Man, I love Apfelwein

dmiller038 said:

I don't think it does, at least I'm not planning on carbonating mine.

One thing that's got me kinda worried though... it's been 9 days and mine has slowed down to a bubble per minute or so. Isn't it too soon for it to slow down like this? Anybody else had this?

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I've heard it goes pretty slowly, and you need to just leave it for at least a month. It'll clear eventually, but the activity is pretty calm during that time.

Torchiest said:

I've heard it goes pretty slowly, and you need to just leave it for at least a month. It'll clear eventually, but the activity is pretty calm during that time.

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I've heard that too I was just concerned after reading through the thread and seeing people talk about seeing bubbles for 2 weeks straight, or even longer...

The time it takes depends mostly on how warm it is while fermenting. Mine is almost at week five and starting to slow down maybe 10 bubbles/min. My temp has been about 55 for about the last 2 weeks.

If yours is or was bubbling and cloudy I would think you're OK. I understand it take awhile to clear. When you think its done take a reading, it should be about 1.000 or lower.

S.

Thanks for the heads up on the carbing time! I am about a HB virgin! I will wait 3 weeks then as mine was real, real clear!

I tried it still.....very tasty....but then a different "feel" in the mouth if your mind is set on a cider!

I like very dry wines....so this was great! I really think its just a matter of personal taste!

Stonedog said:

S.

Thanks for the heads up on the carbing time! I am about a HB virgin! I will wait 3 weeks then as mine was real, real clear!

I tried it still.....very tasty....but then a different "feel" in the mouth if your mind is set on a cider!

I like very dry wines....so this was great! I really think its just a matter of personal taste!

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Our HBS was trying to convince us it was more of a Cider than wine... that's when we had to explain it came out really dry. Personally, i don't mind a wine that is in between Dry and 'Wet', if it's too 'Wet' it's more like champaigne (which isn't bad), and too dry well, personal taste. So what i'm hoping we accomplished with ours is an in between. We kicked out the Dextrose and added a sleeve of frozen apple juice concentrate for every gallon. Our's is just finishing up week 1 at 17 bubbles a minute... I have high hopes for it...

I've been watching the carbonation comments. It seem people get mixed results. I think waiting longer is key, especially before stocking the fridge. Also if its super clear you might consider pitching another starter with priming sugar.

I did a 1.5 gallon batch with WLP300 hefeweizen yeast, used only straight apple juice (bottles on sale from BJ's Wholesale Club), fermented it at 74F, and the original gravity was 1.048 (about same as my hefe beer's OG). At 14 days it was clear - remarkably clear for a hefe-yeast - and the final gravity was 1.000. It is a bit dry, didn't pick up quite the banana/clove nose that I thought it might get from the yeast strain, tasted decent without carbonation. Now it's in the keg under pressure, and first sample seems nicer - the carbonation added some depth that was lacking - I want it more fully carbed so will retaste in another day or so. My thoughts -- Glad it isn't too sweet, but thought it should have a touch more actual apple flavor to it -- anyone here tried using some method of stalling the fermentation while still some residual sugars left in the cider? If so, how did you do it? What kind of starting gravity and final gravity are you getting if you use the Cotes de Blanc yeast (maybe this is the solution...)?

Wow, lots of stuff going on in a week. I've been out of Internet range over here in Germany for a while, but have been taking plenty of beer porn pics. Now that I have a decent connection, I 'll see if I can get some uploaded. Here's one for the Apfelwein Gang.



I bought a couple of these and it was not bad. A bit lighter than my recipe and SWMBO says mine is better. This is not from the Hessen area, but from the Lindau area of Bavaria on the Bodensee (or Lake Constance). I'll post some pics from other brands as I find them over here. In the mean time.... PROST aus Munich!

I decided to whip up a batch of this, after seeing so many rave reviews. I went to Sams to find the apple juice. I noticed they only sold it in 3qt (96oz) bottles, which I thought was a little odd, but whatever. So that means I need to use 6 full bottles, and 2/3rds of the 7th bottle. Easy enough.

