Man, I love Apfelwein

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Quote: Hey guys I would love to make up a couple 5 gal batches of Apfel, but I dont want it taking up space in my kegerator for many months. Can it age warm?
Yes (room temperature)

If I ferment for a month, then keg, can I leave it room temperature?
Yes

Carbed or flat?
This is a matter of choice, I split the batch with half and half but personally prefer carbed.

Will it age correctly?
Yes!

QUOTE
 
Weeb thanks for the helpful answer!

Is everyone still using Montrachet yeast? I searched the thread and found some discussion but nothing "definitive" notice the quotes since that's open to personal interpretation.

I would love to use 6.5g plastic ale pails for a 5g batch. As suggested I would gladly just up the batch to 6.5g, but then I wouldntt be able to fit it all in a single corney. Unless I mixed batches or bottled the extra 1.5g. Although with 750mL wine bottles that is only maybe eight bottles or so. Any hints here? Thanks!
 
Started two batches on Sunday. Apple juice from a local orchard. Non-pasteurized, just screen filtered. Frozen, then thawed; I'm hoping this will slow down the natural yeasts. Juice was 10.8 Brix. 24L apple juice, 1kg dextrose, Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. I'll let you know in six months how it tastes!
 
akthor said:
I don't use montrachet they didn't have it when I went to the LHBS after a search on my smart phone I got Premier Cuvee. I wanted sweeter and less dry and since I have even made a batch using 10lbs of sugar I needed high ABV potential ;)

This might help you decide on a yeast:

http://www.winemakermag.com/guide/yeast
Click to expand...

I'm also curious about how it turned out. I have a batch going right now with 3# of dextrose and 5# of honey
 
nsw8148 said:
I'm also curious about how it turned out. I have a batch going right now with 3# of dextrose and 5# of honey
Click to expand...

I routinely add 4 lbs of dextrose and age it a year. The body is a little thinner, and I couldn't imagine touching it if it wasn't carbonated. Fantastic otherwise, and I keep making it.

I have also experimented with brown sugar, corn sugar, and other yeasts. Nothing terribly remarkable. I have a "Barleywine of Apfelwein" going right now that is hovering around 16.5% ABV and will need to age a long time to loose that heat :drunk:. I'm sure I will go back and add in more flavor afterwards. Probably not the most worthwhile use of my time, money, and carboy space, but I guess I had to try it once. I started off with a smaller yeast, which tapered off around 1.02. The champagne yeast took the fermentation to 1.00-ish, but I can't seem to get it to clear.

I also recently made a batch of Apfelwein and added 2 cans of Welch's frozen tropical juice concentrate. I'm hoping it will give it a little extra body.

Something else I did was experiment with citric acid. I played with around 2 spoonfuls per glass to give the drinker a puckered face. It turns into a fun and enjoyable drink.

Play around and make what'cha want. Some don't really support tweaking the recipe :eek: but I love experimenting. Of course, I have to admit, the 'plain' recipe is rather good as well.
 
Currently in a carboy I have 4.5 gallons of juice, 1.5 lbs of previously frozen blueberries, 2 lbs of table sugar, and one packet of montrachet. It has been sitting for 29 days now. This morning's hydrometer reading was well below 1.000. It tasted a little different than normal apfelwein, due to the blueberries. I will be racking it off onto some fresh blueberries for some aroma before bottle, however, i don't need to rush as I have a **** ton of alcohol ready for consumption already.
 
akthor said:
Pineapple juice (Dole) comes in a can, the other's are typically Ocean Spray. As long as the juices don't have preservatives likw sorbate. Absorbic Acid and similiar are ok. Typically if the label says 100% juice no preservatives you are golden.
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gicts said:
I routinely add 4 lbs of dextrose and age it a year. The body is a little thinner, and I couldn't imagine touching it if it wasn't carbonated. Fantastic otherwise, and I keep making it.

I have also experimented with brown sugar, corn sugar, and other yeasts. Nothing terribly remarkable. I have a "Barleywine of Apfelwein" going right now that is hovering around 16.5% ABV and will need to age a long time to loose that heat :drunk:. I'm sure I will go back and add in more flavor afterwards. Probably not the most worthwhile use of my time, money, and carboy space, but I guess I had to try it once. I started off with a smaller yeast, which tapered off around 1.02. The champagne yeast took the fermentation to 1.00-ish, but I can't seem to get it to clear.

I also recently made a batch of Apfelwein and added 2 cans of Welch's frozen tropical juice concentrate. I'm hoping it will give it a little extra body.

Something else I did was experiment with citric acid. I played with around 2 spoonfuls per glass to give the drinker a puckered face. It turns into a fun and enjoyable drink.

