Man, I love Apfelwein

Williams 728
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So everything came in the mail today and I got it started. Do you not have to revive the yeast before putting it in the carboy? I followed the instructions exactly. Do you not have to worry about your carboy caps popping off? Will there be a lot of airlock activity?
 
I was having a bit of trouble getting the brown sugar into the apple juice jug so just added it directly to the carboy. I don't think it's completely mixed into suspension, as there appears to be some on the bottom.

Will the yeast get down there and get it or should I mix it up?

thx
 
For the record my apfelwein is with Organic Applejuice and Dexrose and Ruhdseimer Wine yeast. for the peeps that want to try an alternative yeast .. the Ruhdseimer Rocks! my two batches have been fermenting for 2 weeks the OG was 1.060 now down to .998 and the taste is incredible. I know I have posted this before and dont want to be a post whore, However I have not seen a response in using this type of yeast. I do encourage that you try this type of yeast
 
blacklab said:
I was having a bit of trouble getting the brown sugar into the apple juice jug so just added it directly to the carboy. I don't think it's completely mixed into suspension, as there appears to be some on the bottom.

Will the yeast get down there and get it or should I mix it up?

thx
Click to expand...

When Mixing mine together I get a plastic Primary that I use for bottling and add the ingredients. after about 2 gallons I then add part of my sugar or Brown Sugar, Stir the heck out of it, then gradually start adding more apple Juice and sugar, Stirring after every bottle, when the batch is done. I will stir some more till I know it is fully blended, then have a Big Funnel and then pour into the carboy as fast as it can so it can oxygenate leaving about 1 liter left check the temp, once I have verified that it is between 72 F - 74 F I pitch the yeast then pitch the remaining .75 liters of apple juice into the carboy.


that is how I do it.

Hope this helps
 
I used some local brand of Apple juice (Allen's). The FG after 8 weeks was stable at 1.005. OG of 1.060.

I bottled today, 61 x 12oz bottles!

Can't wait to try this, will be great during the holidays.
 
I just made some yesterday(exactly to edworts recipe except i used cote do blancs, bc i wanted it to be a little sweeter and I will add lactose before bottling hey...im a southerner I can't stand stuff that ain't sweet) but, anyway my question is i got it in the fermenter and pitched at about 7:30 and its been 25 hrs now, up until like 5 hrs ago it had a krauzen like foam on top and I left for a while and at the 25 hour mark the stuff has fallen away from the sides and I have very minimal airlock activity. Its got me kinda worred bc this stuff has a lot of fermentables and it seems to me like it would be going crazy. I couldn't sleep last nite I was so excited I woke up like every 3 hrs to see if it was going crazy and it just simply isnt just like a blurp every min in teh airlock and yes I have checked for leaks and there are none. any thoughts? similaritys?
 
Here is my Apfelwein after a little more than 24 hours. It is foaming more than I expected:

pc021559ay5.jpg

pc021558qt4.jpg


The Apfelwein is in the rear better bottle.
 
sAvAgE said:
For the record my apfelwein is with Organic Applejuice and Dexrose and Ruhdseimer Wine yeast. for the peeps that want to try an alternative yeast .. the Ruhdseimer Rocks! my two batches have been fermenting for 2 weeks the OG was 1.060 now down to .998 and the taste is incredible. I know I have posted this before and dont want to be a post whore, However I have not seen a response in using this type of yeast. I do encourage that you try this type of yeast
Click to expand...

I Googled the name of that yeast and got zip. I tried a couple of other spellings and still got nothing. Any more info?

Thanks,

JW
 
skinfiddler said:
I Googled the name of that yeast and got zip. I tried a couple of other spellings and still got nothing. Any more info?

Thanks,

JW
Click to expand...

I think the spelling is off. Try [SIZE=-1]Rudesheimer wine yeast.

You will find that Wyeast makes it and it is number 4783.
[/SIZE]Produces distinct Riesling character. Rich flavor, creamy, fruity profile with nice dry finish and a hint of Riesling sweetness in the aftertaste. Rhine Wines, Fruity Ciders, Riesling, Ice Wine.
 
EdWort said:
I think the spelling is off. Try [SIZE=-1]Rudesheimer wine yeast.

You will find that Wyeast makes it and it is number 4783.
[/SIZE]Produces distinct Riesling character. Rich flavor, creamy, fruity profile with nice dry finish and a hint of Riesling sweetness in the aftertaste. Rhine Wines, Fruity Ciders, Riesling, Ice Wine.
Click to expand...

