Crabapple Wine

[Yooper]

Ahhh. Alrighty then.

I will be planting the Ornamentals then. It appears they are best used for preserves or pies.

Perhaps one day I may try a Ornamental Crabapple wine and see if I can make you drink your words.I am thinking a Begian Yeast throwing off tons of Phenolic may pair well with the tart character of the Ornamental Crabapples.

They probably are fine to eat- just very small!

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

So, I went to my girlfriends fathers house and picked about 3lbs of ornamental crabapples. They're very sour and pretty hard. Do you think I could freeze like 3lbs of granny-smith apples and the crab apples to make a wine(using the same additions as you did in the original)?

 

[Yooper]

So, I went to my girlfriends fathers house and picked about 3lbs of ornamental crabapples. They're very sour and pretty hard. Do you think I could freeze like 3lbs of granny-smith apples and the crab apples to make a wine(using the same additions as you did in the original)?

Sure. I did something similar a couple of years ago. Not with ornamental crabapples, but with windfall apples because I just didn't have enough crabapples.

These edible (rather than ornamental) crabapples have great flavor- sort of like a cider apple with some spice- so the flavor will definitely be different. But still good, just more in a regular apple way.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Great =D I'm hoping the potency of the ornamental apples makes up for having to half the recipe(atleast a little)
I've had the bigger ones before, but no longer have access to them =(
Kinda excited tho, my girls dad has a tiny farm. So I got pears and watermelons to use later in the year =D
Thanks Yoop, your advice is always so helpful.

 

[Seeds]

The next day, add sugar to desired sg (usually 1.085- 1.100)

Yooper - Can you tell me what this means exactly and how I would measure it?

Also, can you explain what racking is?

Thanks,
teh noob~

 

[Yooper]

Yooper - Can you tell me what this means exactly and how I would measure it?

Also, can you explain what racking is?

Thanks,
teh noob~

The SG is a measurement, called specific gravity, done with a hydrometer. They are about $7 at the homebrew stores. You really need one, because it's important to have enough alcohol to help preserve the wine, but not so much that you make rocket fuel. It's also how you tell when the wine is finished and not going to blow up a bottle.

Racking is simply the winemakers word for siphoning. I don't know why they don't say "siphoning", but they don't! You need something called a racking cane, and some tubing. They are cheap and plastic, but you really need them for making wine because oxygen/splashing/pouring is the death of wine once fermentation because and even a small amount of splashing, such as in pouring, will ruin the wine completely.

 

[safronsue]

I am about to try this recipe particularly becuase of the freezing method mentioned. can i just check...to avoid the hassle of crushing i am freezing clean unblemished apples chopped up and put in mesh bags and then proceeding where it says cover with water in the primary.

Can i use this method as a kind of generic one with other kinds of fruit too? I have many kinds of apple and pear and plum and no press so thought this would be a way to start.

 

[Yooper]

I am about to try this recipe particularly becuase of the freezing method mentioned. can i just check...to avoid the hassle of crushing i am freezing clean unblemished apples chopped up and put in mesh bags and then proceeding where it says cover with water in the primary.

Can i use this method as a kind of generic one with other kinds of fruit too? I have many kinds of apple and pear and plum and no press so thought this would be a way to start.

Yes. I use the same method for stawberries, cherries, grapes, rhubarb, etc.

 

[Madinaman]

Yooper, I am about to do a 5 gallon batch of your crab apple wine. I see that white table sugar is used, but I was wondering if I could use honey instead. The crab apples came from my parents orchards, and the honey is from bees the orchard next to my parents uses to fertilize their trees. I know the end result would be different, but would it still work?

 

[Madinaman]

And, for making wine, I have found your information and experience invaluable, just giving out some thanks!

 

[dougdecinces]

Yooper, again with the great recipe!

There are three crab apple trees near my work and I have cased them for 26 pounds of crab apples. So, of course, I am going to make up a big batch of wine.

These apples resemble Jonagolds except they are about the size of ping pong balls. They have a good flavor and are tart, but not overbearingly so. I'm sure this will make for some good wine. I'll keep you posted as things go forward.

 

[MeadHorn]

So while I was riding bike on one of the bike paths in town, I came across quite the boon. In this nice secluded wooded section that is only accessable by foot/bike, I found a beautiful crabapple tree with fruit a bit bigger than a golf ball. This sounds like a non-ornamental variety to me!

I think I'll use your recipe Yooper, but I do have a tiny question before I get started. I know your tastes are different than mine, but how much honey did you end up adding to your 1 gallon batch? The idea of using honey to smooth things out is very interesting.

Thanks again for the recipe, and maybe I'll post back after some progress is made with the wine.

 

[Yooper]

So while I was riding bike on one of the bike paths in town, I came across quite the boon. In this nice secluded wooded section that is only accessable by foot/bike, I found a beautiful crabapple tree with fruit a bit bigger than a golf ball. This sounds like a non-ornamental variety to me!

I think I'll use your recipe Yooper, but I do have a tiny question before I get started. I know your tastes are different than mine, but how much honey did you end up adding to your 1 gallon batch? The idea of using honey to smooth things out is very interesting.

