Man, I love Apfelwein

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And yes, my first pint I wasn't so sure I liked it. I had poured two so I drank those. After letting the second settle in me for a bit, I'm loving it and heading back for a third one. It's only about a month old. I'm sure in a few more weeks it will have mellowed and blended more and be even better. I doubt it will last till then though....
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I have 10 gallons thats going over 6 months- That stuff is 1000000% better than the month old
 
Yeah...my first batch was tapped a couple weeks back and it was made March 4th.
I am starting to acquire a taste for it now, though at first it was a bit too dry/tart.
I've another batch going I'll let age for 6months before tapping to try how that is, so I won't be opening it up to Dec.
I think my plan is to try and make a batch every other month or so that way after the initial wait for ageing all will be well with the flow.
:mug:
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
I have 10 gallons thats going over 6 months- That stuff is 1000000% better than the month old
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I just tapped a 3 gallon keg that I started in mid-September last year. It was in primary several weeks, in the keg at room temperature for a few more, and finally refrigerated until this afternoon.

Talk about smooth.... I don't know how something so cheap tastes so expensive!
 
Took a sample of mine today. Started June 6th. SG is 1.002. Gonna give it more time in the carboy before I sample it again. Still lots of little bubbles coming up.

Not sure how much alcohol is in it but it sure tasted strong. Rather harsh. More time will hopefully mellow it out a bit. I'll check it again in a few weeks.
 
I have many times lamented my inability to decide on the age old question...the one that has plagued brewers since the early days of Apfelwein....To carb or Not To Carb.
As I sit here drinking a glass of the still stuff I bottled on 6-7-08..brewed 51 days previous...I am starting to believe that I like the Carbonated version a little better.
I am thinking I will only do 5 wine bottles of this still on the next batch, then I will begin going all Carbed until I need more still.

I do plan on building a Kreezer in the next few months...and that will definitely have a dedicated tap....I guess I will need about 4 cornies to work them into the mix....I will still be bottling a batch now and then for giving out....everyone Loves Apfelwein.
 
BigKahuna said:
I bottled on 6-7-08..brewed 51 days previous
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My stuff is 2 days older (5-15-08) and I have not bottled yet, actually going to keg it. Trying to wait as long as I can. I have tasted along the way and it is quite good with some tartness. Alcohol still feels alittle hot. What kind of juice did you use? I can't get treetop around here so I used mott's, dex, and mont yeast.

It started clearing around the 4-5 week mark but then stopped and is still slightly hazy. I was going to cold crash it on thursday which would be 8 weeks from the start. Yes it was clear juice...ferm temp 70-73
 
jay415 said:
My stuff is 2 days older (5-15-08) and I have not bottled yet, actually going to keg it. Trying to wait as long as I can. I have tasted along the way and it is quite good with some tartness. Alcohol still feels alittle hot. What kind of juice did you use? I can't get treetop around here so I used mott's, dex, and mont yeast.

It started clearing around the 4-5 week mark but then stopped and is still slightly hazy. I was going to cold crash it on thursday which would be 8 weeks from the start. Yes it was clear juice...ferm temp 70-73
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It just takes time. The cold will accelerate the clarifying process however.
 
I served up a keg to a 4th party.

It had aged for 2 months and tasted great. Many folks did not like the dryness so about 1oz of Sprite in 14-15oz of apfelwein really took the dryness out while leaving the crispness and taste of the drink alone.

Again, most folks were blown away at how good it was. Even SWMBO really enjoyed it.
 
Odd question.

I'm entering in this batch into Beersmith for posterity and since I let my friend be the lead on this batch (he's more into mead than beer, and I figured this would be a nice way to cut his teeth), he forgot to take a OG of the entire mix and forgot the SG of the apple juice.

It's the SG of the treetop apple juice I'm most interested in. Anyone take a hydrometer reading? I'm surprised that Beersmith has an entry for apple wine but no apple juice listings. An OG of the basic stuff would be cool too. It might have been asked already, but I'm still working through the 400 or so pages of this thread!
 
