Man, I love Apfelwein

Today I made something sort of like Apple Pie using Apfelwein. Combine the following in a pot:

1G Apfelwein
1G Apple Cider (not off the shelf, cider you have already made)
1/2G Apple Juice

Bring to a good boil. Boil five minutes, drop to a gentle boil. Throw in 2 cinnamon sticks, after two minutes drop to a simmer and cover. Simmer one hour, remove from heat. When cooled transfer to mason jars.

Very good. Traditional Apple Pie is:

1G Apple Juice
1/2G Apple Cider (off shelf)

Boil, add two cinnamon sticks, simmer for two hours. Allow to cool, add entire 750ml bottle of Everclear, stir five minutes, allow to sit one hour. Transfer to mason jars, age at least one month.

nukinfuts29 said:

Today I made something sort of like Apple Pie using Apfelwein. Combine the following in a pot:

1G Apfelwein
1G Apple Cider (not off the shelf, cider you have already made)
1/2G Apple Juice

Bring to a good boil. Boil five minutes, drop to a gentle boil. Throw in 2 cinnamon sticks, after two minutes drop to a simmer and cover. Simmer one hour, remove from heat. When cooled transfer to mason jars.

Very good. Traditional Apple Pie is:

1G Apple Juice
1/2G Apple Cider (off shelf)

Boil, add two cinnamon sticks, simmer for two hours. Allow to cool, add entire 750ml bottle of Everclear, stir five minutes, allow to sit one hour. Transfer to mason jars, age at least one month.

Click to expand...

Sounds deadly. How does it taste?

Sweet, pretty potent but you can't taste it.

I have just got done sampling my Apfelwine that was done on 12/4/2011. I was worried about it because I made a 3 gallon batch and I did not like the way it fermented. Could someone tell me what to expect after I taste it at this point?

We had our annual cheese and wine party, last night. The Apfelwein was a huge hit.

And this stuff does sneak up on you. I was hammered before I knew what hit me. I'll be a bit more careful next time...

Big Lots had a 20% for rewards members yesterday. I have 20+ gallons of juice in the basement now, awaiting fermentation. I also have around 8 gallons in fermentors. Old Orchard for <$3/gallon=pure win.

CKFROST said:

I have just got done sampling my Apfelwine that was done on 12/4/2011. I was worried about it because I made a 3 gallon batch and I did not like the way it fermented. Could someone tell me what to expect after I taste it at this point?

Click to expand...

it tastes young and tart if i remember right, i've got some in bottles right now that are 6 months old that taste good but not compared to the year old stuff i've got!!

Woohoo, I got my first ever batch started last night!

I started 3 gallon batch on 22 Jan. 2012
I used

3 gallons of Apple Juice
1 package 454g of Cooper carb drops (sugar)
1 24 oz. Bottle of Golden Syrup - (Corn Syrup, honey & cane syrup, no preservatives)
1/4 c. of brewing sugar (Used some from a beer kit in progress)
1 packet of Montrachet yeast

Had fermentation starting within hours of pitching the yeast.

I added a couple bottles of juice to the carboy, added the drops and brewing sugar, had the bottle of Golden Syrup in hot water for 20 minutes prior as to get it liquified, added it and then the rest of the juice, took some of the juice and poured it into the Golden Syrup bottle added the yeast, then shook the bottle real well as to rinse the rest of the syrup from the bottle, aerate the mixture, and added to the carboy. Installed stopper and airlock.

Now for the wait.

Didn't take a OG reading as I couldn't figure out how at the time, since I have bought a baster from Wallyword, to snatch samples as needed.

I started a batch almost 2 months ago, in 2 separate plastic containers. I bottled the first one last week, it was really clear and smelled amazing!

The other one, I haven't bottled yet. Was thinking about letting it age for a month or 2 more.
Is this a good idea, or should I just bottle it as well now? We're talking about 10 litres here. The container is food grade plastic water container, quite thick plastic. It's sealed quite tight, and has an airlock of course. Yeah, this is a primary container.
I'm just wondering if I should be worried about plastic's oxygen permeability.

