Crabapple Wine

[Nwa-brewing]

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.

Ok awesome please let me know!

And excuse my ignorance, invert sugar?

 

[tokerlund]

The carbon apples I have were all fallen fruit. I was about 3 days late to pick them. I cleaned and sorted them but I know many were bruised. I'm not sure about how edible they are due to being crab apples. I plan to follow a jack Keller recipe. How important is Pectic Enzyme and Yeast Nutriment? The store was all out!

 

[Nwa-brewing]

Did you use 15 pounds of sugar / honey?

 

[dougdecinces]

Ok awesome please let me know!

And excuse my ignorance, invert sugar?

Sorry. I didn't see this when I got home. I'm at work again. I'll answer your first question then.

As for the invert sugar, you make syrup with a 2:1 water:sugar and add 1/4 t citric acid per pound of sugar. You let it boil until it gets to be about 235 degrees (15-20 minutes will do the trick). The citric acid breaks the sucrose down into its glucose and fructose monomers which is supposed to be easier for the yeast to break down.

I make all my wines with invert sugar and ale yeast. They finish around 10-12% ABV and most are ready to drink within a few months. I'm impatient.

The good thing about this recipe is you can choose to keep boiling it down and you'll eventually make candi sugar. It's super easy to do and sure as hell beats spending an arm and a leg on it at the LHBS.

I made this wine last September with invert sugar, racked it three times until it was clear, and was drinking it in January. OG was about 1.090 and FG was 1.002.

 

[canucktech]

Thanks for the great recipe Yooper. I've brewed up 2 gallons using apples from my tree, and the samples I've tasted have been great. I racked the wine a week ago from a carboy to two 1 gallon jugs. I did add honey to one of the jugs just to see how it would taste. But since I've split the batch and added the honey, it seems as though fermentation has ceased, even on the jug with the added honey. I did add 1/2tsp of nutrients a few days ago, but haven't seen any activity yet. The jug with the added honey has developed what looks like lees drop, but its more white/opaque in color and isn't exactly settling on the bottom. I'm wondering if the honey did not dissolve all the way into the wine when I mixed it after racking. Should I take it out of the jug and mix it more, with a wine whip maybe?

 

[edwardsce]

I recently bought a new house with a crabapple tree in the front yard. It was full of fruit so I decided to attempt my first batch of wine. I mixed the ingredients in this recipe and tested the SG before adding the yeast+nutrients. The SG read 1.16 at 70 degrees (!?). Unfortunately, I later found out that this SG may be far too high for proper fermenting. There is steady fizzing and many more bubbles when I stir, but otherwise not a lot of activity. Does anyone have any advice for a first time winemaker (give up now , how to adjust/modify, don't worry about it, etc.)? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the great recipe Yooper. I've brewed up 2 gallons using apples from my tree, and the samples I've tasted have been great. I racked the wine a week ago from a carboy to two 1 gallon jugs. I did add honey to one of the jugs just to see how it would taste. But since I've split the batch and added the honey, it seems as though fermentation has ceased, even on the jug with the added honey. I did add 1/2tsp of nutrients a few days ago, but haven't seen any activity yet. The jug with the added honey has developed what looks like lees drop, but its more white/opaque in color and isn't exactly settling on the bottom. I'm wondering if the honey did not dissolve all the way into the wine when I mixed it after racking. Should I take it out of the jug and mix it more, with a wine whip maybe?

No, the yeast can find the honey. Don't aerate it!

 

[Yooper]

I recently bought a new house with a crabapple tree in the front yard. It was full of fruit so I decided to attempt my first batch of wine. I mixed the ingredients in this recipe and tested the SG before adding the yeast+nutrients. The SG read 1.16 at 70 degrees (!?). Unfortunately, I later found out that this SG may be far too high for proper fermenting. There is steady fizzing and many more bubbles when I stir, but otherwise not a lot of activity. Does anyone have any advice for a first time winemaker (give up now , how to adjust/modify, don't worry about it, etc.)? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

1.160? Or 1.116? My hydrometer doesn't go up to 1.16, and I don't know if ANY do, so I'm guessing it's 1.116. Which is fine.

