Man, I love Apfelwein

doubleb said:

Is my apfelwein ready yet?

Its been in there for 7 weeks and 2 days. SG is 1.003. Two weeks and one day ago the SG was 1.003. Didn't drop at all. Can I bottle?

BTW I used the brown sugar instead of the dextrose. I don't know if that affects the FG.

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Is it clear? My best guess is that you're ready for bottling. Brown sugar contains a few unfermentables which is probably lending to your higher FG.

Hey guys. I just had some fun in Excel creating a file to determine the Specific gravity (density) depending on the temperature. It also has ABW and ABV. You simply enter the measured Density, input the temperature (you can just add it in F in you don't mesure it in C) and it will automatically calculate the correction (Delta) on the density for the specified temperature. From the Density on Day 1, it calculates the ABW and ABV for the subsequent days, with the corrected Densities.

You can get it here: http://download.yousendit.com/BDD72B8215039025

If anyone needs help, just ask here.

I'm going to brew my first batch of apfelwein this weekend. In anticipation, I bought some Vermont Cider Jack. Does apfelwein taste at all like it?

2163 posts says I will be brewing the award winning tasty treat next week
Thanks for sharing

mrfocus said:

Hey guys. I just had some fun in Excel creating a file to determine the Specific gravity (density) depending on the temperature. It also has ABW and ABV. You simply enter the measured Density, input the temperature (you can just add it in F in you don't mesure it in C) and it will automatically calculate the correction (Delta) on the density for the specified temperature. From the Density on Day 1, it calculates the ABW and ABV for the subsequent days, with the corrected Densities.

You can get it here: http://download.yousendit.com/BDD72B8215039025

If anyone needs help, just ask here.

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Where in your post does it mention anything about apfelwein.

doubleb said:

Where in your post does it mention anything about apfelwein.

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Well, since I built it specifically for keeping track of my Apfelwein... I figured I would share it with you people in case you wanted to keep track of it as well.

:rockin:

I just made this recipe on Sunday, with 5 gallons of sweet apple cider instead of regular apple juice. I also used 2 packs of champagne yeast. By Monday afternoon, I had to add a blowoff tube. Think there's any chance I can have this fermented out and bottle carbed by Thanksgiving?

greggdogg said:

I just made this recipe on Sunday, with 5 gallons of sweet apple cider instead of regular apple juice. I also used 2 packs of champagne yeast. By Monday afternoon, I had to add a blowoff tube. Think there's any chance I can have this fermented out and bottle carbed by Thanksgiving?

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It takes about a month to ferment out and be ready to drink, and depending on temps, another couple weeks or so to be perfectly clear.

my 44 day old apfelwein looks ready to bottle....but I'm going to wait another 2 weeks....probably do a double 10 gallon batch this time!

Couldn't hack it and took a sample of my 2 gallons made 2.5 weeks ago. Was not bad. I was so curious as to the taste. Now I've got a starting point to base things on, I'm pretty optimistic as to where it's going. I figure if it only gets better from here on in I should probably prepare myself for a 5 gallon batch! Mmmm.

My first batch of apfelwein is 42 days old now and has been in the bottle for a week. Cracked my first one open last night to try it and it tastes great. Next to no carbonation in it, which is a little concerning, but the flavor is still there.

Love this stuff!

I am brewing up my first batch and i used cane sugar instead. its been over a week and i have still have bubbles, but there is a layer of large brown bubbles over the cider. Is this to be expected?

Citrus said:

I am brewing up my first batch and i used cane sugar instead. its been over a week and i have still have bubbles, but there is a layer of large brown bubbles over the cider. Is this to be expected?

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Bad move using cane sugar!!!! It's gonna make it taste cidery!!!

I've never used cane sugar on AW but when it gets going the AW gets pretty cloudy as the yeast is working. It can get a little foam on it but not too much.

I wouldn't worry about it now. There's nothing you can do. For the most part sugar if stored properly won't cause an infection it can't very easily support bacterial growth. By proper meaning; its closed and kept dry. If you bottle it and its funky don't worry AW gets mucho better with time. I have a Carmel Apple AW than was aweful at 3 months. I can drink it now and its 10x better.

I carb often with dry sugar. I rarely have any trouble. Don't sweat it.

Well I'm in day 2 and my AW is bubbling wonderfully!

Question: with beer during fermentation you are supposed to keep the carboy covered to keep the light out. Is that necessary for the AW, and wine in general? I have both of the carboys I have in primary covered just out of habit... but didn't know if it was necessary or not.

nucmed24 said:

Question: with beer during fermentation you are supposed to keep the carboy covered to keep the light out. Is that necessary for the AW, and wine in general? I have both of the carboys I have in primary covered just out of habit... but didn't know if it was necessary or not.

