Man, I love Apfelwein

CornyKegs 728
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Any ideas how to add a sour kick to this stuff? I was thinking lemon juice, but I figured it would either kill the yeast with it's acidity or just ferment out leaving no taste. If I did sour it up I'd want to carb it naturally, and therefore would need the yeast to be alive.
 
This thread is nuts. I think it took me two hours to read it. But it was like a light bulb went off in my head. A buddy brought a can of perry over for me to try the other day. I thought it was OK tasting, but too sweet. It made me think I would really like a dry cider. Now, I found this thread and I have this carboy just sitting there.

So, I think I will try a cider, but I think I want something lighter and fizzier than the Apfelwein, so I probably won't add as much extra fermentables and perhaps stick with cane sugar. If I use EC-1118, I know it will end up super dry, as EC-1118 loves to use up all the sugars and get down around .99x. I can bottle carbonate with cane sugar and the EC-1118 should create tiny bubbles too.

I'd like to know what brewman or rod's final gravity reading was/is using this yeast. I have a feeling I might not want to add any sugar at all.

Noone here has mentioned any bottle shock phenomenon with ciders. Does that happen? I guess if I am carbonating, I will be forced to leave it alone for long enough anyway, although that didn't stop me from testing some beers before their time.
 
OK I totally cheated. I cleared it fast, real fast! after 8 days in the carboy its clear with the use of isinglass. Its tasting awesome. The reason I did this is that I want to bottle carb it for a big SuperBowl Party Im going to. I will leave it another 5 days and then rack it and bottle 1 case of 12oz bottles carbed with corn sugar. Im thinking doing it early I should get good carbonation. I will place them in a cooler while they carbonate incase I get too good of carbonation and blow them up. The rest I will just bottle as is in 1 gal jugs and refridgerate it. Then I will start a new batch immediatley and let it go the actual amount of time without touching it.
 
I have my first batch of this stuff going and it is crazy. The first day it started fermenting a little. Then a few hours later it just stopped. The next day it was going crazy. The day after it stopped. I am on week 2 of the fermentation and the little bugger is still going. I am pretty stoked about this stuff. I cannot wait to get it on tap:ban:
 
I was thinking about issues people have had about getting good carbination from priming with sugar as is SOP with beer.

Ed suggests to wait until the beer clears before kegging. This is good if you are going draft, however, not so good if you want to natural carb. I read that this yeast leaves a dense bed on the bottom of the carboy (using Montrachet). So it must clear quite well.

The way I see it, there are two ways to go to get good carbonation naturally.

1) Check the FG and bottle at less than or equal to 1.000. Even if its not clear. This way there is enough yeast in suspension left to do the job. Since it leaves a dense yeast bed. Pouring out should not be an issue at consumption.

2) Wait until it clears and reaches the FG. Then prep a montrachet starter and priming solution. When the slurry is room temp pitch it and the priming solution into the bottling bucket then rack to the bucket and bottle.

I'm still on the fence with regard to the 3/4 cup vs 1 cup amount for priming. Either way I don't think there is much risk. It should be good to very efforvescent.

I checked John Palmers site about how to do this with lagers. Apparently its fairly common on clear beers to have to repitch. This is the same method. See the link below!!

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-7.html

FYI - I'm at 11 days and the "S" air lock is not bubbling, it a steady stream of CO2!! Its been like this for 7 days too. Mind you my temp is 55-57'F

:mug:
 
My first batch has been fermenting for just over two weeks. Airlock activity is down to a bubble about every 1.5 minutes now. Today I decided to take a gravity reading and a little taste. OG was 1.062. It is down to 1.002 now and is really starting to clear.

I have to tell you that I was totally surprised by the flavor! It tastes like champaign! My wife could not believe how good it was, and this is at two weeks! I know that it will probably dry out a little bit more, but daaamn it's good! What surprised me the most was the lack of any alcohol "burn". I can see now how one could get totally stupid on this stuff if one was not careful.

Thank you Ed, and my wife thanks you as well!

John
 
I'm finally drinking mine! It was in the primary about 40 days, now straight to keg! This is exactly perfect in my book.
Recipe was:

SafAle s-04
3 gal apple juice (pasteurized - no asorbic acid)
1 gal water
1 lb brown sugar
2 lb dextrose

(4 gal recipe)


Went from 1.069 to .998 which is impressive for a $1.12 dry yeast. That's 9.3ABV. I've had 2 glasses and am now listening to Snoop Dog. Life is good.
Thanks, Ed!
 
