DaveVanO
Well-Known Member
i realize that the main post says racking to a secondary is not necessary...but if you have lees at the bottom of your apfelwein. Should you rack it to a secondary after the 4 weeks. THEN bottle and age?
Man, I love Apfelwein
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Vox
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I just made a batch I plan to leave in the primary for four months, then bottle age at least two more months. From what I've read, this is fine especially if you are using a carboy filled up to the neck as buckets have more surface area at the surface to risk oxidation once the co2 isn't pumping out anymore after fermentation slows down. Feel free to correct me if this isn't true.
DaveVanO
Well-Known Member
You do not need to secondary this,it is not necessary.Go ahead and do it if it will make you feel better though.
So I brewed a 1 gallon batch of this but then I decided to go farther.
Now I'm only up to page 192 so I don't know if this has been done before, but...
I bought too many cans of apple juice concentrate and seeing that they were meant to be diluted into 1.13L of apple juice, I decided to try brewing twice the apfelwein at once. Three such cans means almost a gallon of apple juice, therefore if you dump 15 cans in a 5 gallon batch (3 in a 1 gallon batch) and fill the rest with apple juice, you get double apple juice which turns into double apfelwein.
So I brewed a 1 gallon batch of that.
But THEN, I still had 1 gallon glass jugs lying around so I also brewed this:
TrippelApfelwein
-A 1 gallon jug
-6 (SIX) x 283 mL cans of apple juice concentrate (the only ingredients must be vitamin C and apple juice). One can contains rougly 107 grams of sugar as per the ingredients label.
-A little over half a gallon of apple juice as with regular apfelwein (Just fill the gallon jug to 2-3 inches of top)
-EC-1118 yeast (required considering the acidity and OG will make the jug a yeast thunderdome)
-1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrients
a) Let the concentrate melt into a liquid inside the can, on your countertop.
b) Sanitize jug/carboy (please don't make a 5 gallon batch of this...)
c) Use a sanitized funnel to pour the concentrate in the jug.
d) Add nutrients and fill up to near top with apple juice.
e) Shake it madly and then wait for it to go up to room temperature. (It will be quite chilly because of the concentrate)
f) Rehydrate and pitch EC-1118 yeast as per instructions.
Measured S.G: 1.110, potential alcohol around 13-14%, not an ounce of sugar that wasn't made by an apple.
I fully intend the apple taste to be comparable to being punched in the mouth by the greek godess of apples.
I pitched this yesterday, the EC-1118 is bubbling away nicely. It will probably be aged on medium toast oak for six months to make it drinkable.
If it's horrible I may just make it into applejack and sip the resulting 6X Apfelwein very carefully...
Now I'm only up to page 192 so I don't know if this has been done before, but...
I bought too many cans of apple juice concentrate and seeing that they were meant to be diluted into 1.13L of apple juice, I decided to try brewing twice the apfelwein at once. Three such cans means almost a gallon of apple juice, therefore if you dump 15 cans in a 5 gallon batch (3 in a 1 gallon batch) and fill the rest with apple juice, you get double apple juice which turns into double apfelwein.
So I brewed a 1 gallon batch of that.
But THEN, I still had 1 gallon glass jugs lying around so I also brewed this:
TrippelApfelwein
-A 1 gallon jug
-6 (SIX) x 283 mL cans of apple juice concentrate (the only ingredients must be vitamin C and apple juice). One can contains rougly 107 grams of sugar as per the ingredients label.
-A little over half a gallon of apple juice as with regular apfelwein (Just fill the gallon jug to 2-3 inches of top)
-EC-1118 yeast (required considering the acidity and OG will make the jug a yeast thunderdome)
-1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrients
a) Let the concentrate melt into a liquid inside the can, on your countertop.
b) Sanitize jug/carboy (please don't make a 5 gallon batch of this...)
c) Use a sanitized funnel to pour the concentrate in the jug.
d) Add nutrients and fill up to near top with apple juice.
e) Shake it madly and then wait for it to go up to room temperature. (It will be quite chilly because of the concentrate)
f) Rehydrate and pitch EC-1118 yeast as per instructions.
Measured S.G: 1.110, potential alcohol around 13-14%, not an ounce of sugar that wasn't made by an apple.
I fully intend the apple taste to be comparable to being punched in the mouth by the greek godess of apples.
I pitched this yesterday, the EC-1118 is bubbling away nicely. It will probably be aged on medium toast oak for six months to make it drinkable.
If it's horrible I may just make it into applejack and sip the resulting 6X Apfelwein very carefully...
blefferd
Well-Known Member
Krios said:
You might end up with high fusel alcohol due to the high amount of pectin in that batch. You might want to age that for 1+ year to calm it down a bit.
There's pectin in the concentrate and in clear apple juice? I thought they used pectinase industrially to clear it. It was perfectly clear before pitching the yeast, though dark amber and extremely sweet and appley when tasted.
Anyhow, what's done is done, I might be short 2$ of juice, 3$ of concentrate and 5$ of jug for a year if it's undrinkable in the first months...
