Just Started My Christmas Apple-Cinnamon Wine - Dec. 8

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

CampFireWine

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
287
Reaction score
1
Location
SE Indiana
I thought I had better get busy and get a new batch of wine started to give out as Christmas presents. I am making a basic batch to ensure an adequate time line.

Here is what I put together so far.

5.5gal of Kroger brand apple juice (11 of the 1/2 gallon bottles).
10lb of Domino Pure Cane Sugar.
6lb Lt Brown Sugar
1 Pack of Liquor Quick Super Yeast X-Press
2 Cinnamon Sticks

Saved for Racking
6 Campden Tablets
1 Tbs Potassium Sorbate.
1 pound of raisins (maybe)

My estimated schedule which can vary by a day or two is as follows.

Primary - Dec 8 to Dec 15 <<Racked & stabilized on Dec 13. 2 days ahead of schedule
Secondary (ageing) Dec 15 to Dec 22 <<Started Dec. 13
Bottling back into juice bottles - Dec 22

Party - Dec 22 to Jan 2

Let the good times begin!

Details:

Wednesday
With it being so cold outside, by the time I got home and put it all together just after 12:00am, the temp of the fermenter was down to 55F. I plugged the brew belt in and had to wait until it reached 75F.
In the morning I pitched the yeast in and stirred easy several times at 20 min intervals to break up the yeast. Added a couple of deep stirs after it was up and fermenting.

Thursday
Stirred sever times through out the day and unplugged brew belt as temp is in range.

Friday
Stirred, check temp (~75F) and potential (~10% down from ~22%) Slightly behind schedule but acceptable.

Saturday

Stirred and plugged brew belt back in. Potential ~7% The bump in the temp isn't as bad in the winter in that cold corner I suppose. I recorded a video of how I stir

There are 3 steps in 1 here.
1) breaking surface tension
2) middle degas
3) a quick kick up of the bottom.



Sunday
Stirred. Temp 80F, potential down to 5% for a 17%ABV so far and still going.

Monday
No Stir. Temp 78F, potential down to 3% for a 19%ABV. I didn't stir this morning because it is close to racking. There is a good chance I can rack, degas, and stabilize it today. Had my first taste test out of the fermenter, and the 2 sticks of Cinnamon seems to overpower the apple. I may have to let it run today to ferment out extra sugar that I will be adding back in with the raisins.

To calm the Cinnamon down, I took a little time to make an extract. I used 2 pounds of raisins and ground them up and put in a pan with 1/2 gallon of water. I boiled it for 10 minutes and then strained through a sift. I put it back on the flame and reduced it to 16 ounces. It doesn't look like much but here it is.
l_27f552d89a1c4cb485d1e7cfe69d2a6c.jpg


Racked, degassed, and stabilized tonight. Hooray!

Potential 2.4% for an ABV of 19.6% but it may tick over a little more. I shelved the extract idea for now. I was thinking about how different and clean of a taste the Cinnamon is that I think I will leave it as is for now. I can always save the extract for later in the fridge.

Here is a video of the degassing with the food saver. You can hear me feathering the throttle to keep it from sucking foam up the hose and into the spit cup.


Tuesday
Very still. I think maybe 1 bubble come out the airlock this morning. Distinct sediment line at the bottom of the taper.

Wednesday To Next Few Days
Everyday, color becomes darker and more transparent as pectin and the last remaining yeast settle to the bottom. Not much to do as is ages out over the next few days. Here are a couple of pics.
l_a3358d7763ef477cb831102a3a3ab87e.jpg

l_55f6eea7efee46aeb7cb31a84703d63a.jpg


Tuesday
I sat the carboy outside a couple of days ago to see what effect the cold would have on it. To no surprise, it had little effect since I already crashed it with sorbate and dropped the yeast. While it can continue to precipitate small amounts of pectin over the next month or so, it should be ready to drink taste wise. I find the pectin adds mouth feel and smooths out the taste so it doesn't bother me to leave it like it is. I could add finning agents and pectic enzymes and this and that but all it does is trade one problem for another. I still plan to bottle it tomorrow but getting ready to pull a sample for taste testing to be sure. I uncovered it to take a picture
l_7b6f6abccae0470faf8c700113eabddb.jpg


Well, I was hoping to maybe increase clarity be chilling it but all it did was to prevent the release of lighter weight alcohols. It smells like rubbing alcohol and taste harsh. I will never try the chilling again anytime soon. Now I have to try and release the buildup.

l_efa1e12a328b4799a2f0217b912bc462.jpg


Wednesday
I racked it before I warmed it back up to room temp and added 1/2 strength campden. It seems to be back on the right ageing path now. For what ever reason, the cold temperature broke down the pectin and released foul odors nearly ruining it in a 48 hour period since it wasn't like that coming out of the primary. I thought something may have been wrong when the light tan yeast cake started turning brown. I will have to retest it soon to see if the off flavor is leaving. I hope it isn't terminal.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hope you mean NEXT Christmas...

