EdWort's Apfelwein

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BillTheSlink

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I have some questions on this:

I was going to make some for Mom for Christmas. I was going to give her three gallons and keep two (you don't think I am that giving do you?). I have some questions.

Is this best served cold or room temperature or what?

Should this style of drink be carbonated or not? Mom's a wine drinker and I am thinking she might like it better uncarbed. What do you think?

When it comes to bottling this, if it is to be non-carbonated should it still be bottled in something that would be finished in one sitting, like a 12 or 22 oz. beer bottle? Is there some way I can put it in used water jugs? I know wine bottles would be the most visually appealing option, but I don't want the added expense of buying the bottles, corker, etc..

Ed says this is very dry and not very sweet and you could use a different yeast for a sweeter EdWort's Apfelwein. Any ideas on what to use for a sweeter taste? With what you suggest will I need a bigger carboy than 5 gallons for the five gallons of juice? In other words, will it foam?
 
I used splenda to sweeten mine at bottling time (splenda is non fermentable). Also, I carbed mine lightly, and it turned out fantastic. Since ours is lightly carbed we drink ours like we drink our beer, let it sit out like 5 min after removing from fridge and pour. One thing, it needs to condition for quit some time. Ours was best after fermenting for a month, then in the bottle for 3.
 
I am also curious about this as well, I think I would probably prefer it on the sweeter side. I have everything ready to go, I am just waiting for the Temperature to drop a little more here. It is still to warm in my house to brew anything.
How much sweetener did you use at bottling time??
 
If you want it sweeter, try using a different yeast. Most yeast will dry it out, but Monrachet tends to REALLY dry it out. Ive heard Wyeast 3068 makes a killer cider that is not as dry. Consider other low attenuating yeasts as well. Another option to backsweeten is lactose.

As far as bottling, I really like it carbonated. If you want it still, you can probably put it in beer bottles and cap. You might want to consider degassing it too. They sell wands that you attach to a drill. It whips all of the residual carbonation out of wine without oxygenating it.

Still or carbonated, I would chill it before drinking.
 
I like it unsweetened, still or carbed, and chilled in the fridge.

If your mom is already a wine drinker, I'd suggest leaving it unsweetened.

Unless she's more of a Boone's Farm wine drinker, of course. :D
 
I like it unsweetened, still or carbed, and chilled in the fridge.

If your mom is already a wine drinker, I'd suggest leaving it unsweetened.

Unless she's more of a Boone's Farm wine drinker, of course. :D

Actually, and I am ashamed to admit this for by my ol' man's manhood and my own pride, he is the Boone's Farm drinker and he can't hold it worth squat.
 
Ed gave me some apfelwein from his tap (always on tap over there) he force carbs it. Cold 40-50 degrees. But I have made it and mine was still and dry also excellent!! Whatever you like is the best.
 
I would suggest going through with your normal fermentation process with the Apfelwein.

A month or so later, (whenever it clears) bottle half of it with priming sugar and the other half without. (Then let em get some AGE) I personally use 22oz bottles (cause there are less of them to fill) and they are a good size to enjoy. You can then give your mom a bottle of each to see which she likes more.
-Me
 
Since nobody touched on the carboy point I will. The size of the carboy will depend on what yeast you choose to use. If you use the Wyeast 3068 you would need a 6 gallon carboy for 5 gallons of Apfelwein. If you use a wine yeast you would be alright with a 5 gallon carboy. If you want 5 gallons of Apfelwien then you will need to ferment at least 5.25 gallons, when you siphon to a secondary or bottling bucket you are going to leave a little behind.
 
One final question on ageing:

How long in the bottle after it clears? If I start in two weeks could it be ready by Christmas or shortly thereafter?
 
I just have to say, I hope your talking about X-mas after this one right? Apfelwein takes at least 8 months to taste right period, and after 16 months I think it would be GREAT.
If anyone knows of a quicker way to get just that right taste I want to know.
There are ciders that can be ready in 3.5 months, but I don't think Apfelwein would be one of them.
Graff is one. I also make a cider with 5 gallons apple juice, 4 cans of concentrate to up the taste, 1/2 to 1 lb of sugar, and WLP300 fermented at 65F or so, and crash chilled at month three for a week, then bottled conditioned for at least 3 weeks. (I keg so I don't have to wait.)
 
Ok, just made this and its been about 1 month an 21 days since I started it. I racked it and had a glass. I followed the recipe exactly. Everyone, keeps saying that it doesn't even taste good until 3 month or 8 months.

I'm really trying to imagine how it could possibly be better.

Thanks for the recipe Ed going to add to my must brew often list.
 
Apfelwein is DELICIOUS after even 3 months. I keep trying to age it but it never seems to last that long. Even the SWMBO who only likes sweet wines loves it.
 
I ferment mine to 13% let it clear Force carb, and then but that Biatch on tap Get all of your friends drunk, Let them drink 2 pints and they dont realize they just drank more than a bottle of wine Let the ladies sip on it warn them.... Had a puker last week I drink mine after it clears so earlier than a month Tastes Great
 
Ok Quick ingredient Question.

