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!
Yooper said: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 said: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!
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?
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.
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?
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.
After 1 year of letting my crab apple wine site, I cracked open a bottle, and it was amazing! Fantastic recipe Yooper!
Not sure if OP still follows this thread but figured I'd ask some questions anyways.
I have never made wine before and figured I'd give this a try. I picked 29 lbs of crap apples from a friends and just pulled the stems out, gave them a wash and threw them in the freezer.
I need to track down the other ingredients mentioned but was wondering about the mashing process. Whats the best way to mash it? I figured I would get a cheese bag and line my 5 gallon pail and have a separate tub in which I can individually press down on the apple then dump it in to the meshed pail. Or will the apples after they are frozen be easy enough to just pour in the meshed bucket and smash away?
How many pounds of apples will a 5 gallon pail hold with the required water? Is there a particular type of wine yeast that I should buy?
I've got to get out and check mine (Zumi and American). I have picked a tree of regular early eating apples (Pristine), but my crabs are just starting to redden. I'm just North of Clarkston Mich (transplanted down from Cedarville-Hessel).
Have 2 gallons in secondary for the last week. Small bubbles on top.
It says to rack 3 weeks after fermentation is over.
Just wondering the best way to tell when it is done.
And also how do I mix honey in when I am racking into one gallon jugs.
Thanks Ryan
Thanks you very much for reply. Tomorrow will be two weeks and I have over a half inch of lees on bottom.
So think I will rack.
Have just over 2 gallon in 3 gallon carboy. Lots of space In between the air lock and wine. Read it should be fine for now though hope it didn't hurt wine.
Will be racking into 2 separate carboys.
One with sugar one without.
Thanks for recipe. Can't wait to try it.
Yooper,
Can I ask you a couple of questions about crushing the crabapples? After you freeze them, you said you crush them. Can you clarify:
1) Around what temp are you freezing the apples?
2) After you thaw them, how do you crush them?
3) Do you leave the seeds with the apple mush in a cheesecloth or nylon bag that you then put in your primary? If not, how do you separate them?
Thanks!
1. No idea- in the freezer so they are frozen solid.
2. I smash them with a strainer and a big wooden pestle, after letting them thaw about 75% of the way.
3. I put all of the pulp in the bag.
Would it be ok to put the apples thru a grinder and mash them up with out the cores? I was going to core then freeze then put thru a gringer and make mush. Is this ok? then put into a bag?
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.
Hi, Yooper - it looks like this is another one that I definitely need to try.
My crabapple sources are a little dubious, and I wanted to check with you and get your thoughts on this.
My dad has a couple of trees of "regular" crabapples - the ones you describe in your opening posts. The problem is, they are quite small this year! The largest ones MIGHT be about the size of a quarter. They taste quite tart, but seem good.
My other option is a good supply of the bright, pinkish-red, oval-ish ones that I am pretty sure are ornamental. They are bigger, and taste okay, but I'd like to avoid these if possible, for the reasons stated on your thread.
Another bit of information, for what it's worth, is that we had our first frost last night.
We'll be doing a little traveling this weekend, and if I come across some bigger crabapples anywhere, I'll use those instead - but in the meantime, my question is, do you think the smaller, true crab apples will work alright, or should I just go with the ornamentals and see what I end up with - or maybe something like half-and-half or part crabapples, part Granny Smith?
Many thanks, as always, for your thoughts -
Ron
As attractive as this well-known tree is, its just as valued for its juicy fruit that is sure to attract birds and wildlife as well as friends and neighbors.... The brilliant crimson fruit ripens in August and are about the size of small plums. Sweeter and larger than other crabapples, the fruit is excellent for eating fresh, making pies, butter, jams, jellies, ciders and sauces.
Yopper - thanks for this recipe and the whole thread too over the years lots of great stuff in there. Can I ask whether it would be ok to use EC 1118 champagne yeast in this. I see Andy Hamilton uses it in his crab apple wine recipe and it's what I have to hand without organising an order from the home brew shop. He has raisins in his too not sure if that's something to do with the yeast. That yeast is pretty aggressive I think so I'm hoping it wouldn't dry it out too much or have the abv so high I would have to wait years on it to be ready - or maybe I'm wrong about all that - any thoughts?
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