Using jucie concentrate instead of dextrose for Apfelwien...

I am going to make another batch of Ed Wort's Apfelwien tonight, but I forgot to get 2 lbs of Dextrose at the LHBS. I know that I could use 1.5 lbs of table sugar in place of the 2 lbs of dextrose, but I'm thinking about using apple juice concentrate instead. The question is how much?

I did a little researching on the web and here's what I've come up with...... Dextrose is approx 75% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar). Assuming that the sugar content on the nutrition label of apple juice concentrate is referring to sucrose, I should use the same conversion ratio as I would for dextrose to sucrose, correct? With that in mind, here is what I have come up with. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong....

- 2 lbs of dextrose equals 906 grams
- 679 grams of sucrose = 906 grams of dextrose
- 12 oz. can of apple juice concentrate = 156 grams of sucrose
- 4.3 cans of concentrate = 2 lbs of dextrose

Is this correct?

well it sounds like you know what your doing so you probably don't need this advice but ill give it anyway just in case. make sure the concentrate has NO preservatives at all in it.

now as for your question. you might be able to take a gravity reading of the concentrate to get an idea of how fermentable it is. this probably wont be perfect though because not everything in the juice will be fermentable and may still affect its density. you can still try it and check it against your math and see how close the two numbers are.

but personally i would go with your math.

I can vouch for using concentrate to sweeten, maybe with a little honey or sugar. Tastes great!

I've used as much as 12oz (1 can) of (thawed) frozen apple juice concentrate per gallon, and have had decent results, but I've noticed that even with added pectic enzyme, it seems to take longer to clear. Regards, GF.

My last two batches used concentrate only instead of sucrose or dextrose. The math is really easy, just mix up a pitcher and check the sg. You can work out the og of the concentrate that way.

This does increase the malic acid concentration! It's not a terrible thing, but it does give a dry apfelwein a sharp bite. I tried lalvin 1122 in the second batch I made this way, and it really took the edge off. I'm not sure which one I like better...

For this batch that I'm doing I found some Mott's Natural apple juice that has zero additional ingredients. It is only pasteurized apple juice. The concentrate I'm using only has ascorbic acid added, no malic acid. I did see some brands that had malic acid, but the generic Wal-mart brand that I'm using does not.

I also used Safale S-05 yeast instead of the wine yeast I used last time. I'm hoping this will result in a sweeter, less dry drink. My recipe was 4 1/2 gallons of Mott's Natural apple juice and 5 cans of apple juice concentrate. The OG was 1.061. We'll see how it turns out in a couple of months.

I'm going to do a batch of Cranberry Apple Cider soon, I might cut the sugar and use this method instead. It sounds tasty.

I usualy back sweeten with a 12 oz frozen log of apple juice per gallon. But I never thought of fermenting that log instead of sugar.

Thanks!