Man, I love Apfelwein

Mine was bubbling very slowly, but it was at 1.006. I wanted to keep a little residual sugar because SWMBO likes sweet wines (Rieslings especially), so I cold-crashed for a week at about 35*. Came out very clear.

However, one of my bottles popped its cork, so it may have had too much sugar left. It was a screw-cap bottle, though, so the cork may not have had as snug a fit as the rest of my bottles.

dwf137 said:

how clear is "clear"?

It's been sitting 4 weeks. It's a nice amber color, definitely mostly settled but I still can't see through it like water, there's still some stuff left in suspension.

Should I let it sit till it is see-through, or would I be good to go... this is my first batch, so my patience can only be stretched so far.

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Originally Posted by Henny- I am with you, looking for an answer to this, I stole some last night with a thief and it was quite effervescence (sp) not sure. Mine looked pretty clear in the carboy (tinted blue) but was a cloudy mess in the glass.

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Both of you should not be judging clarity to determine when its time to bottle.

When its clear start checking the final gravity with a hydrometer. You should bottle when it gets to about 1.000.

If you don't have a hydrometer, go buy one at a LHBS.

How to Brew - By John Palmer - Appendix A - Using Hydrometers

This is the best way to avoid gushers or bottle bombs.

Hegh said:

Mine was bubbling very slowly, but it was at 1.006. I wanted to keep a little residual sugar because SWMBO likes sweet wines (Rieslings especially), so I cold-crashed for a week at about 35*. Came out very clear.

However, one of my bottles popped its cork, so it may have had too much sugar left. It was a screw-cap bottle, though, so the cork may not have had as snug a fit as the rest of my bottles.

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Sounds like you will have a sparkling apfelwein did you do anything to kill the yeast off (campden or metabisulfite)? I don't think cold crashing will get rid of all of they yeast and it is very likely that they started back up in the bottles.

It is a little bit sparkling. None of the corks (other than that one) had really moved at all, though, last I'd checked, so I'm not too worried. I check once in a while, though, just to be sure.

It is almost exactly like a Riesling in taste, sweetness, and bubbliness, although I'm sure it'll benefit from some more aging. I don't plan to open another bottle (beyond the one that opened itself) until the 6 week mark.

Hegh said:

It is a little bit sparkling. None of the corks (other than that one) had really moved at all, though, last I'd checked, so I'm not too worried. I check once in a while, though, just to be sure.

It is almost exactly like a Riesling in taste, sweetness, and bubbliness, although I'm sure it'll benefit from some more aging. I don't plan to open another bottle (beyond the one that opened itself) until the 6 week mark.

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The problem is that it will continue to ferment and dry out on you.

You either need to sorbate or pasteurize to kill the yeast.

Pasteurizing requires that you bottle then boil capped bottles for 10-15 minutes each. No carbonation.

If you bottle its probably best to pick a yeast with a lower attenuation. Like a sweat mead, Riesling, Liebfraumilch...

Wyeast Laboratories. : Home Enthusiasts : Wine Makers : Yeast Style Guide

I used a Koelsch yeast. I expect that, being an ale yeast, it has a lower attenuation than the recommended Montrachet.

EdWort said:

Yeah baby, that's the way to go. Do it right, the second time!

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(I just wnated to get a reply in so it shows up unde "My Replies")

I am going to do this though....with Ed's EXACT recipe. I have the yeast ordered! Brownie points for me....coming right up, well.... in 7 weeks anyway!

Hello new guy here. I really want to make this Apfel wine soon. Question that I have is has anyone fermented this at room temps of 65 deg F. I live in Buffalo and would rather not keep the temp cranked up to ferment this. I have really looked through and searched this post for an answer but have not found one. I am using Montrachet yeast.

Mine ranged from 65-70 degrees without a problem.

man, I've made about 60 gallons of apfelwein following EdWort's recipe over the last year. I have yet to let a single bottle age longer than two months.

this year, I'm going to have to get more capacity so that I can develop a better pipeline!

