OK, made my apfelwein this morning... very glad that you posted this, I wanted to brew this weekend but don't have time (I'm in the office right now), I was able to throw this together in no time...
So, I used:
2.5 gallons natural apple juice; store brand, $1.39 per half gallon, just apple juce concentrate and water (it is pasteruized). This is the stuff we ALWAYS have around the house for the kidling, it's pretty damn good for the price.
1 pound dark brown sugar
1 packet Nottingham dry ale yeast
Where my procedures differed slightly; I was a little worried about potential contamination in the brown sugar, as well as concerned about how easily it would dissolve, so I dissolved it in one half-gallon of the juice, heated to ~172 for twelve minutes. Just double-checking to make sure everything was sanitized.
Since I was in a bit of a hurry, I didn't cool the juice as thoroughly as I usually would have. I took the edge off the heat with a water bath, but relied on the other juice (another two gallons) to neutralize the heat. Had I more room in the fridge, I would have kept the other juices cool, but alas, I ended up pitching with the entire mixture at ~85 degrees. Not worried, not hot enough to kill the yeast, and any "fruity esters" that result? Hell, this is apply wine, not something I'm gonna worry about.
I didn't worry about aerating, the juice splashed plenty on its way into the carboy. I rehydrated the yeast prior to pitching in a little bit of the juice.
Now, one question:
I really want this to be a sparkling wine for Thanksgiving (or Christmas). Is the alcohol content high enough to *kill* the Nottingham yeast, or will they run out of fermentables before that point? In other words, will I be able to prime with a little corn sugar, or will the yeast be dead?
I made mine today as well during my mash rest. The brown sugar dilluted just fine via Ed's shake in 1/2 full bottle method. Never even thought about infection...
Can't answer any of the_bird's question but I got one myself. Is fermenting this anything like beer (foam/krausen)? I got slight airlock activity already but just curious what this'll look like. Fast/furious - slow/unnoticable. Wish beer was this easy to slap together.
Oh - I didn't aerate either. Planned on it but I forgot. I'm a little cloudy today going to a Brew Fest last night in Tucson.
I'm getting bubbles every couple of seconds, nothing too aggressive (at least yet). Had a little bit of foam initially, but not really much now; there are some bubbles on the surface (big bubbles, diameter of a quarter).
I wasn't really WORRIED about infection (I'm not one to spend a lot of time worrying about this kind of stuff), it just felt like SOMETHING needed to be cooking...
I hope this does turn out good, it's SO easy to make (and cheap, less than $10 all-in for 2.5 gallons); I could keep this brewing constantly.
Oh - any worries about leaving this uncovered? It's hop oils that cause beer to be skunked, right, so I don't have to worry about leaving it uncovered?
There's an apple festival in High Rolls, NM, next weekend. We went last year and got some great cider by the gallon (the fresh-pressed stuff, not fermented). This year I want to stock up and ferment a batch. I'm guessing, EdWort, that you serve this stuff non-sparkling. SWMBO likes the commercial ciders like Hornsby's, Scrumpy Jack's, Woodpecker, etc. Do you think your method would taste good with carbonation, or might I have to sweeten a bit with some lactose or other unfermentable?
EDIT:
Quote:
Originally Posted by EdWort
Wait 4 weeks at least then keg, chill, & carbonate.
Nevermind, all the info I needed was right here! The rest of the thread describes the pros/cons of sweetening. Remind me to read more closely next time!
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