I am likely to try this just for the time factor unless someone wants to disuade me. My first batch has was pitched five weeks ago and is still at 1.008. I have made three batches of EWs Haus Pale becuase the reviews were so good and I have no regrets, the first one has only been bottled 11 days but I think it is going to be great.

I expect the original AW recipe - just tasted my hydro sample- is also going to be great, needs to age until next fall.

But if I can cut the carboy time by 60-70% from six weeks down to 2 weeks, well, that will free up a carboy for whatever else.

What do you think Ed Wort? Should I give it a try? I like Riesling wines. If I can get a sweet Riesling like apple taste and get four volumes of CO2 in there like TexLaw did i am going to be one very happy camper. Worth a try?

I know it still needs to age for a year in bottles...
 
I know it's only a few weeks old, but there are 60 bottles of Apfelwein and I have to taste it to make sure it's good before giving it to my mates....

It's been a few weeks since the last taste so I'd better taste it again to make sure it's still good.

This is really good, but it will need a bit more aging before I give some to my mates, and of course more taste testing....

It's been 3 months and there are now only 18 bottles left and I haven't given any away yet. I think I'm going to keep the rest for myself and brew another batch for my mates.

EdWort you and your apfelwein recipe have made me a greedy man!
I might have to give Cheesefoods maple one a try too.
 
the_wrath_of_Khan said:
Here is my Apfelwein after a little more than 24 hours. It is foaming more than I expected:

pc021559ay5.jpg


The Apfelwein is in the rear better bottle.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I can see that you also suffer from a leaky carboy cap. I used a plastic zip tie and it solved my problems. The tape may tend to get moisture under it over time and not work as well.

I did not get a foam like that, what yeast did you use?
 
I used Red Star- Montrachet Yeast(5 Grams). I didn't think of a zip tie, but I will use that in the future. I followed the recipe and instructions exactly that is why I posted pictures because EdWort's instructions mention only a thin layer of bubbles instead of a Kreuzen. EdWort or others, any suggestion as to why my Apfelwein is so foamy?

Nice of this guy to give EdWort credit for the recipe: http://www.brewingkb.com/brewing-ci...-between-apple-wine-and-apple-cider-1017.html
 
What an a-hole! Word for word, and no credit! I may register and post over there just to give him a hard time.
 
Hey Edwort, I have to give it to ya. I'm halfway through my first batch and this is really good. It seems to be strong because i get a little buzz off a couple of glasses.. The only negitive is that i just started another batch last week. Thanks..
 
Man so where is my pat on the back for busting this guy?

Also EdWort what do you think of the picture. Any idea why I have all the foam on my Apfelwein?
 
the_wrath_of_Khan said:
Man so where is my pat on the back for busting this guy?
Click to expand...

Here you go.

bob_h.jpg


Thanks for pointing the cut-n-paster out.

the_wrath_of_Khan said:
Also EdWort what do you think of the picture. Any idea why I have all the foam on my Apfelwein?
Click to expand...

That's a lot of foam. Did you deviate from the recipe?
 
I can't believe I read this whole thread. It should be renamed War, Peace, and Apfelwein.

I too lived in Frankfurt for a short time and got hooked on Apfelwein (which the locals called Ebbelwoi) in the various apfelwein taverns of Sachsenhausen. So, when I started brewing about two months ago, it was something that I wanted to try. I googled "Apfelwein recipe," and was led here.

I finally tried EdWort's recipe last Friday, but with one modification: I skipped the added sugar to keep the ABV under 6%. So far, everything looks great. I will report back when it finished fermenting.

In advance of that, I have a question for EdWort about repitching a new batch on the yeast from my prior batch. I think I might try it, but I was curious to know your experience with this method. A while back, you posted that you were having some initial difficulties and that you wouldn't recommend the method. How did everything turn out in the end?

Thanks, EdWort.
 
cheezydemon said:
239 pages....dear god. I haven't brewed any yet, I was just curious what this bloated thread was! Lol.
Click to expand...

If you decide to brew some, be aware of Edwort's 3 glass warning. Otherwise you'll find out why I call this stuff "Blackout Juice". :drunk:
 
Apfelwein is so tasty that it is dangerous enough at 6% ABV. So the 8.5% ABV version strikes me as an inherently bad idea unless you have the will of Zeus. But for me, the primary danger of apfelwein while I was in Frankfurt were its gastrointestinal side effects when it is consumed in large quantities. These have not really been discussed much in this thread, but I can assure you they are quite sudden and severe. Perhaps at 8.5% ABV you can't consume enough apfelwein for this to be an issue? Or perhaps we are all just so used to the somewhat similar effects of live yeast that we are all immune?
 