Anyhow, what's done is done, I might be short 2$ of juice, 3$ of concentrate and 5$ of jug for a year if it's undrinkable in the first months...
blefferd
Well-Known Member
I am not knocking your recipe, just saying you might want to age it for a bit with that much sugar. No clue about removing the pectins but fruit high in pectins produce lots of fusels Apples are high in pectin. I made a batch with 4lbs of corn sugar due to a lapse of memory and it was extremely hot and high in fusels. It has aged 2 months in the bottle and has calmed down a lot from when I bottled it. I don't think it was over 1.080.
jiggs_casey
Well-Known Member
Sucking down my 2nd glass of the batch I did last month. I really need to do this more often. So good over ice.
Some manufactures use pectin enzyme commercially. Some use centrifugal clarification. Centrifugal clarification leaves the pectin dissolved in the liquid, but removes the particulates that usually get trapped in it and cloud the liquid. SO, eh maybe. I always add my own pectin enzyme, it isn't expensive and it eliminates one possible concern. Not that pectin will make your brew taste bad, it just won't completely clear.
I believe pectin is a non-fermentable carbohydrate. It's a dietary fiber because your body can't break it down. Chemically though, it is a water soluble carbohydrate. I fail to see how it's presence or absence would change the percentage of fusel alcohol produced?
blefferd
Well-Known Member
I read it on a distillers forum, and noticed some side effects of it from the batch I made when I used to much sugar. It could have been the sugar not really sure, but it was a lot warmer and the hang overs where really bad from only two or three glasses lol. Methanol is the cause of a lot of that. (Methanol might not be a fusel, but it's not the type of alcohol you want to drink!)
I'd say its more likely to do with too much sugar. If the yeast gets stressed out, that's often when it produces undesirable effects. Too much sugar could have allowed the yeast to produce more alcohol more quickly than it would have preferred.
We don't talk about distilling here, but it is a pretty different situation. They seem to prefer high alcohol high speed fermentation and let their distillation processes clean it up later.
blefferd
Well-Known Member
You are probably right, I keep my house in the 70s also so I am sure that does not help much either.
The batch is coming around but it still makes me mean and makes your head feel like some one kicked a field goal with it lol.
My current batch now is great at around 2 months. I have another batch in the fermenter I used corn, and dark brown sugar along with 64 ozS of cherry/cranberry juice. Yeast started out as ale yeast but wasn't working fast enough and I got impatient and pitched in some Montrachet so we will see how it comes out lol
The batch is coming around but it still makes me mean and makes your head feel like some one kicked a field goal with it lol.
My current batch now is great at around 2 months. I have another batch in the fermenter I used corn, and dark brown sugar along with 64 ozS of cherry/cranberry juice. Yeast started out as ale yeast but wasn't working fast enough and I got impatient and pitched in some Montrachet so we will see how it comes out lol
This is why I'm using EC-1118 for my high OG experiments. It's known to ferment clean, it tolerates acid and up to 18% alcohol, so 13-15% isn't that much. If it turns out not too bad, I might a do a step feeding experiment where I feed it a can of concentrate every few days.
After two weeks, the airlock is still bubbling. Smells awesome. Ferm'ing in the low 60s, so I thought it might go a little slow. Can't wait to try.
jiggs_casey
Well-Known Member
This time of year, my basement is a constant 62'. I brew a batch of this every year right around Christmas. Give it at least a month before you try it. Just pour it back into the same juice containers you bought it in and store it away!
Well I guess I'll finally join this thread. I read through the first 3500 or so posts before I decided it was time to give it a try.
I put a 6 gallon batch together on 1/4 using the walmart brand apple juice, 2lbs or so of dextrose and the montrachet yeast and yeast nutrient. OG gravity game in around 1.055 so I'm guessing it should be around 7%. Well I took a gravity reading lastnight and it was right at the 0.999 so I'm guessing we're done. Threw the sample in the freezer for a little to chill it down and sampled...tasty for only being at 3 weeks! Was tempted to pull off some more but I held off, I can already see reasons to pull of a gallon or so here and there.
Luckily I did follow the directions and picked up a 5g food safe bucket from Lowes to throw another batch together a few days ago. Did this one with 4 gallons apple juice and a half gallon berry blend juice and 2lbs dextrose. So there's more on it's way!
Thanks to EdWort for the recipe and everyone's input in this thread! This will be
I put a 6 gallon batch together on 1/4 using the walmart brand apple juice, 2lbs or so of dextrose and the montrachet yeast and yeast nutrient. OG gravity game in around 1.055 so I'm guessing it should be around 7%. Well I took a gravity reading lastnight and it was right at the 0.999 so I'm guessing we're done. Threw the sample in the freezer for a little to chill it down and sampled...tasty for only being at 3 weeks! Was tempted to pull off some more but I held off, I can already see reasons to pull of a gallon or so here and there.
Luckily I did follow the directions and picked up a 5g food safe bucket from Lowes to throw another batch together a few days ago. Did this one with 4 gallons apple juice and a half gallon berry blend juice and 2lbs dextrose. So there's more on it's way!
