Apflewein mistake, can I fix it?

So I decided to try Ed Wort's Apflewein but I decided to add a wee bit of cinnamon and butmeg for some apple pie flavour. No prblem but I thought boiling 4-6 liters out of a 23 liter batch would help infuse some flavour. I have sinced learne dthat boiling makes it cloudy.

What causes the cloudiness in the boil and is it possible to clarify the cider?

I did purchase a two step clarifier from the LHBS, kielsosol and something else. Is this pointless? or will it work?

billc68 said:

I decided to add a wee bit of cinnamon and butmeg for some apple pie flavour

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eeew... buttmeg...

Not sure how the clarifiers will work with that. If it were me, I'd just leave it cloudy and just think of it more as a wine-like cider.

ChshreCat said:

eeew... buttmeg...

Not sure how the clarifiers will work with that. If it were me, I'd just leave it cloudy and just think of it more as a wine-like cider.

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yeah, butmeg... never tried it? adds quite an aroma to anything you brew.


oops can't change it now that you commented on it!

How long has it been in the primary? I've done a few batches, and it takes mine at least a month and a half to clear up after adding only dextrose.

Boiling it allows the pectin to activate. Pectin, as in, making jam and jelly. That's what causes the cloudiness.

There are products out there to help clear it. I personally like pectic enzyme, but that is usually added before the yeast. I would just drink it cloudy, but be aware that you will get some fall out forever, including after you bottle.

CandleWineProject said:

Boiling it allows the pectin to activate. Pectin, as in, making jam and jelly. That's what causes the cloudiness.

There are products out there to help clear it. I personally like pectic enzyme, but that is usually added before the yeast. I would just drink it cloudy, but be aware that you will get some fall out forever, including after you bottle.

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That sucks, oh well, I'll know for next time. I plan to make a fruit wine this fall and was think I should pasteurize the juice, I am guessing, I can heat but not boil it to kill all the bad yeasties.

billc68 said:

That sucks, oh well, I'll know for next time. I plan to make a fruit wine this fall and was think I should pasteurize the juice, I am guessing, I can heat but not boil it to kill all the bad yeasties.

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You don't want to heat juice. Well, I wouldn't heat juice. You'll set the pectins, have "cooked" flavor, etc.

If you want to make wine out of fruit, most people use campden tablets (sulfites). They work very well, and in low amounts aren't detectable in taste. They disipate over time, so often a little bit is added at bottling. I use sulfites when making the must, and at every other racking, since potassium metabisulfite is also an antioxidant. It keeps oxygen from binding to the wine during racking and storage.

To add to Yooper, the sulfites kind of knock the bad bugs on their butts to give the yeast enough time to get started, take all the oxygen out of the juice, and then the nutrients and sugar so that the bugs have nothing to eat. This is the method pretty much all professional wine makers use.

Don't heat up the juice!

CandleWineProject said:

To add to Yooper, the sulfites kind of knock the bad bugs on their butts to give the yeast enough time to get started, take all the oxygen out of the juice, and then the nutrients and sugar so that the bugs have nothing to eat. This is the method pretty much all professional wine makers use.

Don't heat up the juice!

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I pasteurise the juice by simmering on a hot plate until just before it starts to boil. No cloudiness, and does a decent job at killing all the nasty bugs. The only reason for this is that if I want to share my cider around, sulfites are a common allergenic so I have to remember to tell everyone!

oldmate said:

I pasteurise the juice by simmering on a hot plate until just before it starts to boil. No cloudiness, and does a decent job at killing all the nasty bugs. The only reason for this is that if I want to share my cider around, sulfites are a common allergenic so I have to remember to tell everyone!

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I was thinking the same thing, my mother in law loves wine, but can only drink a small amount of rose or a white, however she loves red but it gives her headaches. I would like to produce a oure "organic" plum wine or even an apple cider or a mead with no sulphites.


Also what about making wine from a kit and not using sulphites? how can I get away with it?

billc68 said:

I was thinking the same thing, my mother in law loves wine, but can only drink a small amount of rose or a white, however she loves red but it gives her headaches. I would like to produce a oure "organic" plum wine or even an apple cider or a mead with no sulphites.


Also what about making wine from a kit and not using sulphites? how can I get away with it?

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Sure, you can do that. It won't keep as long, but it'll still be good.

(Most people really aren't allergic to sulfites, even if they think they are, but that's another long story. If you don't want to use them, you definitely don't have to. They are found naturally in wines, even in organic wines with "no sulfites added" They are found naturally in beer, too).

YooperBrew said:

Sure, you can do that. It won't keep as long, but it'll still be good.

(Most people really aren't allergic to sulfites, even if they think they are, but that's another long story. If you don't want to use them, you definitely don't have to. They are found naturally in wines, even in organic wines with "no sulfites added" They are found naturally in beer, too).

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I guess, what I am asking is, can I make a wine that will last many years without sulphites? OR for that matter how long does a wine last with sulphites? and how can you make it last longer?