Man, I love Apfelwein

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emjay said:
You planning on keeping the 2nd batch on all that yeast for 6+ months? I've definitely had autolysis problems from keeping it on too long, and I know somebody else who has as well.
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No, the reason I asked was a friend has already started this recipe. He has limited bottles but a free free carboys. I suggested to him that rather than age in bottles, why not rack off the yeast after say what, 4weeks, then age 6months in a carboy, thus freeing up his bottles.

I was also wondering about reusing the yeast cake but as mentioned, for the $1.50 yeast packet, its not worth it.

My initial thread has gone a little off the rails.
 
Leadgolem said:
I think you are kidding, but selling homebrew is not legal and talking about illegal subjects tends to get threads locked.

I've done a few batches of apfelwein now. Not this exact recipe, but the same general idea. I've noticed that if I add 1 normal dose of yeast nutrient and yeast energizer for every 5% of target abv over about 7 I get something that doesn't require as much aging to be drinkable.

For instance, I've got some 16% abv apfelwein. It spent 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary with some bentonite to clear. It was just barely drinkable when it came out of secondary. It was ok after about 2 more weeks. After about 2 months it's actually quite nice.

I've had basically the same experience with other high abv brews. That makes me think that a fair number of the high abv brews are producing off flavors because they are nutrient deficient.

No hard science, but I'm going to keep using nutrient in everything with a highish abv target.

EDIT: At the target abv of this brew, I'd personally add 1 normal dose of yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. The directions are on the packages, but usually 1 tsp nutrient/ gallon and 1/2 tsp energizer/ gallon.
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Sorry, didn't know that it's illegal.

I just picked up all of my ingredients and gear today ($120 for 10 gallons + 2 better bottles + stoppers). The sales girl told me i could get some yeast nutrient, but since it wasn't listed on the main, I didn't. Is there any reason why it's not included?
 
Ha now you're effed! All the dude wanted was some spiked juice and now he's half way to having a temperature controlled home brew set up.

10 gallons of apfelwein is gonna be a lot cooler than a single jug.

If you read more in the thread I believe you'll see posts about rhino farts that will answer the question about nutrients. Yeast needs certain things to live well, and those things are found in beer malt, buy not so much in apple juice. And the more you ask the yeast to do in terms of alcohol percentage, the more nutrients the yeast wants. Without added nutrient, the yeast tends to struggle, and when it struggles it tends to produce sulphur-smelling by products. I believe these usually age out of the brew, so they won't leave it tasting bad, but they may make your brew area smell bad.

It's not a very expensive addition, but probably not absolutely necessary.
 
And if your yeast hits a wall and your fermentation gets stuck, you could always add some nutrient boiled in some water and cooled down to your brew after the fact.
 
mike_in_ak said:
If you read more in the thread I believe you'll see posts about rhino farts that will answer the question about nutrients. Yeast needs certain things to live well, and those things are found in beer malt, buy not so much in apple juice. And the more you ask the yeast to do in terms of alcohol percentage, the more nutrients the yeast wants. Without added nutrient, the yeast tends to struggle, and when it struggles it tends to produce sulphur-smelling by products. I believe these usually age out of the brew, so they won't leave it tasting bad, but they may make your brew area smell bad.

It's not a very expensive addition, but probably not absolutely necessary.
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With the listed recipe, not it's not absolutely essential. IMO, if your going over 10% abv then it pretty much is. A certain amount of h2s will age out, but if to much of it sits in solution for to long it turns into something that you can't ever get out of the brew. Plus, I'm usually way to impatient to let it age out. :D If you use yeast nutrient it's never produced in the first place

H2s production is usually the result of an enzyme produced by the yeast, in a nutrient poor environment, that breaks down dead yeast cells. That frees up the nutrients from the dead cells, but produces several rather unappetizing compounds. H2s is just the most noticeable one. Over time most of these compounds will break down into less offensive things.

mike_in_ak said:
And if your yeast hits a wall and your fermentation gets stuck, you could always add some nutrient boiled in some water and cooled down to your brew after the fact.
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You don't even necessarily have to mix it with water. I haven't had a problem just pitching dry nutrient or energizer after fermentation has started and shaking the bottle.
 
