Prickly pear wine help

[PaPaRedBeard]

I recently made a prickly pear wine. I have brewed several times before but this was my first brew to involve fresh fruit. Everything has turned out nicely but my biggest concern is that the consistency of the wine is thick. I noticed the fruit of the prickly pear has a very syrupy nature but I thought it would thin out post fermentation. However despite the great flavor it has the consistency of saliva which is quite off putting. Will this thin out over time or did I miss an important step? I have already bottled the wine. Is there anything I can do after aging if it does not thin out. In case this help I used 20 lbs fresh prickly pear tunas, 2.5 gallons white grape juice, 6 lbs of sugar, and champagne yeast. It has a delightful tart flavor resembling grapefruit, but not too bitter with a slight sweet after taste. Its good just weird texture.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

Glancing through some online prickly pear recipes I don't see any mention of high viscosity.

What recipe did you follow? (Did you add sulfites, pectinase, nutrient, fining agents, etc?) What yeast?

My first thought is that maybe some microbes produced exopolysaccharides. Or maybe it was something from the fruit or something you added.

I wouldn't have bottled it like that. Brett yeast can break down EPS if that's what the problem is.

 

[PaPaRedBeard]

I found that weird as well, I haven't seen any reports of high viscosity. Well put. But I did not use a recipe. I am new at this and just went with what I thought would work. With some research after the math I thought maybe I should have used pectic enzyme, but after further research idk if that would have helped. I added potassium metabisulfite right before bottling. This is my first experience using additives. Ik I was hesitant about bottling but this was my first attempt at bottling and honestly just too excited to hold back. Well that and I didn't find the viscosity issue until after bottling. Thanks for the warm welcome. I plan on many more brews to come. Sad thing is i planned on gifting many of these bottles but not with this kind of problem. You live and you learn.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Pitching some Brett might help.
I would try that instead of dumping it.

EDIT
This article suggests that simply "handling" the wine (you already sulfited) may solve EPS.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/ropiness

The high viscosity from bacteria is called ropiness or ropy wine/beer.

 

[hamiltonkiler]

Pectic enzyme really does a great job of breaking down fruit and sinking it down to the less.
That much grape juice will give it a mouthy feel and taste. Thick. What yeast did you use. If it was a lower temp yeast and you ferminted at 70-76*F. some yeasty thick taste will hang around. Cheers

 

[PaPaRedBeard]

I used a champagne yeast. That's all it advertised and that's all I can remember. I want to say red star. And the temps 70-76 you suggest are spot on. Probably averaged at 75. I appreciate both of your responses. You gave me that much more to research and learn about. Much appreciated.

 

[PaPaRedBeard]

The best I can tell EPS is the culprit.I'm glad you brought this to my attention. It is something I knew nothing about let alone to prepare for. That is precisely why I joined this forum. Thank you and I hope this helps others.

 

[GardnGi]

So is the wine drinkable, I have a 6 gal. carboy, and it has a thick
consistency.

 

[dwhite60]

I thought about doing this once. Found a recipe that recommended boiling the juice for some time before fermenting.

I think some pectic enzyme would be my first course of action. Put it in and give it a week, then check it.

All the Best,
D. White

ETA: This is where I found the boil recommendation.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/prickly.asp

 

[GardnGi]

So my question is, is it drinkable at the consistency that it's at. Is it harmful? I figured cutting it with 7-UP or something.

 

[GardnGi]

I recently made a prickly pear wine. I have brewed several times before but this was my first brew to involve fresh fruit. Everything has turned out nicely but my biggest concern is that the consistency of the wine is thick. I noticed the fruit of the prickly pear has a very syrupy nature but I thought it would thin out post fermentation. However despite the great flavor it has the consistency of saliva which is quite off putting. Will this thin out over time or did I miss an important step? I have already bottled the wine. Is there anything I can do after aging if it does not thin out. In case this help I used 20 lbs fresh prickly pear tunas, 2.5 gallons white grape juice, 6 lbs of sugar, and champagne yeast. It has a delightful tart flavor resembling grapefruit, but not too bitter with a slight sweet after taste. Its good just weird texture.

 

[GardnGi]

So, what did you end up doing with the prickly pear wine? Did you drink it, or dump it?

 

[RPh_Guy]

The viscous texture is not harmful to your health, regardless of whether it's EPS, pectin, or something else.

 

[Sonnyboy1]

I recently made a prickly pear wine. I have brewed several times before but this was my first brew to involve fresh fruit. Everything has turned out nicely but my biggest concern is that the consistency of the wine is thick. I noticed the fruit of the prickly pear has a very syrupy nature but I thought it would thin out post fermentation. However despite the great flavor it has the consistency of saliva which is quite off putting. Will this thin out over time or did I miss an important step? I have already bottled the wine. Is there anything I can do after aging if it does not thin out. In case this help I used 20 lbs fresh prickly pear tunas, 2.5 gallons white grape juice, 6 lbs of sugar, and champagne yeast. It has a delightful tart flavor resembling grapefruit, but not too bitter with a slight sweet after taste. Its good just weird texture.

 

[Sonnyboy1]

I made a peach wine... same thing... thick like syrup???? Too much sugar or pulp?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Does your cat have only one eye?

As I said earlier in this thread, some bacteria can cause a syrupy texture, so excluding other causes, that might be what happened... Especially if it also tastes like popcorn butter or butterscotch.

Welcome to HBT!

 

[Sonnyboy1]

Does you cat have only one eye?

As I said earlier in this thread, some bacteria can cause a syrupy texture, so excluding other causes, that might be what happened... Especially if it also tastes like popcorn butter or butterscotch.

Welcome to HBT!

Yes he is #Sonnyboyoneeyedcat....... he is on Instagram, btw;... so do you think by cooking down small peaches to extract juice caused syrup?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I'm not sure. Heat possibly may cause the pectin to create a gel...
I would never use heat to make wine.