Play around and make what'cha want. Some don't really support tweaking the recipe :eek: but I love experimenting. Of course, I have to admit, the 'plain' recipe is rather good as well.
Click to expand...

That sounds delicious!

How many carboys do have going at any given time?

I have 4 5ga and cant seem to keep anything around long enough to let it age that far. My buddies and I seem to make it disappear too fast:eek:
 
Don't know yet, I will have to check the date but I think it is going on 3+ weeks of straight bubbling away it is still very actively fermenting LOL.

I don't have the patience to wait a year I think but I won't touch until I drink up the 17 gallons of various Apfelwein I have made ahead of it.

OK LOL maybe it will take a year ;)

ksbrain said:
How did the 10# batch come out? I just made my last with 5#, and I want to go to 10#, sort of to find the upper limit.

FWIW according to Fermentis the Montrachet is rated up to 15%
Click to expand...
 
Made my first batch today :) though not sure if I've made a little mistake. When adding the yeast i added a little warm water with it before putting in the apple juice.
now have a few little lumps in the juice and it has started fermenting yet.

Should I of just put the yeast in without adding water? and how long before it normally starts fermenting?

Thanks
 
herminator said:
Made my first batch today :) though not sure if I've made a little mistake. When adding the yeast i added a little warm water with it before putting in the apple juice.
now have a few little lumps in the juice and it has started fermenting yet.

Should I of just put the yeast in without adding water? and how long before it normally starts fermenting?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Are you saying that you rehydrated the yeast? If so, that's perfectly fine. I've only made Apfelwein with rehydrated yeast and have had no issues.

Mine have all started showing active fermentation signs within 24 hours, but YMMV.
 
danielwhitted said:
Are you saying that you rehydrated the yeast? If so, that's perfectly fine. I've only made Apfelwein with rehydrated yeast and have had no issues.

Mine have all started showing active fermentation signs within 24 hours, but YMMV.
Click to expand...

Well I added the yeast to some water in a cup mixed it up abit then put in the juice,
 
herminator said:
Well I added the yeast to some water in a cup mixed it up:tank: abit then put in the juice,
Click to expand...

You should add the yeast to about one cup of warm water by sprinkling it on top (do not mix at this time). Let it set for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap. After that time mix it up and add it to your fermentable. You should rehydrate your yeast before adding it. Adding it to your high sugar mixture will cause a larger number of the yeast to die.
 
The only one that I have had yet besides the original recipe is the apple/pineapple/cranrasp.

We found it smoother than the original and I thought it was a little less dry and you could taste more of the fruits.

The next one in the pipeline that will be ready is the Apple/Cranpomegranate.

MikeRoBrew1 said:
akthor I would love to hear more about some of the flavored batches of Apfel you have made. Thanks for more inspiration!
Click to expand...
 
I just bottled a batch of Apple/Grape that had 3lbs of sugar and 5lbs of honey in it.

I'm interested to see how it turns out because it had only been in primary for 1 month, and its still very sweet. In my experience, they have always mellowed out after 2 or more weeks in bottles, but I've never had one still be this sweet.

Hopefully it just carbs itself like I had on batch do, and doesnt explode.
 
moxie said:
Any brands I should look for in Canada? I am having a ***** of a time finding a gallon jug of the right stuff. Everything is either full of preservatives, or comes in a small volume. The only suitable juice I found at two grocery stores was in 1L containers, there is no way I am buying 20+ of those bad boys. Haha. Any brand in particular carried by Lawblaws, Sobeys, etc? I am assuming I don't want anything with vitamin C added. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Costco Canada sells flats of Sun-Rype 12 x 1 litre cartons... makes things a little simpler. Worth shopping around though - grocery store might have it for less but, as you say, really fiddly buying 19 separate containers loose.

Sun-Rype is perfect: it's not from concentrate, it's unsweetened and the only preservative is Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid (which is OK).

I started a batch 6 weeks ago, which I'm going to be bottling soon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55055992@N00/5096222475/in/set-72157625199934194/
 
just made up a apple+ grape, 3 gal treetop apple and 2 gal of welches concord
2 lbs of corn sugar.2 packs of safale 04
og was 1.070
 
Mine still looks like its fermenting, but the airlock has stopped bubbling completely, and this is 15 days into fermenting. There is still active bubbling inside the fermenter though (not a lot).

There is no temperature listed in the recipe, so I've been fermenting at 62-68 degrees. Is there a target here I should be shooting for?
 
Verio said:
Mine still looks like its fermenting, but the airlock has stopped bubbling completely, and this is 15 days into fermenting. There is still active bubbling inside the fermenter though (not a lot).