Checked on the fermenters this morning, and all 3 gallons had pretty much stopped bubbling. The fastest airlock activity is on the bread yeast with a bubble every 10 seconds or so. I never got the rhino fart smell, so now I'm settling in for the long haul. I'm not sure I can wait 3 more weeks! Guess I better get my bottles cleaned up!

I have seen that some people are substituting the Dextrose with Brown Sugar... Thoughts?

BurtonBrews said:

I have seen that some people are substituting the Dextrose with Brown Sugar... Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Go for it!

I'm probably going to try it with my second batch.

BurtonBrews said:

I have seen that some people are substituting the Dextrose with Brown Sugar... Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I used 2lb Dark Brown Sugar and at week 2 in the primary, I must say it is tasting mighty fine. Highly alcoholic too

I used the Aqua Tainer sold at Walmart so I have the luxury of turning the spigot on to get a quick taste. Can't wait to carbonate in my corny keg and have this on tap.

Mixed up my first batch tonight... Used 5 gallons of Motts 100% Apple Juice, 2 lbs of Brown Sugar, and Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast... We will see! Hoping that it is super tasty.

I'm going to a wine tasting with the wife on Friday night. I'm takin' an Action Packer (big plastic box) to *hopefully* help them "recycle" some of those empty bottles. Any one had any luck doing something similar?

Just pitched the yeast on a new 5 gallon batch, using Ed's recipe.

I tried a few glasses of my first batch last night (uncarbed) and I was a little confused. I might have just been expecting something different but I was not super impressed with it.

I used 5 gallons of store brand apple juice with no preservatives, 2 lbs malto-dextrine (thats wrong I know), and montrachet red star yeast. It just tasted like watery wine, there was just hardly any flavor to it. I did not take an OG but my FG read 1.020 after 8 weeks.

After a beer and the first 2 glasses I thought it was getting me there but at the end of the night I was up to 6 glasses and I felt like I was sobering up...

I will still try to make another batch the correct way or I might try with some brown sugar. I'm just a little confused, do you guys think it was the malto-dextrine that kept it from dropping below 1.020 and made it taste not-so delicious?

I have 5 gallons, I will drink 5 gallons!

Well, maltodextrin is nonfermentable so it probably had a lot to do with it.

H-ost said:

I tried a few glasses of my first batch last night (uncarbed) and I was a little confused. I might have just been expecting something different but I was not super impressed with it.

I used 5 gallons of store brand apple juice with no preservatives, 2 lbs malto-dextrine (thats wrong I know), and montrachet red star yeast. It just tasted like watery wine, there was just hardly any flavor to it. I did not take an OG but my FG read 1.020 after 8 weeks.

After a beer and the first 2 glasses I thought it was getting me there but at the end of the night I was up to 6 glasses and I felt like I was sobering up...

I will still try to make another batch the correct way or I might try with some brown sugar. I'm just a little confused, do you guys think it was the malto-dextrine that kept it from dropping below 1.020 and made it taste not-so delicious?

I have 5 gallons, I will drink 5 gallons!

Click to expand...

Hey H!

My FG after 3 weeks was 1.000 - so 1.020 after 8 weeks definitely seems not the norm for Apfelwein. Not sure about the flavor.. I Just hit the 4 week mark, so still letting it develop. Tasted pretty good @ 3 weeks, though taste is obviously subjective.

I can attribute the high FG to the amount of malto-dextrine but it doesn't make sense to me that it tastes so thin, if anything I thought it would be very thick tasting.

My first batch, and it's very good!
[/IMG]

Stauffbier said:

My first batch, and it's very good!

