plum wine clearing -- not

[DougBrown]

I make a lot of plum wine each year and always have problems with it clearing. I've tried every clearing agent ever made (!) and a few bizarre ones too but no luck. I end up waiting for up to a year for gravity to finally do it's thing. A lot of recipes for plum wine include tannin but I've never used it (don't care for the astringency in plum wine). Is this the secret?

 

[Yooper]

I make a lot of plum wine each year and always have problems with it clearing. I've tried every clearing agent ever made (!) and a few bizarre ones too but no luck. I end up waiting for up to a year for gravity to finally do it's thing. A lot of recipes for plum wine include tannin but I've never used it (don't care for the astringency in plum wine). Is this the secret?

no, tannin is more for flavor, providing a 'bite'. It's possible that somehow the pectins were 'set' in the must during processing. I like plum wine, but between the pits and the work of smashing them, I have to really be wanting plum wine to make some!

My batch from last year is taking a long time to clear also, but I didn't use pectic enzyme in this batch and I assume that's why. If it doesn't clear by the time I pick plums this fall, I'll have to add some.

Have you tried KC SuperKleer? That has two ingredients (kielosol and chitosan) and has both positive and negatively charged finings so it tends to clear anything.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Yooper do your plums drop in the fall? All the plums here are long gone. They drop in June in OK. I got a batch of sand plum going as the big purple tame one's froze out this year.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper do your plums drop in the fall? All the plums here are long gone. They drop in June in OK. I got a batch of sand plum going as the big purple tame one's froze out this year.

They aren't even close to ripe. Last year, we had a bumper crop of all fruits so I picked a ton of chokecherries, plums, blackberries, crabapples, apples, blueberries, etc. Good thing I did, because this year the fruit crop is pretty sad.

The plums I picked on 9/22/13. Here are what they look like:



I picked native grapes on the same day- some were ripe, but some weren't.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Wow that is amazing that they are so late up there. Makes me wonder when you pick morels up there. Here it is late March early April.

 

[Yooper]

Wow that is amazing that they are so late up there. Makes me wonder when you pick morels up there. Here it is late March early April.

For morels, it's late May. We still have snow on the ground in March and April, and into May sometimes.

 

[DougBrown]

Yooper:
Yes, I've tried KC SuperKleer. I also tried it with an extra package of kiesesol (somebody recommend that); it helped a bit. My routine now is sparkolloid, wait several months then add KC. Still takes almost a year...

no, tannin is more for flavor, providing a 'bite'. It's possible that somehow the pectins were 'set' in the must during processing. I like plum wine, but between the pits and the work of smashing them, I have to really be wanting plum wine to make some!

My batch from last year is taking a long time to clear also, but I didn't use pectic enzyme in this batch and I assume that's why. If it doesn't clear by the time I pick plums this fall, I'll have to add some.

Have you tried KC SuperKleer? That has two ingredients (kielosol and chitosan) and has both positive and negatively charged finings so it tends to clear anything.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Interesting. My plum wine clears all by itself just fine. I've got a batch going now that is already pretty clear after a few months. I always add pectic enzyme at the beginning of fermentation though. How did you process your fruit? What strain of yeast did you use? Some strains take a long time to drop out. Do you use a water softener? Soft water can cause low flocculation. How much fruit per gallon did you use? More fruit means more pulp. I don't use fining agents, never had a need for them; all my wines drop clear all by themselves.
Regards, GF.

 

[DougBrown]

I freeze my fruit, then thaw it, add 50ppm sufite for two days then pectic enzyme for 1 day, then yeast (EC-1118). I use 30lbs. of fruit for 6 gallons. I don't use a water softener. All my fruit wines clear well except for the plum.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Might just be the amount of fruit you're using. More fruit = more pulp/sediment. I usually use 3-4lbs of plums per gallon & it clears just fine. I don't pay any attention to how long it takes though. Do you contain the fruit in a mesh bag & if so, do you squeeze it when you pull it out? Plums mostly turn to really soft mush & fine particles, takes longer for those small particles to drop out. You might try a racking cane filter like this:
http://morebeer.com/products/racking-cane-filter.html
Other than that, I think your choices are to simply wait, or use a fining agent. I can't say which fining agent will work best for you because I never use them. Not sure if cold crashing will have any effect on suspended pulp, but it might be worth a shot. Hope something in this post helps.
Regards, GF.

 

[DougBrown]

I do use a mesh bag but I don't squeeze it when I pull it out -- just let it drip for a while. I've tried every fining on the market; no luck. Time and gravity is the only choise it seems. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Yooper]

Do you have a cold place to get it in for a while? While very cold would be better, often just a drop of 10 degrees will get a stubborn wine to drop clear. If you could try cold stabilization, that might do it!

 

[jensmith]

My plum clears fine. I do use peptic enzyme to start. My rubarb on the other hand has never cleared on its own. I have tried many different things, none worked. I have to use super klear every time.
Personaly, I think some wines have a mind all their own, and they refuse to follow logic or science!!!


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew

 

[DougBrown]

Do you have a cold place to get it in for a while? While very cold would be better, often just a drop of 10 degrees will get a stubborn wine to drop clear. If you could try cold stabilization, that might do it!

Yes, I do have a cold place -- 34F. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

 

[ratters]

I have had great success with various hazy wines with just an addition of pectic enzyme. You will be surprised how quickly it clears too, and being a plum wine full of pectins this will almost certainly help you.
Next time you rack it, add some and see what happens. It wont alter the taste or ruin your wine so its worth trying.

 

[siletzspey]

Immediately after crushing thawed plums, I add powdered pectic enzyme during primary to increase juice yield, and use a fine mesh bag to lightly squeeze the juice out of the pulp. In 2012 and 2013, with Asian and European plums mixed together, I had good clarity after 2-3 months in the secondary.

This year I'm doing a batch with just Asian plums, then European plums. After 3 months total, I just bottled the Asian plum wine, and it was amazingly clear. I just finished crushing the European plums and adding them to the primary, and I felt there was far more gelatinous goo with the European plums vs. the Asian plums.

It will take 3 more months to tell, but I'm wondering if plum varieties have an influence on plum clearing?

--SiletzSpey

 

[DougBrown]

I have had great success with various hazy wines with just an addition of pectic enzyme. You will be surprised how quickly it clears too, and being a plum wine full of pectins this will almost certainly help you.
Next time you rack it, add some and see what happens. It wont alter the taste or ruin your wine so its worth trying.

I've heard of this before but they always talk about really large quantities of pectic enzyme -- a teaspoon per litre? I've stayed away from it because of this but I'm willing to give it a try with a more reasonable quantity and go from there. Thanks.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I've heard of this before but they always talk about really large quantities of pectic enzyme -- a teaspoon per litre? I've stayed away from it because of this but I'm willing to give it a try with a more reasonable quantity and go from there. Thanks.

The dosage may vary a bit from brand to brand, but the pectic enzyme I use (granular) is used 1/2 teaspoon per US gallon.
Regards, GF.

 

[Edless]

Pectic enzyme has been my best friend for plum wine. (we have a white plum tree with a purple plum branch grafted on it, lol... Ten gallons of white, one of dark each year.)

I have yet to have problems with it clearing; pectic and patience. PP? Hah.

Also the enzyme is inert as fall as I know and doesn't affect flavor; I believe it's safe to add it to batches that aren't clearing, though it will take longer post-ferment.