Man, I love Apfelwein

So i made a batch of 4 gallons of this stuff back in July. Then 4 months later, I added 3lbs of cherries I pureed. Never really saw second fermentation take off. Maybe the yeast was old? Along with the cherries, I added a new packet of us-05, but since the beverage was already around 7% alc not sure if the yeast was really able to take off from that either. Anyways, I just took a gravity reading and it was 1.003. I'm guessing it's done but I know this stuff can get down to .999 or so also....
Should I bottle this with only light sugar expecting it to drop a point more or two in the bottle than extra or should I just bottle as usual?
Thanks!

Made a 5 gallon batch with 2 lbs dextrose and 2 lbs brown sugar. My og reading seemed very low and I looked at the bottom of carboy and lots if undos solved sugar. Anyone have a rough idea what og might be or final abv would be if it ferments out like a typical batch? It seems people have used similar recipes before

Btw the fermentation bubbled up like crazy unlike a typical batch

I used one pound dextrose and one pound Brown sugar in five gallons. Og: 1.067 eight weeks later it was 1.002. That would put it at 8.6%

finsfan said:

You were right to heat it up and just wait it out. It could take another month to finish out, its always a guessing game so just use the gravity readings and you should be fine

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Thank you!

If I want to carb in mini-keg..what amount of sugar should I use?

Made my first batch last January. Left it in the fermenter for three months. Bottled it up, half still, half carbed, and let it sit. Tried them both in mid summer. Were o.k. but not what I thought was great, had a slight harshness to them. Let them sit unit deer hunting in late Nov. Now we have something to talk about. We were fighting over it in deer camp. Now I cannot tap a wine bottle by myself otherwise I drink it all. The carbed stuff is good too, but I like it still. Nice crisp and dry with a clean finish. About time to fire up another batch before I drink everything I have.

I just bottled my first 5 gal batch after letting it ferment for a little over 3 months. It was nice and dry as I like it, but I wanted a little more carbonation so I primed it with 5 oz of sugar before bottling.
I'm hoping I don't have to pasteurize to prevent bottle bombs, but since this is my first time brewing anything, I don't have any experience. Any advice?

You will be fine

5oz is what most of the beer kits ship with, so it is a pressure the bottles are designed to handle. I prefer my beers with 4oz or less but 5oz will be fine in a cider.

Just mixed up a other batch. This one with nice and cloudy pressed apple cider that was on sale. I added brown sugar and honey instead of corn sugar. The current batch I'm drinking that was aged with bourbon soaked oak chips has me thinking I'll oak this batch too.

30 days into my first batch and fermenting is about done.

Few questions:

Should I transfer to another carboy for conditioning or just let it set in my primary?

I bottle my cider and like carbonation. Do I have to bottle now and back sweeten for carb? Or can I let this batch sit longer and condition for a few weeks/months and still be able to back sweeten to get carb when I bottle down the road?

Thank you.

bleme said:

5oz is what most of the beer kits ship with, so it is a pressure the bottles are designed to handle. I prefer my beers with 4oz or less but 5oz will be fine in a cider.

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Thank you.

I normally let mine sit in the same carboy for about 3-4 months. Then I back sweeten to get carb and bottle. Letting it sit in the same carboy will not harm it, I've left it in the for up to six months... Turns out great. I can do that because I'm not a drinker. I give most of it away except for a few bottle I keep for sampling. The best thing to do is either make two batches at once that way you can let one sit longer to get a better result.

Boins said:

30 days into my first batch and fermenting is about done.

Few questions:

Should I transfer to another carboy for conditioning or just let it set in my primary?

I bottle my cider and like carbonation. Do I have to bottle now and back sweeten for carb? Or can I let this batch sit longer and condition for a few weeks/months and still be able to back sweeten to get carb when I bottle down the road?

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jab007 said:

I normally let mine sit in the same carboy for about 3-4 months. Then I back sweeten to get carb and bottle. Letting it sit in the same carboy will not harm it, I've left it in the for up to six months... Turns out great. I can do that because I'm not a drinker. I give most of it away except for a few bottle I keep for sampling. The best thing to do is either make two batches at once that way you can let one sit longer to get a better result.

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Answered my question. Thanks!

Does anybody recommend a yeast starter with this? I went to my LHBS and since they didn't have Montrachet yeast, they gave me some Red Star Pasteur Red dry wine yeast

Quickly, before zee Germans get 'ere...

A starter is not needed for this brew.

Just made this last night. Used 2lbs of corn sugar, 3 cans of concentrate, and as much apple juice as I could fit in a 5 gal carboy ( just under 5 gal). I also threw in 3 cinnamon sticks. Put them in with about a quart of juice on the stove and simmered for a few min while I got everything else ready.
Got an initial SG reading of 1.070 so if it ferments dry it should be about 9.5% abv.
Used Montrachet yeast.

Can't wait to try it in a few months.

I've got a tradition to make a batch over the 4th of July weekend and let it sit for 6 months and bottle on New Years. I'm looking forward to bottling this, and still have a few left from a year ago. It does get better with age.