Mine was probably 62-65* for the most part. Came out very well, I got all sorts of compliments at a party I brought a bottle to last night.

Hi, I'm just starting out looking at this home brew lark.

I have most things I need. I live in the UK and don't know of any home brew shops locally. Where can I pick up the wine yeast?

Apfelwein noob here, just made first 5+ gallon batch! Used 7 96 oz bottles berkley & jensen apple juice and added about 2.5 oz extra dextrose to remain true to Ed Wort's recipe. Two weeks from today.......and two weeks after that......

Don't forget to add your gallons to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/how-many-gallons-edworts-apfelwein-have-been-made-20383/

hey hegh i have some kolsch yeast on hand.. how did that batch turn out for ya? was there lots of krausen? did you use the 2lbs dextrose, brown sugar, etc?? let me know! thanks

dpower said:

hey hegh i have some kolsch yeast on hand.. how did that batch turn out for ya? was there lots of krausen? did you use the 2lbs dextrose, brown sugar, etc?? let me know! thanks

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Besides for Koelsch yeast, I used the same exact recipe (with an apple juice substitution, since Treetop isn't available around here). No krausen at all, just a little foam on top.

Came out really well. I was fermenting relatively low, around 58-60* (temp in the basement... maybe that's why there was no krausen), so after a month it still was around 1.006. Everybody who's tried it loves it.

It's a bit sparkling, but I only had one bottle pop its quark. And since that bottle was supposed to take a screw top instead, I think it was more bottle design than carbonation.

I'm trying with the Montrachet now, but I'll almost definitely go with the Koelsch again in the future. Good luck!

Oh, one more thing -- it took about 104 hours to start showing activity. Probably a combination of low temperature and not making a starter...

Well I guess it's off to the LHBS to pick up a carboy in the next few days to see what all the fuss is about. With SWMBO's blessing I might add.Anyone have a good source for Montrachet Wine Yeast? I checked both my LHBS's and neither of them have it. Sorry if the answer is buried somewhere in this thread. I didn't have the patience to sift through 446 pages.

RandalG said:

... Anyone have a good source for Montrachet Wine Yeast? ...

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Really cheap online. I think it's $.59/packet on Northern Brewer. Of course, you're paying for shipping then, so you might as well buy everything you can afford and use the flat rate option...

I am going to bottle mine tonight, using 1 liter flip top (grolsch style) bottles. Does anyone know how many carb tabs I should drop in them? Is one enough? I don't like bottle bombs

Okay. So I got my yeast and sugar per OP recipe. Drive across town last night to Sam's Club and they are OUT of apple juice!! Can you believe that? They only have Mott's at this store too! Stock boy never heard of Tree Top...

Now what?

Initial tasting notes for my "Koelsch/California Ale Yeast Apfelwein" (recipe found here) after almost 1 month in primary:

Final Gravity: Estimated 1.002 via refractometer

Aroma: Very winelike and pleasant, along the lines of a Riesling Spaetlese, but with apple character clearly coming through.

Flavor: Surprisingly full-bodied and complex. Very harmonious blend of acidity and just a hint of sweetness - the two linger and continue to interplay on the palate well after drinking. Encourages salivation, which contributes to the almost creamy mouthfeel. Fruity, although it would be difficult to pinpoint the taste as "apple" for someone who didn't know that this was the main ingredient. SWMBO-approved!

Overall: I am very pleased with this batch, and will make the same recipe again. More rapid maturation and more pleasant character than my previous attempts, which used wine yeasts (Montrachet and Premier Cuvee). I will be bottling this batch within the next few days (half still, half sparkling), and pitch on top of the yeast cake for my next batch.
I am amazed how great this wine tastes this young, and am looking forward to see how it develops as it ages for a few more weeks, but I have a feeling it won't last very long. I would pay $10-15 for a 750-ml bottle of this in the store, easily.

