Smelly Apple Wine

Probably best to treat it now, than to wait for it to get worse. See:

I tried a concentrate apple and grape mixture for a friend and found the smell to be quite off-putting. I dumped it because the fermentation did not kick off well and thought it was ruined but another batch that had trouble kicking off at the same time had the same smell but turned out just fine (didn't want to dump 6 gallons but was fine dumping 1).

Perhaps treat as Negodki recommends but I kind of think it will go away since it may be a constituent smell because of apple.

I agree, depending on the smell. I've had apple wine smell "vinegary", but turn out fine. And most ferments with Montrechet yeast will smell a bit "rotten eggy" for a few days. Hard to tell from here. But if he does have an H2S problem, it's best to attack it right away.

My apple wine always smells like that to start with - but the smell disappears over time. I've found aerating it helps, stirring with a glass rod and pouring splashily from one container to another.

How do you stir a 55-gallon barrel with a glass rod? ;)

Very carefully I'm assuming...

A very long one? ( Mine is only 5 gallons, so a bit more feasible :)

Come on now, folks. I've used this aeration method with larger containers. If you siphoning or pumping, don't siphon "quietly," as you usually do, filling the new vessel from the bottom. Instead, siphon or pump and keep the rod or hose at the top of the vessel, and splash the runnings around as much as you can, or by run them down the side of the new container you are racking into. This is a fine way of aerating any quantity, and I have used it effectively to solve this problem.

Regards,

Deadend

Then Negodki expounded with his usual excessive verbosity and acerbic wit: Do I have to display a "laugh" sign when I make a joke? Obviously a glass rod is unsuitable for a larger container --- or even a small container containing crushed apples. Why did I mention it? Because "Pickle" suggested stirring with such an instrument without specifying, or inquiring, as to the size of the must, or whether fermenting juice or on the skins. I found the concept of using a glass rod on a huge barrel of crushed apples amusing --- because I've broken wooden oars stirring such a large must. It never occurred to me that anyone would take the question seriously, especially with a winking "smiley" appended to the sentence.

D'oh!

I must have been thick that day. Oh well.

Deadend