Man, I love Apfelwein

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For those that have carbed theirs. Did anyone use anything else to prime? Honey or Brown Sugar...Just wondering. I plan on bottling and carbonated. Wondering if something other than dextrose would improve the flavor
 
Started this batch in the first week of Feb, and its still bubbling. It's kept at about 70 degrees and I've been swiling it up good about once a week. Maybe it's the fact that I used real cider to start with. I haven't checked the FG, but if it's at 1.000 and I'm still bubbling, will I risk bottlebombs if I bottle?

Also, anyone thinking what I'm thinking? Caramel Apfelwein? I'll see if I can get my hands on some extract. I know real caramel would cause more fermentation, but what about extract? Or could I just prime with real caramel? If so, how much per gallon?
 
I had two 1 gallon glass jugs that I use for starters and a packet of Montrachet laying around so I just made two 1 gallon test batches, messing with the recipe a bit.

First batch-
1 gallon fresh, organic apple cider from an orchard near my office
9oz. organic strawberry spread that contains whole strawberries, apple concentrate, pectin. Simmered in cider to liquify the spread.
5oz brown sugar(simmered in 2 cups cider to dissolve)
1/2 packet Montrachet wine yeast

This smelled so good that I had to taste some before I pitched the yeast, tasted great too.

Second batch-
3/4 gallon organic pressed apple juice(not from concentrate)
1/4 gallon organic mango juice
10oz brown sugar(simmered in 2 cups juice to dissolve)
1/2 packet Montrachet wine yeast

I wanted to stick to lighter colored fruit juices on this one. I figured if I used blueberry or some other dark juice I'd end up with a brown end result.
 
So, this guy walks into my LHBS, and asks for a pound of dextrose, and a package of Montrachet yeast. I ask if he's making a batch of wine? Yep. Apple wine? Yep. EdWort's apfelwine? Yep! (He's doing a 2.5 gallon batch.)

It seems, this recipe is out of control! Congrats, Ed!

steve
 
skou said:
So, this guy walks into my LHBS, and asks for a pound of dextrose, and a package of Montrachet yeast. I ask if he's making a batch of wine? Yep. Apple wine? Yep. EdWort's apfelwine? Yep! (He's doing a 2.5 gallon batch.)

It seems, this recipe is out of control! Congrats, Ed!

Too Cool! LOL! This has kinda taken on a life of its own, but then again, Apfelwein rocks! :rockin:

Just remember the 3 glass rule! :cross:
 
Got mine done today.
Apfelwine.jpg

Almost had a very strong version, I asked for 2 pounds of corn sugar, got home and thought man that looks like a lot. Ended up being 5 pounds. Got all my ingredients for 18 bucks. Can't beat that.
 
Looking good! That picture with the foam is great. That's the foam from pouring in the apple juice and jugs shaken with dextrose. It goes away by the next day or right away if you swirl the carboy.
 
These are the 2 mini batches I made yesterday. The one on the right is made with fresh cider and strawberries, I woke up this morning and it had some minor blowoff but it settled down by the time I got home from work. My first 5gallon batch is about 3 weeks in, can't wait to try it and make another big batch.

aw2.jpg
 
Wine_guy111 said:
Has anyone tried this with fresh apple cider?

My first batch was with fresh cider. I'd not read this thread at that point.

I heated the 5 gal of cider to 180F and held for 15 minutes to kill any active beasties. 1 # brown sugar added during heating.

Cooled in an ice bath, and pitched with White Labs' English Cider yeast.

Fermented like everyone else, bottled with 3/4cup corn sugar, and 1# lactose.

Wife likes it, I like it, and non-cider drinking friends are now asking for some of my cider. :mug:

My 2nd batch was with simple supermarket juice. It's in bottles (bottled same as above), and hasn't been cracked yet, but it tasted damn good at bottling. I'm going to have to bring a bottle or two up when I get home. :D :drunk:
 
Im guessing that this ferments alot different than a beer. I can see a few bubbles rising to the surface. My air lock has pressure on it but is not bubbling. It is alot more cloudy today. Its been about 30 hours. I think it started at around 22 hours. Funny thing i looked at my ticket from the beer store, they only charged me .97 cents for 5 pounds of corn sugar.
 
Ryanh1801 said:
Im guessing that this ferments alot different than a beer. I can see a few bubbles rising to the surface. My air lock has pressure on it but is not bubbling. It is alot more cloudy today. Its been about 30 hours. I think it started at around 22 hours. Funny thing i looked at my ticket from the beer store, they only charged me .97 cents for 5 pounds of corn sugar.

