Man, I love Apfelwein

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NeonBrew said:
Well I mixed up a batch 7 days ago. All seems to be going well. The 5 gallons didnt even come close to the neck of the carboy though, matter of fact there's probably 6-8 inches of air between below the stopper. Will this be ok, or should I be topping it off with something if it's not too late already?
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter in the primary, the CO2 will push out all the O2, so carboy size doesn't really matter.

If you transfer to secondary, though, you'll want something with less headspace, since there won't be any real CO2 production.
 
On my third glass of the night. Just a touch of Splenda and sprinkling of crystal lite lemonade powder. Having this on tap is potent. Every time we have people over this is the most popular thing we serve.
 
Hegh said:
Doesn't matter in the primary, the CO2 will push out all the O2, so carboy size doesn't really matter.

If you transfer to secondary, though, you'll want something with less headspace, since there won't be any real CO2 production.
Click to expand...

Gotcha....Thanks.
 
NeonBrew said:
Well I mixed up a batch 7 days ago. All seems to be going well. The 5 gallons didnt even come close to the neck of the carboy though, matter of fact there's probably 6-8 inches of air between below the stopper. Will this be ok, or should I be topping it off with something if it's not too late already?
Click to expand...

You must have a 6.5 gallon carboy. My 5 gallon better bottles are always full and I have left over juice to boot. You will be fine as mentioned above.

Next batch, buy 6 gallons of juice. :D
 
Yeah Ed...I guess my carboys are the 6.5 gallon ones. Will definitely go with 6 gallons next batch!

I used Lalvin EC-1118 yeast for mine. I went to a couple LHBS but no Montrachet to be found. They recommended this instead. There's been vigorous fermentation all week, although its slowing down now to a couple bubbles every 10 sec. Can someone tell me what difference this yeast will make overall?

I've been reading this thread right from the start...started over a week ago and am only up to page 192. I've got lots of questions as I'm new to homebrewing/winemaking, but don't want to repeat what's probably been asked dozens of times. So far I haven't seen this answered yet though.
 
Made it with S-04 tonight

Hope is the fruity esters will shine through.
I may even use Oak boys in this one once it finishes up.....Jolly Good Sir

Love that Wal-Mart juice :D

All-grain beer makers, save those big jugs for specialty grains
 
NAUGHTYDOGBREWING said:
First I'd like to say I read 56 pages and another 453 just seems like a too much. Just made my first batch of Ed's apfelwein. My LHBS recommended me using Red Stars Pasteur Champagne yeast. Anyone else try this? I did everything else the same as Ed's recipe. 5 gallons Tree Top apple juice, 2lbs corn sugar and the RS yeast. Should I expect it to ferment down as low as everyone else? Also How much Priming sugar should I use? I want it pretty carbonated but I don't want any bottle bombs. I was thinking about 3/4 cup. Would that be enough or too much? Thanks in advanced. I cant wait to try this stuff.
Click to expand...

Why do LHBS do that?

I wouldnt ferment anything with Champagne yeast
 
I have a 3 gallon batch that I started on 5-06-09. I'm hoping to bottle and carb around 7-06. Your expertise in answering two questions would be greatly appreciated:
1. Will 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming make it super-carbed just like beer or just lightly carbed like a Mike's Hard Lemonade or wine cooler?
2. I'm assuming that once I carb this it will no longer "age and mature" so the taste will be at that mark...is that correct? (I need the carboy for something else...)
 
babalu87 said:
Why do LHBS do that?

I wouldnt ferment anything with Champagne yeast
Click to expand...

May I ask why?

I recently fermented a hard cranberry-lemonade using champagne yeast, and the yeast flavor refuses to drop out even after 1+ weeks in the fridge. Is that why, or do you have another reason?
 
Hegh said:
May I ask why?

I recently fermented a hard cranberry-lemonade using champagne yeast, and the yeast flavor refuses to drop out even after 1+ weeks in the fridge. Is that why, or do you have another reason?
Click to expand...

I just think it ferments too dry.
Maybe I need to speak to a French guy and get educated on it.
 
S-04 blowoff

S-04 does not blow off

There, that should help a search in the future ;)

Bubbling like CRAZY and just a touch of foam. I was thinking about blow-off issues and came to the conclusion that if the finished product doesnt have a head will it blow off during fermentation?
Certainly not so far.
 
NeonBrew said:
I used Lalvin EC-1118 yeast for mine. I went to a couple LHBS but no Montrachet to be found. They recommended this instead. There's been vigorous fermentation all week, although its slowing down now to a couple bubbles every 10 sec. Can someone tell me what difference this yeast will make overall?
Click to expand...

You can read some wine yeast profiles here: Winemaking: Strains of Wine Yeast
Regards, GF.
 