There is no temperature listed in the recipe, so I've been fermenting at 62-68 degrees. Is there a target here I should be shooting for?
Click to expand...

when it reaches the sweetness\ dryness you like its done...anyway thats how I did it
 
Bottled a two month old batch with SWMBO last night. Of course, we're tasting as bottling. I ask her what she thinks. She shrugs, "It's okay, but I prefer the beer."
 
Just took a sample and a gravity. Sitting at 1.005 right now. The sample was yummy. My wife said "It tastes different, but its good. I'll drink it" Which is better than what she said about my beer, haha.

I could see myself getting toasted off of this pretty quick.

So, wife said it wasn't ready yet, so took it out of my swamp cooler, and put it in our master closet for a few months to age.
 
nsw8148 said:
That sounds delicious!

How many carboys do have going at any given time?

I have 4 5ga and cant seem to keep anything around long enough to let it age that far. My buddies and I seem to make it disappear too fast:eek:
Click to expand...

I used to have that problem, but then I made a 20 gallon batch a year or 2 ago to let the others age. Right now i have 2-5 gallon kegs carbed and ready, 1 carboy aging, and 5 gallons in a primary fermentation. I went all out this spring and summer brewing beer and still have several gallons that need to be attended to before the apfelwein. What a hard life :p
 
LiquidGold said:
You should add the yeast to about one cup of warm water by sprinkling it on top (do not mix at this time). Let it set for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap. After that time mix it up and add it to your fermentable. You should rehydrate your yeast before adding it. Adding it to your high sugar mixture will cause a larger number of the yeast to die.
Click to expand...

Oh dear! well its ferementing like mad at the moment! do you think i should add a little more yeast with it rehydrated? or just leave it now?
Had to tip some out of the carboy as it was starting to come out and into the airlock!! hopefully now it should be ok.
It's starting to make an awful smell as well, is this the norm?

thanks
 
The original recipe calls for putting the yeast in 1/2 bottle of apple juice, shaking it and dumping it into the bucket.

I have done this with every batch I have made with no problems ;)
 
OK.. I just started a batch of this. I was looking for something to serve at my oldest son's going away party at the end of February (He's joining the USAF) and thought this would be perfect (along with BBQ, Honey Red Ale and strippers ).
 
Mysticmead said:
OK.. I just started a batch of this. I was looking for something to serve at my oldest son's going away party at the end of February (He's joining the USAF) and thought this would be perfect (along with BBQ, Honey Red Ale and strippers ).
Click to expand...

I salute your son for helping defend our country but my hat's off to you for the strippers.
 
my apple/grape with safeale 04 is fermenting like a storm.
it looks like a warm shook up bottle of 7 up.
so far no blow offs
 
Just a heads up, I have found that in using any yeast other than the montrechet, I have had to use a blowoff tube. Almost had a carboy bomb with the 3ga pineapple and 2ga apple I made a month ago with lalvin k1-v1116. And then yesterday with a batch of 1ga pineapple and 4ga apple and used d-47 yeast.

Both of the yeasts said that they were low foaming.
 
I can't stress the improvement in taste from a bottle that was opened 5 weeks after starting the batch to a bottle that was opened about 11 weeks. You can definitely taste the impurities vanishing and the wine tastes much more clear and refined. If I didn't drink so fast, I'd love to taste this after 4-6 months.
 
Just mixed up a batch tonight. Still can't get over how easy it was. I'm almost mad that brewing beer isn't this easy! lol...
 
Looking for some advice here...I started an apfelwein 34 days ago and had a OG of 1.054. Bubbling started within a few hours and everything was going well.

8 days ago (26 days after starting), I noticed that there was absolutely no bubbling in the airlock. I watched it for 10 minutes and nothing. Took a reading and got a measurement of right around 1.000.

I checked again today and it looked to be right around 0.999.

This is only my third batch of ANYTHING, and the first two were beers, so I'm not sure - is this normal? I thought it would need to sit longer before reaching this point. Is it done? Should I bottle or remain patient? If I should let it sit longer, what is my target final gravity?

Thanks for the advice!
 
@moonlightinred: Oh it's done! Just wait as long as you can handle, then bottle it. I've done two batches, and both finished at 0.998. So what's one point? Yours is done.

Now I'm taking a moment to picture you sitting there watching the airlock for ten minutes, and LMAO.

I kegged my first Apfelwein after just a month, and it was great out of the gate. It got better as time went on until it was killed a month later. Now my second is on tap and showing the same pattern. I'm hoping number three, still fermenting, can be longer lived than its predecessors.
 

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