Man, I love Apfelwein

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Mellow52 said:
Ok made my first two 5 GAL batches and I am as excited as a kid in an apfelwein store. I stuck 100% to the original recipe with zero deviation (other than the apple juice brand).

My OG was just under 1.060, sound right? I used the Organic Apple Juice from BJ's.
Click to expand...

Using the original recipe with MOTT's apple juice I got 1.060 as well..
 
I'd rack it to the secondary on top of the puree; yes, splashing could be a concern, but it could be minimized if you're gentle. That said, I usually prefer to secondary when doing a fruit addition like this (for a standard brew, I simply do a long primary).

As for headspace, the puree will provide some extra fermentables for the yeast to munch on, which will result in more CO2 production that will help flush out any oxygen in there. So long as your yeast are still viable, you shouldn't be too concerned.
 
I think I'm done making 5 gallon batches of this. I have 6 gallon carboys, and with the lack of krausening - I think 6 gallons will be my new standard.
 
smagee said:
I'd rack it to the secondary on top of the puree; yes, splashing could be a concern, but it could be minimized if you're gentle. That said, I usually prefer to secondary when doing a fruit addition like this (for a standard brew, I simply do a long primary).

As for headspace, the puree will provide some extra fermentables for the yeast to munch on, which will result in more CO2 production that will help flush out any oxygen in there. So long as your yeast are still viable, you shouldn't be too concerned.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help smagee!!!:mug:
 
SWMBO loves cran apple juice so I'm doing a gallon experiment with 1/2 gallon 100% apple juice and 1/2 gallon 100% cranberry juice with 6.4 ounces of corn sugar and about 1/2 packet of the yeast. We will see how it turns out....

image-2680969006.jpg
 
I mixed it up a bit too. I went with a 6 gallon carboy, obviously increased the apple juice content, but along with the dextrose added 2lbs of light brown sugar. Will post how it turns out!
 
Mellow52 said:
Ok made my first two 5 GAL batches and I am as excited as a kid in an apfelwein store. I stuck 100% to the original recipe with zero deviation (other than the apple juice brand).

My OG was just under 1.060, sound right? I used the Organic Apple Juice from BJ's.
Click to expand...

I did the exact same but with different apple juice. That Mott's Apple Juice was like $5-$6 a gallon. Yikes!

So I went with the Kroger brand that was on sale for $3/gal ! Anyway, my OG hit right at 1.060 as well so hopefully this is normal.
 
DrewBrew08 said:
I did the exact same but with different apple juice. That Mott's Apple Juice was like $5-$6 a gallon. Yikes!

So I went with the Kroger brand that was on sale for $3/gal ! Anyway, my OG hit right at 1.060 as well so hopefully this is normal.
Click to expand...

I used walmart brand. I bought 7 96oz bottles. It was actually cheaper than buying 5 gallons. Any way I hit the same OG
 
I just took my first hydro sample of my first batch of apfelwein. I drank it. I took another, "Sample" OMNOMONONONOMOM. So good. I'm thinking of taking another "Sample" I am literally drinking this out of the carboy. EdWort I love you.:mug:
 
Just sitting at a house warming party for one of my wife's friends. I brought six bottles (750ml) and they were gone in about 30 minutes.....ive got some experimental batches but this was the standard Edwort original....

Happy Brewing!
 
Ahhhh the wonderful taste of apfelwein :). I just bottles my first batch ever yesterday 4/22/12 after being in the carboy for a month and a half. This stuff tastes amazing! I do prefer to add a little bit of fresh apple juice to it to make it a little more sweeter but it sure does F you up :). I had 4 glasses and swmbo had 4 glasses and at 4 in the morning she is up with a massive hangover and says I am never drinking your apple juice again hahaha I am sure she will be drinking it today. Also is can any one give me some ideas to make different flavors apfelwein? Cheers
 
BrewScout said:
How much honey would it take to carbonate 2 gallons of this stuff?
Click to expand...

I usually carbonate at the rate of 1 oz (by weight) of sugar per gallon or higher.

The jar of Honey I looked at says it contains 16g sugars per TBSP of honey, so,
about 4 TBSP honey would give you 64 g (~2.3 oz) of sugar and should be about right.
 
mastamind said:
Ahhhh the wonderful taste of apfelwein :). I just bottles my first batch ever yesterday 4/22/12 after being in the carboy for a month and a half. This stuff tastes amazing! I do prefer to add a little bit of fresh apple juice to it to make it a little more sweeter but it sure does F you up :). I had 4 glasses and swmbo had 4 glasses and at 4 in the morning she is up with a massive hangover and says I am never drinking your apple juice again hahaha I am sure she will be drinking it today. Also is can any one give me some ideas to make different flavors apfelwein? Cheers
Click to expand...