Made this recipe on 5-30-09 followed Ed's Recipe. Its already starting to clear up. Took a Fg reading and its about 1.001 so pretty much fermentation is done. Tasted the sample and its AMAZING! Tasted just like it was supposed to, a dry wine with hints of apple and a tad bit of sweetness. I plan to let this sit for a few more weeks to age. Hoping to bottle this 4th of July weekend, that is if its clear enough. The hardest thing is waiting though.:mug:
 
I'm going to start my first batch of Apfelwein this weekend. My question is, if I leave out the dextrose I'd assume that would also lower the abv. Does anyone know by how much or if this will affect the overall flavor at the end? I've tried searching around quite a bit, but with so much info on Apfelwein on this board I haven't had any luck.
 
HossTheGreat said:
I'm going to start my first batch of Apfelwein this weekend. My question is, if I leave out the dextrose I'd assume that would also lower the abv. Does anyone know by how much or if this will affect the overall flavor at the end? I've tried searching around quite a bit, but with so much info on Apfelwein on this board I haven't had any luck.
Click to expand...

I'm planning to try this for a fall swiller, but I'm going to use English ale yeast so it'll yield something around ~5% ABV and slightly sweet.
 
SueMac said:
I have a 3 gallon batch that I started on 5-06-09. I'm hoping to bottle and carb around 7-06. Your expertise in answering two questions would be greatly appreciated:
1. Will 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming make it super-carbed just like beer or just lightly carbed like a Mike's Hard Lemonade or wine cooler?
2. I'm assuming that once I carb this it will no longer "age and mature" so the taste will be at that mark...is that correct? (I need the carboy for something else...)
Click to expand...

My post was lost in the shuffle...:(
 
SueMac said:
I have a 3 gallon batch that I started on 5-06-09. I'm hoping to bottle and carb around 7-06. Your expertise in answering two questions would be greatly appreciated:
1. Will 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming make it super-carbed just like beer or just lightly carbed like a Mike's Hard Lemonade or wine cooler?
Click to expand...

That amount of priming makes for an excellent apfelwein, I carb mine to that level in the keg. Make sure the bottles are THICK, I would recommend Grolsch-type bottles. Standard brown beer bottles may explode if they are thin... American-style champagne bottles will also work well at that level of carb, and you can even use a plastic stopper and wire cage which looks cool but doesn't require a floor corker. ;)

2. I'm assuming that once I carb this it will no longer "age and mature" so the taste will be at that mark...is that correct? (I need the carboy for something else...)
Click to expand...

It will age and mature in the bottle, in a box, or with a brown fox. :D
 
Hegh said:
May I ask why?

I recently fermented a hard cranberry-lemonade using champagne yeast, and the yeast flavor refuses to drop out even after 1+ weeks in the fridge. Is that why, or do you have another reason?
Click to expand...

my lhbs said they made a batch using a different yeast and it tasted to yeasty and this would have less of a yeast taste and would be sweeter. I figured ok, why not. I'm just hoping it will turn out as strong as everyone else's. above 8%abv. I'm sure i'll love it no matter what. i love dry wines
 
Saccharomyces said:
That amount of priming makes for an excellent apfelwein, I carb mine to that level in the keg. Make sure the bottles are THICK, I would recommend Grolsch-type bottles. Standard brown beer bottles may explode if they are thin... American-style champagne bottles will also work well at that level of carb, and you can even use a plastic stopper and wire cage which looks cool but doesn't require a floor corker. ;)



It will age and mature in the bottle, in a box, or with a brown fox. :D
Click to expand...

Thank you!
I recycled some beer bottles and they do look a bit thin...Is the pressure more than a beer? Thanks again!
 
My first attempt at fermentation.. hope it turns out good!

DSC02018Small.jpg
 
KillerKellers said:
My first attempt at fermentation.. hope it turns out good!
Click to expand...

Oh it will my friend.

I started my first batch 5 weeks ago. I sampled the gravity and the flavor yesterday, the former being 1.000 and the latter being very very tasty! I am not a big fan of dry wines so I was concerned about the supposed dryness of this stuff. It is, but what it lacks is that dry grape wine after taste, the sort of metallic punch-you-in-the-face-and-hang-around-in-your-mouth-ness dry wines have that I don't like. (Sorry, I am no vintner so I lack the proper nomenclature.)

Brew a second batch in a couple weeks!
 
I'll add my experience...

Made this in late February with lavlin K(something)-1116 red wine yeast. It cleared around the start of April, but due to crazy work schedules, I didn't bottle until the start of May (it was crystal clear by then).

Fast forward to now: everyone that tries it is asking me to give them bottles, and I'm flatly refusing! This stuff is great! My only regret is that I didn't start another batch IMMEDIATELY after bottling the first. It's already half gone!!

My only other regret is the night that I decided to drink three bottles (500ml each). The gnomes in my head were a little too hammer-happy the next morning.
 
nakros said:
My only other regret is the night that I decided to drink three bottles (500ml each). The gnomes in my head were a little too hammer-happy the next morning.
Click to expand...


Ohhhohoho my friend. Last weekend I mistakenly put down 4 bombers in about a 2.5 hour time span........ good times that night.
 
