Man, I love Apfelwein

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Sipping one right now--mighty nice. Made it with just ordinary grocery store juice, table sugar, and dry yeast (Red Star Premier Cuvee), and it's plenty good. I'll bet you guys who are doing the fresh pressed or organic juices, corn sugar, and high-dollar yeasts are really drinking something. Wouldn't be safe for me to make something that nice--I consider myself a light drinker :)

I joined this website because I was interested in making beer. Then I discovered Apfelwein and Graff. One of these days I might get back around to trying beer again...maybe.

Edit: Just went upstairs and got a slice of SWMBO's famous pumpkin pie, hot from the oven. Wow, and I thought Apfelwein by itself was good...
 
jcobbs said:
I'll bet you guys who are doing the fresh pressed or organic juices, corn sugar, and high-dollar yeasts are really drinking something. Wouldn't be safe for me to make something that nice--I consider myself a light drinker :)
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Oh no no no. I just used Treetop and a bit of Simply Apple, 2lbs of corn sugar ($0.75/lb) and Lalvin dry yeast ($0.85.) Top-tier ingredients don't have to be expensive ^_^
 
Anyone used Martinelli Organic AJ? There's a discount organic grocery nearby that sells 50oz bottles for $1.99, making a 5 gallon batch cost around $25 for juice.

I figure that the extra $8 for super high-quality juice will be worth the experiment. I figure that if the juice is better tasting in its natural form, it might make for more complex apfelwein. My current batch is definitely good, but I want more apple-y flavors.
 
Well, I tried my first bottle of apfelwein after a little over 2 months. Only lightly carbed right now but it was still pretty good. It's crisp and dry, which I like. My wife isn't a big dry wine fan so it wasn't a surprise that she wasn't very fond of it.

But that's fine, I really made this for a halloween party come October, so by then it should be outstanding :D
 
artyusmc said:
its offical rhino farts going on right now as planned hopefully wife doesn't go in the pantry
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the rhino farts get worse when you try to make apfelwein with other types of juices. my wife wouldnt go near our closet for like a month while i did my first batch of apfelwein.:mug:
 
hey all...

i just made a batch, but i had to use reg sugar. i put some of the juice in and then some sugar and shook it to dissolve the sugar...i did this with all the sugar....well after i poured the yeast in and the last of the juice I noticed a layer on the bottom of the jug. It looks like sugar...what will the effects be if all of the sugar was not dissolved?

TIA,

M
 
It's fine, it will dissolve as fermentation picks up and moves things around.

rhltechie said:
hey all...

i just made a batch, but i had to use reg sugar. i put some of the juice in and then some sugar and shook it to dissolve the sugar...i did this with all the sugar....well after i poured the yeast in and the last of the juice I noticed a layer on the bottom of the jug. It looks like sugar...what will the effects be if all of the sugar was not dissolved?

TIA,

M
Click to expand...
 
Oh, I know good ingredients don't have to be really expensive--I was mostly just going on with folks. Apfelwein may be about the most economical homemade fermented beverage you can make (unless you're into hooch), regardless of what kind of ingredients you use. However, my LHBS is a little more fond of their Lalvin dry yeast than reno envy's--they definitely don't let it out the door for $.89 a packet! But like I say Red Star works just fine for me. I have a gallon going now with Cooper's ale yeast--I want to see if a beer yeast will leave a tad more sweetness. If I'm not satisfied I'll probably go back to the Cuvee--I liked the way it was dry without being tart...perfect with pumpkin pie!
 
ok...i am back. I am just put my batch together earlier today. already seeing blips in my airlock and the foam is all the way to the stopper. is it customary to have a blow out? If so....what do I do with it?
 
ok yeah, my airlock is full of foam.....I have a piece of tubing that fits over the center tube of a 3 piece airlock where I can let the foam drain out. i assume this is the best thing to do?
 
take some tubing that you're not going to want to use again (or will clean like a madman) and run it from the center of the airlock, down into a vessel of water, keeping it submerged.
 
Crazytwoknobs said:
take some tubing that you're not going to want to use again (or will clean like a madman) and run it from the center of the airlock, down into a vessel of water, keeping it submerged.
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done....thank god I got that piece of 1/2" ID for just such an occasion...thats some serious foam!! is that normal? how long should it last like that?
 
That's what I'm wondering. With mine, other than airlock bubbling you couldn't even tell it was fermenting by looking at it since there were no bubbles or foam or anything. Are those getting foam using different types of yeast?
 
marubozo said:
That's what I'm wondering. With mine, other than airlock bubbling you couldn't even tell it was fermenting by looking at it since there were no bubbles or foam or anything. Are those getting foam using different types of yeast?
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I used the yeast in the OP.. Now I did make a smaller batch and used the whole pack. I asked in the thread if I should just use some or all... It was all. Could that be it?
 
