My Apfelwein experence

So I made some Apfelwein a few weeks ago, followed the recipe exactly.
It was in the primary for 4 weeks and a few days.
Last weekend I broke out one of the gallons of flat Apfelwein, it was 4 weeks and a few days old. Gave some to 7 people 6 of them are BMC people, one doesn't drink beer at all ( female wine drinker )
4 of them would drink it,( including the wine girl ) but they don't really care for it.. I even tried to add some sugar to the glass.
the rest don't want anything to do with it.

I can drink it, it gives a weird buzz.. It's very tart, even with a tablespoon or so of sugar.


I'm taking another gallon that I had out at room temp for an extra week, to thanksgiving ( after putting it in the fridge ).. more wine and other beer and mix drinks type people there.. we'll see what happens there..

I also have a good case in bottles getting carbed, but it's not ready yet..

You must exercise patience, grasshopper.

Apfelwein should be aged for at least 8 weeks before drinking and even longer is better. Now that these 7 people have either tasted it or been present when someone else did, they are going to be resistant to trying it again even if it has mellowed with age.

I've stated it in another thread...this Apfelwein is not for everyone.

For one, I don't like it. Overall, I am disappointed with the results, but that's not EdWort's fault. It (really) comes down to matter of personal taste.

With that said, I have to say that I (really) prefer it warmed in a coffee cup...more like an apfel gluhwein than anything else. I like it better hot than cold...

Like TronCarter said, it takes time... was the Apfelwein you originally served perfectly clear yet?

Cider takes a bit longer than beer to be finished... I've found with Apfelwein, you should give it 4 weeks in primary, then another 4 weeks in secondary before bottling... if you can let it sit longer, it's even better, but you should make sure that it's at least cleared before drinking...

4 weeks is pretty green. Good alcohol, but pretty green.

Don't forget the 3 glass rule. If you still don't like it, then that's the way it is. It's not for everyone.

My family drank the last few bottles I had left and said they liked it a good deal.

These were almost 12 months old. Perfectly clear with a very efforvescent head, crisp and clean in flavor.

I drank this at 3 months and it is profoundly different now.

You should not push this to drink too early especially with people who have never had the well conditioned stuff. You do yourself a dis-service. - I never offer any untasted beer to company. It potentially sets bad impressions of your homebrew, not to mention your ability to serve it properly.

I liken this to serving undercooked chicken or pork. - Not Good!!

Hopefully they like your other beers.

I think it cleared out pretty well, the FG was 1.0
on thanksgiving, gave it out more, one person did like it and keept drinking.. so not a overall bust
havn't decided if I'll make again.. mabe use some better apple juice and let it sit longer

oh and I did try to push the 3 glass rule, plus I still have a case in bottles, I'll let it age some more before trying

I had a half gallon that I tweeked and was only 4 weeks old. Didn't care for it too much, but mixed with a little canada dry or fruit juice it was gone waaay too fast :cross:

FEARDIZ said:

I think it cleared out pretty well, the FG was 1.0
on thanksgiving, gave it out more, one person did like it and keept drinking.. so not a overall bust
havn't decided if I'll make again.. mabe use some better apple juice and let it sit longer

oh and I did try to push the 3 glass rule, plus I still have a case in bottles, I'll let it age some more before trying

Click to expand...

but was it clear? could you read a newspaper through the carboy?

here is almost 4 weeks
http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1p2I1Lhcfx3d-T9Rw0iHq5L9AIasALXuYuMmbfJ0-fngPQ2YkmefkNgwHKwiw4VqWRTUsWfcfazOI

will it still age in the fridge?

My best apfelwein was at 9+ months old. Seems to lose that sweet tart pucker and the wife liked it aged but not young. I like it at any age but 2+ months seemed best for me.

FEARDIZ said:

here is almost 4 weeks
http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1p2I1Lhcfx3d-T9Rw0iHq5L9AIasALXuYuMmbfJ0-fngPQ2YkmefkNgwHKwiw4VqWRTUsWfcfazOI

will it still age in the fridge?

Click to expand...

That still looks cloudy, compared to mine.
Here's mine at 5 weeks, and it's not coming out of there for another week yet:


It's a little clearer, and for once the clutter on my office workbench helps out a little by showing through the carboy...

Matt

Apfelwein hits different people differently.

Ed insists it gets better with age, and personally I'm of the opposite opinion. As it ages it looses that tart kick that apfelwein has. That tart kicks is exactly why I like apfelwein myself.

I just finished kegging 5 gallons of Cranberry Apfelwein, minus samples.

And finally, it's okay if you don't like apfelwein. It's popular, but not holy.

I just read this thread.
I put some in a secondary about a week ago. Looking forward to it.

I am not going to bottle the stuff but put it in a corny.

Can I let it age in the corny after it clears? Lets say it takes 6 weeks to clear and I want to age it another 2 months... can I move it to a corny or can I leave it in a secondary without an issue?

I might just get another secondary to so that I can age this stuff.
I hope I like it.

T
Austin

After it clear, I rack to corny, hit it with pressure to ensure it's sealed and then age it warm until I'm ready to drink it.

so I still can't find anyone that likes this, even bottled at 3 + months, either I did someone weird, it's still not aged enough, or eveyone I know just doesn't like it

is there anyone in the Chicago area, ( Bloomingdale area ) that has some good Apfelwein that we can compare mine with yours?

FEARDIZ said:

so I still can't find anyone that likes this, even bottled at 3 + months, either I did someone weird, it's still not aged enough, or eveyone I know just doesn't like it

Click to expand...

It is an aquired taste (thus the 3 glass rule). At 8 months, it's like a nice champagne.

You might try mixing it with Sprite or 7Up. That's what the Germans do when they prefer a sweeter drink with less alcohol.

I bottled Thanksgiving week and gave some out Christmas week (to 4 people, a wine maker, one typical Bud drinker, one non drinker, and one vodka and cran drinker). Only the vodka and cran drinker didn't love it. I had sampled some every week to find when I might like it best, and didnt like it as of Christmas. In the first week of Feb. I have finally found my taste for it. Now I am pretty much out of my first batch and (like a dummy) I didn't start a second batch, getting supplies this week including an extra carboy so I will never run out again.

I found a bottle that was over 3 years old, it was good, so I just make more and will bottle it all, and leave it sit longer..