Man, I love Apfelwein

rdwj said:

Ya, that's a bad idea - lol. This stuff packs a WALLOP! Two full glasses will change your outlook on life. Ed is my hero!

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I made SWMBO smell it too. she agreed.

I've got some on tap if you ever get the urge to try some sooner than yours' will be done. Although that recent "questionable" post makes me reconsider letting you know where I live.

Flyin' Lion said:

I've got some on tap if you ever get the urge to try some sooner than yours' will be done. Although that recent "questionable" post makes me reconsider letting you know where I live.

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I think I may need some after this weekend. I won't have a working fridge until probably Sunday night at the earliest so I'll only have a cooler of beer on hand.

What questionable post are you speaking of? What's the first rule about Fight Club?

todd_k said:

I think I may need some after this weekend. I won't have a working fridge until probably Sunday night at the earliest so I'll only have a cooler of beer on hand.

What questionable post are you speaking of? What's the first rule about Fight Club?

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That's the one. I'm actually on my second glass of Apfelwien right now, so I'm a little on the giddy side.

Like the title says...

Man, I love Apfelwein

Good to see some folks having success and liking it. It does take a glass or two to acquire a taste for it. And if you are drinking pint glasses, it will sneak up pretty quick. If you get hammered, remember to drink a liter of water and take three aspirin before you go to bed and you'll feel much better than if you just went to bed.

What are you guys priming this stuff with?? I know a lot of you keg it - but what if you plan to bottle?

Were I to prime rather than force carbonate, I would use corn sugar.

Well i made mine last night. I forgot how expensive apple juice is. I felt liek I was doing a extract batch again when I paid for it all. I htink it took a whopping 15 minutes since I had a clean and sanitized carboy ready to go.

Sitting at a cool 66 degrees this morning, and I made sure SWMBO knows the sulphur smell isnt going to be coming from me.

Now the fun part.
*sits and waits for a month*

Yuri_Rage said:

Were I to prime rather than force carbonate, I would use corn sugar.

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Thanks - I do not have the kegging equipment and have never seen it done.

Question - Is the type of yeast crucial to how this stiff turns out? I have a wyeast London ale on hand at home. I would not even need to hit the brew shop if I could use it. Advisable?

I hope so.

I'm doing one now. The only thong is It won't make wine it'll make a type of cider and it wont take high gravities or abv.

I'm using it so I doesn't go too dry. SG of 1060

orfy said:

I hope so.

I'm doing one now. The only thong is It won't make wine it'll make a type of cider and it wont take high gravities or abv.

I'm using it so I doesn't go too dry. SG of 1060

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Won't that give you an ABV of around 7.6% or so if it ferments to 1.010 or so?

Wow - when I actually took the time to page through this thread - the answers were all there!

I've been through the whole thread once, and don't really want to go through it again in case it hasn't been mentioned...

What is the difference between apfelwein and hard cider?

A grocery store near me has their brand of apple juice (no preservatives, only ascorbic acid) on sale for $1 per half gallon, but I already have 5 gallons of cider fermenting in my basement. I don't really need 10 gallons of stuff that will taste pretty much the same.

-S

lustreking said:

What is the difference between apfelwein and hard cider?

-S

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My recipe is for German Apfelwein which is a regional drink in the Frankfurt area. Apfelwein is dry, light and crisp when chilled. It's an aquired taste and I boost mine to 8.5% by adding 2 lbs. of Dextrose. Using Montrachet Wine yeast, it ferments out in about 4 to 5 weeks and the yeast drops clear and packs tight.

Hard Cider tends to be a sweet drink from 5 to 6% abv.

I only use 100% apple juice (no preservatives or additives) in my recipe. I've been using Tree Top from Costco and it has turned out wonderful.

It's not for everyone, but it looks like those who have been patient and have gotten past the second glass have seen the virtues of this wonder and easy to make "hard cider" It rocks in the summer time!

Toot said:

Won't that give you an ABV of around 7.6% or so if it ferments to 1.010 or so?

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Maybe.

I use (1060-1010)/7.6

=6.7


Am I wrong?

orfy said:

Maybe.

I use (1060-1010)/7.6

=6.7


Am I wrong?

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Beats me. I didn't want to do math in my head, so I was just guesstimating. LOL

I think my point was that that's still kind of a high alcohol level, but I guess it isn't. I think I typed that in the morning before I had my coffee and before my brain fully engaged or something.

Well I'm on 2 pints and 3 wines so it probably is wrong.

It's about the beer not the math.

Chimone said:

Well i made mine last night. I forgot how expensive apple juice is. I felt liek I was doing a extract batch again when I paid for it all. I htink it took a whopping 15 minutes since I had a clean and sanitized carboy ready to go.