Drinking a bottle of 11 month aged!! Good stuff!! Drinking it still but there is fizzzz to it. Love it

image-877876644.jpg
 
So I read up to page 130. I made my first batch on 12/20/12. When I was at my home brew store I told the guy I was making an apple wine and he said edworts? I just smiled and said yup. Mine made about half a circle within the first day. After that, all the bubbles on top disappeared and I have a ton of champaign bubbles. I never saw it foam up but when I checked it last night there looks to be some foam residue on my 6 gal BB. The upcoming weeks are going to be tough waiting. I don't have any legging equipment so ill have to bottle. I'm going to carb I think. It's my understanding that if you don't carb you have to move it to the fridge right away? Is that correct?
 
Rys06Tbss said:
I don't have any legging equipment so ill have to bottle. I'm going to carb I think. It's my understanding that if you don't carb you have to move it to the fridge right away? Is that correct?
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I have not heard that, curious why you think so.

I have not carbonated the last two 10gal batches batches and just bottled/corked in wine bottles which have gone into boxes in the basement storage area. It is cooler there (70 deg), but I'm not planning on storing the Apfelwein for years. :)
 
opus345 said:
I have not heard that, curious why you think so.

I have not carbonated the last two 10gal batches batches and just bottled/corked in wine bottles which have gone into boxes in the basement storage area. It is cooler there (70 deg), but I'm not planning on storing the Apfelwein for years. :)
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I just wasn't sure if it would spoil. In the earlier posts Ed said that you could bottle in the one gallon juice bottle but just be sure to refrigerate then. I must have misunderstood and I bet he ment if you open them. Refrigerate afterwards.
 
so i have a fairly simple question real quick. with no definite answer.

before i deployed, i made 2 5 gallon batches of apfelwein, as per recipe. the wife racked to seconday after 2 months. its been sitting there aging, getting good for 7 months...ill be home in two weeks...

i was thinking of bottling in mason jars...no carbonation. straight from carboy into mason jar. should i leave space at the top, or fill all the way to top? its done fermenting, no more yeastcake or anything. the reason for this, is to give to family, etc. if i dont fill to the top, anything i need to do, in order for it to not to do, because of the air caught inside?

thanks guys

also, this will moe than likely be refrigerated as soon as its in the mason jar, besides what i cant fit in the fridge lol...maybe age it longer..
 
Ive searched high and low, and I'm either not good at searching or the answer isnt easy to find...

Ive had my apfelwein on the cake for going on 6 months and plan to bottle. Do i need to add yeast for bottling(with carbonation)? Should I use Montrachet or a jar of beer yeast?


Thanks.
 
odh2507 I like the mason jar idea,if I did it I would seal the canning lids in a water bath like canning tomatoes.

Xpertskir you would not have to add yeast to prime at bottling but it would not hurt if you did.If you do I would say the Montrachet would be fine.
 
On the twelfth day of christmas hbt gave to me..........

12 psi serving pressure
11 drinks shared
10 friends a drinkin
9 still awake
8 kinds of cheese
7 types of sausage
6 gallon carboys

5 gallons of apple juice....

4 sprinkles of pectic enzyme
3 sprinkles of yeast nutrient
2 lbs of dextrose
And a packet of montrachet yeast



About sums up my night :)

Merry Christmas HBT
 
odh2507 said:
...i was thinking of bottling in mason jars...no carbonation. straight from carboy into mason jar. should i leave space at the top, or fill all the way to top? its done fermenting, no more yeastcake or anything. the reason for this, is to give to family, etc. if i dont fill to the top, anything i need to do, in order for it to not to do, because of the air caught inside?
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BrewerBear said:
odh2507 I like the mason jar idea,if I did it I would seal the canning lids in a water bath like canning tomatoes.
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Yup, definitely heat the lids and seal the jars. I haven't had the best of luck sealing brew in mason jars though. The extra surface area of the larger mouth of the jar has a tendency to promote oxidation. You can end up with a kind of green apple flavor after a while. It isn't a fatal problem with an apfelwein, but it does detract from the overall flavor. Nothing clever has occured to me for dealing with the problem.

Not really a big issue if you are going to be drinking it soon though.

I've had better luck with pry top beer bottles and oxygen absorbing caps. Especially for a still brew.
Xpertskir said:
...Ive had my apfelwein on the cake for going on 6 months and plan to bottle. Do i need to add yeast for bottling(with carbonation)? Should I use Montrachet or a jar of beer yeast?...
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BrewerBear said:
Xpertskir you would not have to add yeast to prime at bottling but it would not hurt if you did.If you do I would say the Montrachet would be fine.
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Yup again. I'd use the same yeast you used to make the apfelwein, whatever it may have been. Some yeast strains will leave a lot of a specific kind of sugar still in solution after fermentation. If you then add another kind of yeast you could end up with more continuing fermentation they you want and bottle bombs.