That's about right on the fermentation. It will take off in a day or so. You scored on the corn sugar. Perhaps it's 97 cents a pound?
 
EdWort said:
That's about right on the fermentation. It will take off in a day or so. You scored on the corn sugar. Perhaps it's 97 cents a pound?

Thats what it shows in their catalog, but for the yeast,sugar,and the BYB mag. with all the recipes it was only 7 bucks. I have enough corn sugar to last me a while.
 
EdWort said:
Sweet! I'd go back and buy 20 more pounds if it was me. :D

I would but, I think my roommate thinks im half crazy already from all the HB stuff i have all over the house.

Also I was reading that this stuff will cause some upset stomachs, and indigestion if you drink alot of it, have you had this problem. Good thing ill have my gallbladder out before its ready to drink.
 
Ryanh1801 said:
I would but, I think my roommate thinks im half crazy already from all the HB stuff i have all over the house.

Also I was reading that this stuff will cause some upset stomachs, and indigestion if you drink alot of it, have you had this problem. Good thing ill have my gallbladder out before its ready to drink.


Well, drink too much apple juice in any form and you'll have an 'upset stomach'. From my experiences with Strongbow, Scrumpy Jack, etc, this is definitely true for cider/apfelwein.
 
giant016 said:
Also, anyone thinking what I'm thinking? Caramel Apfelwein? I'll see if I can get my hands on some extract. I know real caramel would cause more fermentation, but what about extract? Or could I just prime with real caramel? If so, how much per gallon?


If you haven't done this already....1st I'd go with recipe as it is in post #1 - Baseline it before trying anything wacky.

I thought about this too. My first choice would be to try the caramel extract route. If it can be found. If not, I would try Smuckers sugar-free caramel syrup in the primary. You'd need to liquify it in a good bit of boiling water. If you did this I'd substite some of the juice with cans of concentrate so you aren't watering it all down. This would only be for flavor though. I don't know how well it would clear...

You don't want to boil juice to disolve the caramel - you might set the pectin.

At bottling: Use healthy 3/4 cup or weigh out 5oz for priming. Prime just like beer.

:mug:
 
sorry i didnt want to read threw 100+ pages of this post, i read the first page and the last lol, you would bottle this just as you would beer or would you use wine bottles? i think this is going to be next on my list to make :)

:rockin:

when carbonated this is some what similar to strongbow? or no..?
 
Definately Beer bottles unless you want it to be still. You would probably want to degass it before you put in wine bottles. You could also put it champagne bottles, buy the screw on caps & cages. It would look pretty classy this way.

Its similar in the sense its hard apple cider. I think is dry and very crisp with the Montrachet, ABV 8.5%. I'd guess if you used Nottingham Ale it would be more like the English cider style. I haven't done this, but I have an English recipe that calls for; 5gal juice, 2oz of yeast nutrients, and nottinghams. I imagine the ABV ~ 3.5- 4%.

Try both!!! - I think Bird tried both and liked the Monty better. I don't think you can go wrong either way if you use good quality juice. IMHO the more fermentable sugar you have in it, the drier it will be. Less sugar, less dry, less ABV. The higher ABV will let it age very well.

:mug:
 
I snuck a taste and a hydro reading last weekend after almost a month. It's at 1.010 and it tastes great. Still has a ways to go but it's damn good


Dan
 
Gah, too many pages to read through but i am about 2 weeks from bottling my second round of this apple goodness and was wondering if anyone has successfully bottle conditioned/carbed. I think it actually taste better as a kind of champagne and wanted to know how much primer to put in. Thanks guys
 
Klainmeister said:
Gah, too many pages to read through but i am about 2 weeks from bottling my second round of this apple goodness and was wondering if anyone has successfully bottle conditioned/carbed. I think it actually taste better as a kind of champagne and wanted to know how much primer to put in. Thanks guys
The same as you would beer; 3/4 cup


Dan
 
well i made my first batch of apfelwein tonite, and i wasnt paying attention when I was adding the apple juice and ended up adding to much when i realized i forgot the yeast lol so i added the yeast and washed it down with a couple .OZ's of apple juice and its all the way to the top of the neck on the 5 gal better bottle... it should come out ok though :) (im hopping it does!)
:rockin:
 
blefferd said:
well i made my first batch of apfelwein tonite, and i wasnt paying attention when I was adding the apple juice and ended up adding to much when i realized i forgot the yeast lol so i added the yeast and washed it down with a couple .OZ's of apple juice and its all the way to the top of the neck on the 5 gal better bottle... it should come out ok though :) (im hopping it does!)
:rockin:

Did you add it to the running total??
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20383
 
Klainmeister said:
Gah, too many pages to read through but i am about 2 weeks from bottling my second round of this apple goodness and was wondering if anyone has successfully bottle conditioned/carbed. I think it actually taste better as a kind of champagne and wanted to know how much primer to put in. Thanks guys

You know, there wouldn't be so many pages if people didn't keep posting the same questions over and over.

