Have a question about fermentation

[wkingsnorth]

Tomorrow I am going to start a batch of wine that will be Green Apple. It is a kit wine. Orchard Beezin to be precise. I have not had very good luck getting this brand to ferment the way it should. It seems to stop too soon. I was talking to someone at the store I get my supplies from and she said that some people will add some corn sugar after about 2 days to increase the alcohol level. Some of the wines I have made from this brand have been pretty much non-alcoholic. They are sweet, but weak. The wine I am going to attempt to make will be Caramel Apple, but I want it to have some kick to it. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[jamesngalveston]

what yeast you use will help you determine abv.
if you start at like 1.110 and use a yeast that can go to 15 to 18 percent and then let the wine go dry, u will have a high abv.

 

[Julie]

I believe some take half of the flavor pack and add that up front, this will increase your abv. Another method is to take some of the must, warm it up and add sugar to that, stir until disolved and add back to the must. Either way, you have to make sure you take a hydrometer reading, make sure it is around 1.080.

 

[wkingsnorth]

The starting SG is 1.060

 

[Arne]

Think I would start it with a specific gravity of 1.090, ferment it down, let it clear, stabalize and sweeten with apple concentrate. You might have to wait for it to clear again, but it will boost the apple flavor and the higher alcohol from 1.090 will be diluted down by the apple concentrate. Arne.

 

[DoctorCAD]

First, those kits are SUPPOSED to be low alcohol and very sweet. You are doing everything right.

Raising alcohol just to do it, get some Everclear or moonshine and spike it. Cheaper, quicker and more consistent.

 

[cpfan]

Tomorrow I am going to start a batch of wine that will be Green Apple. It is a kit wine. Orchard Beezin to be precise. I have not had very good luck getting this brand to ferment the way it should. It seems to stop too soon. I was talking to someone at the store I get my supplies from and she said that some people will add some corn sugar after about 2 days to increase the alcohol level. Some of the wines I have made from this brand have been pretty much non-alcoholic. They are sweet, but weak. The wine I am going to attempt to make will be Caramel Apple, but I want it to have some kick to it. Any ideas would be appreciated.

What do you mean by the ferment stops too soon? Do you have a spec gravity at where it stops?

Steve

 

[wkingsnorth]

What do you mean by the ferment stops too soon? Do you have a spec gravity at where it stops?

Steve

After 3-4 days it stops fermenting. My last batch of red wine was still bubbling after 10 days.

 

[cpfan]

As my signature says "Visual signs of fermentation are highly overrated" . The only way to properly monitor fermentation is with a hydrometer. In this case, the mist wine (ie OB Green Apple) starts at a lower sg than a normal red wine (1.060 as you stated vs 1.080 or above depending on the red kit), so has more sugars to ferment.

When you said the "red wine was bubbling" did you mean visual signs in the wine itself or bubbles leaving the air lock? The first is more likely fermentation, but both could be CO2 leaving a fermented wine.

Translation, trust your hydrometer NOT your eyes.

Steve

 

[Bartman]

Some add corn sugar (dextrose) because that is a simpler sugar than table sugar (sucrose) and the theory goes that dextrose will break down and completely dissolve more readily than sucrose. That may be true, but it is irrelevant *if* it is being added at the fermentation stage. An active bubbling fermentation should easily break down sucrose, and everyone has sucrose at home, but few, if any, have dextrose in their pantries. If you are back-sweetening *after* fermentation, then I would definitely add dextrose - otherwise, sucrose would require dissolving in warm water first, which would dilute your wine undesirably.

 

[Tess]

Im made this kit. I added 3 cups of sugar and 1/2 the Fpack up front. The last of the F-pack at the end. Its your wine you make it the way you want it to be. Its meant to be more of a wine cooler. Increasing the ABV will also allow u to keep it longer. It if you want a wine cooler very sweet follow the direction.
Not sure why your not having any luck in any of them finishing the fermentation. Iv made several with no problem.