Click to expand...

wow that looks good...good job, can't wait for mine to be done.

question for those who have made this before, I have been making wine for a long while know, from kits to just homemade recipes, it is possible to bottle this in wine bottles with corks and not have a fear of bottle bombs right?

and if so, is there anything I need to do to prevent the bombs from going off in the basement?

also, should you or can you filter this apfelwein? I have the filter already so its not a big deal if I should or can.

thanks again...can't wait for mine to be done...

A50SNAKE said:

wow that looks good...good job, can't wait for mine to be done.

question for those who have made this before, I have been making wine for a long while know, from kits to just homemade recipes, it is possible to bottle this in wine bottles with corks and not have a fear of bottle bombs right?

and if so, is there anything I need to do to prevent the bombs from going off in the basement?

also, should you or can you filter this apfelwein? I have the filter already so its not a big deal if I should or can.

thanks again...can't wait for mine to be done...

Click to expand...

Believe it or not.. this is only my second batch of wine! With that said I make a lot of beer, so I bottled in beer bottles. I didn't carbonate my apfelwein like some people do, so bottle bombs wasn't an issue at all. If you don't carbonate then wine bottles will be fine, but if you carbonate it I've heard that you cannot use wine bottles. I didn't need to filter, as you can see it's very clear. All I did is let it sit on the yeast for a month after the yeast floc'ed out. It's a very dry wine, so if you want to back sweeten it you will need to kill off the yeast or filter first, I think, to avoid carbonating. I've heard of people carbing it and back sweetening with splenda, but that just doesn't sound tasty to me. I don't mind it being dry, though... I'm not sure if any of what I've said helps, as I have a lot to learn about wine...

I wouldn't recommend carbing in wine bottles, but flat batches will be fine in them. I agree that you shouldn't *need* to filter it, but it'll depend on the yeast used. Montrachet clears up fantastically after a few weeks in primary, whereas my current batch with Saf-33 is still cloudy after several months. It's really up to you.

smagee said:

I wouldn't recommend carbing in wine bottles, but flat batches will be fine in them. I agree that you shouldn't *need* to filter it, but it'll depend on the yeast used. Montrachet clears up fantastically after a few weeks in primary, whereas my current batch with Saf-33 is still cloudy after several months. It's really up to you.

Click to expand...

How long can you store this in wine bottles before it goes bad?

Would depends on you're process and cork size i'd think. I push mine with co2 amd oxygen should be miniscule so I dropped a few #9 corks and put them up for way later at each bottling.

I've had mine in primary since mid-November and it is still sulphery. Is this typical? Its a gallon batch with Montracht and 7 ounces of corn sugar by weight...

thanks for all the replies everyone...I can't wait for this to be done...

so that I can be sure of what my coming steps are, here is what I plan on doing with the equipment I have at hand already and please let me know if this will result in issues/problems or if I'll be good to enjoy worry free...

my 5 gallon batch is sitting in my glass carboy since I started it in Dec 23 2011
I'll be leaving it there for the suggested 3 months

after which time, I will check it for clarity, if clear enough, I will just siphon from carboy to wine bottles, leaving the lees cake on the bottom.

I will then cork the bottles, and let sit for as long as i can possibly to make sure they all taste as good as can be

does that sound ok...I hope I got it all right, just want to be sure is all...thanks again everyone for all your help on this batch...

I can't wait to start another batch now, to keep it going...but, the wife says I need to drink up what I have already made in the house, before I'm "allowed" to start another...geee.....OK...LOL....

Well... a little more than 48 hours in and the airlock is bubbling nicely! I am anxious for the month to be up, so that I can bottle with priming sugar!

I sampled my first batch after confirmed it had fermented out. It tasted sour and very hot but it's only a month old. I stuck it in the back of the closet and will try and forget about it for at least another 2 months and try again.

Jukas said:

I sampled my first batch after confirmed it had fermented out. It tasted sour and very hot but it's only a month old. I stuck it in the back of the closet and will try and forget about it for at least another 2 months and try again.

Click to expand...

Temperature has everything to do with it. You will notice that when it's cold some more of the apple characteristics will come out, and it won't seem nearly as hot if at all.

