Apfelwein (from store bought apple juice)

[MrFruitwines]

These guys are making an apple wine/cider from store bought apple juice. Apparently it is quite good.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860

I am going to make it tomorrow.

I think they have an issue with wild yeasts causing a sulfur smell. Any comments ?

They are looking for ideas on sweetening it. Any comments ?

I am brewman! over there, btw.

Edited by: MrFruitwines

 

[paubin]

It is possible that wild yeasts are causing an H2S problem but it could be the yeast they used also. H2S can happen from leaving wine on the lees to long also. It is from rotting matter of any kind. I've been trying to think of a way to sweeten my spiced apple wine using concentrated juice without clouding the wine. I think I am going to just stick with back sweetening with sugar after stabilizing.


Pete

 

[MrFruitwines]

So how would one prevent those wild yeasts from fermenting the apple juice ? I assume that the wild yeasts would be less strong than the added yeast and that a dose of something would kill the wild yeast but not the added yeast ? I believe the same happens when we brew fruit wines. (Its been so long since I've done one that I forget.)

On page 238 of the Anderson book they say sulfur dioxide is needed at levels of 80 to 100 ppm to "kill off wild yeasts prior to fermentation".

On page 267 they describe the generation of Hydrogen Suphide during fermentation. I think this is the problem the brewers are having. I'll post what it says over there. Edited by: MrFruitwines

 

[MrFruitwines]

This is copy of my posts on the other board. I am not getting answers over there... I'd be very happy if someone could comment on what I am doing here.

Post #1 starts here...
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I just did a shopping run so I can start my apfelwein tonight. I'm hoping it will done around Christmas, 3 weeks from today. Or at least by New Years ! I could filter it if needed.

I bought 24 litres of Sun-Rype unsweetened "Not From Concentrate" 100% pure apple juice. The ingredient list is "Apple Juice, vitamin C". The box says its pasteurized.

I'll be using the yeast variety "Saccharomyces bayanus" by Lalvin. Its what they call a champagne yeast. But its still used for wines. I've used it on a number of fruit wines over the years.

I'm trying to decide how much dextrose to use. I've got 2KG of it (4.4 pounds). I'm brewing 6 gallons. The juice boxes say "Naturally occurring fruit sugars 30g/250ml." That is a bit over an ounce per cup. I wonder how this compares with other juices. The calorie content is 120 calories per 250 ml.

22L x 4 cups per litre = 88 cups 88 cups x 30 g/cup = 2.640KG = 5.8 pounds of "naturally occurring fruit sugars"

Does anyone know what sort of OG that would make ?

Does anyone have info from their juice to compare with ?

Thanks.


Post #2 starts here...
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http://home.iitk.ac.in/~ashishg/hydrometer.htm

According to this, for 8.6% alcohol, we need a SG of 1.065 which is about 1 pound 11 ounces of fermentable sugars per gallon. I have a little less than 1 pound per gallon now. (5.8 pounds per 22 litres) So I need to add about 11 ounces per gallon. I am assuming my apfelwein will ferment to an SG of 1.000, which may be a little bit conservative.

11 ounces/16 x 454g/pound = 312 grams per gallon 312 grams per gallon x 6 gallons = 1872 grams. So nearly the full 2 Kg of dextrose. (4.4 pounds) 1872 grams would be 4.125 pounds of dextrose.

Does anyone see a flaw with this logic ?

If I assume it ferments to 0.990, then I'll have an alcohol content of about 9.9% ! If it goes to 0.990, then I should have a SG of about 1.055 and 1lb 7 ounces of sugar per gallon. 7 /16 x 454 = 200 grams per gallon or 1.2 KG for the batch. 2.65 pounds for the batch.

I'll check the SG of the apple juice before I add the dextrose just to be sure.

I suspect the SG of the various juices differs a bit, depending on how concentrated the juice is, how it is reformulated, etc. The juice I am using is straight from the apple, thus my worry that it is different from what others are using.Edited by: MrFruitwines

 

[masta]

This is copy of my posts on the other board. I am not getting answers over there... I'd be very happy if someone could comment on what I am doing here.

I bought 24 litres of Sun-Rype unsweetened "Not From Concentrate" 100% pure apple juice. The ingredient list is "Apple Juice, vitamin C". The box says its pasteurized.

There should not be any wild yeast in the juice since pasteurizing will kill them.

 

[MrFruitwines]

I brewed this up last night. It is fermenting now. The SG of the juice alone was 1.050. I added 3 pounds of sugar to 6 gallons. (Stupidly, I didn't check the SG of the juice alone until after I had it done.)

The gravity of the final must (juice + sugar) is about 1.070. Its going to be strong. I wish it wasn't so heavy.

 

[CajunTim]

My apple wine fermented out to a final SG of .993, which in your case would be about 10% ABV by my calculations. If you top up with water or juice concentrate it should lower it even more. At lease I think so. I am kinda new to this also.

 

[MrFruitwines]

My wife wants it to be a bit sweet and apply. I might have to stabilize it and dilute it with apple juice. Darn !

 

[docbee]

I have made this Apfelwein from that site and the final results were very good. It did end up with some sweetness and definetly apply flavor. I have mine in a keg and carbonated it and it made it much better.

 

[MedPretzel]

Easy... sorbate it and add a can of apple concentrate. Adds sweetness and appleness.


No dilution. You kill 2 birds with one stone that way.