Apple Wine smells bad

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akreider

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Apr 12, 2012
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Philadelphia
I used White Rose (cheap store brand, no added sugar) apple juice, a cup or so of sugar, and an entire packet of yeast to make a gallon of apple wine.

It quickly fermented to completion (alcohol).

It smells bad. It has a bit of a bread yeast smell to it. It doesn't taste that good either. I also notice that the particles that collected on the bottom of the gallon jug are very fine. Normally, I've made apple wine using Trader Joes cider - and the leftover particles are a lot larger.

I clean the jug with a very mild bleach solution. Did I get contaminated?

Right next to it I have a gallon of Zeigler's apple cider which I got to ferment by using two packets of yeast (it is hard to overcome the potassium sorbate). The Zeigler's cider does not have this smell/taste problem (at least so far). So I'm wondering if there could be something bad in the White Rose Apple Juice? This is the second batch that it has happened to.
 
you can get rid of the sulfur by wipping and splash racking, also you can use a copper pipe to stir it with...good luck
 
I had sulphury apfelwein once, and an old member here, frydogbrews, suggested the copper rod. I used thick copper wire braided into a rod, and by jove it worked like a charm.
 
If it isn't the juice, then how come this never happens to me (eg zero or only maybe one time out of twenty batches) when I used a different juice and now has happened to me twice with the White Rose juice?

Why would the yeast be "stressed"?
 
If I use a copper rod, how much copper ends up in the final product? I know you aren't meant to eat/drink that much copper.
 
the rod doesnt actually transfer copper into the wine, you have to get chemical copper to do that, as long as you use a pipe you are safe.
 
Does it create copper sulfate? I used that stuff once (in blue powder form) for an electroplating science fair project =)

The copper has to go somewhere! I'm guessing it might go to the bottom of the container, and then you lose it in the racking process.
 
yea the copper is removed when you rack it but I would not use it for homebrewing because you need to be able to test the wine to make sure it doesnt have copper in it before drinking it. It is poisonus if you have to too much in your wine. do be safe just use a copper pipe and splash rack
 
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