Man, I love Apfelwein

olllllo said:

This is my first non-beer brewing experience. Are you bottling with 22 oz'ers and crowns or some other situation? Letting then carb or keeping it flat?

My first impression is that I'm going to rack to a keg and break in my newly acquired Blichmann Beer Gun. If I wanted to keep it flat, what would I use to kill off the yeast?
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Haven't made up my mind yet if I'm going to keg or bottle. SWMBO is already hammering me to sweeten it up a bit and if I do that, then I'll keg it. Actually, I think I'll keg 1/2 and bottle 1/2. Keg sweetened a bit for her and corn sugar carbed non-sweetened for the bottles. Probably 12oz; my 8oz glass out of the fermenter I've been sipping on already has given me a pleasant buzz. 22oz would be kind of a lot to consume in one session unless buzz was the objective.

Going to try nottingham next to see the difference in how it comes out.

desertBrew said:

did you use the dry wine yeast (montrachet or whatever it was)? The wife didn't like and thought I should sweeten it up a bit. I'll have to cruise thru this thread but I think I saw someone mention adding something; perhaps a can of apple concentrate when kegged or splenda. This thread is way too long

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This is what I used:

-6 gallons pastuerized apple juice
-2 lbs. dextrose
-1 packet Montrachet wine yeast

Mines been fermenting for a while and is about 2 weeks to bottling. Now i have a very important question here. I am leaving for Munich on the tenth, i was going to bottle a few days before that and i was wondering if anyone here who has experience with this recipe likes it flat like wine in wine bottles. I'm sure my friends in Bavaria would love this stuff, i just dont think i would be able to bottle/drink carbed stuff in time. What's the take on flat/dry apfelwein?

Hey I'm from Salem too! Are there any good brew shops in town that you want to recommend?

Klainmeister said:

i was wondering if anyone here who has experience with this recipe likes it flat like wine in wine bottles. I'm sure my friends in Bavaria would love this stuff, i just dont think i would be able to bottle/drink carbed stuff in time. What's the take on flat/dry apfelwein?

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It's still very tasty uncarbonated when chilled. It's a taste that grows on you. Apfelwein in Germany is uncarbonated and at 8.5% you can cut with with club soda for a little bubbly. After the first one, you realize that you can taste and smell the apples and it's better than some sweet juice with a kick.

Mine is carbed simply because of dispensing with CO2.

BTW, it makes a great hot Grog for winter. Just add some turbinado sugar, rum and a cinnamon stick and warm it up before serving. Hoooo yeah!

Any clue how long something like this will last in the bottle (carbonated)? As noted above I brewed my first 2 gallons and should have no problem getting that downed by myself or others. If I ever do make a larger batch though, this is probably something I'd have sitting around a while. Will this benefit from aging... 6 months... year... year plus... or something like normal wines?

Man, I can't wait to try this. I went and get a couple stoppers for a 3-gallon plastic carboy that I got from a rummage sale, but the stoppers were both too big. When I get the new one this weekend I plan on making a batch relatively soon here.

I plan on using the same recipes as above, with a Nottingham's Ale Yeast and throwing in a stick or two of cinnamon and maybe some cooked down cherries and carbing it.

The cinnamon is a good idea. Hadn't crossed my mind, but maybe I'll drop some minimal amount in before bottling.

Cloves would be good in it, too.

With the wicked rate of this thread progressing page upon page, I'm going to ask my question again; anyone know how long this stuff will last if bottled and stored in a dark place? Will it last 6 months? A year? Would it better with age?

One more question: I read somewhere (wikipedia maybe?) that some people say this Apfelwein "tastes like nothing until 7 servings or so..."; And I've seen here where you need to drink one before you realize the apple is there.

Is this accurate? Am I just going to have an alcoholic liquid with no real flavor? If so, that's not really what I was aiming for here... How do I infuse some more flavor into this? Can I kill off the yeast (like in hard cider) and add some sugars to sweeten this up (if of course I want to leave it uncarbed)? Or will it have noticable flavor without undertaking this type of measure. Again, I'm not a wine fan, so drinking some very dry alcoholic beverage isn't my plan here... (I guess if need be I can just cut it all with 7-Up, but...)

For reference, my recipe for 2.25 gallons was: 2 Gallon Juice, 1 Can Concentrate, 3/4lb. Brown Sugar, and Nottingham Yeast.

Interesting read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelwein

It says here Apfelwein is 5.5-7% ABV, but I'm sure the OP is more knowledgeable than this "encyclopedia" and the 8.5% is correct for the region he discussed. This IS where I saw the "no flavor until after 7 glasses..." note also.

Some interesting "cocktails" listed on Wiki also including the club soda mix, cola, OJ, etc.

RDWHAAW!

I think we're mostly all new to this with the exception of EdWort.

Hey Silkky, give us more than 30 seconds to respond before you post again.

Slow day in the office; haha...

Well, one more update on my end and one more question. I waited several hours this time.

18 hours after pitching I have tons of bubbles flying up the sides of my fermenter. Looks like all is well. Now, onto the question. I had this in the pantry upstairs and it was at 74 when I pitched and sat overnight. The ferment activity has pushed the temp up to 78ish as of now, which is too high for my taste. So, I've moved it to the basement.

The problem with the basement right now is that it reaches as low as 64 on the colder nights. Will Nottingham remain active at that temp?

