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Medicaldawg

Medicaldawg

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I made a batch of apple wine about three months ago. I used assorted apples but all were good. Added 10lbs of sugar and bread yeast. Ive done this several times with great results. My problem the wine taste awful. My hates it my dad wont touch the stuff and i cant stomach it. It smells good but it taste bad. It doesn't smell like alcohol like my other batches. I did manage to drink two quarts. I don't have a hydro reader so not sure of alcohol level.
 
my guess is that it's the bread yeast. bread yeast is way less than ideal for making alcoholic beverages that taste good. You said you had done this several times in the past and it turned out good, so I would guess that you got very lucky on those times before.

Get some proper wine yeast and you'll likely notice a huge improvement.
 
Well, you can top it up to the bung and fill the airlock and let it sit for 6 months. Make sure the airlock doesn't dry out, and check it again in 6 months. It'll either be very much improved, or worse. Usually, aging will improve it but not in the case of infection or other problems.
 
It would really help if you posted your actual recipe.... say 1 bushel of mushed apples + 10 lbs sugar or 5 gallons of cider + 10 lbs sugar or 10 gallons cider + 10 lbs sugar, etc....

Did you ferment on the pomace (Apple mush) or on cider?

Did you use any Campden/sulphite to sterilize it before you pitched yeast?

Anything else you did? Just ferment in a bucket? Wide open or at least covered with a shirt or muslin? Carboy + airlock?

Then, what sort of bad are you talking about?

Bad as in lighter fluid/gasoline/jet fuel flavor?
Bad as in *Really* dry vs your expected sweet cider?
Bad as in Vinegary or Moldy tasting?

Thanks
 
If it tastes "bread-y" then just leaving it in the fridge for a couple of weeks will help the yeast settle out. Pour it off the sediment (gently!) and then throw the bottom 1/5th away.

If "bad" is one of the other bads, then it won't help.
 
truckjohn said:
It would really help if you posted your actual recipe.... say 1 bushel of mushed apples + 10 lbs sugar or 5 gallons of cider + 10 lbs sugar or 10 gallons cider + 10 lbs sugar, etc....

Did you ferment on the pomace (Apple mush) or on cider?

Did you use any Campden/sulphite to sterilize it before you pitched yeast?

Anything else you did? Just ferment in a bucket? Wide open or at least covered with a shirt or muslin? Carboy + airlock?

Then, what sort of bad are you talking about?

Bad as in lighter fluid/gasoline/jet fuel flavor?
Bad as in *Really* dry vs your expected sweet cider?
Bad as in Vinegary or Moldy tasting?

Thanks
Click to expand...

the recipe was 10 pounds of assorted apples plus 15 pounds sugar. It ferminted in a carboy with an air lock. i mashed the apples and put them in the carboy and that sat for a month. no campden tablets. bad as in vinegary. this sucks i really dont want to dump but if i cant drink it i might as well
 
Medicaldawg said:
the recipe was 10 pounds of assorted apples plus 15 pounds sugar. It ferminted in a carboy with an air lock. i mashed the apples and put them in the carboy and that sat for a month. no campden tablets. bad as in vinegary. this sucks i really dont want to dump but if i cant drink it i might as well
Click to expand...

If you didn't use any campden tablets or otherwise kill the wild yeast and bacteria in the must, you probably have an infection. "Vinegar" sour won't improve if it's caused by infection.

10 pounds of apples probably only gave you less than a gallon of juice, I'd wager. If you used 15 pounds of sugar in one gallon, that could cause some flavor issues also.
 
If it tastes like vinegar and smells like vinegar it's probably vinegar. If you didn't sanitize the apples well, you probably got some acetobacter from the skins.

I'm sorry there is no recovery from that.

But on the bright side, you'll never have to buy cider vinegar again.
 
pimento said:
If it tastes like vinegar and smells like vinegar it's probably vinegar. If you didn't sanitize the apples well, you probably got some acetobacter from the skins.

I'm sorry there is no recovery from that.

But on the bright side, you'll never have to buy cider vinegar again.
Click to expand...

well thats an explanation i was afraid of but suspected as much. Any ideas on what to use this batch for?
 

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