 

[tokerlund]

OK, I did 5 gallons with fallen ornamental fruit. Then racked it over and without the fruit it went down to 3 gallons. It is in secondary and has cleared perfectly. It has only been about a month so far and I am willing to let it age. But, when I racked it over, I had a taste. It was very sour. Not quite as sour as my SeekterPee, but probably a bit too much for the masses. The folks we plan to share it with are dry wine drinkers. How might I go about tempering enough of the bitter/sour taste to make it more drinkable. Right now, I could have a glass, but that is it.

Challenge Factor: I am not smart (calculations), I am lazy, and my whole goal was to make a very cheap wine using fruit that was just going to go to the landfill. I would just like a ball park suggestion. I have Calcium Carbonate and I know back sweetening it will also do some good (but like I said we like it dry).

What can I add to temper and what is a ballpark of measurements?

Thanks for you patients to all of the hard core wine people out there. I know I am probably making you brain hurt. I am not an optimalist. I am more of a Heart than a Diamond or a Spade!

 

[canucktech]

No, the yeast can find the honey. Don't aerate it!

I've run into another speed bump with the apple wine. I initially split a 2 gallon batch into two 1 gallon jugs, and added honey to one. I did leave my the sweetened apple wine alone like you said, and it is now happily fermenting again. It has also cleared up really well, like glass. However my jug of unsweetened apple wine has stopped fermenting and is still quite cloudy. What can I do to help it along and get it to clear as well as the other jug that I added honey to? There is not a large amount of lees drop in the bottom of the jug if that means anything nor has the airlock been active in weeks(its a 3 piece and it hasn't risen up that I've notice).

 

[Yooper]

I've run into another speed bump with the apple wine. I initially split a 2 gallon batch into two 1 gallon jugs, and added honey to one. I did leave my the sweetened apple wine alone like you said, and it is now happily fermenting again. It has also cleared up really well, like glass. However my jug of unsweetened apple wine has stopped fermenting and is still quite cloudy. What can I do to help it along and get it to clear as well as the other jug that I added honey to? There is not a large amount of lees drop in the bottom of the jug if that means anything nor has the airlock been active in weeks(its a 3 piece and it hasn't risen up that I've notice).

Is it done fermenting, and at FG? If it is, you can put it someplace cool and it should drop clear.

 

[Nwa-brewing]

Mines clear but still bubbling! :-/

 

[zipmont]

My crabapple cysers this year dropped brilliantly clear even at 70 degrees. And they did so relatively quickly, within a week or two of finishing fermenting.

However, back sweetening with honey tends to cloud things up again, for me anyway. I have been back sweetening with raw blackberry blossom honey that reasonably clear, but not nearly as clear as the cyser, so it clouds things up noticeably.

You can use the ambient temperature of the garage to chill the freshly racked, back sweetened cyser. If that doesn't work, or if it seems too slow, you're in a perfect position, having chilled it, to throw some bentonite at it, which often produces results overnight.

Best of luck.

 

[Nwa-brewing]

I had back sweetened mine with honey, let it ferment out, then sweetened a little more once again with honey though it's been about 3 weeks it's clear some leas is still dropping and i wracked it again, and it's still fermenting... Is that normal or will i end up with rocket fuel?? Just used monchatrachet yeast

 

[Yooper]

I had back sweetened mine with honey, let it ferment out, then sweetened a little more once again with honey though it's been about 3 weeks it's clear some leas is still dropping and i wracked it again, and it's still fermenting... Is that normal or will i end up with rocket fuel?? Just used monchatrachet yeast

It probably isn't really fermenting, or at least not much. What is the current SG?

 

[Nwa-brewing]

i will have to check that when i get home, if it's not really a true fermentation could that be off gassing?

 

[Yooper]

i will have to check that when i get home, if it's not really a true fermentation could that be off gassing?

Yes, especially if you've had a change in the weather lately.

 

[Nwa-brewing]

Yes, especially if you've had a change in the weather lately.

That we have had! Never would have thought of changes in the air pressure affecting that.