Thanks to EdWort for the recipe and everyone's input in this thread! This will be
jiggs_casey
Well-Known Member
I don't carbonate mine. I rack it back into the same plastic containers (cleaned out and sanitized, of course) straight from the primary. As far as storage? I wouldn't know. I usually trade a gallon or two off with a friend and the rest of it never lasts long...
clengman
Active Member
I'm getting ready to bottle my first batch of this stuff. I'm going to put about 2/3 of it in plastic minikegs with priming sugar and drink it as soon as it's carbed up. The rest I thought I'd bottle in wine bottles and try to keep it a while to let it mature.
Should I add sulfite to the portion to store or is it okay without? If yes to the campden, can I add a tiny bit to each bottle then rack right into the bottle and stopper them, or do I need to add the campden to the carboy and let it gas off for a day before I bottle?
Should I add sulfite to the portion to store or is it okay without? If yes to the campden, can I add a tiny bit to each bottle then rack right into the bottle and stopper them, or do I need to add the campden to the carboy and let it gas off for a day before I bottle?
If it was done fermenting you won't need to sulfite it.
clengman
Active Member
Thanks. Just to be sure I'm clear, I'm fairly certain that the fermentation is done. I haven't checked the gravity in a few weeks, but it was right around 1.00 the last time I checked. I plan to check it one last time before I bottle.
I was more concerned with stability for longer term storage. I was thinking more about oxidation and acetobacter than the yeast and sugar. I have StarSan to sanitize everything before I bottle, I just want to be sure I don't end up with vinegar.
Keep it well sealed and clean/sanatize well before bottling/kegging and you shouldn't have to worry too much about acetobacteria or vinegar. Just keep air space to a minimum.
It will not hurt anything if you want to use it for peace of mind.
Bamsdealer
Well-Known Member
Picked up some juice today... what temp should this be fermented at? I have no experience with wine yeast other than using it to bottle...
jeepinjeepin
Well-Known Member
Bamsdealer said:
"Room temperature". High 60s. Low 70s.
Okay, I am sure the answer is in the thread somewhere but it's a lot to sift through. I made a back of Apfelwein just like the recipe. It's to dry for my taste. What is a good way to sweeten it? Seems like if I put in some sugar, that would just get the yeast going again. Does fake sugar like splenda work? How much do you use?
jeepinjeepin
Well-Known Member
tochsner said:
You can cold crash, add sorbate, and back sweeten with sugar or juice concentrate.
Very excited first timer. My brew = 3 gallons of apple juice, 1 pound dextrose, Nottingham yeast and a couple of raisins.
Once I siphon it out, can I immediately refill the carboy with apple juice sugar & more raisins? Will the old yeast on the bottom come back to life and the magic will start again without having to empty clean or refill with yeast? I assume yes, I can do this trick a few times safely.? Or is it foolish and I should clean everything thoroughly and start afresh.
Would it make sense to throw in some extra sugar a day or two before hand to sweeten and/or help keep the yeast active? Say 2 or 3 oz in the 3 gallon carboy?
I'd like to fill up old plastic quart size seltzer bottles. What strategies are recommended? To carbonate should I put in a table spoon or two of sugar, then cap? Or use carbonation tablet? Afterwards do I need to cold crash and keep cold. If I just bottle will it continue to get drier unless I kill the yeast or am I okay just to bottle and forget.
Thanks & my apologies for asking undoubtedly redundant questions.
Once I siphon it out, can I immediately refill the carboy with apple juice sugar & more raisins? Will the old yeast on the bottom come back to life and the magic will start again without having to empty clean or refill with yeast? I assume yes, I can do this trick a few times safely.? Or is it foolish and I should clean everything thoroughly and start afresh.
Would it make sense to throw in some extra sugar a day or two before hand to sweeten and/or help keep the yeast active? Say 2 or 3 oz in the 3 gallon carboy?
I'd like to fill up old plastic quart size seltzer bottles. What strategies are recommended? To carbonate should I put in a table spoon or two of sugar, then cap? Or use carbonation tablet? Afterwards do I need to cold crash and keep cold. If I just bottle will it continue to get drier unless I kill the yeast or am I okay just to bottle and forget.
Thanks & my apologies for asking undoubtedly redundant questions.
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
Just immediately throw more just on it. Don't worry about slowly adding sugar.
Most likely an answer to this in the previous 1100 pages, just I am entirely too lazy to spend 100 hours reading all of them.
Does this stuff have to be carbonated? Can it be bottled in wine bottles? I have zero beer making supplies.
Thanks!
Will
Does this stuff have to be carbonated? Can it be bottled in wine bottles? I have zero beer making supplies.
Thanks!
Will
No. Therefore yes. I have 8 claret bottles full of still cider in my wine rack.
Bamsdealer
Well-Known Member
Lactose if you dont want to use the fake stuff... it wont ferment out like dextrose or fructose. Also, you might be able to use campden tablets to kill the yeast then just add sugar. Id look into that more brfore you try it though as I only use them to remove chlorine from my brew water
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
Mmmmmm, milk juice.