Back at home I poured in a few bottles, then half the sugar and stirred the bejesus out of it. Next, I added in bottles 4 & 5, followed by the rest of the sugar and then bottle 6, making 18 qts so far. Then I poured in the yeast packet. Of course then I realized I had forgotten to mix in that last half of the sugar. Knowing it wasnt such a good idea, I stirred the bejesus out of the mix again, yeast and all.

So all was well and good as I began to add the final 2 qts. This is where things got hairy. I needed 2 of the 3 qts. 2 qts = 8 cups. Easy enough, I'll just use my measuring cup. I began to pour in the remaining fluid into my funnel, when I noticed, about halfway, through that apple juice had begun to overflow the carboy !! What in the world? how is that possible? I hadn't added the full 5 gallons yet and it was pouring over the top. Mystified, I sucked some apple juice/yeast/sugar mix out of the carboy with my baster to bring the level back down to the base of the carboy neck, closed it up and set it in the closet while I tried to figure out what had happend. A little investigating revealed that the juice jugs were NOT 96oz as stated, but were, in fact, a half cup overfilled, making them 100oz! So in adding 6 full bottles, I had actually added 3 cups more than I thought, hence the spill-over at the end.

Oh well, I'm sure it will be okay. A day later and it's barely starting to bubble...

The moral of this story? Pay attention to what you are doing, and dont trust the apple juice bottles!

Edit: FYI, my OG was 1.068

well i got to say the apfelwine was a huge hit at a birthday party tonight, i brought over about 40 bottles....when i left they were asking if i was going out to the truck to get more....lol........all the commercial beer was still in the cooler....
so without a doubt i will be brewing a 3rd batch as soon as the carboy is empty making this my 3rd run...great recipe again Ed....and cool pic by the way....
bottoms up!!!!
anthony

Preliator,

Did you follow the standard recipe or did you tweak it slightly? How did you carb yours again?

Thanks!

Schlenkerla,
I followed EdWorts recipe to the letter...carbed it with a little less then 3/4 cup of dextrose in the bottling bucket. let condition in the bottles in room temp area (70*f) for 10-12 days. everyone was carbed nicely, held a small head not like beer, cleared nicely and had a nice smooth taste......was my first ever homebrew try and i have to say with this thread it was made easy.....i have another 15 gallons up and running with a few orders to boot!!!!!
cheers!!!!
anthony

Preliator,

Thanks for the reply. Its the great successes and gratification that make this hobby fun. Not to mention it teaches the benefits of patience and generosity.

Sounds like you got the bug! Awesome!!

Sorry if this was addressed before, but the search function doesn't work well with 82 pages.

Can I start another batch of apfelwein on a yeast cake from another batch of apfelwein? I used Cotes de blanc. i'm not sure if wine yeast works as well as ale yeast for cakes.

knarfks said:

Sorry if this was addressed before, but the search function doesn't work well with 82 pages.

Can I start another batch of apfelwein on a yeast cake from another batch of apfelwein? I used Cotes de blanc. i'm not sure if wine yeast works as well as ale yeast for cakes.

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and enjoy a .99 cent savings?
I wouldn't risk it.

knarfks said:

Sorry if this was addressed before, but the search function doesn't work well with 82 pages.

Can I start another batch of apfelwein on a yeast cake from another batch of apfelwein? I used Cotes de blanc. i'm not sure if wine yeast works as well as ale yeast for cakes.

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I did with WLP775 English Cider Yeast. Fermentation kicked off in about an hour. It's still plugging away 3 weeks later.

But, for a dry yeast, the $.99 is pretty cheap to start over.

Thanks, I was just trying to cheat and not have to clean the better bottle more than anything.

