trying a different twist on apple wine

[bniesen]

I have done a few batches of Ed's Apfel wine and want to try something a little different maybe a little sweeter.
I would start with the 5 gallons of apple juice.
32oz of Blessed Cherry cherry juice concentrate
Wyeast 3068
I haven't decided on wether or not to add the 2 lbs. sugar yet and
Do I have to worry about the acidity that the cherry concentrate will add??

 

[staffVAJoe]

Although I am not experienced enough to answer this question I feel bad that this is an un-answered thread so I'll give it a shot (this way the more experienced people will submit reply's if I am wrong and you will get the advice you need.

"sugar is fermentable so this will not effect the sweetness but will add to your abv and fermentation time"

"acidity is not as much of a concern as weather or not it will taste like crap"

"as cheap as it is to make you will never know until you try"

"Rotts of Ruck >>>> Ho>>"

"I would watch my fermentables"

Think that's the advice you needed

peace out

 

[Brandon O]

I have done a few batches of Ed's Apfel wine and want to try something a little different maybe a little sweeter.
I would start with the 5 gallons of apple juice.
32oz of Blessed Cherry cherry juice concentrate
Wyeast 3068
I haven't decided on wether or not to add the 2 lbs. sugar yet and
Do I have to worry about the acidity that the cherry concentrate will add??

Using a beer yeast is the way to go if you want something which will finish sweeter. Now that cherry juice is gonna give you an issue with extreme tart flavor and the 3068 might clash with it.

Here's what I would reccomend. We need to control the tart and sour which will happen from adding the acidic cherry juice. I reccomend steeping .5 lbs of crystal 60L in 2 quarts water at 155 degrees for 30 mins. These crystal grains will offer some balance and some sweetness.

I would also use a clean fermenting ale yeast and not 3068. Wyeast 3068 is a great yeast but if you want the cherry to come through then you want a clean fermenting yeast, 3068 has a very specific taste profile which will be pronounced. It may taste good, it may not....I don't know. But I do know using 3068 will give it a distinct 3068 flavor along with the cherry juice flavor.

If you use a clean fermenting yeast like safale s-04 or safale s-05 or nottingham then the cherry will be the main flavor.

As for the sugar, I wouldn't add it. If you must add sugar then add 1 lb of brown sugar. If you want to retain some sweetness from a sugar source regular dextrose wont do it. dextrose will ferment out completely.

If you really want to up the ABV and leave some residual sweetness and maybe a pinch of Body, use some light DME (Dry Malt Extract). This will add another layer of complexity to your cider while upping the ABV and ensuring some residual sweetness behind.

What you will end up with, is something that is definately not a dry cider and definately not a sweet cider. Brew it, bottle 3 weeks and then try it. The cherry will be there, slightly tart and a hint of sour which readily gives way to a slightly malty finish. It will get better with age, but will be good after 3 weeks in the bottle.

PS. if you really want the cherry flavor to come through you will want to use a gallon of cherry juice. But the 32 oz you listed will still be good.

 

[Pbh187]

I actually made an AW with 32oz of trader joes cherry juice. Nice color at first but in a month it looks just like apple juice. The cherry juice also gave it a hooch like quality. My neighbors would drink it down like water but it tasted like hooch until it was 3 months old. I would say add a ton more cherry juice or skip it. I also used ec-1118 instead of montrachet.

 

[Brandon O]

. I also used ec-1118 instead of montrachet.

This is why it tasted like hooch until 3 months. if you would have used montrachet then it would have been a year.

Use a beer yeast and you will have better results sooner.

 

[SeamusMac]

Wyeast 3068 makes an excellent cider, although make sure you ferment it within the strain's suitable temperature range. I chose to ferment below the recommended minimum (64*F) and I believe the result was a strong peanut butter flavour and aroma that lasted for about 6-7 weeks, although I did get more than the advertised 73-77% attenuation with a FG of 1.004 which is pretty low for a Hefeweizen yeast! I bottled it at 9 weeks and it's fantastic, although much of the yeast-attributed flavours from the first month of fermentation are gone

 

[bniesen]

If I add DME will I have to boil it?? It sounds like I want to go the DME route with the nottingham yeast. I was hoping to use a beer yeast so it would be "drinkable" sooner .

 

[Brandon O]

boil the dme in some water, it will make everything sanitary.

 

[Pbh187]

Use a beer yeast and you will have better results sooner.

I would but I love my DRRRRYYYYYYYYYY wines. FG of .980 is what I am looking for every time I use ale yeast it ends up above 1.00. It still tastes great but not what I am looking for.

Is there an ale yeast that can get me below 1.00 or am I doing something way wrong?

 

[Brandon O]

I would but I love my DRRRRYYYYYYYYYY wines. FG of .980 is what I am looking for every time I use ale yeast it ends up above 1.00. It still tastes great but not what I am looking for.

Is there an ale yeast that can get me below 1.00 or am I doing something way wrong?

.980? wow, never heard of a mead that low.

 

[Pbh187]

.980? wow, never heard of a mead that low.

I forgot sarcasm doesn't transfer as well online

 

[bniesen]

how much DME should I use to substitute the sugar? couple pounds?

 

[Brandon O]

how much DME should I use to substitute the sugar? couple pounds?

1:1 ratio.

1 lb of sugar for 1lb of DME.

 

[Thromgar]

Sorry this was a silly post. So I deleted it.