Na, I am pretty good at getting it done with 5 to 7 days of fermentation and 5 to 7 days of ageing. I will try to keep up the OP day by day on what I do, but the next several days will be nothing but stirring.
 
I think this applies...

Vinny Gambini: So, Mr. Tipton, how could it take you 5 minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit eating world 20 minutes?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know, I'm a fast cook I guess.
Vinny Gambini: I'm sorry I was all the way over here I couldn't hear you did you say you were a fast cook, that's it?
Mr. Tipton: Yeah.
Vinny Gambini: Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than anywhere else on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know.
Vinny Gambini: Well, I guess the laws of physics cease to exist on top of your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?
 
It'll get you drunk, but 2 weeks is way too young for that wine. It will be super harsh tasting. I would say six months minimum before that would be ready to drink.
 
LMAO. At least your user name is fitting.
BTW, I think this is a port, not just a wine. My guess is your getting 18-22% ABV, right?
 
Wow, sorry, but I wouldn't voluntarily drink any or your 10 day old rocket fuel. I think Doctor Cad nailed it. It's not about what YOU can do, it's about what the yeast can do, and they aren't on your time line.
 
Wow, sorry, but I wouldn't voluntarily drink any or your 10 day old rocket fuel. I think Doctor Cad nailed it. It's not about what YOU can do, it's about what the yeast can do, and they aren't on your time line.

The yeast is exactally on my timeline. Thats what I go by.
 
Ya, I don't know how it could not taste hot and harsh. But, hey. Maybe you like that kind of thing. It'll do the trick. I made a wine 6 months ago which is 14% ABV and I tasted a bit and while I'll bottle it soon, I won't drink it for another 3 months at least. The yeast being done with their thing doesn't mean nothing else is going on. That's for sure. Have you made this before? Have you ever saved any to taste a year later?
 
How does it taste after a year?
1 month is as long as any batch has aged.

By mixed drink do you mean pina colada or a straight martini? I think you should put a warning on the label when you give it out :D
With ice, and one of the fruiter recipes I make, it's more like a Margarita. I am looking for radioactive stickers to put on it for fun.

Ya, I don't know how it could not taste hot and harsh. But, hey. Maybe you like that kind of thing. It'll do the trick. I made a wine 6 months ago which is 14% ABV and I tasted a bit and while I'll bottle it soon, I won't drink it for another 3 months at least. The yeast being done with their thing doesn't mean nothing else is going on. That's for sure. Have you made this before? Have you ever saved any to taste a year later?
I take extra precautions as to not allow it to become hot and harsh. I don't think any one step prevents it, I think it is a combination of every step put together. This is about my 15th 6gal batch this year. Tried and proven. I would like to start bottling in real bottles for long term storage, but I haven't purchased all those supplies yet. Between my friends and I, it just doesn't stay around long enough. Thats why I still use the bottles the juice came in.

Here is a pretty close list of the flavors I have made so far

Welch's:
White Grape
Peach - White Grape

Juicy juice:
Strawberry - Banana
Kiwi - Strawberry
Berry
Punch
Cherry
Apple Raspberry

Kroger:
Apple
Berry
Natural Apple

Combo Mixes:
Watermelon - White Grape
Strawberry - Watermelon - Apple
Apple - Raisin
Pineapple - Berry
 
It seems like it pretty much has to be the yeast that's making it drinkable in your selected time span. That's surprising to me because it sounds like distilling yeast, and I've heard that makes everything taste awful, but I guess I haven't heard of making wine with it, just beer. Glad you can make something you and your friends enjoy in a reasonable timeline. I know a lot of people would be happy if you could do a month old, drinkable mead.

Have you thought if distilling your wine to make some hooch?
 
It seems like it pretty much has to be the yeast that's making it drinkable in your selected time span. That's surprising to me because it sounds like distilling yeast, and I've heard that makes everything taste awful, but I guess I haven't heard of making wine with it, just beer. Glad you can make something you and your friends enjoy in a reasonable timeline. I know a lot of people would be happy if you could do a month old, drinkable mead.

Have you thought if distilling your wine to make some hooch?