I searched and found this on Midwest Supplies, but there is nothing on the packet itself:
"Lallemand Nottingham Ale (11 grams): This high flocculating yeast strain will ferment to near full attenuation. Its neutrality allows it to be used in a wide variety of styles, as it allows the true flavor of the malt to come through. Also ferments well at lower temperatures, down to 57 degrees Farenheit, so it may be used to brew lager-style beers. Ferments between 57 and 70 degrees."

Judging by this info, I should be fine, but wanted to know if it was accurate from everyones exprerience? Could you really use this stuff to Lager?!?

Put your primary in a tub of water to keep the temp more constant.

It's pretty constant in the basement; just a constant 64-68, as opposed to 72-76 upstairs.

mine has been going crazy and it's been in that same range of 64-68. But I keep a sweatshirt on mine, in the hopes of steadying temp fluctuations (and my carboy looks "cute" with a red hoodie on).

I have a blanket on mine as well...

Hey mew, Homebrew Heaven on 12th is excellent. The guy is named Doug and he is very helpful and knowledgeable. He may not have a huge selection, but he has good prices and is very nice. Other than that, the Brew store in Corvallis on 4th is always worth a visit. Truely amazing store. Prost!

SilkkyBrew said:

Interesting read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelwein

It says here Apfelwein is 5.5-7% ABV, but I'm sure the OP is more knowledgeable than this "encyclopedia" and the 8.5% is correct for the region he discussed. This IS where I saw the "no flavor until after 7 glasses..." note also.

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Normal commercial Apfelwein is about 6% in the Frankfurt area. This is also about what you will get out of normal commercial apple juice without the added dextrose. It will taste the same, but I like the added kick for the money.

SilkkyBrew said:

I had this in the pantry upstairs and it was at 74 when I pitched and sat overnight. The ferment activity has pushed the temp up to 78ish as of now, which is too high for my taste. So, I've moved it to the basement.

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I have three carboys in my mudroom where it stays about 75 degrees all day. I've made all my Apfelwein this way with the Montrachet wine yeast. I would not take it to the basement till after a couple of weeks or so.

I'm going to get one this weekend to make room for a beer fermentor.

Darn women!

1st off Ed, I think it tastes just fine as designed (followed your recipe verbatim). But that doesn't help me with swmbo ragging on me that the only thing I make is beverages for me . "I thought this was for me; you know I don't like things so dry" bla bla bla!!!

So, what would your recommendation be to sweeten this up a bit for her. I could either keg or bottle (thinking half & half personally). But she thinks splenda is evil so whats everyone recommend. Kill off the yeast and add some apple concentrate? I don't know diddly about lactose or killing off yeast for that matter... I feel like I'd prefer to bottle but yet still carb it up a bit to make it sparkling AND sweeten it up too. It's still in the primary until I figure this out.

Help a feller out so I stop getting ragged on .

What if your apple juice has abscorbic acid as an additive. Abscorbic is Vitamin C, Will it hurt this recipe?

Tell SWMBO to make her own.

Pirate - the abscorbic will be fine...


Ed - brought mine to the basement before I read your reply. It's down in the 70-72 range. All my other carboys down here are secondarys and sitting at 64-66. This apfelwein must give off some mad heat when fermenting!

desertBrew said:

So, what would your recommendation be to sweeten this up a bit for her. Help a feller out so I stop getting ragged on .

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Pour a glass 2/3 full and top off with chilled 7/up or Sprite. Have her taste it and see what it does for her. Tell her she can drink more since now the alchohol is cut to just under 6%.

Pirate Ale said:

What if your apple juice has abscorbic acid as an additive. Abscorbic is Vitamin C, Will it hurt this recipe?

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I've used Tree Top juice, so I don't know. Give it a try in a small batch.

Ready for kegging. Now, off to clean two kegs and add new poppets & gaskets.

YouTube link, it may take a while before it's ready.

Nice video ... mine is bubbling away. My brew room smells like s&i%!! But I can't wait to try it....

JimiGibbs said:

Nice video ... mine is bubbling away. My brew room smells like s&i%!! But I can't wait to try it....

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Yeah, the sulpher smell goes away in a couple of days, but if you have patience, this stuff rocks.

looks pretty tasty! Can't wait to try mine. My taps are officially empty

ok, I'm getting my ingredients together. Just boiling a little water to rehydrate the yeast.

EDIT: Can i throw in some apple juice with the rehydrating yeast to add some sugar so it starts faster?

todd_k said:

ok, I'm getting my ingredients together. Just boiling a little water to rehydrate the yeast.

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You can use a little juice instead

All done! That was really easy, thanks Ed!

todd_k said:

All done! That was really easy, thanks Ed!

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Congrats! Now all you need is 4 weeks of patience. :cross:

Keep an eye on the airlock. I put vodka in mine and they need to be watched in the first couple of weeks as they get loads of action then.

Just bottled my first batch.

2.5 gallons of greentree apple juice.

2lbs brown sugar.

1lb honey

red star champaine yeast.

Taisted really good. pretty alcoholic, but not overwelming.

Bottles it in 24 12oz bottles with twistie tops, being i dont got a topper.

bottles were clear no-label creame soda ones. Has cool eitchings in the glass.

Would a food-grade bucket be able to keep enough oxygen out for four weeks?