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Really? Maybe its the luck of the Sams Club for me. I bought 6g for $18 If memory serves. $20 for all the needed stuff (yeast, brown sugar).

$1.39 for 100% natural apple juice half-gallons. But, I think that may be part of why I was a little underwhelmed; I can really taste a difference between the store-brand stuff and the "good" natural apple juice we buy when it's on sale. So, next time I won't be quite so cheap.

I'll do up another batch this weekend, just need to pick up some corn sugar.

How long has Christianity been around? - I think this thread is made out of the same stuff. I started mine today. Lucky me - the local Publix had 2 qt. Mott's All Natural at buy one get one free.

I took about 3/4 of one of the 2 qt. bottle of juice and dissolved 2 pounds of Dixie Crystals light brown sugar then brought it to a boil. After letting it cool a bit I funneled it into the big 6 1/2 gallon carboy. Then I poured the rest of the juice in over the top of it and pitched. It turned out that I had a vial of White Labs English Ale yeast on hand. I had no "Texas" vodka on hand so I had to use the high-end Zyr Russian vodka. It was only a half shot.... Easiest thing I've ever brewed. Can't wait to see how this turns out. The wife is surprisingly excited about this one. Cheers to you Ed for sharing this with us!

If you guys think apfelwein is expensive to brew, even using the higher priced apple juice, you should price out wine kits sometime. The kits with 23L of juice can be $80 or more.

My fermentation has slowed, but then I moved the carboy (primary fermentor) to a colder room. Most of the foam has cleared. It was pretty vigorous for the first few days. Today is day 4. No sulfur smells.

I'm well into week two with mine, and the gravity has dropped to 1.030. It's still chugging along - nice and cloudy with yeast. I tasted the sample, and it was GOOD! I can't wait to keg this stuff! Only a few more weeks...

Has anyone had any success with using the Mott's Natural apple juice. I thought about it after I started mine yesterday....."Natural" juice is also naturally cloudy. I am wondering if it will clear after fermentation. We'll see. I pitched the White Labs English Ale yeast yesterday at 4:30 - no action as of 7:15 this morning.

Toot said:

Won't that give you an ABV of around 7.6% or so if it ferments to 1.010 or so?

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This stuff should easily ferment down past 1.010. Mine started with an OG of 1.065 and I used Nottingham Ale Yeast. FG was 0.095.

Yeah that's 9% ABV (roughly)...

"Natural" juice is also naturally cloudy. I am wondering if it will clear after fermentation. We'll see.

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I've made a number of fruit wines and it it isn't hard to get things clear. Add some pectic enzyme if you think it will have a pectin problem. Then fine it with bentonite and you could filter it too. The cloudiness will be gone.

SilkkyBrew said:

This stuff should easily ferment down past 1.010. Mine started with an OG of 1.065 and I used Nottingham Ale Yeast. FG was 0.095.

Yeah that's 9% ABV (roughly)...

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Yeah yeah. I know. My brain wasn't engaged when I posted that and I was thinking that the yeast would be killed off by the high alcohol before it got down below 1.000. It's not that high though. My sleepy mistake.

I'm underway! Pitched a packet of SafAle s-04 into 4 gallons of 1.069 must. I used:
3 gal apple juice (pasteurized - no asorbic acid)
1 gal water
1 lb brown sugar
2 lb dextrose

Boiled the sugars in the water for 20 min. Chilled it outside on a big block of ice I have for such purposes, mixed the juice and pitched yeast and nutrient at 59 deg. This stuff is crystal clear and tastes like sweet apple juice - who would have thought??
I attached a blowoff tube but probably wont need it with the 6.5 gal bucket. Thanks Ed and everybody for the info!

This should be an intersting batch with that combination of ingredients. Let us know how it turns out. You are gonna want to wait at least 6 weeks before casting judgement on it though.

chillHayze said:

I'm underway! Pitched a packet of SafAle s-04 into 4 gallons of 1.069 must. I used:
3 gal apple juice (pasteurized - no asorbic acid)
1 gal water
1 lb brown sugar
2 lb dextrose

Boiled the sugars in the water for 20 min. Chilled it outside on a big block of ice I have for such purposes, mixed the juice and pitched yeast and nutrient at 59 deg. This stuff is crystal clear and tastes like sweet apple juice - who would have thought??
I attached a blowoff tube but probably wont need it with the 6.5 gal bucket. Thanks Ed and everybody for the info!

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6 weeks in the fermentor, or 4 weeks in fermentor and then two in bottles?
I read the whole thread but never say if anyone thought a secondary was worth it. What do you all think?

chillHayze said:

6 weeks in the fermentor, or 4 weeks in fermentor and then two in bottles?
I read the whole thread but never say if anyone thought a secondary was worth it. What do you all think?

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I did 4 weeks in the primary and bottled in 22s with some corn sugar for carbonation. It's very clear, I'd say not worth it.