 

[Nwa-brewing]

Just checked the SG 1.004, it's the second time i back sweetened without sorbate or anything hoping the alcohol content would stop the fermentation. It's clear but still dropping some leas.... That aside i may have sampled some.... Amazing

 

[dougdecinces]

FYI, I tried this mulled for the first time and it was amazing. I brought to my homebrewers club meeting to rave reviews. It's the perfect tonic for these cold winter days.

I took 1 quart of the wine and added 1/4 c brown sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 t of nutmeg, a thin slice of ginger, and a couple cloves and allspice berries. I let it heat to a boil and then transferred it to a crock pot for serving to make sure it stayed hot. Delicious!

 

[Yooper]

I picked 62 pounds of crabapples yesterday, but I easily have another hundred or more to pick yet so I put them in the freezer. Getting excited about making this wine soon!

 

[Canadabrew]

I picked 62 pounds of crabapples yesterday, but I easily have another hundred or more to pick yet so I put them in the freezer. Getting excited about making this wine soon!

I was walking around my property today and found a HUGE crab apple tree. 2 questions - how do you know when to pick them & when you freeze them do you do anything special or just wash them and throw them in a bag?
Thanks

 

[Yooper]

I was walking around my property today and found a HUGE crab apple tree. 2 questions - how do you know when to pick them & when you freeze them do you do anything special or just wash them and throw them in a bag?
Thanks

I pick them when ripe, and you can sort of tell because they will start to fall to the ground. They also taste really great, and ripe. If they are rock hard, and not tasting very good, they probably aren't ripe.

I just wash them and throw them in a plastic bag. We have 83 pounds in the freezer, currently!

 

[Canadabrew]

I pick them when ripe, and you can sort of tell because they will start to fall to the ground. They also taste really great, and ripe. If they are rock hard, and not tasting very good, they probably aren't ripe.

I just wash them and throw them in a plastic bag. We have 83 pounds in the freezer, currently!

I just went round there again and took a look and they are beginning to fall down and feel ripe. They taste very bitter! But I think if I don't get them soon they'll be take by the birds or will fall off. I'm north of Toronto so similar part of the world to you I think. Does it have to be an airtight ziplock or just thow em in a grocery bag and tie it shut?

 

[Canadabrew]

One more question in your process you talk about putting them in a mesh bag. I assume this is so after the primary you can just lift them out?
Is that correct?

Also does your recipe scale up? So if I want to do 3 gallons X everything by 3?
Thanks!
Excited to try this. Never made a wine before.

 

[hopper]

Just a quick question I've had my apple wine in a carbon for about six months now and am ready to bottle. Can it go straight to the bottles or should I give it some meta bisulphate to inhibate any remaining yeast?

 

[Yooper]

Just a quick question I've had my apple wine in a carbon for about six months now and am ready to bottle. Can it go straight to the bottles or should I give it some meta bisulphate to inhibate any remaining yeast?

Sulfite won't inhibit yeast- it works as an antioxidant and preservative. I'd add it, in the amount of 1/4 teaspoon per 6 gallons, or 1 campden tablet (crushed and dissolved) per gallon of wine.

 

[Yooper]

One more question in your process you talk about putting them in a mesh bag. I assume this is so after the primary you can just lift them out?
Is that correct?

Also does your recipe scale up? So if I want to do 3 gallons X everything by 3?
Thanks!
Excited to try this. Never made a wine before.

Yes, and yes!

I lift out the bag, and squeeze the juice out with sanitized hands and discard the pulp.

As far as scaling up, it scales perfectly.

 

[Yooper]

I just went round there again and took a look and they are beginning to fall down and feel ripe. They taste very bitter! But I think if I don't get them soon they'll be take by the birds or will fall off. I'm north of Toronto so similar part of the world to you I think. Does it have to be an airtight ziplock or just thow em in a grocery bag and tie it shut?

If they are bitter, they won't make good wine. Good crabapples (not the ornamental wines) taste like great apples. They have a tart and spicy flavor, like an apple with some zing.

 

[Unferth]

I was just given 5 lbs of crabapples, would it be worth doing a gallon with them? It would be pretty hard to get any more.

I guess I could do a low abv cider if not.