Interesting!We just sampled our first batch of this stuff after 12 days in the bottle and WOW.It's carbed very nice and tastes way better than it did at bottling.I was skeptical at bottling,thinking it was way too dry and tart for my tastes.It improved nicely in the bottle.BTW,we followed Ed's recipe with the Montrache and sweetened with 1# of lactose and primed with corn sugar.
cheers

This is my second go round with this recipe, the first time was great! I did a five gallon batch using Ed Wort's recipe exactly. Now I'm using the 3 gallon fermentor because it's all that was empty, and a cote de blanc yeast.

I have been considering sulphiting it once it's cleared, then adding two gallons of unfermented apple juice and seeing what happens. I will test first with a small pint mixed at that ratio once the 3 gallon is carbed and report back!

After two weeks, I've got some pretty nice looking Apfelwein. The fermentation slowed to a stop in the last couple of days and is starting to clear up. Needless to say, I'm getting antsy to taste it

How clear does it get inside the carboy? Like, can you see through it to the other side?

Holy freaking crap! Is this thread still going? I take a two month break, come back and it's up to 81 pages.

Nice job Ed, I think you've turned more people on to a recipe than anyone else here. I know I have about a half a keg of it myself right now.

Try some mapfelwein. It's like apfelwein, but about 4 times stronger.

My first batch is still going....

Mine is at 5 weeks and 3 days. Pitched on Jan 7th. The thing is bubbling up to 14 bubbles per minute. (@55'F)

I was shooting for a 3/1 drinking date. SWMBO Birthday!! I'm gonna miss the target by a long shot. Hopefully by then it will have stopped fermenting and started clearing.

My first batch is finally in the keg! It is six weeks old today. At four weeks it was still bubbling about once a minute, but was starting to clear. Gravity sample was a .998, which was plenty dry for me. I sorbated it and added some potassium metabisulfate and isinglass.

Over the next two weeks it became crystal clear and there was no more airlock activity. The taste is very wine like with just a hint of apple still present. I think it will be great once chilled and carbonated. Since the yeast are dead I can back sweeten if I find that it is just too dry. Time will tell.

Holy!This stuff is mighty potent.SWMBO,who drinks a few beers a day at least and never seems to get drunk(as opposed to me on my lips after 3or4),had 5 bottles of this stuff last night and was HAMMERED!I don't think i'd ever seen her that high.
I seriously thought she was ill from one of her MS meds or something.I was pretty loaded after 2 bottles and switched back to beer.Anyways,we have respect for this stuff now....dangerously tasty!
Cheers

God Emporer BillyBrew said:

Holy freaking crap! Is this thread still going? I take a two month break, come back and it's up to 81 pages.

Nice job Ed, I think you've turned more people on to a recipe than anyone else here. I know I have about a half a keg of it myself right now.

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If you didn't see the other thread, so far there is 444 gallons made to date.

It might need its own dedicated section.

Schlenkerla said:

If you didn't see the other thread, so far there is 444 gallons made to date.

It might need its own dedicated section.

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It's like Cartman in the trapper keeper episode. It just keeps growing, consuming everything in it's path.

Seriously, I know why. We've all been jonesing for a good cider recipe and they've been few and far between up to this point.

It really is growing on me, it's what I was drinking tonight. It's not cider, though -I don't know exactly why, but it's definately wine, not cider.

When I first drank cider in the UK. Strongbow. It was like drinking wine, bitter apple juice, after 3/4 mug. I was diggin' it pretty much. Cider tasting...

Got rubber legs real quick hoppin' off the stool to go break the seal.

It sneaks up on you because it gets really drinkable.

Schlenkerla,
That was my exact same experience with strongbow, 3 pints very fast in an irish pub not feeling much, stood up nearly dropped. Ok, I was a lightweight, I had just turned 21.

I was in a little pub in Portsmouth just outside the Naval Base. I was about the same age too. I was with the US Marine Detachment from the USS Siapan. 1986 It was along time ago.

