Apple Juice Wine - Page 3

**Yooper** · 10-22-2011, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecc97

I am brand new to wine making and this is the first recipe I tried. I have 5 gallons in the primary. I used EC-1118 Champagne yeast and did not rehydrate it before pitching, just sprinkled it on top. I have the primary airlocked because the instructions that came with my kit said to do that plus we are having a bit of an issue with fruit flies right now. It is 66 degrees in the house and I am only getting one bubble every 45-50 seconds through the airlock. I thought there would be more activity at this point. Is this normal at this stage? Should I remove the airlock and cover with a towel instead?

If fruitflies are an issue, then airlocking is probably your best best. Grab a sanitized something (dowel, spoon, etc) and give it a stir to aerate it a bit. Don't count airlock bubbling as significant- there should be bubbles (like in soda pop) throughout the must. But stirring it will help since you have it airlocked.

oats · 10-27-2011, 04:25 PM

Also remember that the lower the temperature the slower the fermentation process.

Ecc97 · 10-29-2011, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper

If fruitflies are an issue, then airlocking is probably your best best. Grab a sanitized something (dowel, spoon, etc) and give it a stir to aerate it a bit. Don't count airlock bubbling as significant- there should be bubbles (like in soda pop) throughout the must. But stirring it will help since you have it airlocked.

Thanks, Yooper. On the fourth day the fermentation took off under the airlock.
Now I have another question. I made a 5 gallon batch so just multiplied your recipe by 5. Pitched the yeast on 10/20 and racked it last night, 10/28. The initial SG reading was 1.096 and at time of racking it was 1.00. When I got it into the carboy I realized that it holds 6 gallons rather than 5. I had to add a gallon + of water to top it off. I assume this will reduce my ABV by 20%. I added some sugar to boost the ABV because of the dilution and this morning the airlock is bubbling away. Will this cause any unforeseen problems?

Thanks for your help.

**Yooper** · 10-29-2011, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecc97

Thanks, Yooper. On the fourth day the fermentation took off under the airlock.
Now I have another question. I made a 5 gallon batch so just multiplied your recipe by 5. Pitched the yeast on 10/20 and racked it last night, 10/28. The initial SG reading was 1.096 and at time of racking it was 1.00. When I got it into the carboy I realized that it holds 6 gallons rather than 5. I had to add a gallon + of water to top it off. I assume this will reduce my ABV by 20%. I added some sugar to boost the ABV because of the dilution and this morning the airlock is bubbling away. Will this cause any unforeseen problems?

Thanks for your help.

Well, adding that much water will dilute the apple flavor of the wine, as well as water it down quite a bit. I would have added some apple juice, or some white wine, and not that much water. It'll be pretty thin in the end, I'd guess.

Johny123472 · 12-09-2011, 01:00 AM

Are you starting this in a bucket or 1 gallon glass jugs?