the alcohol is not strong..
the ph was about 4, i used ph strips to measure. i took some must out, then added 1/4 tsp kmeta and 1/4 tsp citric acid, i can't find malic and tartar acid. i got cream of tartar but then i read Jack Keller's tutorial and looks like it has different usage, am i right?

yes cream of tartar is used to remove acid.