Orpheus said:
Again I searched for this with no success. There's no need to boil up the dextrose before dumping it in?
Click to expand...

Nope. I buy it in one pound bags at Morebeer.com. It makes it easy to pour in the half full jug of Apple Juice.

I've never had a problem in not boiling. Dextrose dissolves very easily.
 
EdWort said:
Nope. I buy it in one pound bags at Morebeer.com. It makes it easy to pour in the half full jug of Apple Juice.

I've never had a problem in not boiling. Dextrose dissolves very easily.
Click to expand...

Thanks man!

I have my 5 gallons of juice, my Montrachet yeast came today, I have 2 pounds of dextrose, and I've been soaking my gear in Starsan for a couple hours now. I'm off to make some Apfelwein!:mug:
 
And here's a pic taken 1/19/07. You can see the carboy on the right is starting to clear and the other two are cranking right along.

15GallonsApfelwein4days.jpg
 
Orpheus said:
Man that stuff is quick to make. I made up a batch, cleaned up, drank a few homebrews, and programmed my television all in this time.:ban:
Click to expand...
yeah baby! That's what I've been talking about! Then again, that's why I have 3 carboys sitting on the brew bench. If I had more room, I would have a couple more.:cross:
 
Is this like beer and have to keep it protected from the light? This is the first thing that I am going to put directly in my carboy. I have never seen an active fermentation, and just wanted to know if I should keep it covered with a towel to protect it from the light.
 
Drunk Monkey said:
Is this like beer and have to keep it protected from the light? This is the first thing that I am going to put directly in my carboy. I have never seen an active fermentation, and just wanted to know if I should keep it covered with a towel to protect it from the light.
Click to expand...

Nope. No hops in it.
 
EdWort said:
Nope. No hops in it.
Click to expand...


I think hoppy cider would be gross. My caramel apple is 50% hopped wheat extract and cider and its aweful. The tastes really clash. Think of an apple schnopps and a beer chaser.... however after swallowing it a second time.

Made it for SWMBO. Bad decision!!!! I'm thinking this will be a homer.
 
Schlenkerla said:
I think hoppy cider would be gross. My caramel apple is 50% hopped wheat extract and cider and its aweful. The tastes really clash. Think of an apple schnopps and a beer chaser.... however after swallowing it a second time. Made it for SWMBO. Bad decision!!!! I'm thinking this will be a homer.
Click to expand...

Man, after that stuff, Apfelwein is surely going to be a panty remover. Just ask Biermann!:ban:
 
OK. Now I'm in.
I was walking down the isle at Safeway and saw apple juice on sale. I'm thinking I've got 3 empty fermenters so next thing I know there is 5 gallons of must in my fermenter that will be Apfelwein soon!

Only things I did different was to use regular granulated sugar and I pitched 2 packages of Montrachet.
I'm thinking about stabilizing, clarification and back sweetening when it is done fermenting.
 
how did the cane sugar dissolve? Did it take long? A pound of corn sugar dissolves in about 10 shake in a half gallon of apple juice. 1 packed of yeast always worked for me.
 
EdWort said:
how did the cane sugar dissolve? Did it take long? A pound of corn sugar dissolves in about 10 shake in a half gallon of apple juice. 1 packed of yeast always worked for me.
Click to expand...
I actually had 10 half gallon jugs. I drained about 3 of them half way and split the sugar between them. I shook them up good for about 20 seconds and the sugar was dissolved. I checked in the carboy after all 5 gallons was added and it looked like it all dissolved. I shook the carboy quite a bit as well to oxygenate the must and to be sure the sugars were mixed.
I used 2 packs of yeast because they are cheep.
 
I made this earlier tonight... couldnt pass it up since there's so many posts on this thread... hopefully it'll be good... also gave me a chance to use all the old priming sugar bags I had sitting around, since I keg... my LHBS didnt have that exact yeast, so I had to go with a different type.. similar yeast, just different brand, I think...

Jester
 
My batch is on day 14 and its still blowing out CO2 full blast!!!!