I don't use a secondary at all. I make it in a carboy without heating a thing. It ferments out great and is clear within 4 weeks. It does get better after 4 weeks though.

Well - 40 hours since I pitched the yeast and it is fermenting beautifully! There is probably a 3 inch foam head at the top of the carboy. I read a lot about "sulphur smells" - I haven't gotten that at all. It smell fine coming out of the airlock. I used a White Labs English Ale yeast as opposed to the Champagne yeast (simply because I had it on hand). Maybe the Champagne yeast causes the sulphur smell?? Anyway looking good on the fermentation now. Thanks again Ed for sharing this recipe.

Maybe the Champagne yeast causes the sulphur smell??

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Lets clarify some yeast stuff here. I think people are getting their yeast strains confused.

2 strains of "wine" yeast have been discussed in this thread. Montrachet and EC1118.

The manufacturer says this about Montrachet yeast.

"This strain is recommended for full bodied reds and whites. It is not recommended for grapes that have recently been dusted with sulfur, because of a tendency to produce hydrogen sulfide in the presence of higher concentrations of sulfur compounds."

http://homebrewheaven.com/montrachet-wine-yeast.htm

They say this about EC1118:

"The EC-1118 strain was isolated, studied and selected from Champagne fermentations. Due to its competitive factor and ability to ferment equally well over a wide temperature range, the EC-1118 is one of the most widely used yeasts in the world.
OENOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS
The fermentation characteristics of the EC-1118 - extremely low production of foam, volatile acid and H2S - make this strain an excellent choice. This strain ferments well over a very wide temperature range, from 7° to 35°C (45° to 95°F) and demonstrates high osmotic and alcohol tolerance. Good flocculation with compact lees and a relatively neutral flavor and aroma contribution are also properties of the EC-1118.
The EC-1118 strain is recommended for all types of wines, including sparkling, and late harvest wines and cider. It may also be used to restart stuck fermentations."

http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/ec1118.html

So there is a dichotomy when you say "Maybe the Champagne yeast causes the sulphur smell.", given that EC1118 is a champagne type yeast and it has not caused a sulfur smell for me and Montrachet is not a champagne yeast and it has caused a sulfur smell in some apfelweins. (I think I am the only one using EC1118, btw.)

So Montrachet yeast isn't a typical champagne yeast and thus probably shouldn't be referred to as a champagne yeast. And, as far as I can tell, the sulfur smells were coming from fermentations that used Montrachet.

EC1118 is a champagne type yeast. It is a very clean yeast and has never caused a sulfur smell for me and is not causing one in my apfelwein at this time.

I think a correct statement for you might have been "Maybe the Montrachet yeast causes the sulphur smell??

brewman ! said:

"Maybe the Montrachet yeast causes the sulphur smell??

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That is correct! Also, I used Nottingham yeast for one of my batches and the sulphur smell was ten fold that of the Montrachet. It really stunk!

Yep, I used Montrachet and it smelled like poop. Smells great now, though.

I used Montrachet. Mine didn't smell too bad, but it definitely smelled a little. Part of it may have been that I am fermenting in a basement, so it kind of mingles with usual basement smells and makes it less noticeable. Got 3 natural gas burners down there (water heater, central heat, and a supplementary baseboard heater), plus laundry smells, plus paints and other random chemicals and a hint of mustiness and god knows what else. But, even with my nose right up to the airlock, it wasn't that bad. I suspect the brand of apple juice may have *something* to do with it as well.

OMG Elephant Farts!!!

Ive been blaming the dog

Well after reading though about 25 pages of this i decided that i would give it a shot myself. This is actually my first attempt at brewing anything myself. It seemed like such a simple procedure and i figured why not give it a shot to get my feet (or whistle) wet with.
we used (my son and I) EdWort's recipe to the letter (except for the brand name) we used a local brand....best flavor and price. Looked at the labels and they all read the same thing....filtered water, apple juice concentrate and absorbic acid. Was curious though why wouldnt one use apple cider? just a curiosity on my part....
well followed the direction to a tee, mixed my dextrose....2 pounds.....sprinkled my yeast and rinsed the funnel with apple juice. all equipment was sanitized and re sanitized then rinsed 4-5 times with clean cool water....
bubbler was set with water in it, i didnt have any Vodka....wouldnt dare think to use my green label for that...LOL....ill add vodka to the bubbler as it needs re-filling.
starting temp was 69-70*F
Starting gravity (OG) .162/163 there abouts.
keeping it in the basement with a pretty steady temp of 72*f but i got a cooler closet i can keep it in about 68-69*f.... (any input there?)
Thanks for all the great ideas and tips. now i can say i have at least started in the brewing world.....next batch is going to be a blueberry wheat....(my younger brothers favorite)
thanks again
Anthony