1st Brew day(s)

[stringman]

It a fit of brewing fervor I have started (over the course of a few days) my first 4 "turbo" brews whilst wondering whats best to do with my 2 "sort of ciders"

Brew 1 Simple rose
1l RGJ
1l AJ
850ml Cranberry juice drink
water to 5l

1 tsp of each; tannin, youngs super yeast, yeast nutrient pectolase
700g sugar
OG 1090

its been going since 17/11 and although there isnt a huge amount of bubbling and there is no "scum" on the head
The thing is fizzing away like mad (which is a new one on me)
I guess this is ok.
Approx how long do you think it will take to ferment out?

Brew 2 Dark fruits cider

4l AJ
200ml Blackcurrant cordial ( no preservatives)
200ml Blackberry syrup
water to 5l
Sugar to OG 1045

2.5g champagne yeast
1stp of each ; malic acid, tannin, pectolase and nutrient.
Bubbling away like a good un since21/11

Brew 3 sort of prosecco

1.5l AJ
0.5l RGJ
2L water
700g sugar
1 tsp of each: champagne yeast, nutrient, pectolase, tannin ( was supposed to add 1 tsp of glycerine but i forgot)
SG 1084

Bubbling since 22/11

Brew 4
Raspberry and cranberry TC

3.25L AJ
220ml Lowitz Raspberry syrup
250ml cranberry juice
water to just under 5l
1tsp of each; champagne yeast, nutrient, pectolase, malic acid, and Tannin.
OG 1055
just pitched(23/11) but starting to wake up already.

So a few questions if I may.

TC
The consensus seems to be to let it ferment for 10 days (and if its quicker leave it to rest for 10 days) It the next step to rack off and add finings for a few days before bottling or just go straight to bottling?

Wine
Again after the fermentation has finished should i then rack off and stabilize for a while before bottling? if so how long?

many thanks and wish me luck!

 

[LED_ZEP]

Hope all works out.

In answer to your questions this is what I do:

On average my fruit juice wine always took 12 - 14 days to finish (23l brews). These days I don't even check till at least the 14 day mark and if below 0.998 gravity and no sign of life there done. I rack to a Pressure Barrel, degas then add stabilizer and finnings, they clear in anything from a couple of days to a week and half (Time to bottle).
I do the same for TC's but don't degas or stabilize as I prime for a bit of fizz. They're normally clear and primed in a couple of weeks ready to serve from the PB.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Wine
Again after the fermentation has finished should i then rack off and stabilize for a while before bottling? if so how long?

I rack to another DJ onto a crushed Campden tablet, degas, add stabiliser and stir it in then add finings its usually ready for bottling 48 hours larter.

 

[stringman]

Hope all works out.

In answer to your questions this is what I do:

On average my fruit juice wine always took 12 - 14 days to finish (23l brews). These days I don't even check till at least the 14 day mark and if below 0.998 gravity and no sign of life there done. I rack to a Pressure Barrel, degas then add stabilizer and finnings, they clear in anything from a couple of days to a week and half (Time to bottle).
I do the same for TC's but don't degas or stabilize as I prime for a bit of fizz. They're normally clear and primed in a couple of weeks ready to serve from the PB.

Led_Zep
many thanks for that. That has given me the reassurance I needed. As I am only making 5l TC at a time would you advise racking to a second DJ to do the finings and clearing before bottling?

 

[stringman]

I rack to another DJ onto a crushed Campden tablet, degas, add stabiliser and stir it in then add finings its usually ready for bottling 48 hours larter.

A reply from the legendary Chippy Tea! Many thanks. Until i make a degassing wand can i just shake it like buggary to degas it? Also I presume that i dont degas the prosecco?
Thanks

 

[stringman]

What are the chances of these being drinkable for christmas?
One of the ciders is very acidic ( too much malic acid I think) is this just a time thing for it to mellow or is there a way to neutralize the acid?

Thanks in advance

 

[LED_ZEP]

would you advise racking to a second DJ to do the finings and clearing before bottling

I rack once when the ferment has finished. I will also rack when bottling, it just makes it easier to get it of the sediment in one go then you can concentrate on the bottles when filling.
You can get additives (chalk basically) to reduce acidity.
They should be fine for Christmas but try to keep an odd bottle for a month or two, then you will know for next time if they improve with time.

 

[stringman]

I rack once when the ferment has finished. I will also rack when bottling, it just makes it easier to get it of the sediment in one go then you can concentrate on the bottles when filling.
You can get additives (chalk basically) to reduce acidity.
They should be fine for Christmas but try to keep an odd bottle for a month or two, then you will know for next time if they improve with time.

Sounds like excellent advice. I presume i add the "chalk" before bottling?

 

[LED_ZEP]

Found this:

To reduce acidity, Ideally treat your juice or must prior to fermentation, but precipitated chalk can be used after fermentation if required. Add 1 gram per litre (which will reduce the acidity by 1.5 parts per thousand) and test your apple juice / wine must / beer wort before adding more precipitated chalk until the desired pH acidity is achieved.

CO2 will be released as the precipitated chalk neutralises the acid in the liquid possibly causing the liquid to foam up so be aware of having enough head space in your container. Precipitated chalk can produce a fine sediment - so if adding to a finished wine or cider be sure to leave it to stand for a week which will allow any crystals to fall out of the solution as a sediment to the bottom of the vessel then rack into a clean vessel before bottling.

 

[stringman]

Found this:

To reduce acidity, Ideally treat your juice or must prior to fermentation, but precipitated chalk can be used after fermentation if required. Add 1 gram per litre (which will reduce the acidity by 1.5 parts per thousand) and test your apple juice / wine must / beer wort before adding more precipitated chalk until the desired pH acidity is achieved.

CO2 will be released as the precipitated chalk neutralises the acid in the liquid possibly causing the liquid to foam up so be aware of having enough head space in your container. Precipitated chalk can produce a fine sediment - so if adding to a finished wine or cider be sure to leave it to stand for a week which will allow any crystals to fall out of the solution as a sediment to the bottom of the vessel then rack into a clean vessel before bottling.

Thanks so much for the reply.
As luck would have it I have a bag of calcium carbonate ( limestone flour) which i use to make chalk paint.
I will do test on 100ml with my drug dealer scales lol and take it from there.

I have to say this forum is the friendliest forum I have been on!

Edit
so I did the test. The acidity was way down but, obviously, it had a chalky taste.
As I like a bit of bite I went with 11g of chalk to the 22l, gave it a good old shake and will now put it somewhere cool to let everything drop down. next week i will rack into a PB ready for sparking.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Many thanks. Until i make a degassing wand can i just shake it like buggary to degas it? Also I presume that i dont degas the prosecco?
Thanks

Yes, You will have extra headspace when you rack from first to second which is a good thing, cover the neck of the DJ with the palm of your hand shake for a couple of seconds then release you palm keep doing this for a minute then put the bung in and do the same again a few hours later, some people say shake it several times over a couple of days i just did it the once for a couple of minutes and it seemed to work, a wand makes it a lot easier.