I use a "S" Style Air lock. It doesn't have bubbles passing thru like normal. The 2nd half of the lock is completely suspended by back pressure. Bubbles are only coming out at the very top.

Its like a steady stream of CO2. Normal is having an air bubble push through the small part of the lock at the bottom where you can count bubbles per minute. At the bottom its like a constant bubble is there.

Its awesome to watch... Call me crazy, SWMBO hasn't caugh me sniffing the air lock yet. :cross:
 
Schlenkerla said:
My batch is on day 14 and its still blowing out CO2 full blast!!!!

I use a "S" Style Air lock. It doesn't have bubbles passing thru like normal. The 2nd half of the lock is completely suspended by back pressure. Bubbles are only coming out at the very top.

Its like a steady stream of CO2. Normal is having an air bubble push through the small part of the lock at the bottom where you can count bubbles per minute. At the bottom its like a constant bubble is there.

Its awesome to watch... Call me crazy, SWMBO hasn't caugh me sniffing the air lock yet. :cross:
Click to expand...

I pitched my yeast in mine Friday night and it's just getting going good now. It's neat to see after being so used to beer fermentations. There's not much going on in the carboy itself, but there's definitely gas bubbles rising up and blowing out.
 
Orpheus said:
I pitched my yeast in mine Friday night and it's just getting going good now. It's neat to see after being so used to beer fermentations. There's not much going on in the carboy itself, but there's definitely gas bubbles rising up and blowing out.
Click to expand...
Same here. Lot's of CO2 but no foam on the surface at all. Air lock smells like apple so far.
 
After a week and a half of bottle conditioning, I can say this...

Flavor-wise, the brown sugar is preferable to the honey. The brown sugar has a bit more sweetness that stands out, whereas in the honey-carbed version the honey flavors intermix with the apple flavors and it just comes out, well, a little bit weird, sort of two-dimensional. FWIW, I used wildflower honey... I think it was 1/3 of a cup to 2 gals of apfelwein. And 1/4 cup of brownsugar to 2 gals of apfelwein (and left 1 gallon uncarbed).

The guy above who wanted caramel apple? He would've been much happier using some brown sugar (or maybe molasses?) in place of corn sugar.

As for the quality of carbonation, it's too early to compare the two. But comparing carbed to uncarbed, I must say I prefer the carbonation. I think the carbonation gives it a little bit more airiness which is what most people expect in a drink like this. It's less heavy.. and therefore, should be more quaffable on a hot summer day. I think what I'm saying is that the carbonation contributes to a lighter mouthfeel.

I think I will try an ale-yeast next time. Though I must confess I like the dry-ness as a quality of the drink, I'm wondering if a little more residual sweetness could result in more recognizably-apple flavors.

Per brewman!'s suggestion, I also picked up some yeast nutrient for next time. I want to see whether, as he suggests, that will help keep the sulfur stench at bay. And, who knows? It might even speed up fermentation a bit. :)
 
Toot said:
I think I will try an ale-yeast next time. Though I must confess I like the dry-ness as a quality of the drink, I'm wondering if a little more residual sweetness could result in more recognizably-apple flavors.
Click to expand...
If I back sweeten this I'm going to use apple juice. Not a ton of it just enough to take the dryness off and to add apple flavor.
 
RichBrewer said:
If I back sweeten this I'm going to use apple juice. Not a ton of it just enough to take the dryness off and to add apple flavor.
Click to expand...

Do you think you'll need to backsweeten it? I think it would be really good dry, like a wine.

Post a picture after it clears, ok?

Lorena
 
Yooper Brewmistress said:
Do you think you'll need to backsweeten it? I think it would be really good dry, like a wine.

Post a picture after it clears, ok?

Lorena
Click to expand...
I'm going to wait and try a sample after it finishes. I might keep it dry if I like it. At 8 point something percent it might not be too dry anyway.

LOL ;)
 
After fermenting out the first batch, I went for a second... :D

Poured the new juice right onto the old yeast cake (WLP 775 English Cider Yeast) and propped it up on the dining room table while I brewed my new stout.

In less than an hour it was bubbling. Overnight, a hurricane has formed in the bottle, the likes of which haven't been seen since Katrina. Yeast clumps swirling, jumping up & down, and air blasting out of the airlock like a politician on election night. :ban:

Now... if I was the type to use some sort of herbal products, this would give a hell of a visual... It's still pretty darn entertaining! The wife has even spent 5 minutes or so watching it swirl. :mug:

The first batch went into bottles for carbonation, with some lactose to sweeten it up. This batch will go unsweetened.
 
