Man, I love Apfelwein

It took me a week and a half to read 250 pages. I went ahead and mixed up a batch after that.

It's been in the carboy for 9 days now. Airlock activity has slowed way down to maybe 3-4 bubbles per minute and it's not even thinking about clearing yet, but I figure it's gonna sit in there for another 4-5 weeks, so what's the rush. I need to go ahead and start another 5 gallons sometime in the coming week.

When I went to the LHBS for the yeast I asked for Montrachet, and he handed me Lalvin's Bourgovin RC212 saying that was basically it. After further research, this yeast is meant for young and aged reds.

"The RC 212 is a low-foaming moderate-speed fermenter with an optimum fermentation temperature ranging from 20° to 30°C (68° to 86°F). A very low producer of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the RC 212 shows good alcohol tolerance to 16%.

The RC 212 is recommended for red varieties where full extraction is desired. Lighter red varieties also benefit from the improved extraction while color stability is maintained throughout fermentation and aging. Aromas of ripe berry and fruit are emphasized while respecting pepper and spicy notes."

Will this work out ok? Or should I hold off and pick up something else on Tuesday? It looks like they only carry a small amount of wine yeasts, and they're mostly by Lalvin. Maybe ICV D-47?

I've yet to have a yeast strain that didn't turn out ok personally. If I had issues it wasn't the yeast. I use the montracet as a guideline but if that isn't available I go with what I got.

So the other night was dinner with my swmbo's family. Sister in law apparently lived in Germany for a few years, unknown to me. I poured out some "home made wine" as I called it from an unlabeled bottle and passed some cups around. Her sister took one sip and said "You didn't make this.....it's Apfelwein. Where did you get it??".

It took a lot of convincing and logging onto the site to prove I made it lol. So it must be accurate haha. Anyway I gave her six bottles and I'm the favorite brother in law now haha

nukinfuts29 said:

So the other night was dinner with my swmbo's family. Sister in law apparently lived in Germany for a few years, unknown to me. I poured out some "home made wine" as I called it from an unlabeled bottle and passed some cups around. Her sister took one sip and said "You didn't make this.....it's Apfelwein. Where did you get it??".

It took a lot of convincing and logging onto the site to prove I made it lol. So it must be accurate haha. Anyway I gave her six bottles and I'm the favorite brother in law now haha

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Nice!

As I suspected I over reacted. The brew room now stinks and the airlock is bubbling away. I might bottles the first 2.5 gallons that have been fermenting for 5 months.

Grumpybumpy said:

When I went to the LHBS for the yeast I asked for Montrachet, and he handed me Lalvin's Bourgovin RC212 saying that was basically it. After further research, this yeast is meant for young and aged reds.

"The RC 212 is a low-foaming moderate-speed fermenter with an optimum fermentation temperature ranging from 20° to 30°C (68° to 86°F). A very low producer of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the RC 212 shows good alcohol tolerance to 16%.

The RC 212 is recommended for red varieties where full extraction is desired. Lighter red varieties also benefit from the improved extraction while color stability is maintained throughout fermentation and aging. Aromas of ripe berry and fruit are emphasized while respecting pepper and spicy notes."

Will this work out ok? Or should I hold off and pick up something else on Tuesday? It looks like they only carry a small amount of wine yeasts, and they're mostly by Lalvin. Maybe ICV D-47?

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I think half of the fun of this is experimenting. If you're asking if it will ferment, then there is little doubt it will ferment. As for how it will taste, there's only one way to know that for sure.

I currently have a batch going that is using a red wine yeast, but what I have going is Paster Red. FWIW, it has smelled fantastic throughout fermentation. It bubbles at about the same rate that the Montrachet did, but it is fermenting a little longer - just a different characteristic I suppose. It seems to be maintaining a little more color than the Montrachet did, but I could be trying a little too hard to see something there. I'm really anxious to see how it turns out.

So I guess all I'm saying is that sometimes, you just have to experiment a bit, and if it is the "red wine" part of the yeast recommendation that is worrying you, then you're not the only one experimenting with yeasts recommended for red wines.

SteveHoward said:

I think half of the fun of this is experimenting. If you're asking if it will ferment, then there is little doubt it will ferment. As for how it will taste, there's only one way to know that for sure.

I currently have a batch going that is using a red wine yeast, but what I have going is Paster Red. FWIW, it has smelled fantastic throughout fermentation. It bubbles at about the same rate that the Montrachet did, but it is fermenting a little longer - just a different characteristic I suppose. It seems to be maintaining a little more color than the Montrachet did, but I could be trying a little too hard to see something there. I'm really anxious to see how it turns out.

So I guess all I'm saying is that sometimes, you just have to experiment a bit, and if it is the "red wine" part of the yeast recommendation that is worrying you, then you're not the only one experimenting with yeasts recommended for red wines.

