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bjl110 · 07-17-2011, 10:40 AM

I was going to brew some graff soon, but made a "minor" oversight in that I either didn't write extract on the list that I gave to the LHBS or didn't notice I didn't get any. I have everything else, so I still plan in making something. The question now becomes what, if anything should I replace the extract with? I'm thinking: sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, AJ concentrate, or nothing at all. I'm also totally up for other suggestions. I'm brewing five gallons, so how much of X do you think I should use?

I should also say that the reason the recipe initially appealed to me is because it was ready so fast compared to others. I'd like to retain this aspect if at all possible.

Thanks!

RobWalker · 07-17-2011, 10:44 AM

The malt is pretty much what makes it graff. You're basically gonna be making a slightly hoppy cider with a slightly thicker head.

I've just used burnt honey in a few of my ciders and it comes out great, but it's hell to settle.

bjl110 · 07-17-2011, 10:50 AM

I should say that I still have 8oz 120L & 8oz honey malt. I guess I could mash instead of steep and try and extract all of the sugars possible. I could even steal a cup or two of grain from the blonde that I'm brewing. I don't know if that would make a difference.

**Revvy** · 07-17-2011, 12:36 PM

If you take the malt (which provides some body to it) and replace it with a pure fermentable like sugar, then you're not making graf anymore, you're just pretty much making apfelwein.

Calder · 07-17-2011, 04:28 PM

I tried Graff several times, but got fed up with it. I prefer either clean cider or a decent beer. The combination doesn't work for me.

I did a couple of batches of cider using Honey Malt and an ale yeast. I used 8 ozs of honey malt, and 12 ozs of sugar (to get to 1.060 OG), + apple juice for a total of 3 gallons. It fermented dry to 0.997, but the Honey Malt makes it taste quite sweet; certainly a lot sweeter than I'm used to.

The biggest problem I had was trying to keep the temperatures reasonably constant to mash the honey malt. Half a pound of grain and 0.6 quarts of water doesn't keep it's temperature very well. When mashed, I sparged with a similar amount of water, added the sugar, and bought to the boil to try and precipate the break material (no hops), cooled and added to the apple juice.

Give it a try if you like your cider slightly sweet.

bjl110 · 07-17-2011, 06:52 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to go that route, or something quite similar. Maybe I'll try putting the mash in the oven to keep the temp stable-ish as I don't have a tun yet. Did you just use table sugar?