Apfelwein tastes like vinegar

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GAbrewer

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Well, I just bottled my first batch of EdWort's recipe yesterday. After trying a sample (and a few glasses now), I've found that it tastes rather dry and a bit vinegary. I started the batch on 12-20-2008. I used a brand new 5 gallon Better Bottle for my fermenter. I sanitized it well using iodophor, but I'm concerned I may have gotten a bit careless with sanitizing my thief when I took samples. Could it have gotten infected and this is what is causing the vinegar flavor? It's not overpowering and it's still somewhat drinkable, but I'm concerned that it will get worse instead of better over time.
 
How strong is the vinegar character?

If it's very faint, it may just be the youth of it and the dryness. Dry cider can have kind of a sourish flavor because there's no sugar and you're left with just the acid.
 
I started my first batch on Jan 10 so as of today I'm at 3 weeks,one day.
I have it in a new better bottle and have not yet used anything to grab a sample to determine the alcohol content. if this stuff is so dry why drink it?
I guess. I thought this stuff was supposed to be an apple flavored cider drink. Is it so? Or am I expecting something this stuff just won't deliver. I want to keg some of it and bottle some also. The bottled stuff will have an addition of sugar for the carbonation. Do I get this going at 4 weeks or do I check for alcohol levels first then determine if I should get at it. What should be a good beginners reading. I'm new at cider so I don't have a clue. This stuff is supposed to taste good but alot of people ***** about it so is it just too difficult? Need some lovin here.
 
Well, it is an acquired taste. I've enjoyed the samples Edwort brought and poured for me, but I'm really not an apfelwein fan. It's a hard cider, pretty dry and not really "apple-y". Try at least three glasses, though, before judging it. Many people love it!
 
OP: Let it sit for a month or two and try it again. It may just be the young cider flavor you are getting.

Gregg: It is very dry, as Edwort says in his introduction and recipe. However, if you do intend on kegging, you have the option to stabilize and backsweeten before kegging.
 
I think I will let it sit for a while. I did chill a few bottles and it does taste better when chilled. I think I'll try a little Sprite or 7-Up with it as well, as I've seen suggested in other threads. To be honest I have absolutely no experience tasting apfelwein or cider of any kind, so it may be that I just didn't know what to expect from it. Does anyone have any suggestions as to some commercial varieties I can try, so I can know what I'm shooting for? Thanks for the feedback.
 
if you want some good cider, go find some real french farmhouse cider.

Besides you really need the right blend of a variety of apples to make a good hard cider. And apple juice just isn't that. It turns out as.. well what you have.
 
I think you need time. Assuming that its not infected, it will get much better with lots of time. Let it sit for at least 3 months. 6-12 months is even better. But it is still going to be dry.
 
Hey even if it is infected with a vinegar bacteria you should be able to post alot of cider vinegar recipes in the cooking and pairing section :D

I've been meaning to look into making some cider vinegar myself actually!
 
I am very patient so I will wait. I see from other threads that you back sweeted with frozen concentrate. Just add part of a frozen container to 5 gals.? And how about stabilization? What do you have to do to stabilize the cider? Is this a long drawn out proceedure too lengthy too explain here??
 

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