So, I've never homebrewed in my life before, and it turns out that the local wholefood shop, which doubles as the closest thing that there is to a local homebrew shop, only has Kitzinger Reinhefe trocke/all-purpose yeast ("to fement jusice of grapes and fruits").

Oh, and I thought dextrose was fructose put a kilo in with around 19 litres of 100% apple juice (from concentrate) from the local Lidl.

Anyway, I stuck it in the shed around lunchtime and a couple of hours later it is already starting to gently bubble. Now I just have to wait a few weeks and see how it all gets on.
 
rhltechie said:
done....thank god I got that piece of 1/2" ID for just such an occasion...thats some serious foam!! is that normal? how long should it last like that?
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the tube i used is filled with all sorts of icky gunk....apparently not enough to keep the CO2 from seeping through. The tube that is submerged in water is steadily blipping. am i going to need to keep it this way the entire time its fermenting or will this foam go down and i replace the normal airlock?
 
should i leave it as is or put the airlock back? its at the stage where it smells like a big ole fart..... I am keeping it in SWMBO's dance room...not so good. :/
 
rhltechie said:
should i leave it as is or put the airlock back? its at the stage where it smells like a big ole fart..... I am keeping it in SWMBO's dance room...not so good. :/
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did you remove the airlock? if so recomend puttting it back on asap. mine i left it alone and foaming stopped after third day of fermenation.
 
no...i didn't completely remove the airlock. I put a long piece of 1/2" tubing over the middle tube of a 3 piece lock and ran it into a bowl full of water...just wanted to know if i should remove the tube and put the airlock back together.
 
I just kegged my first batch of apfelwein and I gotta say, not bad. I left it in the ferment for a long time just forgot about it. probably a few months. there have been 25 new pages on this thread since then. I was just wondering if anyone has made Mamosa's with theirs? It was SWMBO's idea but it's not bad at all. Just thought I'd share the idea incase no one else has tried it. :mug:
 
It's time to bottle my Apfelwein, but I won't be able to make it the my LHBS in time for the bottling session. All I have in the house is Turbinado sugar, which is different than refined table sugar. Can this type still be utilized for bottle carbonation in the same amount, or will the makeup of this type of sugar require a different amount for bottle priming?
 
I just finished reading all of this thread, I think it answered any questions I might have had perfectly. I started a batch on 8/25/09 at 8:00 pm. it is fermenting like crazy.

I followed EdWorts recipe with the addittion of yeast nutrient.

This will be my first try at fermenting, the funny thing is I was researching beer kits when I found this thread.
 
shadohman said:
I just finished reading all of this thread, I think it answered any questions I might have had perfectly. I started a batch on 8/25/09 at 8:00 pm. it is fermenting like crazy.
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Welcome to the club, not bad for your first post. :mug:

But if you really read all of the thread you must have started reading a month ago. LOL.
 
It actually took me thirteen days.

Yes I know I need a new hobby, that is why I wanted to start fermenting.

Thanks for the welcome.


Saccharomyces said:
Welcome to the club, not bad for your first post. :mug:

But if you really read all of the thread you must have started reading a month ago. LOL.
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Well, it was time to join the party. I made 2 one gallon batches last night. I wanted to do a side by side between Montrecht and Cotes des Blancs. I kept the rest of the recipe the same as Ed's origianal with the addition of some yeast nutrients (scaled down of course). After I see which of the two yeasts I like better I'm going to experiment with some different additions (brown sugar, lactose, cinnimon sticks, etc.)

That's what I like about this recipe. It's so easy and doesn't involve long brew times so you can do lots of experimentation with smaller batches. The only problem is the wait.:(
 
Brand new to the forum here, and fairly new to Brewing (beer) though I have somewhat more Mead experience.

I love DRINKING Ciders, so I am getting the itch to MAKE SOME.

Read through this thread and the Brandon O Graff thread. Starting with Apfelwein (cause it is easy!) and will segue to Graff when the basement temp drops a little.

Question, though: I've generally done small 1 gal batches, but I am planning to make a 2.5-3 gal batch (Apfelwein) but right now I only have 5 gal carboys. Is that much headspace going to be a problem??

Might invest in some 3 gal Better Bottles but I am itchin' to be pitchin' ;-)

Thanks in advance.
 
If you are gonna use a 5 gallon carboy I would recommend making 4.75 gallons. :)

Trust me, this stuff goes too fast to make 3 gallon batches of it. If you have more than one carboy, make two batches to start. You will thank me later.
 

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