Man, I love Apfelwein
- Thread starter EdWort
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Yeah, that's about what I get with Tree Top AJ. I don't really take hydrometer readings with this stuff any more. I just let it go for a few months.
It is. The ALDI that I go to has crates and crates of half-gallon 100% Apple Juice for $1.19 each so you can get 5 gallons (10 bottles) for around $12 bucks.
wcarter1227
Well-Known Member
what temp is your hydrometer calibrated to? your only off by 2 degrees and if you were higher than 60 degrees f when you took the reading you would have to adjust the reading. i think you will be fine. this stuff is like rocket fuel and the yeast have no problem finding the sugar even if it doesnt get mixed up
Effington
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Oh yeah, fermentation started with a bang within 24 hours... it's a typical hydrometer and I took the reading at about 70 degrees. It's 1.058 adjusted for temp... but again, I think it's off because the dextrose was mixed into the bottom half.
Either way, it's looking great. I had this crazy idea to add pomegranate (the berries/seeds) to the carboy... maybe next time.
Yeah, that can happen. I typically don't dissolve the sugar, but I have before b/c I wanted to get a good gravity reading.
Brew-boy
Well-Known Member
Well last night I broke down and made this to see what all the fuss is about. I did a 5 gallon batch per the directions on Ed's original post. I hope it will be tasty 
ThreeSheets
Active Member
So I started mine two weeks ago, but my LBHS was out of the Montrachet wine yeast. They suggested champagne yeast instead, that it would be very similair.
Well I pull a sample today, checked the hydro reading, right at 1.000 (OG was 1.060). Then proceeded to drink the sample. Kinda harsh with a champange after taste. Probably be much better chilled and carbed. It still is a bit hazy so I'm letting it clear for another two weeks or so, then I'll bottle. I know it probably just needs to sit for awhile and it will probably get much smoother. But I couldn't resist pulling a sample (never had apfelwein before).
Has anybody else used champagne yeast before?
Well I pull a sample today, checked the hydro reading, right at 1.000 (OG was 1.060). Then proceeded to drink the sample. Kinda harsh with a champange after taste. Probably be much better chilled and carbed. It still is a bit hazy so I'm letting it clear for another two weeks or so, then I'll bottle. I know it probably just needs to sit for awhile and it will probably get much smoother. But I couldn't resist pulling a sample (never had apfelwein before).
Has anybody else used champagne yeast before?
I usually give it 3+ months, but I always use montrachet yeast or lalvin 1116.
I got impatient. I used my sanitized racking cane as a thief and stole a sample (15 days in). Dropped my hydrometer in and it sits at 0.994. Tasted it, other than a slight chemical taste, it was absolutely wonderful. I am going to leave it alone for another 17 days and then I am going to bottle it. I will be carbing half of it and leaving the other half how it is. SUPER EXCITED. Now I know why everyone suggests running another batch two weeks after the first, I luckily ran another batch one week later.
KillerKellers
Well-Known Member
Montrachet is champagne yeast.. let it sit, and that harshness will go away! I highly recommend leaving it as is for 3 months. That bulk aging will bring out the apple flavor and mellow a ton!
I got impatient. I used my sanitized racking cane as a thief and stole a sample (15 days in). Dropped my hydrometer in and it sits at 0.994. Tasted it, other than a slight chemical taste, it was absolutely wonderful. I am going to leave it alone for another 17 days and then I am going to bottle it. I will be carbing half of it and leaving the other half how it is. SUPER EXCITED. Now I know why everyone suggests running another batch two weeks after the first, I luckily ran another batch one week later.
Don't drink too much b4 that yeast drops out otherwise you'll be sitting on the crapper.
lol do a bit of searching on this thread and you'll find that. I've got some sitting in the primary right now going on two months. I'm thinking in about a month or so I'll throw it into an open keg. I just leave it in the primary for as long as I need unless I need it for another brew.
I don't have the attention span to read through 566 pages. haha.
Thanks for the info, I am trying to get it done for Christmas for sure, possibly thanksgiving. I started it on oct 17th. I will be putting half of it away for the long term.
Thanks for the info, I am trying to get it done for Christmas for sure, possibly thanksgiving. I started it on oct 17th. I will be putting half of it away for the long term.