Ha! My wife had the same experience this morning! First time drinking my Apfelwein and she woke up with a massive headache. She learned a valuable life lesson. Pound water before bed to counteract EdWort's bad ass Apfelwein!!!
 
Well well well. I finally got to taste this beast, and I must say it lived up to the hype! 3 months in primary, 1 month bottles. I used Lavlin RC-212 which may be my go to yeast for the 3rd time I make it (haven't used the Montrachet yet). Both my parents, who are seasoned wine drinkers, both really enjoyed it. They asked for more, so that's a good sign!
 
Bottling an 8 month old apfelwein.. It tastes glorious!

Split half/half carb'ed and not.

Thanks again for the recipe!

(BTW does anyone know the normal OG with the standard recipe?)
 
Grumpybumpy said:
Well well well. I finally got to taste this beast, and I must say it lived up to the hype! 3 months in primary, 1 month bottles. I used Lavlin RC-212 which may be my go to yeast for the 3rd time I make it (haven't used the Montrachet yet). Both my parents, who are seasoned wine drinkers, both really enjoyed it. They asked for more, so that's a good sign!
Click to expand...

Interesting! What did you like about the RC-212 and which other yeasts have you tried? I have made it with Montrachet and EC-1118, and I pretty much only use EC-1118 now unless I absolutely cannot find any in time and fall back on Montrachet. Have been thinking of trying a batch with D-47 which tends to be a good Mead yeast. RC-212 looks like a nice candidate as well, but somehow I never thought of using it as I always associate it with red wine.
 
Was thinking for my second batch doing 4gal of apple juice and 1 gal of POM pomogranite juice. Think that would be any good?
 
CnnmnSchnpps said:
Bottling an 8 month old apfelwein.. It tastes glorious!

Split half/half carb'ed and not.

Thanks again for the recipe!

(BTW does anyone know the normal OG with the standard recipe?)
Click to expand...

Should be about 1.060, but may vary slightly based on your brand of apple juice.
 
I didn't even check the gravity on my first batch. I just let it roll.

I checked the OG on the two batches I currently have going, but haven't bothered to pop the air locks. Probably gonna cold crash this weekend. I'm curious to see what kind of FG I'll get....
 
so I was laying in bed, and got thinking about random crap. then i relised I may of overprimed my apfelwein.

for some reason I had 1 cup of sugar in my head (prolly right for 5 gallons) but then I realized I only had 3.75 or so gallons. how bad do you think this will end? also I made a simple syrup of the sugar then poured it in my bottling bucket then racked on top of it, you think that was good enough to mix it? (I didn't want to stir and add oxidize it)
 
Kampo said:
so I was laying in bed, and got thinking about random crap. then i relised I may of overprimed my apfelwein.

for some reason I had 1 cup of sugar in my head (prolly right for 5 gallons) but then I realized I only had 3.75 or so gallons. how bad do you think this will end? also I made a simple syrup of the sugar then poured it in my bottling bucket then racked on top of it, you think that was good enough to mix it? (I didn't want to stir and add oxidize it)
Click to expand...

Realizing that a cup is volumetric measurement and therefore not exact, the "standard" 5 oz. of sugar in 5 gal is about 3/4 cup. Therefore, if you put a full cup in 3.75 gallons, there's little doubt you're overprimed......
 
.75 cup/5 gal x 3.75 gal= .5635 cups you should have used this much, so you used nearly twice what you should have. I believe standard bottles are supposed to hold about 3 vol of CO2. You might get bombs or gushers if you let them get too hot, so once they've conditioned, you might want to keep them on the cool side (basment if you've got it). This also depends on whether or not you de-gassed/the temp of your ferment. If you didn't degass and had a cool ferment, you probably already had a bit of CO2 in suspension. I just had a 'still' bottle blow its cork a few weeks ago after the temperature warmed up because I didn't degass before I bottled. You may not have problems, but I'd be careful.
 
rico567 said:
Realizing that a cup is volumetric measurement and therefore not exact, the "standard" 5 oz. of sugar in 5 gal is about 3/4 cup. Therefore, if you put a full cup in 3.75 gallons, there's little doubt you're overprimed......
Click to expand...

While this is true, I always prime by weight and go by the 1 oz/gal rule. Often, when I get the stuff in the bottling bucket, there is less than I originally thought due to whatever was left with the lees, so I have overprimed somewhat to no ill effect. Probably never by QUITE the ratio that you have going, though. In fact, I would prefer a bit more carbonation, so overpriming may be the way to go as long as it is short of bottle bombs!