Yes, you can bottle condition it; prime it the same as beer, but some people have noted that carbonation can take a while; be prepared to let it sit for a bit longer than you would expect.
 
I found this thread and I'm a wannabe Apfelwein maker! I am waiting for my 5 gal carboy to free up, week and a half, but I have a couple questions. (I apologize in advance if these have been previously asked!!! But ther were so many posts to read through!)

1. Really can add 100% apple juice straight to the sanitized carboy? No heating of it required?
2. Do you need to add any kind of yeast nutrient?
3. Any suggestions if I wanted to replace some of the apple juice with some fresh crushed apples, kinda tweak it with some of my favorite apples. I am guessing I would have to heat, low simmer, the fresh apples with some water to kinda kill off any of the bugs.

Thanks for putting this brew in my TO DO list!!! Its gonna be awesome!
 
Mulcahey's Brewing said:
I found this thread and I'm a wannabe Apfelwein maker! I am waiting for my 5 gal carboy to free up, week and a half, but I have a couple questions. (I apologize in advance if these have been previously asked!!! But ther were so many posts to read through!)

1. Really can add 100% apple juice straight to the sanitized carboy? No heating of it required?
2. Do you need to add any kind of yeast nutrient?
3. Any suggestions if I wanted to replace some of the apple juice with some fresh crushed apples, kinda tweak it with some of my favorite apples. I am guessing I would have to heat, low simmer, the fresh apples with some water to kinda kill off any of the bugs.

Thanks for putting this brew in my TO DO list!!! Its gonna be awesome!

1. Yes
2. Not required but others report that it cuts down on initial sulpher smell. Impact on overall flavor unknown. Can't hurt.
3. I woudn't risk it. If you want the character of your apples to come through, I suggest that you juice enough apples for an entire batch. Someone in this thread has done that.
 
I'm making this soon and I'm looking forward to it...

The first thing I ever tried to make was 5 gallons of apple wine. It went well until I smelt sulphur and I thought it was ruined.. I pitched all of it...

Now I read it's pretty normal... opps :D
 
This is by far the most rancid smell of fermentation I've come across. Total funkiness going on there.

I find myself sniffing the airlock quite a bit--but not on this stuff! PEWWWW!!!!
 
Yeah mine is starting to smells rancid. Makes me wonder who the first person who made it wanted to drink it after the smell.
 
Montrachet wine yeast can produce some sulphery type aromas for a couple days. I can't comment on other yeasts though.

After 3 batches, it does grow on you, so I hereby declare the 3 batch rule. No judgment on fermentation aroma till after 3 batches. :D
 
Dude said:
This is by far the most rancid smell of fermentation I've come across. Total funkiness going on there.

I find myself sniffing the airlock quite a bit--but not on this stuff! PEWWWW!!!!


Add yeast nutrient. Without it the yeast gets a case of the "Sputterfuchs" That's a technical term. :D

I used 2 oz as recommended in a english cider recipe. I never had a nasty smell.

By the way Lesaffrey the maker or Red Star Montrachet Yeast recomends using yeast nutrients or yeast energizer. Energizer has dead yeast hulls. The latter is slightly better. Both work well in this case.

I've done 2 oz with nutrients and gone with 1/2 tsp/gal on the energizer.

If you use Cote Des Blancs it MUST have one of these two added.
 
OK I'm not sure if this has been answered yet or not..........

I guess im just too lazy to sort through 132 pages of replies.

So heres my question...........

Has anybody primed Apfelwein to make a sparkling cider by using a 750ml bottle fo Apple Schnapps or Apple Pucker?

What were your results?
 
OK - I haven't heard anyone try this yet. The closest thing to this that I've seen is a recipe suggesting to add a liquoir 2ndary to add fruit flavors. It probably a cleaner way than using real fruit. I just did this with strawberry & raspberry and I got quite a bit of pulp in some of the last few bottles.
 
i finally bottled this stuff after about two months of fermentation.

for the record, apfelwein kicked my arse hard yesterday... :tank:
 
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