I'll let you know how mine comes out. It's been a week in the fermenter so It should be ready to go soon. It's done fermenting. I'm just waiting for the krausen to settle and I might rack it to a carboy with more chips if it needs it.
Oaked cider sounds awesome to me. The slight maltiness and bitterness of the Saaz should make it go really well with a toasted oak. I can't wait to get this in the keg! With enough carbonation it should taste a little like a fine champagne. I might even add some Hennessy to the keg to give it a little extra flavor.
I used the untoasted oak chips from the homebrew store, I wrapped them in a packet made of tin foil and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 425*F. I used half an ounec but next time will use an ounce. It needs more oak flavor.
Next time I will buy the oak BBQ smoking chips they sell at Walmart and do the same thing as far as toasting them. You get a big bag for about the same price and I'm sure it's the same stuff. The chips at the brew store are a rip off!!!
My graff tastes like a dry apple pie with cinnamin. I think it's from the oak and the 1/2 ounce of Saaz that I used. I boiled with the hops for only about 10 minutes so it has a good Saaz flavor but no bitterness other than what is needed to balance out the apple flavor and malt. This would be interesting to drink warm...maybe around 125-130*F or so. In fact, I might have a glass now!
Ok. i just opened the first bottle tonight. Brandon, well done! This stuff rocks. I just wish the wife was able to try it. well maybe i'll just have to brew more in 9 months. cheers and thanks for sharing.
just popped my first bottle last night - only one week since bottling and I was amazed at the flavor and body. This stuff is good; even with it being so green!
Made a batch based on your recipe back in mid-June and forgot about it until tonight. I used 20 litres of generic apple juice, 2 litres of pure raspberry juice, 1 lb light DME, and a couple of cups of dextrose. Fermented with regular old Cooper's ale yeast.
Found it tonight and bottled it. It is spectacular. I have sampled a bit too much and have another pint on the go now! Wow. Simply wow. I will put on another few batches of this (and hopefully work and vacation won't get in the way of bottling next time).
I didn't take an initial gravity, but it finished at 1.009., so based on what I put in, I'd guess a 7.5%ish or so. Very very tasty. I can't wait until it carbonates a bit.
So last year about this time, I went up to MN from alabama to pick up a couple of old czech 2 stroke bikes from a guy. On the way back my friends and I stopped off in Madison, WI to get a bit of rest at my parents and to stock up on good beer. There is a local brewery, New Glarus, that makes some phenomenal beers.
They have a deal where they brew some random thing that may or may not ever be brewed again, and at the time this beer was an Apple Ale. Being a big cider fan, and a big beer fan, I thought to myself, sounds like a worthwhile experiment... It is six kinds of apples and a brown ale base of wisconsin grown barely. Tastes like a good cider with an subtle undertone of something caramely and slightly choclatey that lingers in the after taste. I have somehow managed to save two bottles until now, but reading this thread on Graff (which is a fabulous name for this substance, BTW) made me grab for one of the last bottles to compare.
I have been wanting to make something like this all year, in fact I have not brewed in almost 9 years and this has got me excited to do it again. I wasn't sure where to begin, how much apples to use, etc. etc. but this recipe of yours Brandon, looks like a great starting point - especially in terms of how much malt to apple ratio, and the amount of hops to use, how long to boil, etc. ONe good thing about doing a brew like this is that I have no need to find a huge pot to do the boil in, since only the malt and hops will be heated.
I got some malt, hops, yeast, etc from the local homebrew supply. I also picked a bunch of pears and have some apples to crush and press into juice. I'll be posting what I made along with some results when I get some.
Thanks again to all who have contributed to the information here that will get me started
So last year about this time, I went up to MN from alabama to pick up a couple of old czech 2 stroke bikes from a guy. On the way back my friends and I stopped off in Madison, WI to get a bit of rest at my parents and to stock up on good beer. There is a local brewery, New Glarus, that makes some phenomenal beers.
They have a deal where they brew some random thing that may or may not ever be brewed again, and at the time this beer was an Apple Ale. Being a big cider fan, and a big beer fan, I thought to myself, sounds like a worthwhile experiment... It is six kinds of apples and a brown ale base of wisconsin grown barely. Tastes like a good cider with an subtle undertone of something caramely and slightly choclatey that lingers in the after taste. I have somehow managed to save two bottles until now, but reading this thread on Graff (which is a fabulous name for this substance, BTW) made me grab for one of the last bottles to compare.
I have been wanting to make something like this all year, in fact I have not brewed in almost 9 years and this has got me excited to do it again. I wasn't sure where to begin, how much apples to use, etc. etc. but this recipe of yours Brandon, looks like a great starting point - especially in terms of how much malt to apple ratio, and the amount of hops to use, how long to boil, etc. ONe good thing about doing a brew like this is that I have no need to find a huge pot to do the boil in, since only the malt and hops will be heated.
I got some malt, hops, yeast, etc from the local homebrew supply. I also picked a bunch of pears and have some apples to crush and press into juice. I'll be posting what I made along with some results when I get some.
Thanks again to all who have contributed to the information here that will get me started
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