WilliamstonBrew said:
Oh it will my friend.

I started my first batch 5 weeks ago. I sampled the gravity and the flavor yesterday, the former being 1.000 and the latter being very very tasty! I am not a big fan of dry wines so I was concerned about the supposed dryness of this stuff. It is, but what it lacks is that dry grape wine after taste, the sort of metallic punch-you-in-the-face-and-hang-around-in-your-mouth-ness dry wines have that I don't like. (Sorry, I am no vintner so I lack the proper nomenclature.)

Brew a second batch in a couple weeks!
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean about the dry wine thing.. I like dry to a point, but there is a point where its funky.

I got the woman excited on it as well.. We were hanging out at a brewery in Tucson, and she got ahold of some orange wheat they had on tap. Now I am on the hook for brewing some stuff for her.

The good news, however, is she let me pick up a freezer today and im ordering the kegging gear =)
 
So I brewed up a batch of apfelwein last month substituting English ale yeast for the wine yeast in the original recipe. I thought the fermentation was pretty week but it was fermenting in any case so i put it in the basement to do it's thing. I check on the airlock now and again, but here is the thing....It has been almost 5 weeks now and this stuff is still fermenting, should i be worried? Bill
 
I've been wondering the same thing about my batch. If I remember correctly, today makes 4 weeks since I put my together and I'm still getting a little bit of bubbling. I sure would like to draw off a sample to taste.....
 
If it's still going, let it go. It'll be better for your patience. Don't worry. If you really want, pull a sample for a gravity and taste check.
 
Hegh said:
Don't worry. If you really want, pull a sample for a gravity and taste check.
Click to expand...

You talked me right into it. Gosh its GOOD! I really enjoy a dry drink and this is probably the driest I've had. Delicious.

Now all I have to worry about is what damage may I have done by introducing room air into the better bottle -- I had to remove the airlock in order for the sample top discharge from the spigot.
 
LovesMeSomeBeer said:
You talked me right into it. Gosh its GOOD! I really enjoy a dry drink and this is probably the driest I've had. Delicious.

Now all I have to worry about is what damage may I have done by introducing room air into the better bottle -- I had to remove the airlock in order for the sample top discharge from the spigot.
Click to expand...

CO2 is heavier than air, no worries.
 
Tried to read thru the 512 pages before asking this...

...are most people not carbonating this at all? I was thinking about pulling two tap-a-drafts unprimed and then the remianing 10 or so 22oz bottles with carb drops. I could always force carb the kegs if I like it that way better...

...that sound like a reasonable way to go?
 
This is my first batch and I had maybe a 10 oz sample last night. I think it's super without being carbonated. I tasted it both room temperature and chilled. Chilled, it's very refreshing. That said, I will bottle sometime in the next 4 weeks and I plan on carbonating a few 16 oz bottles (using carbonation tablets). Most of it, however, I will simply bottle in 1 liter bottles, uncarbonated.
 
Ok, I made a 1 gallon batch back in early January hoping to be ready for my wife when she got home from her deployment in late February. Didn't finish fermenting in time and got moved to the back of the closet and forgotten. I bottled last night and am enjoying one of the still bottles (Half had carb tabs added).

Only differences I used 1.5lb of brown sugar (think that's too much for 1 gallon?) and Nottingham thinking I wanted a bit of sweetness. Silly me! Notty is a beast, this stuff dried out to .920! (Is that possible?) It still tastes like apples, but has some hotness still. I was also thinking a bit of tartness (think Granny Smith or crab apples) would go nicely. Any ideas on what to add to get that?

Terje
 
Stratotankard said:
Ok, I made a 1 gallon batch back in early January hoping to be ready for my wife when she got home from her deployment in late February. Didn't finish fermenting in time and got moved to the back of the closet and forgotten. I bottled last night and am enjoying one of the still bottles (Half had carb tabs added).

Only differences I used 1.5lb of brown sugar (think that's too much for 1 gallon?) and Nottingham thinking I wanted a bit of sweetness. Silly me! Notty is a beast, this stuff dried out to .920! (Is that possible?) It still tastes like apples, but has some hotness still. I was also thinking a bit of tartness (think Granny Smith or crab apples) would go nicely. Any ideas on what to add to get that?

Terje
Click to expand...

Wow, do you have an OG on that? It must be like 15-16% ABV!
 
is there a search option on the page somewhere to just search within the 500+page thread?

anywho, i'm going to be making my first apfelwein batch tonite (as if anyone would care) but was just curious if 7.9 gallon plastic ale pail was good for fermenting this in? I have an extra ale pail lying around that i dont really use all the time and i'd figure why not. i notice alot of people on here use either plastic carboy or glass carboy when doing this batch. is it because you want to know when its cleared or it doesnt really matter?
 
I think it will be fine in the plastic. Most people prefer the carboys since there is no blow off and you can get by with an airlock. It does make it easier to see when it has cleared. I have been leaving my in the carboy for about 60 days and it is nice and clear.
 

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