Interesting observation:
I sweetened my first batch with some splenda at bottling. It is now on 6 months old, and that which is carbonated and sweetened holds a better head and looks nicer than most beer I make. I'm not really into the splenda, but I'm thinking of trying some heading powder.
 
Can someone answer a question? I put down a brew a few (exactly like Ed's, but using Keri juce here) days ago using a cider yeast here in New Zealand (Brewcraft). It didn't start after about 12 hours so I gave it a stir and a kick. After a session with a mate I threrw in a new yeast pack because I thought the yeast I used may have been dead... then the whole bloody thing erupted like Mt Vesuvius! Spewed crap everywhere and is bubbling violently. Will the addition of the secondary yeast cause a problem?
 
BigKahuna said:
Interesting observation:
I sweetened my first batch with some splenda at bottling. It is now on 6 months old, and that which is carbonated and sweetened holds a better head and looks nicer than most beer I make. I'm not really into the splenda, but I'm thinking of trying some heading powder.
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If I am not wrong, heading powder is dextrose and gum arbic. Don't think it will make the apfelwien sweet as the dextrose will just ferment. Malto-dextrin could work.
 
Phantom Cactus said:
Can someone answer a question? I put down a brew a few (exactly like Ed's, but using Keri juce here) days ago using a cider yeast here in New Zealand (Brewcraft). It didn't start after about 12 hours so I gave it a stir and a kick. After a session with a mate I threrw in a new yeast pack because I thought the yeast I used may have been dead... then the whole bloody thing erupted like Mt Vesuvius! Spewed crap everywhere and is bubbling violently. Will the addition of the secondary yeast cause a problem?
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hehehe, I think should be okay. To a certain extent, more yeast is good.
 
OK Boys and Girls. I have 3 liters on Oak. Well...IN oak. I transfered 3 liters of Apfelwein made 4-6-08 with Organic Evaporated Cane Juice into a barrel that I got from www.1000oaksbarrel.com
It was ok going in. I won't be making it that way again, as I've since decided EdWort has this thing down just exactly as it should be.

We'll see how this one goes.
 
i've never heard of apfelwein, but after reading a few of the 354 pages of posts i think i might try it out. cheers to the thousands of gallons of Apfelwein before me!
 
Well I just sampled my first apfelwein for the first time.... It is very good as hoped. Even with the big build up this stuff is good, and for the price it cannot be beaten. I let mine age in the carboy for 3 months before racking to a keg. I love it still and will be bottling half still tomorrow, then carbonating half to see how that is.

Cheers to Ed and his wonderful creation! :mug:
 
I tried some last night even though its not done fermenting. Was very refreshing and somewhat sweet still. This stuff takes forever to ferment, This patch has been going for 12 days with very active fementation still. I used WLP004 as it was the only yeast I had(washed)
 
springer said:
This stuff takes forever to ferment, This patch has been going for 12 days with very active fementation still.
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Mine had very active fermentation well into the 4th week. Be patient :)

It does ferment out quite dry, and far lighter in flavor than I expected.

-Joe
 
Put our Apfelwein on gas Monday night and set up to start sampling last night. :)rockin:)

... My sister passed out, my wife is still puking this afternoon and my head felt like it got smashed between 2 bricks. This stuff is amazing but holy sheet it sneaks up on you faster then a phantom fart. :drunk:

On a lighter note, i'll probably start another batch this weekend, heh.
 
MriswitH said:
Put our Apfelwein on gas Monday night and set up to start sampling last night. :)rockin:)

... My sister passed out, my wife is still puking this afternoon and my head felt like it got smashed between 2 bricks. This stuff is amazing but holy sheet it sneaks up on you faster then a phantom fart. :drunk:

On a lighter note, i'll probably start another batch this weekend, heh.
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**Copy....and OFF TO THE QUOTE THREAD.
 
