Man, I love Apfelwein

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BigKahuna said:
You are NOT brewing too much...in fact I think you should repent for even saying that....What's EdWort's standard Punishment??? 2 Batches?
You simply are not drinking enough.
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You're right, it was a silly statement which I now wish to recant. I'm off to the store to buy more apple juice.

Believe me, I'm drinking enough...I've gained 10 pounds since joining this forum. :(
 
BlindLemonLars said:
Nothing in primary?!? I think you'd better say a few Our Papazian's yourself! :D
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:lol:

Speaking of...
I need to start in on my second batch now since my first is 2 months old. Prob should have already lol. I've everything but the juice...

Since I just ordered a set of 4 cornies (my first!) that should arrive next week, I'll probably just tank store my current batch of apfelwein for a bit and then force carb it. It was just a few points away from 1 when I took a reading about a week ago.

:mug:
 
BlindLemonLars said:
I've gained 10 pounds since joining this forum. :(
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As much as i hate to say it...I was a 90 # weakling in February when I found HBT. NOW I LOOK LIKE MY AVATAR! :confused:
I found this place the week I took up brewing again (took 8 or 9 years off). I'll bet I hadn't drank 15 beers in the last year, and now I Quaff all I can just to empty the bottles for the next batch.
 
Tough break for me tonight fellas. Long day at the office followed by two glasses of apfelwein, a trip to the garage (where the kegorator is) and on the way I get distracted by the flashy lightening in the sky and fall flat on my face... only problem is I'm still holding a pint glass when I hit the driveway. A few hours later, and some stitches, I've had the 2 inch gash in the palm of my hand closed up. Good parts are 1. it was an empty pint glass. 2. no tendons cut. 3. my SWMBO gets to help me bathe for the next week or so.

So beware! assemble a full nights worth of apfelwein before you start drinking.
 
Seabee John said:
Tough break for me tonight fellas. Long day at the office followed by two glasses of apfelwein, a trip to the garage (where the kegorator is) and on the way I get distracted by the flashy lightening in the sky and fall flat on my face... only problem is I'm still holding a pint glass when I hit the driveway. A few hours later, and some stitches, I've had the 2 inch gash in the palm of my hand closed up. Good parts are 1. it was an empty pint glass. 2. no tendons cut. 3. my SWMBO gets to help me bathe for the next week or so.

So beware! assemble a full nights worth of apfelwein before you start drinking.
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God Almighty. Glad you seem to be ok, but shuddering at the pain you must be in. Apfelwein can be a cruel mistress. I just ordered another better bottle to dedicate to the stuff.
 
I think mine is fermenting along, because it smells like sulfur really bad. Disgusting.
 
I know the original recipe has been compared to Possmann Apfelwein. Is Possmann completely still like being degassed? slight carb like directly bottling? or carbed like being primed?
I currently have in the works:
2-1 gal w/ Lalvin 71B-1122 & 6oz. dextrose - OG 1.060
1 gal w/ nottingham & 6oz. dextrose - OG 1.060
5 gal w/ montrachet and 2lb dextrose - OG 1.062
I can't wait to try and compare them.
 
web250 said:
I think mine is fermenting along, because it smells like sulfur really bad. Disgusting.
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My current batch has been fermenting for 4 weeks now.Talk about rhino farts--I think I had the whole Serengeti National Park down there!!
 
What do you guys think about this situation...I am taking a keg of apfelwein to my folks for Memorial day. I have a batch that was 2 months in the primary and then about 1 month in the keg now. Should I transfer it to a fresh keg before transporting it? If so, would it be safe to just use a picnic tap to do it (I don't have a transfer hose setup and can't get the mats before Thursday)

The keg is currently uncarbed if that makes a difference.
 
Jonnio said:
Should I transfer it to a fresh keg before transporting it? If so, would it be safe to just use a picnic tap to do it (I don't have a transfer hose setup and can't get the mats before Thursday)

The keg is currently uncarbed if that makes a difference.
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You don't need to transfer it to another keg unless you don't want to take it all. A picnic tap will work fine.

If you want it carbed, better chill it and hook it up to gas now.
 
Thanks Ed, I was more concerned about stirring up yeast and losing all the clarity that it has gained over the last few months.

Yup, today is get beer stuff in order day (well, after work that is) so I will be hooking it up tonight.
 
Jonnio said:
Thanks Ed, I was more concerned about stirring up yeast and losing all the clarity that it has gained over the last few months.

Yup, today is get beer stuff in order day (well, after work that is) so I will be hooking it up tonight.
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I've transported kegs of apfelwein before without issue. The very small amount of yeast left in a keg packs down pretty tightly and stays there when chilled, so I've never noticed any problem.

Get it chilled and set the gas to 20 lbs psi for a week and you will have champagne like apfelwein.
 
My first batch of original recipe Apfelwein has been fermenting for 7 weeks. It is now very clear. SG = .995.

Problem is the thing just won't stop bubbling. The slightest jostle of the carboy or taking of a sample creates a flury of effervescense (sp). It's like the stuff is already carbonated. Do I dare bottle or should I just wait another couple of months until it gets to .994? :)
 
hellbender said:
My first batch of original recipe Apfelwein has been fermenting for 7 weeks. It is now very clear. SG = .995.

Problem is the thing just won't stop bubbling. The slightest jostle of the carboy or taking of a sample creates a flury of effervescense (sp). It's like the stuff is already carbonated. Do I dare bottle or should I just wait another couple of months until it gets to .994? :)
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It's just outgassing when you do that. Go ahead and bottle.
 