Thanks again for the recipe, and maybe I'll post back after some progress is made with the wine.

I added 1/4 cup and it fermented out. It was really nice!

 

[dougdecinces]

Quick question:

I was thinking of setting up the OG at 1.090 and using Nottingham yeast with the hope that it craps out at around 1.005-1.010. Is this doable? I don't forsee a problem, but you can never be too sure.

 

[nukinfuts29]

Looking at our crabapple tree last night I caught notice of the osage orange trees out back. Wonder if they would be good, or could even be used.

 

[OneFeather]

I added 1/4 cup and it fermented out. It was really nice!

Was that 1/4 cup per gallon? Or for the whole batch/



GO PACK!!!!!!

 

[Yooper]

Was that 1/4 cup per gallon? Or for the whole batch/



GO PACK!!!!!!

It was 1/4 at a time, I believe. I added it, let it ferment out, tasted it, added it again, etc, but still had it finish at .996. My notes are pretty hard to read now but that's been my procedure the last few times I've made this wine.

We actually drank a bottle of this tonight with dinner, from crabapples from 2009. It is aging really nicely! By the time it's old enough to really have aged, though, it'll be gone!

 

[kman86]

One gallon recipe

6 pounds crabapples
water
1 campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
wine yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrients
About 3 pounds sugar
honey (if wanted)

Crush apples, but do not cut or crush seeds. Put in large mesh bag and add enough water to cover apples in primary. Add 1 crushed campden tablet. Stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. 12 hours later, add pectic enzyme and stir well. The next day, add sugar to desired sg (usually 1.085- 1.100) in enough water to bring to one gallon in the primary, then add nutrient and wine yeast. Stir daily for 5 days. Keep loosely covered.
On the 6th day, strain and discard apples. Rack into secondary and top up to one gallon with water. Rack about three weeks after fermentation has ceased. At this point, you could mix 1/2 cup of honey with one cup of of wine, and rack the wine into that. Fermentation should start up again, if it doesn't add 1/2 tsp nutrients. This can be done several times, if desired, for a sweeter wine.
(I'm doing one batch with honey, and one without)

Rack every 45 days- 3 months until no more lees drop. Bottle at 6-12 months.

This wine is very good dry- the crabapples give it a kind of spiciness lacking in most apple wines. It could be sweetened just a little for a nice table wine, or sweetened more for a dessert wine.

I have a large crab apple tree in my backyard and am thinking of attempting crabapple wine. I'm fairly new to making wine, I've only made about 3 batches of kit wines, but I really love the juice from my crabapple tree and think it might make a fantastic wine.

I've scourged the internet for recipes, and I think this one by far looks the most promising. If I were to scale this up to a 6 gallon batch, would you recommend multiplying everything by 6 except for the yeast + yeast nutrients? (and perhaps cut down on the sugar a bit, to say 12 pounds?) Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I have a large crab apple tree in my backyard and am thinking of attempting crabapple wine. I'm fairly new to making wine, I've only made about 3 batches of kit wines, but I really love the juice from my crabapple tree and think it might make a fantastic wine.

I've scourged the internet for recipes, and I think this one by far looks the most promising. If I were to scale this up to a 6 gallon batch, would you recommend multiplying everything by 6 except for the yeast + yeast nutrients? (and perhaps cut down on the sugar a bit, to say 12 pounds?) Thanks!

Yes, just multiplying the recipe x6 would work well (except for the yeast). I probably would add just enough sugar to get to 1.085-1.090 so it would depend on how much natural sugar your crabapples have on how much sugar you add.

 

[kman86]

Sounds good, thanks for the quick reply! Can't wait to make it!

 

[zipmont]

Greeting All,

I usually prefer trial and error to get answers, but when working with inherently labor intensive fruit, sometimes the trial and the error are too great and too risky, and it's just better to ask. I am working on a cyser for this fall which will be heavy in crab apples, hopefully at least 50%, depending on yields (as of now it's looking hopeful ...). I have read through several of the threads here regarding working with crab apples, and have found them most helpful. I like the idea of freezing the apples, as opposed to using heat. In fact, I felt a little silly not thinking of it myself, since I already use the freeze method for melomels. Thanks to Yooper for the great ideas. I am also going to try your idea of fermenting the crab fruit in the primary. I figure I can finish the crab cyser separately, and then blend it with the regular cyser. I have noticed the controversy surrounding the idea of fermenting the fruit when working with apples in general. My guess is, crabs are less juicy than regular apples, therefore justifying the different handling. Can anyone corroborate this? Are there other reasons for the different handling?

Second, the crabs in my orchard - Wickson, Whitney, and Virginia Hewes - have good sized fruit, as opposed to the smaller ornamental crabs. All except for one, the Evereste crab. The fruit on the Evereste is one inch at best, probably closer to 3/4 on average. This little bugger is particularly labor intensive. The Evereste fruit has good attributes, however, so I DO want to use it. I am hoping I can get away with NOT chopping this one, but just smashing it up with all the rest, and letting the chips fall where they may. Hopefully, the Evereste will impart some of its goodness with this minimal processing effort. Thoughts?