Yeah, I'd say it will be ready for sure by Christmas heck, even by thanksgiving going by Ed's time line. Ed says he drink this stuff after a month. I brew some things that I drink young and others that I drink aged. This is definitely one of the ones I drink aged. It's just kinda thin and harsh when it's young. It really has more character when you let it age. I've heard at two years this stuff is AMAZING. I've never aged anything that long, but I'm thinking about putting 6 wine bottles of this stuff in the back of the closet and forgetting about it for a year or so.
I am new to this, but I am going to try to put at least a gallon of everything away for the future. It just means I get to brew more often, and I have some good stuff set aside for those times I can't brew. (My 2010 resolution is to stay out of the ER for the whole year)
I am somewhat fearless which has led to my demise. I luckily have AFLAC so no worries there. I am one of the few people that have made money off of that company. Just this summer I had two claims. One when I got hit by a car on my bicycle (person changed lanes into me), and one when I was testing a 100ft slip'n'slide for some three year olds. Both of which would have kept me from brewing if I was doing it at the time. This is why I am planning ahead.
lol. I've spent a lot of time in the hospital too. I've gotten into multiple 4-wheeler related accidents one of which kept me in the hospital for a month and led to me having gane green in my foot. I've broken my arm, leg, hand, multiple toes, and gotten a hematoma the size of a cantaloupe on my back.
LOL BE CAREFULL!!
I'd have to say that the bicycle was that dumb ass's fault not yours.
ThreeSheets
Active Member
I'll try... This was going to be Christmas presents for the family and relatives this year, but I kinda got a late start. Next year I'll start it way earlier so it can sit for a few months beforehand. I have faith that it will be good by Christmas though, just not at its peak. I will be starting another batch ASAP that I'll leave along for a few months, since this stuff is so easy and cheap to make.
KillerKellers
Well-Known Member
Well, if you wait until its clear (totally clear, like looking at a bottle of white wine) then I would say go ahead and bottle it and give it as gifts. I would just let those people know to wait a few months to drink it!
This might be a good idea. Take the batch you have going now and put into some wine bottles with corks and throw into the back of the closet till next Christmas. Throw some sweet labels on them and that would be an amazing gift.
Ok, so for carbonation it says 3/4 of a cup for 5 gallons. I would like to know weight, because I only made 4 gallons and need to scale down. "Cups" are so inaccurate. Does anyone have a weight measurement?
BayviewBob
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you have a scale.
Weigh 3/4 of a cup of dextrose, divide that by 5 to get the weight for 1 gallon, then multiply that by 4.
Weigh 3/4 of a cup of dextrose, divide that by 5 to get the weight for 1 gallon, then multiply that by 4.
wcarter1227
Well-Known Member
i used 5 oz of dextrose to carb my last batch. you should be ok using about 3-4 oz if trying to carb a 4 gallon batch
Man! I just cracked open my Apfelwein, its fantastic, I follwed the recipe but added 1/2 bottle of wine sweetener as it fermented out extremely dry, it has been lying for 2 months in a keg, what can I say, everone that has tried it finds it hard to believe that this is homemade and not bought in!!
thanks so much, next batch starting in 2 weeks time and ready for the new years eve party... woohoo!!
thanks so much, next batch starting in 2 weeks time and ready for the new years eve party... woohoo!!
I don't know how I missed this photo but it made me fall out of my chair!
I'm pretty sure that airlocks are cheaper than condoms man, save them for your willy!
I understand it is already going to be dry and develop apple flavor over time, I just figure with the low cost of juice why not try it. I love the taste, but adding more sugar to it is just going to ferment it into alcahol and leave nothing but more watery flavor. Why not try to add a little more tartness to it? I guess I am just going to have to try it instead of trying to explain my thoughts on the interweb.
The amount of extra alcohol from priming sugar is extremely small. I'm guessing that the amount of juice you'd have to add in order to adequately prime, will make your batch much larger. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you have the space for it. It wont change the flavor profile though, since it will ferment out very dry, just like all the other juice you used. The only difference would be that it's sealed up so the CO2 wont escape.
Cool, you don't think it would add a bit of tart? I just figured adding sugar wouldn't add anything but carb but adding juice would leave behind some apple. More volume sounds good as well, I am only going to carb half of the batch, so space is no issue.
