Apfelwein conditioning question

ToddO · 03-14-2010, 10:44 PM

I searched around but couldn't find a conclusive answer to this so - I have 6 gallons of Ed's Apfelwein in a bucket fermenter that has been in there for 2 months. I am not in any hurry to drink this but I was wondering if I should leave it in the bucket for 6-8 months or bottle it now and let it bottle condition for the same time. Is there a difference? Any harm in leaving it in the bucket for that long?

Bottle it or leave it?

Thanks in advance

T

Fletch78 · 03-14-2010, 11:12 PM

Search "Autolysis"

In a nutshell, it is bad to leave it in primary for too long.

Also, plastic buckets leak oxygen over time, and the wine will oxidize.

robertvrabel · 03-15-2010, 04:50 PM

Personally I would bottle condition it after the 2 months, especially if you are leaving it in a plastic bucket. I'm pretty sure the people who leave it 6-12 months, rack it into a carboy after its done fermenting. Also, if you are bottling it and want it carbonated, now would be the perfect time to do it. 6-12 months from now it will be harder to naturally carbonate them in the bottle.

I'm not sure the difference between bulk aging vs aging in the bottle, there is a lot of discussions on this forum about it... you can do a search, its been debated a lot.

Hope that helps!

CandleWineProject · 03-15-2010, 07:04 PM

I've been told bulk aging is better, but I think that is suppose to be in glass, not plastic.

gratus fermentatio · 03-16-2010, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToddO

I searched around but couldn't find a conclusive answer to this so - I have 6 gallons of Ed's Apfelwein in a bucket fermenter that has been in there for 2 months. I am not in any hurry to drink this but I was wondering if I should leave it in the bucket for 6-8 months or bottle it now and let it bottle condition for the same time. Is there a difference? Any harm in leaving it in the bucket for that long?

Bottle it or leave it?

Thanks in advance

T

I refer you to Ed's original recipe:

"It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary."

I'd say if it's clear enough to read a newspaper through, then bottle it; if not, leave it till it is or rack to get it off the lees & then wait for it to clear. Regards, GF.

EDIT: If you don't bottle right away, I'd definately get it into a carbouy, there's a lot of headspace in a bucket. Regards, GF.