Last, would still be any benefit to sweating the crab fruit for a few weeks, as with regular apples, prior to chopping and freezing?

Thanks in advance,

zipmont

 

[Yooper]

If the small crabs are tasty, simply using them with the others is fine. The idea is that you don't want to crush the seeds, but you do want to smash up the fruit. Freezing/thawing really helps with this, and so it's not so labor intensive!

I use mostly dolgo crabs and centennial crabs for my wine. Mainly because that's all I have but I do love the flavor. They are considered "eating" crabapples, but they are tart.

I just freeze them whole (removing the stems and washing them) in big food-safe bags. I don't do anything else to them.

 

[zipmont]

Sounds good. I think the freezing aspect probably makes sweating unnecessary, since it has a similar effect of breaking down the fruit and maximizing yield, etc ... I may still press the juice from my wickson crabs, due to their 2+ inch size. They'll make a nice addition to the cider apples, golden and roxbury russets. But for the rest of the crabs, I think your method is the ticket. And I really like the idea of turning 20 pounds of fruit into 5 gallons instead of 1. I can always blend later if it seems like the thing to do. Or not ...

I really need to get some of those dolgo and centennial crabs. I've heard great things about them, and I've also seen them in the local nurseries here in the Pac Northwest, which generally indicates they are compatible with our climate.

 

[carrie_mt]

Yooper - I'm hoping you can help a newbie...

If I've got a bucket with apples/water/sugar up to my desired mark how accurate is my initial sg reading? I'd imagine once the apples are removed on day 5 that I'd have to add quite a bit of water to bring it back up to my desired mark and that this would alter my SG quite a bit. Do you compensate for this somehow or am I missing something?

 

[Yooper]

Yooper - I'm hoping you can help a newbie...

If I've got a bucket with apples/water/sugar up to my desired mark how accurate is my initial sg reading? I'd imagine once the apples are removed on day 5 that I'd have to add quite a bit of water to bring it back up to my desired mark and that this would alter my SG quite a bit. Do you compensate for this somehow or am I missing something?

Yes, the SG reading can be accurate. A good thing to do is to pull the apples out (just lift up the bag) to see the volume. Once the apples smoosh up, you'll get a little more volume than that, but not that much. So bring the water/sugar up to the volume you want, scaling up the recipe. I hope that makes sense!

 

[carrie_mt]

Thanks Yooper! That makes sense! I've got it going now so I'm just in the waiting game...

 

[tokerlund]

One gallon recipe

6 pounds crabapples
water
1 campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
wine yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrients
About 3 pounds sugar
honey (if wanted)

Crush apples, but do not cut or crush seeds. Put in large mesh bag and add enough water to cover apples in primary. Add 1 crushed campden tablet. Stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. 12 hours later, add pectic enzyme and stir well. The next day, add sugar to desired sg (usually 1.085- 1.100) in enough water to bring to one gallon in the primary, then add nutrient and wine yeast. Stir daily for 5 days. Keep loosely covered.
On the 6th day, strain and discard apples. Rack into secondary and top up to one gallon with water. Rack about three weeks after fermentation has ceased. At this point, you could mix 1/2 cup of honey with one cup of of wine, and rack the wine into that. Fermentation should start up again, if it doesn't add 1/2 tsp nutrients. This can be done several times, if desired, for a sweeter wine.
(I'm doing one batch with honey, and one without)

Rack every 45 days- 3 months until no more lees drop. Bottle at 6-12 months.

This wine is very good dry- the crabapples give it a kind of spiciness lacking in most apple wines. It could be sweetened just a little for a nice table wine, or sweetened more for a dessert wine.

Any thoughts on 5 gallons? Just x by 5? How about bruised fruit? I have a 5 gallon bucket full of fruit I saved from the garbage. I want to use it for wine if possible

 

[Yooper]

Any thoughts on 5 gallons? Just x by 5? How about bruised fruit? I have a 5 gallon bucket full of fruit I saved from the garbage. I want to use it for wine if possible

Yep, for 5 gallons just multiply by 5, except for the yeast. One package is enough.

I'd cut out any bruised areas before freezing, but I'd only use good fruit. The rule for winemaking is to not make wine out of anything you wouldn't eat fresh.

 

[Nwa-brewing]

I am going to be getting ccrabapples tomorrow. I am wanting to make 5 gallons. So I know to multiply everything as mentioned my question though is my largest brew bucket is only 7 gallons. Do I make in that container then top off after primary fermentation? I also have two 5 gallon buckets, should I maybe split?

 

[dougdecinces]

I am going to be getting ccrabapples tomorrow. I am wanting to make 5 gallons. So I know to multiply everything as mentioned my question though is my largest brew bucket is only 7 gallons. Do I make in that container then top off after primary fermentation? I also have two 5 gallon buckets, should I maybe split?

I did 5 gallons of this last year. I was able to fit about 25 lbs of apples in a 6 gallon bucket. I fermented just the apples and then topped off with invert sugar and honey. I'll get out my notes when I get home, but I definitely ended up with less than 5 gallons and had had to top off.

This is a very good wine. Crisp, dry and slightly fruity. I wholeheartedly recommend making as much of it as possible.