Another cloudy apple wine thread...

[blueflint]

I am on my third batch of apple wine. The first two were one gallon test batches, straight forward with no additions. They cleared and were bottled into beer bottles at 3 months of age, were clear and pretty nice.

Now...on this current batch, I decided to experiment. This current batch is a 5 gallon batch made from Indian Summer Apple Juice (no preservatives) which measured 12 brix and ph tested 3.4. I added 4 pounds of sugar, 1 quart of water, 19 grams of tartaric acid and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient. After additions, ph tested 3.2. I fermented as usual (cool and slow) and it finished up nicely (started 2-9-13). On 3-14-13, gravity measured .992, taste was very sharp, Granny Smith like, I racked into a clean bucket and added Wyeast 4007 malolactic culture, snapped the lid on with an air lock and let it go. On 7-23-13, I racked into a clean bucket, tasted nice, added sulfite and added 1 ounce of medium toast french oak chips. At this point, I noticed the wine was pretty cloudy still. Today I took a sample, ph is at 3.4, flavor is very nice. I really like how it has turned out but it is quite cloudy still. It doesn't matter to me but I want to share this with friends and a cloudy bottle is not what I want to give them. So...this is where I am at. I did not use and pectic enzyme since the original juice was clear and no fruit was used. So...do I have a protein haze or? Should I try Super Kleer? Any suggestions?

Thanks, Tony

 

[Downwards]

I would try the pectic enzyme first, and do bentonite or other clarifier if that doesn't work.

 

[Julie]

It's possible, add some pectic and let it sit for a couple of weeks to see what happens. If no change I would add superb lead.

 

[Downwards]

"If no change I would add superb lead."
I'll bet you meant to say super kleer, lol. Let's not get people putting lead in their wine.
By the way blueflint, your notes are very impressive! You know how to do more than me that's clear. I STILL don't test TA, just pH, but I'm not defending that. Also I have been meaning to try MLF on some of mine. Soon!

 

[Julie]

"If no change I would add superb lead."
I'll bet you meant to say super kleer, lol. Let's not get people putting lead in their wine.
By the way blueflint, your notes are very impressive! You know how to do more than me that's clear. I STILL don't test TA, just pH, but I'm not defending that. Also I have been meaning to try MLF on some of mine. Soon!

Roflmao, well when you type on an iPad it tries to think for you, thanks for the correction.

 

[spaniel]

I would try the pectic enzyme first, and do bentonite or other clarifier if that doesn't work.

This.

And then be patient. Bottling in 3 months? I've never bottled anything in under 6 months. I've made a few batches of apple (from fruit). IIRC they took awhile to clear...one of them a year, but it was one of the best batches of wine I ever made.

 

[blueflint]

My early test batches were bottled at 3 months and were clear but this current batch was started on 2-9-13 so is over 6 months old now. I may try a pectin test and see if anything shows up and then go from there.

 

[sgx2]

... At this point, I noticed the wine was pretty cloudy still...

I'd be tempted to start with pectic enzyme (a.k.a. pectinase) (oh, and don't add pectin, add pectic enzyme) and if that doesn't work I might guess that it could be a starch haze, particularly if the apple juice was cooked at all, so you can try amylase (which breaks the unfermentable starch down into fermentable sugars, but don't get excited it won't add much to your SG).

You can esaily test to see if pectin is your problem:

1. Get a small, clear glass (preferably tall and thin) and fill 1/3 of it with your wine
2. Hold it up to the light and study how it looks
3. Add the same volume of 70% (or higher) rubbing alcohol (a.k.a isopropyl alcohol)
4. Hold it up to the light again - if you have a pectin problem you'll see rope-like structures forming and they might form a gel at the bottom of the glass
5. POUR THIS GLASS DOWN THE SINK - DO NOT DRINK IT - DO NOT PUT IT BACK IN THE WINE - RUBBING ALCOHOL IS NOT SAFE TO DRINK

 

[jamesngalveston]

sgx2, someone changed the wording in your above post before you copied paste, isopropyl alcohol even at 90 percent will not show pectin haze,
it has to be a methylated.
most commonly a denatured alcohol is used...i tested a batch of fig, added isopropyl and it showed nothing, after reading i discovered that denatured is used not isoproply....and indeed my fig was a pectin haze.

 

[sgx2]

sgx2, someone changed the wording in your above post before you copied paste, isopropyl alcohol even at 90 percent will not show pectin haze,
it has to be a methylated.
most commonly a denatured alcohol is used...i tested a batch of fig, added isopropyl and it showed nothing, after reading i discovered that denatured is used not isoproply....and indeed my fig was a pectin haze.

That's interesting! I just used that test with 99% isopropyl and it was quite successful...I can't even get methylated spirits here

 

[jamesngalveston]

most hardware stores sale denatured alcohol.

 

[sgx2]

most hardware stores sale denatured alcohol.

Here in Canada they only seem to have it in marine stores for alcohol stoves, but the quantity you have to buy is too large to justify

I find the 99% isopropyl test works fine -- you can see the ropey shapes forming quite well. When you use the denatured stuff what do you see?

 

[jamesngalveston]

strands of something that looks like a clear worm, of sorts, i guess the same thing you see.
funny.
i cant buy 99 percent isopropyl here, only 90.
maybe that is why mine did not work....