Great idea! Was the activity enough to warrant a blow off tube? With the ease of making this stuff, doing what you've done would make brewing up a second batch even easier. I use a 5 gallon carboy filled all but a couple inches to the top, so would I be in trouble?

butler1850 said:
After fermenting out the first batch, I went for a second... :D

Poured the new juice right onto the old yeast cake (WLP 775 English Cider Yeast) and propped it up on the dining room table while I brewed my new stout.

In less than an hour it was bubbling. Overnight, a hurricane has formed in the bottle, the likes of which haven't been seen since Katrina. Yeast clumps swirling, jumping up & down, and air blasting out of the airlock like a politician on election night. :ban:

Now... if I was the type to use some sort of herbal products, this would give a hell of a visual... It's still pretty darn entertaining! The wife has even spent 5 minutes or so watching it swirl. :mug:

The first batch went into bottles for carbonation, with some lactose to sweeten it up. This batch will go unsweetened.
Click to expand...
 
Orpheus said:
Great idea! Was the activity enough to warrant a blow off tube? With the ease of making this stuff, doing what you've done would make brewing up a second batch even easier. I use a 5 gallon carboy filled all but a couple inches to the top, so would I be in trouble?
Click to expand...

This doesn't Krausen the way that malt based beverages do.

At most, the foam has only ever been about 1/2" tall.

I'm using the same sort of setup, with only a few inches of room, and I'm not worried at all about blowout. (If it doesn't blow out with this WHOOSH of fermentation, it's not ever going to).
 
Toot,

I have some natural carb questions;

1.) How would you rate the carb level at 1.5 weeks?

2.) When did you carb or how many weeks from pitching the yeast?

3.) Did you wait for it to clear before bottling?

4.) How well does the yeast pack at the bottom, carboy or bottle?

​

Just curious - Thanks!!!!
 
EdWort said:
Yeah, you need to go 4 weeks. I really don't bother with a secondary, I just use a 5 gallon carboy.

It will ferment out dry, but you'll still note the apples and it can be sweetened with Splenda or Lactos, but everyone who has sampled mine tends to like it just the way it is. It shows by the speed of the empty kegs.
Click to expand...


Ed,

On a note of curiousity with sweetening this project up a bit as the wife wants her share sweetened, i was playing around with 1 glassfull and some small single serve bags of splenda.....turned out to be just to her liking.....

my question is should this be an add and taste......a bit at a time or would you have a particular amount to use per gallon? we werent very accurate as we shook a bit out of the pkg. at a time and sampled.
secondly would i still use the same 3/4 cup of dextrose to carb in the bottle? or should i decrease that slightly.....

for me the recipe came out exactly as you described it would and was perfect with the exception of the stillness i would need carbanation for my pallet to be more fufilled. cant wait to make another batch!!!!
thanks for the help and this great thread
anthony
 
Schlenkerla said:
Toot,

I have some natural carb questions;
Click to expand...


1.) How would you rate the carb level at 1.5 weeks?
At room temp, with a heavy-handed pour, the foam will rise 2 inches in a normal pint glass... and then reduce to nothing in a matter of maybe 5 seconds. After that, you're left with a couple bubbles hanging on, a distinct CO2 tingliness on your tongue (which you could almost perceive as bitterness... that is, it takes away from sweetness by lightening the drink). If you pour it out of a fridge, nearly all the CO2 will remain in suspension at this stage and the tingliness on the tongue is more pronounced and longer-lasting as it warms, but there is no head to speak of whatsoever.

2.) When did you carb or how many weeks from pitching the yeast?
Mine sat in the carboy for maybe 5-6 weeks before bottling.

3.) Did you wait for it to clear before bottling?
Yes. definitely. And there's still a bit too much yeast in the bottom of my bottles for my taste.

4.) How well does the yeast pack at the bottom, carboy or bottle?
I don't have a lot of experience here, but on a scale of 1-10, I'd say it's a 4 or 5. You definitely need to make a conscious effort not to disrupt the sediment, but it's not a frustrating thing to do.. it just takes a bit of care.
 

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