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Unless you put hops in your Apfelwein, you'll be OK. All of mine are uncovered.

Only because I can't search 218 pages back...If I'm fermenting at 68F, is that too hot? I'm using Pasteur Champagne yeast and I don't want to bring out any funky esters.

we should start a new thread im not even attempting to read back threw 2000k+ replies lol.

i just made a batch and it fermented out in about 3 weeks. i put it in the keg lastnight and tried a glass it was very very tart. ive herd something about using splenda to sweetin it up some if so what is the ratio and can i just dump it in the keg or is it per glass?

*edit i already know the problem because when i made my first batch i had to buy 4 lbs and i didnt measure it right the first batch was pretty sweet i thought you guys where all crazy saying it was dry! lol this batch is very tart and very very dry! i figured i didnt use enough corn sugar

Us know it alls will help you guys...


FYI - More Corn Sugar = More Dry. If its too dry you can back sweeten with:



The highest temp depends on the yeast you use. Monty is OK up to 85F

http://www.cfhb.org/mead/yeast_strains.htm#mont

Hrm, that site mentions that the pasteur champagne is not for sparkling wines. Think I can still get this stuff to carbonate?

Someone in here posted that the apfelwein will smell like rhino farts while fermenting. Man was he/she right! So... when I decided to make a label for it, there was only one thing it could be called.

The aroma that some folks experience as "rino farts" only lasts a couple days of the multiple weeks it takes to ferment. The finished product has a nice aroma and a great taste that gets better as it ages.

Cool cider label though.

So if I don't carbonate, would I be safe bottling in wine bottles?

Sean

Sean from New Hampshire said:

So if I don't carbonate, would I be safe bottling in wine bottles?

Sean

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Yes. Just wait til it clears out all the way, then bottle away. That's how I bottle all of mine.

EdWort said:

Unless you put hops in your Apfelwein, you'll be OK. All of mine are uncovered.

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Has any one tried to lightly bitter a batch before?

I've did not measure the OG of the apfelwein I made. Can someone give me an idea of my OG, 5 gallons of applejuice and 2 lbs of light brown sugar. I'd appreciate this information, so I can tell guests the abv before I end up having a big sleep over party or driving guests home all night.

I had a glass of about 9 oz or so at bottling time and It was good stuff. That grog recipe looks great too. Gonna start another batch next week.

Thanks Edwort.

My OG was 1.052 (6 gallons juice, 2.5lbs corn sugar). If you fermented it out very dry, ABV should be about 7%.

mrfocus said:

My OG was 1.052 (6 gallons juice, 2.5lbs corn sugar). If you fermented it out very dry, ABV should be about 7%.

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I bet mines a little less than 7%. FG was 1.003. But anyway thanks for the info. Hows your Apfelwein treating you?

After reading this post for hours I decided I had to make this so off I went to pick up all the needed supplies and in a matter of minutes I had 5 gallons of liquid love staring at me. Now seeing that I am SLIGHTLY obsessive compulsive, I realized I had not followed Edworts directions exactly as written. I had not started a second batch. Asking my wife to kindly pick up 5 gallons of organic apple juice now became my only focus in life seeing she was already at the store picking up other items. During this time I prep the next carboy.
Wife comes home with 5 gallons of cider....not apple juice.....my heart starts to beat franticly. I quickly get in the truck, buy 5 gallons of organic juice, which is right next to the cider and head home to complete my task at hand.
Do I want to waste the cider? So I go and buy another 5 gallon carboy and head straight home. Now I stare at 15 gallons of liquid love in the morning during coffee, when I get home from work with a beer, after dinner then I say good night to it.
Being OCC and waiting is very hard. VERY VERY HARD. The cider's fermentation was much quicker than the other two, and right now it is a creamy caramel color. Not sure what to think of that. Oh crap maybe I should just get another carboy!

doubleb said:

I bet mines a little less than 7%. FG was 1.003. But anyway thanks for the info. Hows your Apfelwein treating you?

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Well, it's still fermenting. Going on week 2 (friday). Still bubbling away nicely. Gonna take an SG reading soonish enough to know exactly where it's at.

Nottingham works!!!! I used Nottingham in 5 gal applejuice with 2 lb brown sugar, 2 tbsp of cinnamon, and 1 clove. It fermented out for a month to 1.000. It tasted very different from the Montrachet version; it had less bite, and was less dry. More apple flavor. I added a tbsp of pumpkin spice to the corny because I wanted that "holiday" feel to it. We'll let it carb and see what happens!

