Man, I love Apfelwein

Bp - no offence at all. You are right, I forget sometimes that I have been doing this for a while and am very precise in what I do, and then offer advice like it's the easiest thing in the world.

Nice to learn some more history about Apfelwein and its derivatives. I was introduced to the good stuff from a german friend of mine a couple of years ago and am delighted to be able to make it myself now! Now I just have to train the pallet for dry whilst watching out for the hangovers.

Have a batch in the carboy for two weeks. Moved fridge, dropped carboy, thank god for plastic bin, towel. No breakage but geyser from bung. Mental note no drinnking during project time.

I had my stuff sitting for 4 months now. I siphoned some out for a party at St Patricks day and put the airlock back on. Bottled it tonight without carbing it. I love it with a splash of ginger ale. The same goes for my in-laws and everyone at the party. I know what everyone is getting for a summer gift- a champagne bottle and a can or two of diet ginger ale!

DoctorWho said:

Dextrose is easier the for yeast to break down into fermentable fuel, and it dissolves much quicker in soulution. It also is a neutral sugar that doesn't impart much flavor.

Brown Sugar still works, but it takes the yeast longer to break it down and ferment. It does however, impart some of the color and flavor of molasses. People who use it with cider (I, for one) often say they like the flavor it adds.

For sweet and sparkeling you have to either kill the yeast then force carb, or you can bottle condition and then stove top pasturize as mentioned in this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/

Cheers,
The Doctor

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Thanks Doc. Good stuff. Cheers!

I made some original apfelwein. Took half of the batch and bottle carb'd it like a beer. Took the other half and sweetened it with wine conditioner. To my surprise after about 3 weeks I popped a bottle of the sweetened stuff and it is WAY carbonated. Super bubbly.

Why didn't the conditioner beat the yeast into submission? I used the conditioner kind of liberally. I can't remember the exact amounts. :cross:

I have a 5 gallon batch in the primary for 6 weeks now and it's still super cloudy. I followed the recipe exactly and sanitation was spot on. Is this normal and I should just wait longer?

@jaycount

What what the chemical conditioner you used? Also how long did you let the apfelwein ferment? If it was still in active fermentation it might now have been enough to kill all the yeast.

@Native302
Sorry, but 6 weeks is still young for apfelwein, it will clear up but it may take a while depending on the conditions, like temperature and type of juice. Just give it time.

Used wine conditioner from MWS. Sorry I don't have the brand name or ingredients right in front of me right now. Was in the primary for 8 weeks. Fg was 1.000

I checked it out and it looks like a cool idea. My only concern it that I have never heard of anyone using it for a cider before and there is more fermentable sugar in a cider AFAIK, so it might not have been enough of the potassium sorbate (that's the actual preservative) to kill all the yeast. You may want to pick of some campden tablets (Potassium Metabisulfite) and use in conjunction with the conditioner if you plan on trying again.

Otherwise, I am not sure what to tell you.

Mine has been fermenting for about a month now. My only question is that my airlock never really bubbled much at all. For the past month i have been able to see the bubbles forming in the actual carboy but my airlock never seems to "burp"

Don't worry about it. Airlock activity is not a reliable indicator of fermentation activity.

The yeast know what to do. It'll be fine.

(And howdy, neighbor, from another Louisvillian.)

Gnarboots123 said:

Mine has been fermenting for about a month now. My only question is that my airlock never really bubbled much at all. For the past month i have been able to see the bubbles forming in the actual carboy but my airlock never seems to "burp"

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I bet you have a leaky carboy cap or stopper. IF you are really concerned, pull a gravity sample. I bet it is pretty much fermented to dryness. My airlock stops showing activity after about 1-2 weeks, but the carboy is still totally cloudy. Gradually the yeast clean up after themselves and sink. By 1 month it is starting to clear.

This recipe keeps popping up in other threads as setting the bar for this type of drink, so I would like to make this for our family vacation in July. Call me lazy, but I dont feel like reading 7,700 posts! Over the course of those posts, have there been any generally agreed upon modifications to the recipe/technique?

I think the family would prefer a sweeter apfelwein, so if somebody wouldn't mind re-hashing this thread and break it down for me like you're explaining it to a 6 year old, I would really appreciate it! I'm still confused about back-sweetening, and the basics. This will be my first non-extract-kit of anything that i've produced, so i really am a rookie...

Thank you!!

Jota21 said:

This recipe keeps popping up in other threads as setting the bar for this type of drink, so I would like to make this for our family vacation in July. Call me lazy, but I dont feel like reading 7,700 posts! Over the course of those posts, have there been any generally agreed upon modifications to the recipe/technique?

