had a problem.

[boomer453]

my last batch of apfelwein came out great. followed it up with an orchard breezin cherry wine kit and thats where i made a mistake. i made it as a 5 gallon kit instead of 6 (not intentional). i didnt catch it till yesterday when i racked to secondary.
i had added #2 of corn sugar during primary and started at SG 1.085, when i racked to secondary i was at 1.01. Since i only had 5 gallons instead of the 6 the recipe called for i added 3 bottles of apfelwein to eat up some of the airspace in my 6 gallon carboy.

So, how bad did i screw up, it tasted awfully good. hoping the apfelwein takes up a bit of the sweetness.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi boomer, If indeed your starting gravity had been 1.085 then if the starting gravity of your apple wine had been at 1.085 then adding any amount of that wine would not change your potential ABV. and there should be no "issue" topping up with the apple wine - except of course that this will make more complex the flavor of the finished wine in your carboy. If you like the flavor that is all that matters.
Now, if the kit was intended to make a 6 gallon batch but you diluted it to make 5 gallons then your balance of potential ABV to acid levels to final sweetness may be upset. I don't make kits and I have no idea how rich or thin is the wine made from your kit or how much sugar is in the kit. I know , for example that VH fruit juices suggest that you can make 5 gallon versions of wine from their cans or 3 gallons. I prefer the richer flavor... so I dilute their concentrates to make the smaller volume. But VH juices require additional sugar and I add quantities of sugar that result in a starting SG of about 1.090.
Last point: Insofar as your starting SG was a reasonable 1.085, what was the expected gravity of the must if you had diluted it to make 6 gallons? It sounds like your dilution and chapitalization (addition of sugar to the must) will not create any problem. Perhaps quite the opposite: it will give you a greater taste of the fruits in the wine... The sweetness you taste is because the significant amount of residual sugar yet to be fermented (about 4 oz per gallon). Unless you have deliberately stalled or stopped the fermentation I imagine the yeast will continue to do its work in the secondary fermenter...
Bottom line I don't think you have screwed up at all. No evidence. No reason to think you have.

 

[boomer453]

okay-so 2 1/2 weeks after racking to secondary i have something floating on top of the wine. keep in mind this is when the instructions say to bottle. i found a picture online of what i have that is better than what i can take.

can anyone tell me if this is an infection or if i need to degass or rack again-i'm kind of stumped and i leave on monday to go to mexico for a month for work.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

That is a lot of head space, although I can't tell what it is, a more detailed close up pic is necessary, seeing that this isn't a pic of your wine, I won't go on a rant about head space...lol

 

[boomer453]

i'll try to get something up.

 

[boomer453]

here's a photo of what i've got.
Any help would be appreciated-also have significant lees on the bottom of the carboy-1/4-1/2 inch.

 

[boomer453]

without any better idea i racked it onto 6 crushed campden tablets, degassed and installed an airlock-i'll see what it looks like in the morning. I pulled a sample and it was clear and tasted okay-i'll see if i die overnight.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

i'll see if i die overnight

LMAO!
Let us know how it turns out.

 

[boomer453]

well i didn't die, no signs of a renewed fermentation so going to bottle it tonight and give the first bottle to a neighbor it won't bother me not to see again and if he doesn't keel over i'll be drinking cherry/apple wine when i get back from mexico.

took some of the apfelwein with me to michigan over the holidays and the carbed version was a hit-not so much with the still version. best criticism was that it tastes thin and needed body.