Gwinny said:

Now I stare at 15 gallons of liquid love in the morning during coffee, when I get home from work with a beer, after dinner then I say good night to it.

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Haha, I thought that I was the only one who checks in on his carboys in the morning, after work, and before bed....occasionally squeezing my first set of bottles to see how they're carbonating.

I hope I get less...obsessed...about checking everything, but it's my first few weeks of brewing and when you're not brewing there's nothing else to do!

andyp said:

Haha, I thought that I was the only one who checks in on his carboys in the morning, after work, and before bed....occasionally squeezing my first set of bottles to see how they're carbonating.

I hope I get less...obsessed...about checking everything, but it's my first few weeks of brewing and when you're not brewing there's nothing else to do!

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I do the same. Some times you occasionally find that you need a blow-off. Sunday night I had to do this on two of my brews. My Amber and the Raspberry Porter both blew the caps off the airlocks.

BTW - I find myself sniffing the airlocks hoping for an apple smell or the banana ester.:rockin:

few questions...
I made this last night, and it was really easy. The recipe seems really basic, I was wondering why no one else thought of this before? ( no offence ) Or is the 'secret' in the yeast?

Also can I change the apple juice for basicly any other juice and follow the recipe?

After the 6 weeks, since it is not carbonated can I return it back to the apple juice containers? or should I bottle it?

thanks
John

Wow, after two weeks of reading I actually made it though 220 pages from start to finish. I have already purchased my juice and dextrose and my better bottle and yeast is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

This thread is long..... waaaaay too long. Not because Apfelwein should not be this popular, but because probably 150 of the 220 pages are filled with people saying "I didn't want to read through all X number of pages, so let me just ask this question..." which has already been asked and answered several times. So now they ask the question again and get a few more answers and make the thread even longer and more likely that people will not want to read through it all. It should be called the Catch-22 Man, I love Apfelwein thread. I wonder if people are just jumping to the last few pages and not reading the recipe and FAQ's on page 1.

It's a small rant, but overall I'm not complaining because there is a lot of good information if you want to take the time to read it all. I had several questions when I began reading and didn't understand what alot of the acronyms meant, but have since figured them out and all questions have been answered in the 220 pages.

One thing that I have found is that the closest LHBS is about an hour away (and $10 in gas). I didn't want to pay for gas or shipping for dextrose but found that a local health food store carries it. It is not cheap at $4.49 for 2 pounds, but still less expensive than shipping or gas and time to the closest HBS. So, if you are in a pinch or have to travel a great distance for dextrose, you might want to call some health food stores.

not to brag, but my LHBS is probably $0.25 in gas away....

good call on the health food store

After several days of reading through the forum, I tried the recipe. Followed all instructions except I used Nottingham yeast. This is my first try at home brewing so after almost a week in the carboy and there is no bubbles passing through the airlock I am concerned. Temperature is 70F+ and the juice I used was fresh apple cider with no preseratives. I have added yeast nutrient and am getting a foam like substance on top just no bubbles coming through the airlock. Any suggestions?

I've never used Nottingham, but a week with no air lock activity seems a bit strange. It is possible that Nottingham will ferment out quicker than Monrachet, which is what most people are using on this recipe.

Also, is the stopper in the carboy good enough? Is the air lock securely sealed in the stopper? A bad seal might cause you not to see activity in the air lock.

I want to make my first batch, but i only have a 6 gallon carboy available. What adjustments do i need to make? If any...

Everything is brand new and I have tried to test for leaks but afraid to get soap in the must. Without taking a beginning reading if I would to test the gravity of it now what would I be looking for?

TronCarter said:

One thing that I have found is that the closest LHBS is about an hour away (and $10 in gas). I didn't want to pay for gas or shipping for dextrose but found that a local health food store carries it. It is not cheap at $4.49 for 2 pounds, but still less expensive than shipping or gas and time to the closest HBS. So, if you are in a pinch or have to travel a great distance for dextrose, you might want to call some health food stores.

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My local bulk foods store (Bulk Barn) carries it for $2.40/kg, but most of the local LHBS sell it for $3-4/kg around here.

Bulls Beers said:

I want to make my first batch, but i only have a 6 gallon carboy available. What adjustments do i need to make? If any...

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Nope, you will be fine. The recipe calls for only 5 gallons and if you are using monrachet, it wont produce any (or very little) krausen. If you saw on the first page, EdWort uses 5 gallon better bottles with almost no headspace.