My first batch has been in the primary for 4.5 weeks. I took an SG reading last night at 1.000. The sample tasted amazing. I may carb a few bottles, but it was great non-carb. Thanks EdWort!!
 
The batch that I made in sin (Used evaporated Organic Cane Juice for Sugar) was plagued from the beginning. It didn't' clear in 3 months, so I added some Old Isenglas...NOTHING...So I added Gelatin....NOTHING....Last night I checked it...LOTS OF gelatin clumps...but CLEAR. I ran it through a screen filter and kegged it. My First Pour from my new Keezer is going to be 3 month old Apfelwein~
 
MriswitH said:
head felt like it got smashed between 2 bricks. This stuff is amazing but holy sheet it sneaks up on you faster then a phantom fart. :drunk:
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Yeah I force carbed my first batch of this last night and pulled a pint, drank it, pulled another,drank it. And after 4 pints I was done:drunk:.

And today, My head is throbbing, light hurts my head and tacos with hot sauce does not feel as good coming up than it did when they went down.:cross:
 
Yeah, 4 pints of apfelwein is a heavy load. The stuff is deceptive, because it goes down so nicely. It's not until you start to wobble that you realize that the stuff really is pretty high test.
 
I bottled my Apfelwein just like beer as I thought I read on this thread... after 2 weeks in the bottle, no carb yet.

Any ideas?
 
elkdog said:
It's not until you start to wobble that you realize that the stuff really is pretty high test.
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and by then...it's TOO LATE!


I bottled my Apfelwein just like beer as I thought I read on this thread... after 2 weeks in the bottle, no carb yet.

Any ideas?
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Give it two more weeks....You'll be ok.
the one I did on a wizen yeast cake never did carb....I ended up putting about 5 granules of Montrachet in each bottle and recapping. So it is possible.
 
BigKahuna said:
OK Boys and Girls. I have 3 liters on Oak. Well...IN oak. I transfered 3 liters of Apfelwein made 4-6-08 with Organic Evaporated Cane Juice into a barrel that I got from www.1000oaksbarrel.com
It was ok going in. I won't be making it that way again, as I've since decided EdWort has this thing down just exactly as it should be.

We'll see how this one goes.
Click to expand...

Hi BigKahuna: Was it the oak or the cane juice that put you off making apfelwein in that fashion? I've been thinking of adding a bit of molasses to EdWort's recipe & thought a light oaking might work well with it; would you advise against these things? I try to learn from the mistakes of other when I can. Regards, GF. :)
 
gratus fermentatio said:
Hi BigKahuna: Was it the oak or the cane juice that put you off making apfelwein in that fashion? I've been thinking of adding a bit of molasses to EdWort's recipe & thought a light oaking might work well with it; would you advise against these things? I try to learn from the mistakes of other when I can. Regards, GF. :)
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OH MY NOT the OAK.
The Organic sugar is what was the issue, and it eventually came clear with the addition of the gelatin, but it tastes funny. Just use Ed's recipe. I would recommend everyone that can should oak a little apfelwein. It lends a very interesting note and a lot of complexity. I think this would satisfy even the harshest wine critic....especially when they find out what it costs.
 
BigKahuna said:
The Organic sugar is what was the issue, it tastes funny. Just use Ed's recipe. I would recommend everyone that can should oak a little apfelwein. It lends a very interesting note and a lot of complexity.

Thanks for the heads up on organic evaporated cane juice, and for the tip on sticking to EdWort's recipe, I intend on doing just that with 1 batch (6gal), but was thinking of starting up a 2nd, smaller batch (1 gal.) & tinkering a wee bit since I'd have everything required all ready for it. Regards, GF. :)
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At the risk of blaspheming the name of Apfelwein, I took a few chunks of frozen watermelon that I had in the freezer and added them to a glass. It's very good!
 
After reading through the first few hundred posts, I decided to whip up a batch of this... Definitely the easiest of my first three brews, but on the third day in the bucket my basement has a distinct odor reminiscent of the day after a chili and cheap beer bender

=)
 

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