ed wort's apfelwein Question...

so i decided to do up a batch of the world renowned Ed Wort's Apfelwein...

i've had it in the fermenter for a month and a half and i'm itchin' to try it... my question is, is it too early to give it a whirl???

thanks!

::taps mic::

is this thing on?

Try checking in the Cider forum.

I just recently tried a bottle that I brewed at the end of January, and only now is it close to 'worth drinking'.

BellsBeerDrinker said:

so i decided to do up a batch of the world renowned Ed Wort's Apfelwein...

i've had it in the fermenter for a month and a half and i'm itchin' to try it... my question is, is it too early to give it a whirl???

thanks!

Click to expand...

You still need to prime and bottle, or keg it.

If the bubbling in the airlock has stopped, and it should have by now, then the answer is yes, you can give it a drink.

Take a hydrometer reading. I am not the most experienced apfelweinmaker on the forum -- I have only made one batch so far -- but your gravity should be down around 1.000 or less.

My first batch finished at 0.998 after an initial gravity of 1.064. It was drinkable right away, in my opinion, but I added 5 ounces of priming sugar and bottled it. It carbonated nicely, and my wife likes it so much she is asking me to make it again.

i was thinking about bottling/carbing half of the batch, and just corking the rest in old wine bottles....

any pros/cons to adding the priming sugar and carbing it up?

I have made a few batches of apfelwein and have not carbed any of it. But SWMBO & I like our cider still and dry. I would say you are on the right track going half & half. That way you can see how you like it. I am actually drinking some right now that I bottled 4/5. It definitely gets better with some age.

6 weeks is pretty early to get that out of the fermentor. I would leave it at least another month. If you used the Montrachet yeast, as per Ed, it is a slow steady fermentor. I have had visible fermentation still at 6 weeks. Take a reading if you like to see, but even after fermentation is complete some rest will help. It should finish close to 1.0 or lower but that depends on the Juice/Cider you used and yeast of course.

Bottle/keg as desired either dry or sparking and then let it sit a minimum of 6 months if you can. This stuff really is best about 12 months after brewing.

thanks for the tips!

i dunno if i'll be able to let it sit a year without trying a few

arturo7 said:

You still need to prime and bottle, or keg it.

Click to expand...

only if you want it carbed.


I do some without prime they go into 32 oz flit tops and the rest into a keg to be carbed . I let it sit a good 4-5 months before I drink it.

I, too, started a batch just 4 weeks ago, and given all the hoopla, I can't wait to give it a try! But instead, I just leave it in the wrapped carboy, doing its thing. I will say that I appreciate that the rhino farts have stopped. That was pretty friggin' obnoxious!

I have another carboy that will get another batch in it this weekend. I missed out on EdWort's suggestion to start a second batch two weeks after the first one. I feel like such a fool, and I haven't even tried the stuff yet!