Man, I love Apfelwein - Page 599

**Hegh** · 01-06-2010, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will319

I just read about 50 pages on this and just craigslisted a few carboys last week. I was thinking how would this turn out for a first time recipe. I havent made wine before either.

4.5 gallons apple juice or cider
1 or 2 Lb dextrose
1 Lb brown sugar
1 packet monichet yeast
1 can apple concentrate

I would boil the juice with the sugars first then put in a ice bath to bring down to pitching temp or naturally cool. Is a ice bath necessary?

I also have a wyeast activator in the fridge for a hefe... I wonder how that would turn out instead?

It will be fermenting in a winter baltimore basement... prob 55-60 degrees

Also do I need to add a campden tablet at all to the juice or cider?

When completed I intend to keg and carbonate at 10 or 12 PSI.

How do you think this will turn out any insight is appreciated.

Why do you want to boil it?

Will319 · 01-06-2010, 01:37 PM

Hegh,

I was thinking to boil it and add a campden tablet to eliminate other bacteria that may be in there and to dissolve the sugars to make a evenly mixed mixture before I pitch.

**shadowmage36** · 01-06-2010, 01:43 PM

Oh. Dear. Gods.

I brought my first batch of this stuff, kegged, to the new year's party I went to last week. A full 5 gallon batch.

There's probably no more than a gallon left in the keg.

HOLY SHEET THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! Ed, my hat's off to you. I can't wait to see what the next two batches taste like once I let them age for awhile. And I need to refill my now-empty carboy. And find something to fill up my new 6.5 gallon carboy from Christmas...Should I dare having...FOUR batches going at once?!?! Or would that just be overkill?

AlTheGud1sRtaken · 01-06-2010, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will319

I just read about 50 pages on this and just craigslisted a few carboys last week. I was thinking how would this turn out for a first time recipe. I havent made wine before either.

4.5 gallons apple juice or cider
1 or 2 Lb dextrose
1 Lb brown sugar
1 packet monichet yeast
1 can apple concentrate

I would boil the juice with the sugars first then put in a ice bath to bring down to pitching temp or naturally cool. Is a ice bath necessary?

I also have a wyeast activator in the fridge for a hefe... I wonder how that would turn out instead?

It will be fermenting in a winter baltimore basement... prob 55-60 degrees

Also do I need to add a campden tablet at all to the juice or cider?

When completed I intend to keg and carbonate at 10 or 12 PSI.

How do you think this will turn out any insight is appreciated.

no need to boil, just be sure everything is clean. make sure that your AJ concentrate has no preservatives. also, i'd recomend doing a batch at the same time with no brown sugar just to compare the results. trust me, you can never have too much of this stuff kicking around, and it has this strange habit of dissapearing on the very same nights that i forget what i did.

one more note- personally i really don't care for this when it's carbed, it's just so much better plain. but that's just me. also i really prefer it made with juice over cider, it's just more crisp and fresh tasting.

CarsonCE · 01-06-2010, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowmage36

...Should I dare having...FOUR batches going at once?!?! Or would that just be overkill?

Afewlwein... Overkill? I don't think there is such a thing. My largest regret right now is that I have a mead I am making for a coworker that is taking up precious Apfelwein space! 1 carboy of Apfelwein just isn't enough in the pipeline.

**Hegh** · 01-06-2010, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will319

Hegh,

I was thinking to boil it and add a campden tablet to eliminate other bacteria that may be in there and to dissolve the sugars to make a evenly mixed mixture before I pitch.

If you are using campden tablets for sanitizing your juice, use 1 per gallon (crushed up). Mix them in well, and wait a couple days. No need to boil (which would destroy much of the flavor and nutrients in the juice).

Honestly, you really don't need to worry about it. Everybody else just sanitizes the fermenting vessel and dumps everything in. Doesn't even matter if the sugar isn't completely dissolved, since it'll dissolve as the yeast move everything around and reduce the sugar concentration in solution.

**khiddy** · 01-06-2010, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khiddy

I am going to leave the apfelwein in the inner patio - temps will be in the mid-40's this week, so while it's not the low 30's, it's certainly lower than in my office/fermentation room.

Or should I leave it in the warmer room - would the warmth (62-68 on any given day) help in clearing with Premier Cuvee yeast? Anyone?

Well, since no one chimed in with experience or ideas on my own question, I'll give y'all the lowdown for future reference: Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast does flocculate at low temperatures (40-50*F), but very, very slowly. I just moved the carboy into my workshop to keg it, and it's finally clear - but it took almost two weeks to drop out of suspension. I don't know for certain if it would've cleared faster at the original room temp (62*F), but the nice thing is that the extended time in the carboy won't hurt the apfelwein, as we all know!

Diesel48 · 01-06-2010, 07:15 PM

Well I just got a brew kit and stumbled upon this thread. Wow this stuff looks really good. I bought a second 5 gallon carboy last night and plan on making this stuff. I found 100% real apple juice not from concentrate and no perservitives at lunch. Would this be good to use or should I use 100% apple juice from concentrate? If you live in the midwest It is the meijer brand apple juice. When you look at the ingredient label all it says is "apple juice"

**Hegh** · 01-07-2010, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel48

Well I just got a brew kit and stumbled upon this thread. Wow this stuff looks really good. I bought a second 5 gallon carboy last night and plan on making this stuff. I found 100% real apple juice not from concentrate and no perservitives at lunch. Would this be good to use or should I use 100% apple juice from concentrate? If you live in the midwest It is the meijer brand apple juice. When you look at the ingredient label all it says is "apple juice"

Not from concentrate is best, although from concentrate certainly turns out well also.

Diesel48 · 01-07-2010, 02:01 AM

Perfect, went to Costco tonight to see if they had the brand listed on the first page. They didn't but they did have kirkland's 100% apple juice. Picked up 5 gallons of it, plan on mixing it all up Saturday. The first page also says to leave in the carboy a long time, like up to 5-6 months. Is it better to do that than let it sit in bottles? Also if I do let it sit that long in the carboy I am assuming I do no have to let it sit to long in bottles then. Is that right?