Edworts Apfelwein and me

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chriswilkes33

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I told this story a couple weeks ago to some fellow hbt'ers and they thought it may be worth sharing with everyone.

Ill start by saying that my wife is German. I met her while I was stationed over there and every Apfelwein season (in Germany they dont do this year round typically) she would consume as much as her 110lb body could handle. When we moved back to the states a few years back she began searching for Apfelwein somewhere in the states. She found similar stuff, like woodchuck amber and other hard ciders, but they never really quenched her Apfelwein thirst. When I started homebrewing she eventually made her way into browsing the boards and alas found out how to make her own Apfelwein. She loves the stuff. Well fast forward (or backwards as I type this post) to a few weeks ago, Oct 25th to be exact, and the day came that we finally got to go watch a Texas Longhorn football game. She is a UT student. It was the Oklahoma State game, both teams undefeated and ranked in the top 5. I had gotten us some great tickets for about 175.00 a piece.

We showed up a couple hours early for some tailgating and I drank about a 6 pack and she drank 1 litre of Apfelwein mixed with sprite over the course of about 2 hours. She is lightweight physically but can handle her drink very well. On this day however we finished tailgating and having a blast walking to the stadium, got inside and she fell down. I realized she was pretty tipsy at this point but shes been tipsy before no big deal. We made it to our seats and she started putting her head down and weaving in her seat drunkenly so I decided she needed a coke and some food to settle her down a little. I went to pick up the food and came back and she had her head between her knees, not yet puking but looking very close so I put the food and coke down and rushed her to the bathroom. This was about 30 minutes prior to kickoff. I didnt see her again until after halftime when I finally convinced the ems to go into the bathroom and break the stall door down to get her. She spent the rest of the game in the ems room on a bed while I watched the game an a 12 inch tv. I never saw 1 play on the field live...

Moral of the story: BEWARE OF THE APFELWEIN...IT BITES HARD
 
That sucks if I put that much money down on tickets I would lay off on the booze and enjoy the game, one thing I learned a long time ago is not to drink too much beer before a game cause it's hard to weave through the bleachers to pee when there's 50,000 people in the stadium.
 
That sucks if I put that much money down on tickets I would lay off on the booze and enjoy the game, one thing I learned a long time ago is not to drink too much beer before a game cause it's hard to weave through the bleachers to pee when there's 50,000 people in the stadium.
The Stig would man up and just hold it.

I'm definitely going to brew some of this stuff. I'm new here, but there are references to it everywhere. It's clearly worth the effort.
 
It's clearly worth the effort.

That's the thing...there is virtually no effort. Compared to brewing beer anyhow.

I guess it's all relative. My sister in-law loves it, so I emailed her the recipe and told her where to buy the airlock, yeast and dextrose. She said "wow, that's so complicated!" I didn't know how to respond to that, if she wants "complicated" she should watch me attempt a step-mash with a cooler!

So I just bring her Apfelwein. :D From my point of view, the stuff makes itself.
 
That's the thing...there is virtually no effort. Compared to brewing beer anyhow.
Yeah, "effort" was probably the wrong word. :) It just seems hard to find juice that is without preservatives or additives... at least around here. Last time I tried something similar (before I discovered this site) I had little luck.
 
Yeah, "effort" was probably the wrong word. :) It just seems hard to find juice that is without preservatives or additives... at least around here. Last time I tried something similar (before I discovered this site) I had little luck.

Most of the apple juices I have seen are suitable. Costco is a good source around here for Motts apple juice. 2 gal are usually about $7. For a little more you can get the "not from concentrate" apple juice.
I've seen the same 1gal Motts in regular grocery stores, so I'm sure you can find it easily.


For the OP sorry about you missing the game. You have to be careful with drinks like Apfelwein. It is potent and dry making it easy to down alot.

Craig
 
Yeah, "effort" was probably the wrong word. :) It just seems hard to find juice that is without preservatives or additives... at least around here. Last time I tried something similar (before I discovered this site) I had little luck.

The only things you need to avoid are the yeast killing preservatives like Potassium Sorbate. A little Ascorbic Acid is no problem.

The reality is that most juices that I saw fit the bill fine. Ingredients list was usually Apple Juice, Apple Juice Concentrate, Ascorbic Acid. Did the trick perfectly well.

Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Acme all have juice that works.
 
BlindLemonLars,

What yeast do *you* usually use? Also, does yours come out sulfury?
 
BlindLemonLars,

What yeast do *you* usually use? Also, does yours come out sulfury?

I use Montrachet, as Ed's recipe calls for. My LHBS carries it, so I always grab a few envelopes when I'm there. Once I used Premier Cuvee, and didn't notice any big difference.

For 3-5 days, the fermentation does have a sulfur smell. Well, that's a polite word...it smells like a diabetic moose ate a pallet of apple pies and had a little gas problem! It's kind of a sickly sweet, vaguely food-like smell, not exactly pleasant but not terrible either. A teaspoon of yeast nutrient seems to minimize the problem, but either way it quickly...well, passes.

I haven't had any off-tastes, other than the "hot" alcohol taste at bottling time. It's very clean. Of course I'm normally consuming apfelwein that has aged at least 3-4 months in the bottle or keg.
 
Yeah, "effort" was probably the wrong word. :) It just seems hard to find juice that is without preservatives or additives... at least around here. Last time I tried something similar (before I discovered this site) I had little luck.

Walmart generally stocks Adam and Eve 100% real apple juice with only vitamin c. Added
 
The info in the older threads here on this forum is so helpful. Don't think it matters how old the threads are.
 
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