I think the family would prefer a sweeter apfelwein, so if somebody wouldn't mind re-hashing this thread and break it down for me like you're explaining it to a 6 year old, I would really appreciate it! I'm still confused about back-sweetening, and the basics. This will be my first non-extract-kit of anything that i've produced, so i really am a rookie...

Thank you!!

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Don't modify the recipe -the original is the best. It is also very easy.

If you want it sweet, add Splenda at bottling time -it is non-fermentable so it will stay sweet. If you want it carbonated, you will still have to force-carb in a keg or add actual sugar for bottle-carbing.

This is one of those things that gets MUCH better with aging -it starts off pretty harsh. By July may it may be drinkable, or it may not.

so what if i want to serve it in bottles? Do I add sugar for carbonation + splenda for sweetness? How much of each?

Again, thanks for the help.

My first batch has been in the fermenter for about 4 weeks now, and I agree that you might be pressed for time for July. Seems you are doing better than alot of new brewers, and brewing what you want to drink in a couple months now, but unfortunately most people say that apfelwein isn't very good til about 4-6 months, and isn't really as good as people say it is until about 8 months.

I know there are some yeasts that apparently will clean up faster, but I don't remember what the suggestions for that were.

Has anyone just poured more juice onto the montrachet yeast cake?

Wakadaka said:

My first batch has been in the fermenter for about 4 weeks now, and I agree that you might be pressed for time for July. Seems you are doing better than alot of new brewers, and brewing what you want to drink in a couple months now, but unfortunately most people say that apfelwein isn't very good til about 4-6 months, and isn't really as good as people say it is until about 8 months.

I know there are some yeasts that apparently will clean up faster, but I don't remember what the suggestions for that were.

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My standard lately has been 8 weeks (minimum 10 -12 is better) in the fermenter, then prime and bottle and drink by 7-10 days later depending on how well the carbonation process has gone. Seems to be very good at that point, and, quite honestly, I haven't noticed it getting appreciably better after additional bottle aging. Of course, I end up drinking fairly little, because a friend of mine thinks it is absolutely the best stuff in the world and I generally give him the majority of the stuff. I ran out of the newer batch and scrounged for some old bottles that had been 'aging' for a year or so to get him his 'fix'. He didn't report that he like them any better than the young stuff. I guess I need to crack one of them and see for myself.

I definitely like it better with the EC-1118 yeast vs. Montrachet. The ending gravities are about the same with both yeasts (my batches usually go from 1.064--->0.998) but the EC-1118 seems to leave more apple flavor and less tartness.

So Recluse, 10-12 weeks doesn't give you any hint of autolysis? If not thats great! What temp is it kept at during the 2-3 months in primary?

1Mainebrew said:

Has anyone just poured more juice onto the montrachet yeast cake?

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Yep, its worked fine

Jota, use search feature if you are looking for info.

Recluse, I agree with your findings about the impact of aging.
I have some Aepfelwein (about 20G) fermenting on the 6th generation of lees.

I do add a percentage of cranberry juice to some of my carboys because I like the somewhat fruity finish.

I just bottled my Ed Wort's tonight and have a question. When I took a final gravity reading it was 1.004. This is after six weeks or so in the better bottle, which was kept in my basement. I followed every instruction to the letter, and it was even back to original apple juice clarity. Just to be safe I put some potassium metabisulfate into the mix. Does anyone know if this will potential explodify? Also why would it not have fermented out in six weeks? Temperature?

1Mainebrew said:

So Recluse, 10-12 weeks doesn't give you any hint of autolysis? If not thats great! What temp is it kept at during the 2-3 months in primary?

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I have not noticed any off flavors, so I don't think autolysis is a factor. Since I make the stuff year round, the temperatures change even in the basement.

My last batch was between 51-64 degrees F during the entire time but previous batches were at 63-69 deg F and though I didn't seem to have recorded it, I know some summer batches probably fermented mostly in the 68-75 deg F range.

I have to say that my last batch that was at the lowest temp which was in the carboy from 18-Dec-2010 to 17-Mar-2011 was the best tasting...but also didn't carbonate as well. I primed with Apple Juice concentrate instead of Dextrose, so maybe my sugar calcs were off, or something. There was some carbonation, so, even though it was crystal clear, there WERE still yeast in suspension.

Ok just stole a little sample after 2 months... I can't imagine it getting any better... more age and a little Co2!. I'll be starting another batch this week based on the sample

Just bottled one of the 2 gallon batches I've been fermenting for 6 weeks. Tasted a small sample of it that wasn't half bad. I'm going to bottle carb and let it condition for the next few weeks.