If your FG was right around 1.0 that shouldn't be a problem, but if you finished at more like 1.01 or higher you might have an issue mixing yeast.

Happy brewing :mug:
 
Wife: Ryan, The pantry smells like somebody farted then dropped a load in their pants.
Me: Oh yeah... I forgot to tell you this stuff might smell a little.
Me: People say this stuff smells like Rhino farts for the first couple days.
Wife: THATS EXACTLY WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE!


I did have an American Pale and I currently have a Black IPA fermenting in there. Suppose I should give it time to air out after this is all done.
 
So given that there are 700+ pages in this thread this question has probably been asked but not in the first 30 pages I read so bear with me. This will be my first time making a wine, I've done a couple beers and 10+ ciders.

Has anyone tried this with raisins? It's my belief that these will add some more sugar, nutrients, and mouthfeel. I've done one straight cider fermented dry with no back sweetening and the last one I tried was a little watery in feel so I think I'd like some more mouth feel in this. If anyone has done this, how much was added and when in the fermentation process(I'm thinking in the beginning)? Thanks guys, pumped to try this and merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate!
 
 
Damn at 6 months this stuff is SMOOTH....just had my first taste when bottling...still obviously.


Im kinda shocked at how little flavor it has, and not in a bad way, very subtle and obviously very dry like the real deal ive had in Germany.
 
When should I take this stuff of the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also don't want to run into any lysing problems. Overall, I would like to age about a year before drinking.
 
When should I take this stuff off the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also want to avoid any lysis issues. Overall, I plan to age about a year before drinking. Any suggestions?
 
Finally opened a bottle of my first batch of this. I followed the recipe exactly except for bottle conditioning. I put in enough sugar when bottling for 4 volumes. I wanted it to be really bubbly, like a champagne. It went into primary at the very end of September. I opened a couple bottles for a family Christmas party. It was fantastic! Everyone really enjoyed, and it was everything I was hoping for. This is definitely getting made again! Here's a pic, though it's not terrific.

CameraZOOM-20121225203805238.jpg
 
Vigo_Carpathian said:
When should I take this stuff off the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also want to avoid any lysis issues. Overall, I plan to age about a year before drinking. Any suggestions?
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Give it a week after it's hit FG. That should give you plenty of time for post fermentation cleanup, without any risk of other issues.
 
I just bottled my last batch that was in primary (in a better bottle) for five months. I'll post how it tastes in a few weeks.
 
Vigo_Carpathian said:
I've been scared of aging in better bottles due to potential oxygen issues. How long is too long to let it sit in these?
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I just bottled a batch that was on the yeast in a better bottle for almost 6 months. From what I've read, I have nothing to worry about. I'm just going to consider the better bottle / oxygen issue a bogeyman until I experience otherwise.
 
Without looking through the entire thread, and after a quick search not finding the answer

Does anyone have the starting gravity for this Apfelwein following Edworts recipe exactly? Treetop and everything...

I ask because mines now at 5 months or so, and i kegged it for new years, but would like to be able to put down a ABV on the tap, so people cant say i didnt warn them :)

Mine sat on the yeast in the primary carboy for 5 months until i kegged it today, it definately has the apple kick coming back to it and is pretty potent...plan on serving it unsweetened and just have a bowl of sugar cubes next to the tap for those that want to go wild with the sugar.
 
Mmmmmmm to my glass of this apfelwein I opened after 4 months and is delicious ... Has mellowed a lot And Mmman I love apfelwein :)
 
Hello everyone. I'm getting ready to try my first cider and settled on this recipe based on a recommendation at my LHBS (http://www.thebrewmentor.com/)

I will want the final result to be somewhat sweet. I already have the suggested yeast and sugar from the first page of this thread. Can someone point me to info about how to sweeten this recipe? Thanks!
 
haycicle said:
Hello everyone. I'm getting ready to try my first cider and settled on this recipe based on a recommendation at my LHBS (http://www.thebrewmentor.com/)

I will want the final result to be somewhat sweet. I already have the suggested yeast and sugar from the first page of this thread. Can someone point me to info about how to sweeten this recipe? Thanks!
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Add your sugar to the brew after it's hit fg to taste, lots of people back sweeten with apple juice concentrate. If you want a still brew, bottle pasteurize immediately after sweetening and bottling.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/
If you want a fizzy brew, then fill a plastic "tester" bottle with your brew. Once it's got the pressure you want, pasteurize the rest of the batch to halt the re-fermentation from the back sweetening.
 

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