I am always worried that there isn't enough yeast left after sitting in the carboy for months, but it always seem to prime OK. Sometimes I will intentionally suck up a bit of the lees to be sure there is enough yeast there to metabolize the priming sugar.
 
I bottled one in a PET bottle, so I guess i'll watch that one and once it feels good and firm throw it in the fridge and taste it and if its about right just bottle pasturize them.
 
Recluse said:
Interesting! What did you like about the RC-212 and which other yeasts have you tried? I have made it with Montrachet and EC-1118, and I pretty much only use EC-1118 now unless I absolutely cannot find any in time and fall back on Montrachet. Have been thinking of trying a batch with D-47 which tends to be a good Mead yeast. RC-212 looks like a nice candidate as well, but somehow I never thought of using it as I always associate it with red wine.
Click to expand...

I haven't done any other batches besides the one with 212. Nice and strong apple flavor, somewhat tart like a dry white wine, and utterly delicious!
 
This stuff is no joke, astounding what is produced from such a simple process! I followed directions and didn't rush things, 7 weeks in a carboy and 14 days in a keg @ 12 PSI. Thank you for a life long recipe, I catch myself looking for apple juice on sale every time that I'm at the grocery store now!
 
dietz31684 said:
This stuff is no joke, astounding what is produced from such a simple process! I followed directions and didn't rush things, 7 weeks in a carboy and 14 days in a keg @ 12 PSI. Thank you for a life long recipe, I catch myself looking for apple juice on sale every time that I'm at the grocery store now!
Click to expand...

+1...I do this as well...my local store has the rougemont juices on sale this week, 2 X 2L bottles for $4. :D...:rockin:
 
Yesterday was tasting day for my first full batch of Apfelwein (I made a test batch in a gallon jug a while back). Three months in fermenter with a rack to secondary the last month. This is the end of the second month in the bottle. Tastes great, I think it will be better in a month or two. I primed it like a batch of beer, 5 oz. of dextrose, and it just gives it a nice sparkling character. The only difference from the original recipe is that I made it with 5 gal. of fresh cider from a local orchard (13 varieties of apple, flash Pasteurized only). At my basement temperature, the Montrachet yeast took quite a while to complete the fermentation, but it was very efficient (FG 0.998). Looking forward to enjoying this, and making more.
 
@brewscout,
I've done honey carb the same as with beer instructions tell you to go. The problem I have run into is with fluctuating sugar contents of different honeys I've used. If it were me i'd stick with a commercial honey you've used before and be very careful of using local honey. I've gotten severe gushers from local honey from one farmer (with beer) and I'm certain with the thickness of his honey it's sugar content. I've admittedly had better luck with a different farmer but they almost always end up undercarbed.
 
Accidic said:
@brewscout,
I've done honey carb the same as with beer instructions tell you to go. The problem I have run into is with fluctuating sugar contents of different honeys I've used. If it were me i'd stick with a commercial honey you've used before and be very careful of using local honey. I've gotten severe gushers from local honey from one farmer (with beer) and I'm certain with the thickness of his honey it's sugar content. I've admittedly had better luck with a different farmer but they almost always end up undercarbed.
Click to expand...

I just used 2 oz of local honey for 2 gallons. I've never carbed with honey before so we will see. I'm not looking for a champagne level of carbonation so if its undercarbed it will probably end up just how I want it. I do have 2 questions though.
1. I know with most wines it is suggested that you Degas it. Is this step necessary with apfelwein?
2. What is a reasonable amount of time to expect this batch to carbonate? It is sitting in a dark closet between 68* and 72*. 10 - 12oz bottles and 3 - pints.
 
BrewScout said:
2. What is a reasonable amount of time to expect this batch to carbonate? It is sitting in a dark closet between 68* and 72*. 10 - 12oz bottles and 3 - pints.
Click to expand...

I primed mine with dextrose and had it sitting in a cool basement. I opened one up after 1, 2 and 3 weeks. I found it took all 3 weeks to fully carbonate. I'm sure others have had different experiences though.
 
Used 4 bottles of my Apfelwein to make a sangria. Whoa - it is good! Even my wife likes it.

4 175 ml bottles of Apfelwein
6 oz concentrated lemonade, thawed
6 oz concentrated limeade, thawed
6 oz concentrated cranberry juice, thawed
Stir all ingredients together and enjoy!

I probably should get some more Apfelwein in the pipeline :D .

Fred
 

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