# With peaches



## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Sorry! This is for a 5 gallon recipie in case that was unclear.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Also, the yeast I PLAN on using is Lalvin ICV D47 yeast. Is this appropriate for peach wine? This is the stuff that came with my meadmaking kit, but if there is a better yeast for this, someone please tell me. 

Another question I had arose after racking my melomel into the carbuoy... it's supposed to be a 5 gallon, but the liquid level is quite a way down from the neck and I'm pretty sure I didn't throw that much away through racking. Where do they measure to for the volume of these things?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

D47 is great for a peach wine. "Better" is pretty subjective, but D-47 is one I like a lot for fruit wines/ meads and traditional meads too. That'll be a medium sweet wine, which is fine if that's what you like, the sweetness will allow it to taste more "peachlike". The more peach (and the less sugar) you use, the more fruit character there'll be in the wine. The acid and tannin I'd leave 'till later and add them if you think it needs it; they're largely for taste and mouthfeel. The finings you may not need with the pectinase as meads and wines will almost invariably fall clear on their own given enough time. Carboys are "full" at around the top of the top band, where the neck is pretty steep still. Too much airspace can allow oxidation over time once degassing is finished. Consider topping it up or racking to a smaller vessel. Have fun!


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Thanks a bundle, Ben! What do you think of corn sugar vs. cane? Too late on the acid and tannin... they're already in! Hope it was ok to put them in with the campdens. If I'm going to top off this carbuoy, what to top it with? If I top it with water, it will dilute my melomel, but I don't have any more of that batch anywhere to use. I also don't have a smaller vessel ( I think it's still too much for a 4 gallon... if they even make those ). Thanks for the good advice, and don't worry, I AM having fun!


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## ScottS (Jul 19, 2004)

IMHO, topping off is overrated. Keep it clean, keep it well sealed, take care when racking, and I've never had a problem leaving headspace.

I think this is an issue where theory and experiment collide. Theory says there's oxygen in there, and oxygen is bad, so I should eliminate the oxygen. Experiment says there just isn't enough oxygen in there to cause a problem, so don't worry about it.

Either way, do what ever you are comfortable with. Many people keep some show mead around to top off, others use sterilized marbles.


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

The beer brewing literature is strict about using corn (dextrose) not cane (sucrose), but wine yeasts are much more forgiving as they enthuiastically employ invertase outside their cell walls. Beer yeasts do not as readily invert the cane sugar; some feel that it then lends a "cidery" taste, but there's a lot of discussion on that. Cane sugar is fine for wine.

Campden won't affect tannin or acid. For topping, if you choose to, I use in order of preference 1) finished mead of similar type 2) more must prepared the same as the original must for the mead, or 3)finished wine that'll be complimentary, I top up very little due to many different-sized vessels. This is usually more with melomels and pyments than trads. 

If you rack carefully, and especially if you use campden at alternate rackings, you'll ameliorate a lot of the oxidation concerns. It does depend on how much headspace there is too. Some vessels I have (that I'm hoping won't undergo MLF  ) I just put a solid stopper in and don't worry about the CO2 headspace that's already there.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Hmmm... I'm not too terribly worried about oxygen since the first two rackings were out of a poly-fermenter spout at the bottom of the thing. I oxygenated it as much as you could imagine, but that was all I had to work with. Hopefully it will still turn out ok.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

If I use campden and alternate rackings, won't that kill any yeast that's left? Or at that point is the yeast already dead?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

At racking the danger is from the wine/mead splashing as it moves, so if you had a hose attached to the spout that went all the way to the bottom of the receiving vessel, you're in great shape. 

Campden is used after the ferment is mostly complete, and wine yeasts are used for wine because they're tolerant to sulfites. It doesn;t usually kill, them, just kinda stuns them.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Unfortunately I didn't have a hose attached (didn't have one) and it WAS splashing... into sanitized gallon water containers. Sooooo, hope I didn't screw that whole batch up. That's a lot of honey to have to throw away.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

Oh, and that's just what the brewshop guy said, that I'd get a "cidery" taste if I used cane sugar instead. He's picky about his meads, and set in his ways. Unfortunately, he's going out of business this month. I loaded up on puree, some carbuoys, and 4 cases of bottles and some other misc. equipment at 15% off. I don't really know much about how fair his prices were, but 11 bucks for a case of 12 bottles isn't bad, is it?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Bottles can be had for free; just buy a case of beer in returnables (not twist-offs) and soak off the labels. Anyway, that cidery flavor won't manifest with wine yeasts.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

How about all that nice oxidation I did when racking out the tap? Is that likely to completely ruin my mead? I believe it is close to bottling. It was at .999 when I racked, but I'm waiting for it to clear. I added finings per brewshop man's instructions.

I've been saving up wine bottles (I'm actually not of age yet, so I can't go buy beer) as my parents used them, so I've got about 15 of them, but I went ahead and bought four cases of twelve because the guy gave me lots of advice and I plan on having three batches going here pretty soon... much faster than we can drink in this family! When you use the "returnables", do you then use corks or bottle caps with mead?

I've also been sanitizing with bleach water (lately... when I started the melomel I just washed with dish soap... didn't know any better). I've been rinsing really really well in water so hot I about couldn't stand it, but I think maybe I'm going to start using a campden solution or the sulfite powder stuff. Any suggestions?

All things considered, my hopes for this melomel having a chance are dwindling. I just did SO MANY things wrong! Anyway, maybe this peach wine will turn out (crossing fingers).


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Nah, shouldn't be ruined, maybe just not really one to lay dwon for a long time. The taste of oxidation is usually cardboardy, musty, stale, or sherrylike. By returnables I meant beer bottles, but wine is more traditional certainly. Bleach is effective and cheap, though hard on your clothes and the environment. Good hot-water rinsing is essential though, as you obviously were told. Sulfite solution works too, tho it smells up the place somewhat. It would lend some protection against oxidation though it won't reverse existing oxidation. Your preference.

BTW, make sure your brewshop guy knows you have parental permission for doing this until that magic birthday comes... in all the states I'm familiar with it's legal if your parents approve and supervise consumption.


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## east_stingray (Feb 8, 2005)

When you use the beer bottles, do you crown cap them or cork them somehow?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Nah, you have to crown cap them. It's a great seal though. If you want to do both, use an American champagne bottle. They accept crowns but you can cork too underneath. Kinda redundant. The crown is by far the better plan: it seals better, you can sanitize it, no "corked" mead/wine, easier to open, holds pressure, cheaper, you can sharpie the contents right on the crown and not deal with label hassle, easier to apply, stores forever without degrading if kept dry. I only cork when it's for company I don't know or for gifts. For my efforts and money, cork sucks  . You have to lay the bottle down to keep it moist, they can contaminate your goods, they can break when pulling, they're a hassle to insert even with a good floor corker (though not as bad as a hand corker), and they're the skin off a poor cork oak tree in Portugal that'll take seven years to grow back so the next guy can flay it off again  

Did I mention that I prefer crown caps?


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