I look forward to reliving that shortly. :cross:

Schlenkerla said:

I was in a little pub in Portsmouth just outside the Naval Base. I was about the same age too. I was with the US Marine Detachment from the USS Siapan. 1986 It was along time ago.

I look forward to reliving that shortly. :cross:

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Small world! I was serving in the USAF at Pease AFB in Portsmouth NH from 1985-1989. I frequented many of the little pubs in Portsmouth. Enjoyed my time in the service very much! I new a couple of guys from the Naval base too. Good guys. I probably saw you around. Wow! I cant believe that was 20 years ago!

I just got back from Germany. I spent my last night in Frankfurt at the Courtyard Marriott in Nordwestzentrum. In the lobby, they had this little souvineer.



One bottle of local Apfelwein and a Apfelwein glass for 5 Euros ($6.50). Yep, I picked on up. It's in the fridge for a vergleich test tomorrow. It's good to be back after wasting 12 hours in Newark yesterday waiting to connect home.

Here's a quick look at the progression of my recipe based on the 5 gallons on the left. You can see the dates on the bottles, but these dates are based on the 1/15/07 batch on the left.


Here is it at 1 day.


Here is is at 4 days.


Here it is at 11 days.


Here it is at 33 days. The one on the right was kegged today.

I am at day 11 in the bottle carbing process. I chilled a bottle this morning for a test! Slightly carbonated at this point....will probably wait another 10 days or so before chilling the enitre batch.

But the taste....is AWESOME! So refreshing....and goes down so smooth and easy! I am always been a Stongbow fan. Usually drinking it instead of beer....this is A LOT like Stongbow! I love it! It may be a bit drier than Strongbow...like a dry wine. There is just really nothing like it!

No three glass rule for me!

Me thinks I may be addicted!

Is anyone's apfelwein not clearing? Mine's been going for over a month and a half (probably closer to two) and is showing no signs of clearing. Should I rack it to secondary? Should I use some kind of fining agent?

-S

Hello everyone.

After reading all 80 odd pages of this thread I was inspired to register for the forum and make some of this stuff for myself. This will be my first ever homebrew experience but it seems simple enough. even though I read through the entire thread I still have some questions, but they are more or less related to what I'm going to need to purchase at the HBS on my way home tonight.

Here they come, sorry if this has been asked already but my head is spinning from all the reading. Other than a carboy, stopper, airlock, and santitizer, what I am going to need equipment wise? Also an organic food store near me sells 100% apple juice in 1 gallon glass jugs, would it be worth the extra $1.50 for me to buy these and save the jugs for bottling, as I'm obviously not set up to keg it?

I guess those are my only questions it was a very informative thread, although I'm sure something else will crop up during the time that it is fermenting.

Thank you in advance, and sorry about the long winded post.

Welcome Branket!

If you are going to bottle it, you will need

a bottling bucket preferably with a spigot.
a bottling wand with a little piece of hose to attach to the spigot
a racking cane and hose to siphon it (I recommend an AutoSiphon)
Bottles. I recommend the 1 liter flip tops as bottling will be done in no time.



Putting some back in your jugs will be OK if you expect to refrigerate and consume it in a day or two.

lustreking said:

Is anyone's apfelwein not clearing? Mine's been going for over a month and a half (probably closer to two) and is showing no signs of clearing. Should I rack it to secondary? Should I use some kind of fining agent?

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Was your juice clear when you bought it? What kind of yeast did you use? What is the fermentation temp?

All of those can have a factor in clearing. Mine ferments at room temp and the Montrachet drops clear in 4 to 6 weeks. I use Tree Top juice which is clear from the start.

lustreking said:

Is anyone's apfelwein not clearing? Mine's been going for over a month and a half (probably closer to two) and is showing no signs of clearing. Should I rack it to secondary? Should I use some kind of fining agent?

-S

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Mine has been going for a month and it hasn't cleared yet. The temp has dropped to 60 degrees so I figure it will take more time to ferment out.