I can only get litre cartons of apple juice. What would be the easiest way to add the dextrose?

Holy crap there's alot to read in this post.

Scott

Henny said:

I am going to bottle mine tonight, using 1 liter flip top (grolsch style) bottles. Does anyone know how many carb tabs I should drop in them? Is one enough? I don't like bottle bombs

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After doing the math 10 times, I decided to use 3 carb tabs... Hopefully they dont go kaboom.

Yambor44 said:

Okay. So I got my yeast and sugar per OP recipe. Drive across town last night to Sam's Club and they are OUT of apple juice!! Can you believe that? They only have Mott's at this store too! Stock boy never heard of Tree Top...

Now what?

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I use Mott's every time, no worries there.

I use Adam & Eve because Treetop isn't available around here. The last batch I put together also contained two gallons of generic grocery-store brand apple juice from concentrate.

ArcaneXor -

Your link contains no recipe!

CiderUK -

Dextrose should easily dissolve when added to a half empty juice bottle and shaken. If not, simply warm (don't boil) a half full pot of juice on your stove top, and then slowly stir in the dextrose until it has fully dissolved.

Be sure to cool the juice back to room temperature, before pouring into a cold glass primary fermentor, OR adding any yeast to the mixture!

BTW - If you can't find a local source for brewer's yeast, then it seems that ordering via an internet supplier, or a mail-order house, may be the only option remaining.

Pogo

There is absolutly NO reason to warm up the apple juice prior to adding the corn sugar.

My sugar was all lumpy when I dumped the juice in the fermenter, but it looks like the yeasties have figured it out. I don't see any more clumps. So I'd say, don't worry about it.

Made mine late yesterday. Room was about 62 degrees most of the night and no fermentation signs this morning but got the room up to 70 so well see this evening.

nealf said:

I use Mott's every time, no worries there.

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Went ahead with the Motts from Publix, $3.09 per 64 oz bottle. Hopefully I can find a cheaper source in the future.

Pogo said:

ArcaneXor -

Your link contains no recipe!

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It does - it's the bottom third of the post:

ArcaneXor said:

My final recipe:

2 gallons of pasteurized White House Apple juice from concentrate, no additives
5 oz of dark brown sugar, dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water along with 1 tsp of Wyeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp of Fermax
16 oz generic clover honey
1-l starter of a blend of washed Koelsch and Cali Ale Yeast, comprised of 50% table sugar and 50% light DME, decanted.

Fermented in Mr. Beer keg with minimal temperature control, starting at ca. 65 deg C, will likely ramp into the mid-70s as it approaches room temperature. Moderate amount of aeration by shaking.

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Just to make sure things dissolved easily I split the sugar among a few different half-full apple juice bottles. Didn't have any problem at all.

Here she is right after pitching



Here she is 24 hours later

Hi all
First time poster, and first cider brew, have only made 1 batch of Blackberry wine before.
Sorry ifthis question has been asked before but I could not find a search function and there is just too many postings on the link to look through.

Question : Can I use another sugar as I a having a problem finding dextrose.?
If I use Cane sugar, is there an addative I will have to use as well as the sugar?

Thanks in advance.

At the top of each thread, right under the thingey you use to pick what page of the thread you go to is a box marked "Search this thread". s'okay, I didn't notice it for a long time either and complained there was no way to search a thread.

Lots of folks have used different sugars. I used fructose in mine.

Great, thanks for that, i found the brown sugar recipe.

Ill give this a shot!!!

Tristan

Just mixed up a completely "pure to the original" 5 gallon recipe, and it's bubbling away like crazy. OG 1.07, see you all in a month!

My girlfriend came home from a weekend trip and thought I left the fridge open and a bunch of eggs went bad...go Montrachet go!

Went out and got 5 gallons of organic apple juice on sale. Gotta join the fun.