EdWort said:
It's just outgassing when you do that. Go ahead and bottle.
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I neglected to mention that this was the first gravity sample for this batch. It was very light in color. A taste reveals a little alcohol heat and good tartness. I can see this being very nice once chilled and carbonated. Thanks and oh yeah . . . another batch is about 4 weeks old.
 
hellbender said:
I neglected to mention that this was the first gravity sample for this batch. It was very light in color. A taste reveals a little alcohol heat and good tartness. I can see this being very nice once chilled and carbonated. Thanks and oh yeah . . . another batch is about 4 weeks old.
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If you age it a few more months, the alcohol heat will disappear and the apple flavor will enhance. Good job on the second batch!
 
My batch is coming up on 3 months old.
Just got my first set of cornies in today so I am going to soon transfer to one and let age a bit more before I put it on tap. Since this will be the oldest, I am hoping to get a good idea of how long to let the apfelwein age before it suits my tastes.
By the end of this week though, I will have another batch started per original recipe. I probably should have started sooner, I know.
:)
 
Well, I thiefed a sample of it and it tastes great. A bit couldy so I'll filter and keg it tonight. Tastes better than this localy made stuff that's very dry.

I'm a bit afraid to keg it tonight. Afraid I wonlt wake up till saturday or snday if I start drinking this stuff! :drunk:
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
Well, I thiefed a sample of it and it tastes great. A bit couldy so I'll filter and keg it tonight. Tastes better than this localy made stuff that's very dry.

I'm a bit afraid to keg it tonight. Afraid I wonlt wake up till saturday or snday if I start drinking this stuff! :drunk:
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Let it sit a bit longer. It'll clear shortly, you'll have cleaner AW.
 
Well I'll throw it through the filter and see what happens. Don't care to much anyway. Tastes pretty good as is. I just like them a bit clearer. :)

Pretty soon I'll be in the drunkin section babbling some prattle called "An ode to Apfelwien". :D
 
Wow, I even have people writing poetry for me... I feel so ..special..so ..ferklemped...


(beat)

On a side note. The carboy I had my apfelwien in apparently was larger than the absolute capacity of my corny keg by about half a gallon. I have wet socks to prove it. Luckily I noticed before that .5 gallon (2L for us canucks) hit the floor. It is now my duty to dispose of that liquid before it spoils. So I might not speak again for a few days... ;)
 
I've got about 200 pages down on this thread, but I still can't find a definitive answer. I've got a batch going using Cotes de Blanc. I didn't use any yeast nutrient. It's been over a week now and it is still bubbling the airlock every 1.5 secs. Lots of bubbles still rising. I've read that Cotes may need nutrient to prevent it from stalling. My question is: Is this a must, or just a suggestion. It's been over a week and I'm still good. Can it still stall at this point, and if it does should I just go ahead with the nutrients?
 
BWRIGHT,
I'm going to go out on a limb here, having only made my first Apfelwien two weeks ago. But I've been making grape and country fruit wines for a long time and I've got a fair amount of experience with wine yeasts. At the Brix levels we're talking about here I think that few wine yeasts would have any difficulty fermenting to dryness. Cotes certainly won't.

If you add any nutrients now be prepared to paint the ceiling. The wine is still activley fermetning and there is a boatload of CO2 in suspension. If you add nutrients now you will give all of that CO2 a way to come out of solution. It becomes a point of nucleation. Think of seeding thunderclouds to make it rain. Add a bunch of dust, etc to a cloud and you give the water vapor something to accumulate on. It works the same with the wine. Add a bunch of nutrients and you give all that CO2 a place to collect on. It looks like a Guiness pour when it happens. You will have just enough time to see it and say to youself, "Hey, that looks cool!" Then you will figure out what is happening and decide that yo need to do something, anything, and quick. What I did when I made that mistake was apply 250 pounds of nurse to the mouth of the carboy. Wicked bad idea! The rooster tail stained the ceiling in two rooms. SWMBO was less than amused. Of course you can go ahead and give it a go anyways, it makes an amusing story a year or so later.

paul
 
I know the original recipe has been compared to Possmann Apfelwein. Was is the carb level of Possmann's? Is it still or carbed?
 
BWRIGHT said:
I've got about 200 pages down on this thread, but I still can't find a definitive answer. I've got a batch going using Cotes de Blanc. I didn't use any yeast nutrient. It's been over a week now and it is still bubbling the airlock every 1.5 secs. Lots of bubbles still rising. I've read that Cotes may need nutrient to prevent it from stalling. My question is: Is this a must, or just a suggestion. It's been over a week and I'm still good. Can it still stall at this point, and if it does should I just go ahead with the nutrients?
Click to expand...

I have always stated cotes needs yeast nutrients (YN). The old website stated that. I had mine stall once... I added 1/2 tsp per gal. and it took off like crazy. No geyser action though. I add it, capped up the carboy, then gave a rock back and forth one time on the floor, basically jarring it, then it was like adding alka-seltzer to water. Its fizzed up like freshly poured soda. It went at a one bubble per second rate for nearly a month.

If you don't do the YN it might finish a little higher than 1.000 That's not bad as long as it will carb for you.

Try it w/o YN and see where it stops it may stop at 1.000. Lot of times people use this for wine and the abv is 13-16%. It may not be a factor at 8.5%
 
The Apfelwein recipe calls for 5 grams of Montrachet wine yeast but if you want to try using Nottingham, do you still use 5 grams or do you use more? I ask because Montrachet comes in 5 gram packets and Nottingham comes in 11 gram packets so I wasn't sure if that meant each packet was for a 5 gallon batch.
 

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