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to know if it would be possible to ferment approximately 50 gallons of apfelwine inside of a 55 gallon food grade #2 ex sauge casing blue drum. It has no scratches and has been thoroughly cleaned and now containers sanitizer. Star San mix approx 15 gallons. Myself and a few friends have been throwing the idea around and I am just wondering if such a volume would significantly affect the fermentation process. Also the barrel would be left in an uninsulated garage. Any comments or suggestions would be helful. Overall the reciepe would be followed on a scaled up version. Maybe do a starter. Would like to get this going once spring hits new York area. Additionally I would like to leave it for about 4 months in the primary barrel. If anyone knows or has done large batches I would like any tips or concerns. Thanks

How many viable yeast cells are supposed to be in the dry montrachet packages? It might be easier to just pitch 10-20 packs at 60-80 cents a piece.

LMGK said:

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to know if it would be possible to ferment approximately 50 gallons of apfelwine inside of a 55 gallon food grade #2 ex sauge casing blue drum. It has no scratches and has been thoroughly cleaned and now containers sanitizer. Star San mix approx 15 gallons. Myself and a few friends have been throwing the idea around and I am just wondering if such a volume would significantly affect the fermentation process. Also the barrel would be left in an uninsulated garage. Any comments or suggestions would be helful. Overall the reciepe would be followed on a scaled up version. Maybe do a starter. Would like to get this going once spring hits new York area. Additionally I would like to leave it for about 4 months in the primary barrel. If anyone knows or has done large batches I would like any tips or concerns. Thanks

Click to expand...

No reason you cant use it. Your going to need to keep the temp between 65 and 75. No starter needed, pitch 10 packets of yeast. No less than that, and no more really needed.

I have made 15.5 gallon batches in one of my large tanks, and i have made 30+ gallons of other things in my 50 gallon drums. Simply scale up.

Sounds good, now do you think the internal fermentation going on inside will swing the temperature significantly hotter like beer fermentation. If we kick this project off probably be when temps are avg in the 50s low 60s. Could I count of the fermentation process to make internal fermentation hover aroun mid 60s. Probably keep the garage heated for a few days until ferment starts if that's not the case.

I transfered my apfelwein to my glass 5 gallon carboy today to let it age for a month or two. (I needed my 6 gallon better bottle for another beer). It has been in the primary for a month. Airlock activity stopped a week ago and it has started to clear up. My concern is that my gravity reading is 1.010. Any idea why it seems to have finished so high? It tastes great so I am not too worried if it's finished just curious.

Speaking of ferment temps, can someone tell me how crucial controlling the temps of this are? I have a fridge i use to ferment in at a constant 60-70 degrees (pending on the beer), but I don't have room in it for a 5 gallon & a 6.5 gallon carboy. So I was planning on just stashing this away in the corner of the basement where temps will range from low to mid 60's... it just wont be a controlled constant.

Will I be ok?

I should note that I am using Wyeast 3068

LMGK said:

Sounds good, now do you think the internal fermentation going on inside will swing the temperature significantly hotter like beer fermentation. If we kick this project off probably be when temps are avg in the 50s low 60s. Could I count of the fermentation process to make internal fermentation hover aroun mid 60s. Probably keep the garage heated for a few days until ferment starts if that's not the case.

Click to expand...

No way it's going to generate 10 degrees. Maybe 1-2 but not 10. You really don't want to be below 65F even more so with such a large batch.

wookiemofo said:

Speaking of ferment temps, can someone tell me how crucial controlling the temps of this are? I have a fridge i use to ferment in at a constant 60-70 degrees (pending on the beer), but I don't have room in it for a 5 gallon & a 6.5 gallon carboy. So I was planning on just stashing this away in the corner of the basement where temps will range from low to mid 60's... it just wont be a controlled constant.

Will I be ok?

Click to expand...

Temps are important as the yeast requires them to be. I don't know about your yeast, read the package and stay in the suggested temp range.