El_Borracho said:
So if I don't add sugar, Its around 6% ABV?
Click to expand...

Yep, depending on your juice. A standard bottle of Possmann's from Frankfurt is 5.5% abv. The dextros adds the 3% kicker and makes it dry and crisp.
 
RWBooneJr said:
Apfelwein is so tasty that it is dangerous enough at 6% ABV. So the 8.5% ABV version strikes me as an inherently bad idea unless you have the will of Zeus. But for me, the primary danger of apfelwein while I was in Frankfurt were its gastrointestinal side effects when it is consumed in large quantities. These have not really been discussed much in this thread, but I can assure you they are quite sudden and severe. Perhaps at 8.5% ABV you can't consume enough apfelwein for this to be an issue? Or perhaps we are all just so used to the somewhat similar effects of live yeast that we are all immune?
Click to expand...

Yep, you can get hammered before quaffing too much to instigate irritable bowel syndrome. :cross:
 
RWBooneJrIn advance of that said:
Very good question. I made that batch in February kegged it in May. I have not yet tapped that keg, but it's been aging ever since. I'll post the results when I tap it.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, please do let me know how your apfelwein turned out on the repitched yeast. In advance, what were your issues? Just an atypical fermentation?

Regardless, to show my wholehearted support for this thread, I have purchased my very own Bee Cave Brewery Organic Cotton T-Shirt. I already have several apfelwein glasses collected from my time in Frankfurt, so I wanted to have something special for the day I tap this stuff.

:mug:
 
RWBooneJr said:
Thanks, please do let me know how your apfelwein turned out on the repitched yeast. In advance, what were your issues? Just an atypical fermentation?
Click to expand...

On the plus side, I just added my juice & sugar and snapped on a freshly sanitized carboy cap & airlock.

The only negative I can remember is that it was cloudy longer than if I used a fresh pack of yeast and it left a kreuzen ring around the top of the better bottle.

I figured, I'd try it once, but in order to keep things consistent, I decided to stick to freshly washed & sanitized Better Bottles and a fresh packet of Montrachet yeast. By pitching on old yeast I saved maybe 15 minutes and 79 cents. I did not want to risk $18 in ingredients, and more importantly 6 months of patience to save a packet of yeast. Yes, I now wait a minimum of 6 months before I tap a keg, but that's what having 3 Better Bottles going at one time can bring.

I hope you like the shirt. Thanks!
 
blacklab said:
What an a-hole! Word for word, and no credit! I may register and post over there just to give him a hard time.
Click to expand...
Consider it done. :D

I went kinda easy on him though, somebody less diplomatic than I should head over and pile on.
 
EdWort said:
I did not want to risk $18 in ingredients, and more importantly 6 months of patience to save a packet of yeast.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. I had a vision of the folks in Hessen throwing batch after batch on the same yeast, and thought that doing this might add a little character to the brew. But things are going well so far, and Montrachet is about $1.00 at my LHBS (Flying Barrel, in Frederick, MD, which is amazingly well stocked and much deserving of a shout-out), so I think that I will just start anew when my batch finishes.

With a handful of denials and a little misdirection, SWMBO will not know the difference.
 
Hey Im gonna make some- The wife said the store only had Apple Cider so she got 5gal of it.

I was at the LHBS and they had a Wyeast Cider yeast. Should I use that?
 
I put mine in a keg after about a month and a half in primary; tasted really strong of sulfur still but I could tell that it really has some potential! I'll be leaving it for a few more weeks (for a total of maybe 2.5 months) before drinking it, but have any advice on the sulfur? Will it dissipate on it's own or should I give it a CO2 flush every now and then?
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Hey Im gonna make some- The wife said the store only had Apple Cider so she got 5gal of it.

I was at the LHBS and they had a Wyeast Cider yeast. Should I use that?
Click to expand...

With the cider yeast, it won't be apfelwein really... not in the way that the wine (montrachet) yeast makes it.
 
I made mine on Monday night. Very exciting stuff. No activity in the airlock untill yesterday (Wed) night but this morning i checked and it is bubbling away about once every 1 or 2 seconds. The room i have it in is only about 67 deg so i figured that was the deal with the lag time on the airlock activity. Cant wait till this stuff is done even SWMBO is excited about it.
 

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