IMAG0086.jpg


Just got those. I'm pretty sure that's corn sugar so I'm good there but I couldn't find an AJ without ANY additives. Is that close enough? (Maltodextrin, and vitimin C)
 
So the grainy sugar is cane sugar and the fine stuff in the kits for bottling is corn? Can you buy corn sugar from the the grocery? They don't seem to be differentiated if so. How do I tell the difference
 
How long can this stay in the primary and will it improve over 6 months or so in the primary or would this be too long?
 
No, what you see in that picture is Table Sugar, Cane sugar is the raw product. Corn sugar is a rare find at a grocery store but becoming increasingly popular. However, table sugar is fermentable.
 
In regards to the AJ the ingredients you need to watch out for are POTASSIUM SORBATE & SODIUM BENZOATE. They are preservatives and are added to prevent yeast from growing.
 
I leave mine in the carboy until I can see through it and then I bottle it up and carb it a little with 5 oz of priming sugar to 1.5 cups of water.

Still haven't tried to make it sweater with a non fermentable sugar, but have been getting lots of requests for that.

As for the leaving it to the 8 to 16 month mark, they aren't kidding. I have some that are near the 18 month mark and people love it. I usually make two batches at a time just so I can have some well aged apfelwein on hand.
 
I just got back from Frankfurt and drank Apfelwein (or Ebbelwoi as the Frankfurters call it). It is served in a grey stoneware pitcher and then poured into a .5l glass. The wein is not carbonated, but rather the glass is topped off with about a 1/4 inch of sparkling water. Very refreshing on a hot summer day in the shade of a weingarten. It goes down easy and sneaks up fast!
Prost!
 
Since there is no hops in this, can you bottle in clear bottles (still keeping them out of the light) I have some Newcastle bottles that I was going to return.
 
Brewcrew86 said:
If I wanted to cut the recipe in half should still use all 5g of yeast?

With the low price of yeast I usually use the whole pack but you can use half if you like. No difference really. There is plenty of yeast in that packet for 10+ gallons which I've proved more than once.
 
Perfect. I'm still a noob and wad unsure thanks. Now one last question...I've been reading threads and people say not to use wine bottles to bottle apfelwein because that co2 will pop the cork out. What should I use to bottle?
 
Perfect. I'm still a noob and wad unsure thanks. Now one last question...I've been reading threads and people say not to use wine bottles to bottle apfelwein because that co2 will pop the cork out. What should I use to bottle?

If you plan on carbing, beer bottles of any size work fine.
 
Hi all,


I am kegging my Apfelwein at room temperature @ 26psi. I planned on drinking most of it at room temperature. I was wondering if it's possible to bottle a few bottles later on at room temperature. I've read its messy with beer. Wondering if it would cause the same problem here.

Also, I tasted it and it has a very subtle flavor. Seems sort of weak. The apple flavor isn't very pronounced. I started it in the beginning of February and let it sit in the primary until now. Just wanted to know if that's a normal taste for this time-frame?
 
I am new to brewing, im thinking of making this. Looks pretty awesome! I saw someone use cinnamon sticks, how was the success with that? How much should you add to the carboy?

Also, has anyone tried using fresh apple juice to make this? How did it turn out?

Also, thoughts on carbonation vs not?
 
Strange weather continues here in Michigan and I normally do not keep changing from heat to air conditioning. How important is a constant temp while fermenting this? Looking at the 10 day we are supposed to finally warm up so temp changes shouldn't be as bad as they have been but even with the AC on a 4-5 degree change throughout the day is fairly normal in my house.
 
Just tried this recipe. Everything went smooth until, while transporting, all the yeast stirred in and settled at the bottom of the carboy. No action on the airlock yet. I believe Montrachet is top fermenting, so is this gonna be a problem? do I need to pitch the yeast again?
 
just tried this, first timer, tweaked it a little

used 1/2 tsp pectin enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
a pack of d47 instead of Montrachet as mine hasn't come in yet. figured what the hell lets give it a shot.

since i did 1 gallon, i used 0.5lbs table sugar

JUST A QUICK EDIT: within 2 hours bubbling airlock, 1 today we are at 1 bubble every 1 second!
 
i had great fermentation going so i'm not sure why i messed iwth it, but i added some yeast energizer and had some overflow. lost approximately 4oz of liquid, so i topped it back off with apple juice/dextrose.

now for about 2ish days i had 2bubbles per second (down to 1 bubble per 2 seconds) fermentation so i'm curious... i just measured the gravity and it was at about 1.02. is it possible this has fermented down this much or did i somehow lose a lot of sugar or something... kinda confused

lesson learned by the way..
 
Is there any reason to not take this off the yeast if it's fermented down to 0.99? Would it hurt to rack to clean carboy and add some priming sugar then age?
 
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