What can I use to clarify that wont kill yeast off

[JohnnyK68]

I have been making an apfelwine. I want to clarify it, so I can bottle carb it. I dont want to wait the 4 weeks for it to clear on its own. I figure once I like the tast and am happy wit the ABV then I will clear it and bottle it. What is a good product I can use to do this? Thanks.

 

[Wade E]

I think you need to give it more time. As far as clearing agents go, I dont know which ones would kill yeasts if any!

 

[JohnnyK68]

Wade,
I am definatley not talking about doing this this soon. I am probably looking at least 2 weeks down the road. Just read alot of people wanting to back sweeten it. Figured to back sweeten I would loose the chance to bottle carb. If I clarify it earlier then it will still have a bit of sweetness left. Being the fact I used Nottinghams as opposed to Monchenet I figure my chances of bottle bombs by doing this would be less.
I will say this, I took a gravity reading today just to see how it was going, its already down to 1.016 from 1.090 and it tastes awesome! I imagine its going to dry out a little more making it that much better.Edited by: JohnnyK68

 

[Wade E]

Clarifying it will not stop it from fermenting so not sure what you mean!

 

[JohnnyK68]

Wade, what I want to do in a week or 2 is clarify it, and bottle carb it. I didnt know if that was possible or not. Right now it is at 9.0 ABV and that is plenty strong. It has an awesome taste, that I think will be better a little dryier in a week or 2. I am afraid if I wait to long with it, it wont bottle carb real well because all the yeast will be out of it and in the cake on the bottom. Plus, I would like to have this ready for a big Super Bowl party I am going to.
I know what I want to do, just dont know exactly how to do it, or if it could be done.

 

[Wade E]

Okay I just started a sparkling wine on Sat. in which it has to
referment in the bottles and it came with Isinglass to clarify it so I
guess that would be your answer!

 

[rshosted]

If I understand what you are asking, you want to stop fermentation becuase you like where it is at now. Here is what I would try.

I would refrigerate it immediatly to stop the yeast. I would then add pot sorbate and pot metabisulphite while keeping it cool. I would wait a day or two for those to kick in, then I would filter it with a sterile filter. Not only would it be clear, but you could remove the yeasties from it. If you missed a few, the pot sorbate would prevent them from taking off again. I would try and leave it for a few days to make sure they were done..

Alternatively, you could raise the temperature of the wine to 160 to kill the yeast. THough, I'm not sure what that would do to your wine.

 

[grapeman]

What was your starting SG? Unless you are close to dry you may get more carbonation after bottling than you want. You can retard the carbonation process by refrigerating after it is bottled. As I understand you, you want to clear while leaving some yeast in it and carbonate like a beer just before bottling. What I have read about Apfelwine, it is usually not very clear. I say if you can drop the temp down close to freezing, that would stop the fermentation. That should drop the majority of the yeast. Rack off the lees(some yeast will be left in suspension). Add corn sugar like you would to carbonate beer, bottle it in beer bottles and cap. Leave in a warmish room(68-72) for a week and open a bottle to test carbonation. If it's OK, refrigerate it. If more bubbles are needed, leave for a few more days and then refrigerate it. Drink it at the Superbowl party before the bottles start blowing! Good luck!

 

[Wade E]

Do not add the sorbate and or meta if you are planning to referment!

 

[Dean]

Wade has it right. Johnny, when making a sparkling wine, the wine has to clear first. You can use any clarifying agent, as that will not kill the yeast. Just don't add extra K-Meta and most definately do not add Sorbate. After clarification, there will still be a lot of yeast in suspension.

Now, depending on the yeast you used, and what its alcohol tolerance is, will help to complete the bottle refermentation. If there is not a lot of residual sugar left, then you will need to prime the wine with more sugar. It is best to use Dextrose (corn sugar) as this is the easiest sugar for yeast to ferment.When bottling beer, I use 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups of sugar per 6 gallon batch. You may have to re-innoculate with a little bit of EC-1118 or any other type of Champagne yeast in order to complete bottle fermentation once alcohol gets about 11%, or you could wait months for carbonation from non-champagne yeast. After that, follow "Northern Winos" instructions on riddling and degorging to get a clear sparkling wine.

 

[rshosted]

Sorry, I didn't know you wanted to carbonate it in the bottle. Yeah, everone it correct: do not add Sorbate.

 

[grapeman]

Dean, what Johnny wants to make is a German Apple Cider-Apflewine. They are typically not totally clear - kind-of their own drink. I'm not totally familiar with it, only what I have read. It isn't really a sparkling wine. Generally about 7-8% ABV. I made one myself last year and it tends to retain more flavor than a typical unsweetened apple wine. The secondary malolactic ferment added carbonation and smoothed the roughness quite a bit. It's a bit sudsy when poured. Mine aged for a year and still has a bit of cloudiness. I'm not quite sure if it would age well if rushed for the Superbowl, but if it tastes good to you and your friends, why not drink it and enjoy it? Good Luck with it, and bottoms up

 

[Wade E]

Is it good to ageit that long with that low of an ABV?

 

[grapeman]

This type of drink is intended to be consumed fairly quickly, but isn't exactly my favorite- so it has been spared. It had enough K-Meta in it so it won't spoil. If it goes bad, it's not the end of the world.

 

[JohnnyK68]

What I have decided to do is rack it to a secondary and stir in some isinglass (I have it on hand) I will see how it clears and tastes, and may just for go the carbonation as it really tastes good as is.

 

[PolishWineP]

This type of drink is intended to be consumed fairly quickly, but isn't exactly my favorite- so it has been spared. It had enough K-Meta in it so it won't spoil. If it goes bad, it's not the end of the world.

I remember drinking some of this stuff when I lived in Frankfurt. The first glass was pretty hard to swallow,

but after that you didn't notice how bad it was!

 

[JohnnyK68]

Well, its clear overnight. The isinglass cleared it unbelieveably quick! Now I just hope that I didnt ruin it in anyway. Still tastes good though. Going to leave it 5 days or so and rack it and bottle it with corn sugar, and see what happens. I will place the bottles in a large cooler as the carbonate just in case.

 

[grapeman]

JohnnyK - hold off until it carbonates before putting it in the cooler. The residual yeast won't have a chance to work at all if you cool it below 60-65. Leave it out for a week or soafter bottling. If you put it in beer bottles there shouldn't be anything to worry about in that amount of time. Then refrigerate it in the cooler. Glad the isinglass worked for you - I never seem to have a lot of luck with it.

 

[Dean]

I think i'm just going to have to try a gallon of this! This sounds like what I would call a raw cider. Somewhat cloudy, carbonated, and medium-dry. So it's the MLF that typically carbonates in the bottle?

 

[JohnnyK68]

Dean, only reason I was putting it in the cooler was in case I had bottle bombs. I wasnt putting the cooler in a refridge. It would still be quite warm in the cooler, just if one should blow being that this is a bit of an expirement then it would be easier to clean the mess confined to a cooler.