I thought about freezing and concentrating it but if it was any stronger I couldn't drink it. It's right at my level now. I can't drink shots of whiskey or anything that strong and true distilling would take out the flavor. I respect a good winery and aging of wines in that context, and I was even planning on waiting 3 months or more for a batch of wine, then when I seen this SuperYeast pack on the shelf, thats what I got and didn't look back. Almost everything I read about ageing times and fermenting times were all different. I went back and kicked the drawing board around (not literally) and came up with a new plan. If a person can add the pack to straight sugar water and make it work, surly I can make it work in juice. My first few batches were kinda 'hot and harsh' as a mater of fact I threw my second batch out because it tasted like razer blades. In the beginning I never made 2 batches the same because I was changing procedures for a better product. I made my very first mistake pitching this yeast in 50f or colder fermenter in January, so I got a thermometer and a brew belt. Problem solved. There have been many problems solved as well. I used to have an off flavor due to the gas build up. I got a food vacuum and now degas the carboy just after racking from primary. Problem solved. There are many, many, more issues like this that I had to solve on the way through.

what temperature re you fermenting at?
Fermenter temp is running at 75F but anything under 85 seems to work. Lower then ~70F and it will stop. It seems 80F may be the sweet spot for the fastest fermentation. It acts like it can generate some of it's own heat when it gets going. I frequently refer to my fermenter as the 'reactor'.
 
please help me understand how this is ready to drink in just 3 weeks. THANKS.
 
please help me understand how this is ready to drink in just 3 weeks. THANKS.

This whole thread is devoted to that. I really don't know how to say it in one paragraph. Just stay tooned and check my origional post for daily updates. I will try to start video taping the tricky parts if I can and posting them somewhere.
 
I may try this too, it sounds delicious.

I have found the whole strict timetable to be a little overrated. I also dont have very elitist taste buds ;-)
 
I wish one of the "veterans" could taste this and give some feedback. People are just going to argue because there's no way to verify either side via the internet.

There's nothing like making it to the best of your ability... but there's also a place in this world for "Good Enough". Perhaps Mr Campfirewine could get connected with a the Local Brew Club (if there is one) via his LBHS and borrow some bottling equipment to help this experiment along. At least for one batch.
 
Who knows, maybe this is a magic recipe. I guess I wouldn't personally try it until it has been replicated by a few people. It might just be that this particular individual doesn't mind drinking wine that hasn't properly aged.
 
I think this may be more of the Thunderbird or Mad Dog than a 4 year old perfectly cellared Pinot noir or something. Thats cool and everything, to each his own...but I think it's just a different animal. Try to turn in a 20% abv wine into competition, it's gonna be laughed at. But pour it in a glass over ice at a party and I'm sure you're the most popular guy there.

I'd love to try it. Think I'll do a 2 gallon batch sometime soon just for ****es and giggles.
 
I have a feeling it will end up more like the wine version of 'Hot Damn' Cinnamon Schnapps but not as potent and a little less burning.
 
I applaud you sir, I think this is the future of winemaking where all the snobs who say that a wine isn't ready to drink in minimum a year just shut up.I also hear snobs like that say if you ferment over 70F the wine will be "paint thinner" because of the fusels but like CampFireWine said 80F is perfect and much faster than say 65F.
 
then why not always use a turbo yeast like in this recipe instead of a low temp slow fermenting yeast,I keep hearing that distillers yeast makes everything taste awful but all it is is just a champagne yeast like EC1118 with a blend of nutrients and vitamins.
 
I can't emphasize enough that 15 batches and a year of research went into the making of these wine recipes. Any deviation including changing ingredients or techniques used in the making of this wine will be catastrophic or take 1 to 2 years of ageing to fix. No changes are recommended. Just about any juice flavor or sugar type can be used or even mixing with fresh fruit in the primary, but short of that, I would leave it alone.
 
Thursday
I suppose I ran out of time to edit my OP. A friend and I tasted the wine to check for progress. The off flavors are dissipating and the cinnamon has calmed down a lot. There is hope yet but may need a few more days to make up for the time I lost sitting it outside.
 
I bottled up some of the Apple-Cinnamin yesterday and took to a few parties and my friends went through 4 - 1/2 gallon bottles. I didn't hear any complaints but many liked it better on ice. I also promised out 2 - 1 gallon jugs so that leaves me with 2 gal. Just about time to start a new batch. :mug:
 
This is an interesting thread. It looks like this yeast is intended for use with liqueur extracts? Also, the recipe doesn't state how large it is. I'm assuming 6 or 6.5 gallons? What size is your secondary? I wonder what would happen to a mead made with this yeast. Mead (normally) takes excessively long times to ferment and age.
 
It's a neutral yeast intended for distillation originally, but I adapted my recipe and techniques over for use with it. My secondary is 6 gallon and when I rack to it, I have about a quart of lees and liquid left in the bottom. I am not sure about mead. I think it has to undergo something before the sugar is fermented. It's almost like a double ferment from what I understand, where all of my sugars are available up front.
 
A friend of mine just called me and said he just drank 2 glasses of my wine and can't even wipe his own butt now. I wonder if thats a good thing or not. :rolleyes:
 
Back
Top