is it ok to strain the wine through cheeses cloth...

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Here is a question I have recently received:

"I am making my first batch of cranapple coolers the recipe that was sent with my kit. I have another question after fermantion and the clarifing process is completed is it ok to strain the wine through cheeses cloth to get rid of sediment at bottom? Will this effect the alcohol percentage in wine?"

Please feel free to add your own insights to the question.

It will not effect the alcohol percentage.

I have never tried to strain a beverage through anything, so I do not know if cheesecloth will help the sediment. The best thing to do is let the beverage clarify on its own by sitting in a cold place. The colder it is, the thicker the sediment is and the less likely it is to get disturbed by pouring. Traditionally, alcoholic beverages are cleared in this fashion by transferring the liquid to a clean container, leaving as much sediment behind as possible and then repeating the process if necessary. Most homebrewers/winemakers accept a small amount of sediment rather than to invest the effort in making it completely clear, however this is a personal decision based on what you prefer.

[mikemojc]

You can strain the wine through cheese cloth, or filter it , like through a coffee filter if you like. The 'traditional' method for removing larger bits and pieces is to 'rack' the wine by siphoning off the clear stuff from the top and leaving the sediment that collects on the bottom. Chilling the wine helps the sediment drop to the bottom for more effective racking.

Either way, Enjoy!

[WarnerHak]

So the wine yeast is hardier than the bread yeast it sounds like. Yet the finished product of the bread yeast, beer, is hardier than wine. Is that about right?

[VillaTempest]

On the issue of yeast sediment, it depends on the type of yeast you use.

Some yeast attenuate (drop out of suspension) more firmly than others. The primary difference between bread yeast, wine yeast, and beer yeast is their sub genus, i.e. the type of strain. What has been optimised for bread is not really suitable for beer - it'll make alcohol but not tasty alcohol. Similarly, the palate finish, flavours and aromas you might want in beer you just might not want in wine, or hard cider, etc. and vice versa.

Now dealing with sedimentation and clarity issues.

In general, yes! you can filter your wine, mead, cider, beer, alco-pop to remove sedimentation. You can also use fining agents. However, we are talking about fermenting with EZ Caps right? That is fermentation under pressure: the end product is carbonated (fizzy) when fermentation is complete, correct? In which case, it is not advisable to filter your wine.

Here's where the problem lies: With any carbonated drink, as soon as it is exposed to warmer temperatures whether in a glass, a filter, the floor, etc. the carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the liquid is released, this is what makes the drink fizzy. When you create small nucleation sites, either by dropping say a teaspoon of coffee powder into a bottle of coke, or by pouring the liquid through a sieve, the carbon dioxide is released even more rapidly resulting in a liquid and gas fountain of foam.

Now, it IS possible to filter your carbonated beverage, but it has to be done at near zero temperature in an oxygen purged closed system where all the tubing, and the filter housing, and the beverage are all at the same near zero temperature. You would then use carbon dioxide to pump your beverage through the filter and into a receiving vessel. Whilst this is a trivial exercise and there are many homebrew hobbyists that are exploring such methods so the equipment exists and is readily available along with advice on how to do it, It's a bit of overkill for a 1.5-2L batch of EZ Cap fermented beverage.

Thus, if clarity and sediment is REALLY a problem in your beverage, put you bottle into the freezer, with a little ice around the base for 20-30 minutes along with an empty, clean, second bottle and then decant from one bottle to the other. The ice around the base should help to freeze the sediment, whilst the extra coldness should help stop your beverage from foaming when you decant it. Its an old, old homebrewer's trick: pour your finished beer carefully from the uncapped bottle into a jug before serving it to friends, looks classier and minimises the cloudiness of the served beer.

jm2cw.