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I'm not worried that it won't ferment, I just wanted to brew this recipe the way Ed intended before experimenting from there. Plus, I'm a little concerned that this yeast will be more active than the Montrachet. The plan is to ferment in my rarely used 5 gallon carboy, so there won't be any room for blow off. Oh well, I guess I'll RDWHAHB and throw caution to the wind (and hopefully not apple juice to my ceiling)

nukinfuts29 said:

So the other night was dinner with my swmbo's family. Sister in law apparently lived in Germany for a few years, unknown to me. I poured out some "home made wine" as I called it from an unlabeled bottle and passed some cups around. Her sister took one sip and said "You didn't make this.....it's Apfelwein. Where did you get it??".

It took a lot of convincing and logging onto the site to prove I made it lol. So it must be accurate haha. Anyway I gave her six bottles and I'm the favorite brother in law now haha

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Hehe. Nice!! Original recipe as posted by Ed or "tweaked?"

Original.

Made 4.5g batch on 12-12-11 using original recipe, tasted it 2.5 weeks into fermentation, Swmbo and myself loved it. I realized it wont last long, So i made a trip up to Sam's Club and bought enough for a 15 gallon batch that we made on New Years Eve, that is chugging away nicely (about 3 bubbles a second). plan on bottle carbing the first batch, and the 15 gallons going to break up into 5 gallons bottle carbed, 5 gallons bottle still, and 5 gallons into a corney for aging.

I haven't brewed mine yet but wanted to share, went to a small independent wine brewing shop in Halifax NS today and asked for Montrachet yeast. Was asked what I was brewing and answered that I was making a german style apple wine. The next question was if I was making EdWort's Apfelwein. Impressive!

Pandarina said:

I haven't brewed mine yet but wanted to share, went to a small independent wine brewing shop in Halifax NS today and asked for Montrachet yeast. Was asked what I was brewing and answered that I was making a german style apple wine. The next question was if I was making EdWort's Apfelwein. Impressive!

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Niiice!

Ed is famous! :rockin:

I have all the ingredients ready to make apfelwein and have read a good chunk of this thread but am more confused now than I was before I started reading.

EdWort said he never let's his ferment/age for more than 3 months but I've seen others go for up to 8 months.

So what's the best time frame?

Also - It's ok to use apple juice from concentrate, right?

Juice from concentrate is fine as long as it doesn't contain any preservatives. Ascorbic Acid (vitamin c) is fine though. Just nothing else.

EdWort said that he doesn't leave it on the yeast for any longer than three months now. Aging beyond three months after bottling/kegging is highly recommended.

Cheers!!

OpenContainer said:

Juice from concentrate is fine as long as it doesn't contain any preservatives. Ascorbic Acid (vitamin c) is fine though. Just nothing else.

EdWort said that he doesn't leave it on the yeast for any longer than three months now. Aging beyond three months after bottling/kegging is highly recommended.

Cheers!!

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So take it off the yeast and let age for another few months?

What about bottling? Should you add more sugar to let them carb up or is there enough in there to bypass this step?

After three months on the yeast can I bottle and let it sit in the bottles to age or should you do it in another carboy?

I'm new to brewing and these are things I'm unsure of, so I may be asking dumb questions.

Thanks!

You can take it off the yeast any time after fermentation has stopped and it's cleared up. As early as 30 days or as late as 3 months or longer. Some folks leave it on much longer. It's pretty difficult to screw up. Check it with your hydrometer to verify that fermentation has stopped.

You'll need to add sugar during bottling to bottle carb it. 3/4 cup of corn sugar per 5 gallons of apfelwein.

There's no need to secondary it. Just bottle it up and drink it periodically.

No questions are dumb.

I would stronly reccomend leaving it on the yeast the three months than, if you can handle it (build a pipeline!), bottle it or keg it and leave it alone for a year.

An update to my unintentional RC212 "experiment":

No bubbles or signs of fermentation for at least 32 hours (yelled at it to get moving and went to bed). This morning I came downstairs to a headspace and airlock filled with bubbles. It looks like the same bubbling as when I agitated the applejuice, not a krausen looking beast. Who knows?

Now I have a blowoff hooked to my 5 gal carboy. Glad I opted to leave a little bit more headspace than what was needed for the Montrachet. I may have woken up to much worse!

So just to share a little more love for apfelwein...

I mixed up a batch up this probably back in June...or maybe July. I kegged it in early December and served it at my wedding on 12/30...I now have an empty keg to refill again.

To say the least it was a hit! If I remember correctly, I did kick it up a bit to about 5 cups of sugar but it was awesome...and lethal. After drinking 8-12 cups myself, I was just a wee bit on the intoxicated side so I chased it down with some tequila and a few bottles of home made wine. Surprisingly I wasn't nearly as hungover as I expected to be. I had a nagging headache and some dizziness all morning but that was about it. Nothing that really slowed me down from doing anything.

My only mistake was to not follow all the recommendations and make another batch shortly after the first. I won't make the same mistake twice. I am pretty positive that this will be a regularly available on the keezer assuming I can keep production up with consumption and probably have at least 2 carboys dedicated to apfelwine at any given time.