The only recipe changes I make are:
Use wine yeast nutrient
Aerate with a drill/paddle prior to pitching yeast
Temperature control the fermentation to the high 60's
Re-yeast with Lalvin EC-1118 (1 gram/5 gallons, rehydrated), prime for 2.5 vol CO2

I finally got a taste of some decent Apfelwein. I bottled 5 gallons which had a bit of an off smell and taste from the fermentation. Bad case of the Rhino farts that my wife won't let down. After 10 months from bottling I've opened up my second bottle and the nose is way subdued now and with cinnamon sticks in the bottles, it actually tastes like a cinnamon applie cider. Very happy its going away. Good stuff which I think I am going to make again.

In laws cracked open a bottle of this that I gave them as an xmas gift, this past weekend. The more they drank, the more they liked it. It's delicious still with no backsweetening. The taste really does grow on you. Imma have to get another batch going soon!

I made a batch back in mid-September 2013. It's still in primary on the yeast for any number of excuses I can make up.

Has it been harmed/ruined by being on the yeast this long?

whoaru99 said:

I made a batch back in mid-September 2013. It's still in primary on the yeast for any number of excuses I can make up.

Has it been harmed/ruined by being on the yeast this long?

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Doubtful. I think I remember reading earlier in the thread that some have kept primary for something like 6 months. My batch was also " brewed" in Sept. I transferred to secondary in November to help clearing. It's great! I'm just waiting for an empty keg.

whoaru99 said:

I made a batch back in mid-September 2013. It's still in primary on the yeast for any number of excuses I can make up.

Has it been harmed/ruined by being on the yeast this long?

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Not at all, but you might think about racking it to secondary. Wines seem to do better long term off the yeast.

I racked mine into the secondary at just past the 3 month mark and then topped up with water to fill the little headspace left. Worked well for me.

whoaru99 said:

I made a batch back in mid-September 2013. It's still in primary on the yeast for any number of excuses I can make up.

Has it been harmed/ruined by being on the yeast this long?

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It won't harm or ruin your batch. If you bottle straight off the yeast, you may get a yeasty flavor/smell. This will go away with a few weeks. You could rack into a secondary and it will do the same thing. Either way your batch is fine.

I have a question. I made this recipe about a year and a half ago. Obviously it is fermented out by now. But my question is will this still be good? Last time we taste tested it awhile ago the comment was made that it had entered into the "wine" taste. Can I still back sweeten it or have I lost that opportunity?

Iceman6409 said:

I have a question. I made this recipe about a year and a half ago. Obviously it is fermented out by now. But my question is will this still be good? Last time we taste tested it awhile ago the comment was made that it had entered into the "wine" taste. Can I still back sweeten it or have I lost that opportunity?

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I assume it's still in the carboy sitting on the yeast cake?

Taste a sample, if it still tastes good then stabilize it and backsweeten it as needed. If you didn't leave my headspace at the top of the carboy and you made sure the airlock didn't run dry then there's a good chance it's still pretty good.

Iceman6409 said:

I have a question. I made this recipe about a year and a half ago. Obviously it is fermented out by now. But my question is will this still be good? Last time we taste tested it awhile ago the comment was made that it had entered into the "wine" taste. Can I still back sweeten it or have I lost that opportunity?

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You can always sweeten. Hell it's a very popular drink in Germany to mix good wine with a bit of sweet sprudel (basically Sprite). So it's never too late to sweeten a wine if that's to your taste.

What happens when you add Go-Ferm and yeast energize to your must?
I used Enoferm QA23 yeast with this one.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

I just bottled my second batch of apfelwein today. I had it in primary 3 months and the hydro sample tasted great, with lots of apple flavor. With the previous batch I had only let it sit for 2 months and it ended up good, but not a lot of apple flavor.

I primed for 3 vols. Can't wait till this one conditions.

2 questions for you Apfel experts:

1. I have had a batch bulk agin in the basement since May(~7 months). If I want to bottle carb will I need to add fresh yeast?

2. My apfelwein has been sitting on the yeast (nottingham) since May. Is that a problem? Should I rack it to a clean carboy for a few weeks before bottling?

Just dropped in the yeast about 5 minutes ago. Going to stick it away for several months.

Whoops. Double post.

GenIke said:

2 questions for you Apfel experts:

1. I have had a batch bulk agin in the basement since May(~7 months). If I want to bottle carb will I need to add fresh yeast?

2. My apfelwein has been sitting on the yeast (nottingham) since May. Is that a problem? Should I rack it to a clean carboy for a few weeks before bottling?

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1. You should be ok either way but it may take longer to carb up, I would probably reyeast just in case.

2. Probably not.It's already fermented so bottle it and find out.I'm sure it will still be drinkable.

BrewerBear said:

1. You should be ok either way but it may take longer to carb up, I would probably reyeast just in case.

2. Probably not.It's already fermented so bottle it and find out.I'm sure it will still be drinkable.

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Thanks.

Would I want to use the same yeast (notty) or a different yeast like a champagne yeast or something like that?

Anyone add extract to this prior to bottling? I recently added 4oz apple extract to a batch...Its carbing now, just curious how it turned out for anyone else.

GenIke said:

Thanks!



Would I want to use the same yeast (notty) or a different yeast like a champagne yeast or something like that?

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Same yeast is always the safest. Champagne yeast can eat different sugars than beer yeast so carbonation becomes unpredictable.

Quit teasin' and give us some details!!! That really does look yummy.....