I just made a 5 gallon batch this evening, pretty much to recipe - except I used Sam's Club brand apple juice (@ $4.94 for 1.5 gallons). With this much hype, it's going to be hard to be patient!

Sorry if this has been asked- I've spent an hour and a half searching this thread and can't find the exact answer (amazing it's still going after all these years).

I'm bottling my first batch this weekend. Been in fermenter 2 months. I'm planning on carbing a gallon of it with 1oz corn sugar to beer bottles, and leaving the rest "still." For the still portion - can I use liquor bottles/wine bottles with screw tops? I've seen references to degassing... will pressure be a problem in those types of bottles if I do not degas? I wouldn't mind the slightly sparkling aspect, but I don't want to screw around with gin bottles if there is any chance of overpressurization. If there is a danger, I will order some 32oz fliptops.

I've bottled my 'still' Apfelwein in normal wine bottles with corks. No problems. As far as I could tell, it remained pretty much STILL, not even much effervescence when opened. You should be OK.

Thank you.

Got good news, we will be able to move into our new house sooner that expected. Is it ok to transport a carboy of this stuff?

rossi46 said:

Got good news, we will be able to move into our new house sooner that expected. Is it ok to transport a carboy of this stuff?

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It shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure you keep the temps down. And make sure you aren't tempted on the drive to drink it. Lol

Thanks, it's still cool out and less than ten miles, so I couldn't get to tanked.

keep it under airlock so you don't get nabbed for driving with an open container

4.5 gallons of Apfelwein is now in bottles. Fermented down to 0.997 with Saflager S-23.

I made my first batch of apfelwein today, and I have a few questions (my apologies if they have already been answered).

1. I sanitized the 5 gallon carboy with starsan, and I got quite a bit of leftover foam stuck in the carboy. Is it ok if the foam stayed in the carboy while pouring the apple juice?

2. I plan to bottle this batch, and found these fancy welches sparkling grape juice cocktail "twisty-top" 750mL bottles. Do you think they will work for bottling?



3. Edwort says he doesn't use priming sugar while bottling, have any of you all had better results priming/not priming?

Thanks!!

Cacaman said:

I made my first batch of apfelwein today, and I have a few questions (my apologies if they have already been answered).

1. I sanitized the 5 gallon carboy with starsan, and I got quite a bit of leftover foam stuck in the carboy. Is it ok if the foam stayed in the carboy while pouring the apple juice?

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I can only speak to the first question, since my apfelwein is still in the carboy.

Dont fear the foam... its disinfecting as it squeezes out the top of the carboy.

youll have to look to the others for question 2 and 3.

Greets:

Spent the last few days reading the thread and have so far made it to Page 254 (~2500 posts). Got a batch whipped up last night, following Ed's recipe. I have a few questions...




Oh wait... No I don't, they've all been answered 30+ times.

5 gallons 100% AJ
Red Star Montrachet
2# corn sugar*



A ring of bubbles formed in about an hour, and this morning it's percolating nicely now just time to show a little patience.

*I purchase corn sugar in bulk and apparently "A pint's a pound the world around" doesn't apply to corn sugar. I added 4 cups and measured the OG at 1.054. After pitching and setting settling back in with this monster thread, I saw that my OG's a little low. Did a little Googlin' and found an estimate of 5 oz per cup on fine sugar so..... Grabbed a funnel and added 2 more cups. I figure it may still be a little shy of 2# but close enough for government work. Cheers!


Mals

"A pint's a pound" only applies to Water or other liquids/substances with density close to 1.

Corn sugar is really powdery.. as you found out. 5 oz per cup sounds about right. Most brewing guides call for 3/4 cup per 5 gallons, (ca. 4 oz) though I generally like to prime at the 1 oz per gallon level. I bought a kitchen scale and weigh any solid (e.g. sugar, malt extract, hops etc..) to be sure.

Certainly will be close enough!

Cacaman said:

I made my first batch of apfelwein today, and I have a few questions (my apologies if they have already been answered).


3. Edwort says he doesn't use priming sugar while bottling, have any of you all had better results priming/not priming?

Thanks!!

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It is a matter of personal preference. I like it sparkling as do my Apfelwein addicted friends, but others like it more like a still wine.

Cacaman said:

............2. I plan to bottle this batch, and found these fancy welches sparkling grape juice cocktail "twisty-top" 750mL bottles. Do you think they will work for bottling?..........

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Yep, I use those all the time (for beer). Should work great for sparkling wines. Get the label off first though.