Mrott said:

I had a nagging headache

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I think that's a symptom of something else you did that day.

I dunno, a dixie cup of Apfelwein is enough to put a lot of people halfway to their ass. I had four or five and I was traaashed. If you don't take some Tylenol and water before bed, it'll hurt.

nukinfuts29 said:

I dunno, a dixie cup of Apfelwein is enough to put a lot of people halfway to their ass. I had four or five and I was traaashed. If you don't take some Tylenol and water before bed, it'll hurt.

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Acetaminophen and alcohol do NOT mix. You're looking at some pretty heavy liver damage there combining the two. Next time stick to ibuprofen - the drinking man's painkiller.

paulster2626 said:

Acetaminophen and alcohol do NOT mix. You're looking at some pretty heavy liver damage there combining the two. Next time stick to ibuprofen - the drinking man's painkiller.

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+1, Truth spoken here...

*Disclaimer-I don't have the means to keg or serve from kegs so that is out of the equation for now*

Just came back from the LBHS and found out they have a corker that they let people borrow(not rent, borrow)!!

I've got 7 gallons in 2nd-hand 1/2gal growlers (1g for 3 months, 6g for two months) and 6 more gallons cooking (1 month) so I'm gonna go buy some wine bottles for this. I'll let it sit a couple more weeks and then put it in some wine bottles.

That being said-what sort of bottles do some of you use and why? 12s, bombers, wine, growlers?

Are you planning on carbonating it? If so, I don't think wine bottles are typically designed to handle that kind of pressure. You'd be better served going with Belgian or Champagne styles for a carbonated batch. If you're serving flat, wine should be fine.

I haven't carbed any of it yet and, like Ed said, people enjoy it as-is. If I could find some crown-capped 750s in town I'd probably carb a batch but for now I'm gonna keep it still and dry.

Just got back from Costco! $7.99 for a two pack. Not bad. In fact, the Tree Top was cheaper than the Kirkland Signature (Costco) Brand.



Apfelwein here I come!

nukinfuts29 said:

I dunno, a dixie cup of Apfelwein is enough to put a lot of people halfway to their ass. I had four or five and I was traaashed. If you don't take some Tylenol and water before bed, it'll hurt.

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That was a SWMBO joke. He got married that day.

Skagdog said:

If I could find some crown-capped 750s in town I'd probably carb a batch but for now I'm gonna keep it still and dry.

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I found some of these at Big Lots for 1.50 when I was buying juice ($3.60/gallon Old Orchard)--they were filled with sparkling apple juice which was a good mixer for apfelwein if you think it's too dry.

I kinda let this one sit around since Oktoberfest - you see, we drank this stuff on the bus down to the festivities, and let me tell you I rarely puke (like, never), but the next morning I was a mess. Took me 3 hours to get off the couch.

Long story short I just didn't feel like drinking it since October 15. But right now I've got a glass going, and WOW. It's really good! It's also developed a bit of a sparkle to it - I guess 5 weeks in primary wasn't long enough to complete fermentation 100%. It's not fully carbed or anything, so I don't need to worry about bombs, but there's a slight fizz that's really nice.

Gonna get another batch happening soon. This will be necessary in the summer.

Enjoying a glass of apple juice after getting my batch underway! :rockin:

Just got my first batch underway - my first brew ever!

paulster2626 said:

Acetaminophen and alcohol do NOT mix. You're looking at some pretty heavy liver damage there combining the two. Next time stick to ibuprofen - the drinking man's painkiller.

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you get acetaminophen poisoning from taking Tylenol while drinking, not from drinking plenty of water when you stop drinking, than taking Tylenol and hitting the sack.

nukinfuts29 said:

you get acetaminophen poisoning from taking Tylenol while drinking, not from drinking plenty of water when you stop drinking, than taking Tylenol and hitting the sack.

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Who told you this? They are silly. Your liver is still working to process the alcohol in your bloodstream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_intoxication

From some website that I didn't save long enough to link to......"Combining heavy drinking with aspirin or ibuprofen (such as Advil) may promote gastrointestinal bleeding."

Holy Cripes!!! They'll both kill ya'. I think I'd rather have a headache.

I find that stopping drinking a couple hours before bed, copious amounts of water then oatmeal, coffee, and a banana for breakfast is the way to go. Maybe some tylenol before going to work if you're still feeling foul.

paulster2626 said:

Who told you this? They are silly. Your liver is still working to process the alcohol in your bloodstream.

Alcohol intoxication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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If you are an alcoholic who has no ability to control yourself who takes more Tylenol than they should every night you have something to worry about.

If you drink like a normal person or not to the brink of retard intoxication and take a Tylenol or two with water before bed, your going to be fine.

I don't know about that. When I worked in an ICU one of the GI docs stated that if you drink at all avoid acetaminophen.

So when do the rhino farts set in? Lol! Wife is wondering