Apfelwein Still Fermenting

[apfelwein-guy]

Have a question about my apfelwein; it's been 13d since I started it. OG was 1.124 and now it's sitting at 1.020 for the last three days. It is still fermenting, I see bubbles coming up and still getting a bloop from the airlock but really slow now, down to 1 every 14sec.
Just curious if anyone has had a slow ferment on apfelwein before


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[Revvy]

Walk away and ignore your apfelwein for a few months. Go back and re-read the thread, and note the part about how it's ready to bottle when you can read a newspaper through it. And then take a lot of folk's advice and after you bottle it, ignore it for at least another 6 months.

I make my apfelwein with the idea that it's going to be drank a minimum of 1 year down the line. I've been drinking 3 year old that is amazing.

 

[apfelwein-guy]

Whoa! Really! I've read a few posts that say 6-8 mo, some say one month, one said right away.

I take it you bulk aged yours? What about the lees?


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[Pataka]

Not that it's necessarily an obvious comparison, but I've got a batch of Loquat wine in secondary that I started mid December last year, and it's still producing one bubble per 90 seconds. Admittedly, each time I rack it I've been topping it up with Loquat juice, so it's adding more sugar that needs to be fermented. I started thinking maybe I should consider stabilising it so I could bottle it, but have since decided that, if it's still fermenting, it's not finished. It will be finished when it's finished. The recipe I used said to rack it into secondary after one month, then optionally, to bottle it after a month in secondary. I'm coming up on twice that time period.

 

[Flboy]

Not that it's necessarily an obvious comparison, but I've got a batch of Loquat wine in secondary that I started mid December last year, and it's still producing one bubble per 90 seconds. Admittedly, each time I rack it I've been topping it up with Loquat juice, so it's adding more sugar that needs to be fermented. I started thinking maybe I should consider stabilising it so I could bottle it, but have since decided that, if it's still fermenting, it's not finished. It will be finished when it's finished. The recipe I used said to rack it into secondary after one month, then optionally, to bottle it after a month in secondary. I'm coming up on twice that time period.

Loquat wine-- details on how you made it pleease. I have atree bent to the ground with fruit.

 

[apfelwein-guy]

My second batch is still giving action every 40sec or so and getting slower every day. Tested it last wednesday and its sitting at .995 (OG was 1.105) I tasted it and it is nice and strong and plugging the numbers into ABV calculator app for iPhone it says 15.7%. I honestly think it's stronger than that but time will tell.

My third batch was started March 31 (OG 1.126) and its still going strong.

I'm excited to see how it turns out. I hope it tastes like the stuff did in Germany.

Really enjoying making my own wine. It's a science experiment that gives back to the creator.


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[zardozap]

After the first month with my batch, I transferred it to my wine fermenting bucket, (I make wine like once a year if I'm lucky) sealed it up, and stuck it in a box in a dark, cool corner of my basement. It just passed three months since I made it. I'll check it sometime after Labor Day, because by then it will have been a little over 6 months. I'll probably let it go until about November before I bottle it. So yeah, once the fermentation is complete. Seal it up, pack it away, and forget it.

 

[RegarRenill]

You can't judge fermentation by airlock activity as your wine could be done and just degassing naturally. In you case, though, I'd say it's not done yet. Take a hydrometer sample once or twice a week, once you get 3 tests in a row with the same #, it's done.

Edwort has said he leaves it on the lees for 3 months then kegs and ages in the kegs under pressure. Others have left it on the lees for 6+months. Most recommend taking it off the lees by the 3rd month after fermentation has stopped, but allowing it to sit on the yeast for about 2 weeks so that the yeast have a chance to clean up a little. After you rack it off the lees you can bottle it and start drinking, or age it for a few months. Most posters in the Apfelwein thread say it hits it's stride around month 6 or so...