Super High Gravity Apfelwein (what did i get myself into?)

im a pretty novice brewer, and I am starting to feel that I have made a rather large mistake in my attemp to make an apfelwein.
so I started with 64 oz of all natural 100% apple juice,
then added the pulp and juice from 7 red delicious apples (put through the juicer)
then I added 32 oz water
then i started to add sugar.
let me preface this by saying that im using "pastuer champagne yeast" and from lurking around Ive read that champagne yeast is good to about 18%abv
so I thought to myself hey 18%abv would sound about good, so I started adding sugar
and adding sugar
Im not sure exactly how much but the Gravity ended up at 1.135ish.
so from the tables it looks like im good for 17 and a bit percent, right?
reading now about the apfelweins on here the abvs seem waay lower, so what have I gotten myself into?
how long is this gonna take to ferment?
is it gonna go all the way to 17%?
is it gonna taste horribble?
should I throw it out?

well you already spent all the money so go ahead and ferment it.

its likely to taste VERY VERY dry and thin...all that sugar ferments 100% leaving you with no body or sweetness. and too much straight sugar will lend a funky 'cidery' taste to whatever you make (cider, beer, wine, etc).

nothing wrong with experimenting, but it does kind of need to be done with some foresight and planning...or you might just be wasting ingredients.

i suspect your apple wine will take a year or more to age and mellow out. even then it might taste terrible.

thanks guy,
Im gonna let this one set for a while and start another following the recipe more closely, watery and thin is not really what I want

this is probably wicked noobish but what is a cidery taste? is it ever a good thing?

cider is fermented apples, though in this case, you won't get it with that high of alcohol.

I agree with malkore - it is going to take a long time to taste good, but you are in it this far, so see it though. If you taste it now, it is going to be horrible. In six months, it will be better, but you will still be thinking about tossing it. In a year, it will finally be drinkable. Wait for it - it will be worth it.

What did you get yourself in to?

Something awesome, that's what.

I'm a big fan of cider so I would say that yes, a cidery taste can be a good thing. But it all depends on what you're making. I wouldn't want a cider taste in any stout I'm drinking, for example.

Definitely let it age for a long time. And in the end you can always make more Apfelwein using EdWort's recipe without adding the Dextrose and blend them together.

TheMethod said:

Definitely let it age for a long time. And in the end you can always make more Apfelwein using EdWort's recipe without adding the Dextrose and blend them together.

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Excellent suggestion!

TheMethod said:

Definitely let it age for a long time. And in the end you can always make more Apfelwein using EdWort's recipe without adding the Dextrose and blend them together.

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thats what im gonna do, just started another unsugared batch

thanks for all the help people

frenchandindianclub said:

thats what im gonna do, just started another unsugared batch

thanks for all the help people

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You might keep some out that is unsugared, some that is heavily, and then do some various blends. You have an opportuntity here to find out at what alcohol level you like. Look for Pearson Square when blending.

UPDATE: I tasted my high gravity apfelwein today from my primary, its at 1.040 now,
it tasted much better then I expected still extremly sweet, but im thinking now im going to stop the fermentation before it gets too dry, whats a good FG for an apfelwein, ive never had real apfelwien before, is it meant to be sweet? dry? im thinking id like to keep it a little sweet

If it comes out too thin, you could always add a bit of maltodextrin.

frenchandindianclub said:

UPDATE: I tasted my high gravity apfelwein today from my primary, its at 1.040 now,
it tasted much better then I expected still extremly sweet, but im thinking now im going to stop the fermentation before it gets too dry, whats a good FG for an apfelwein, ive never had real apfelwien before, is it meant to be sweet? dry? im thinking id like to keep it a little sweet

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I like Apfelwien dry but the swmbo likes it with some honey. Try some both ways and see how you like it

frenchandindianclub said:

UPDATE: I tasted my high gravity apfelwein today from my primary, its at 1.040 now,
it tasted much better then I expected still extremly sweet, but im thinking now im going to stop the fermentation before it gets too dry, whats a good FG for an apfelwein, ive never had real apfelwien before, is it meant to be sweet? dry? im thinking id like to keep it a little sweet

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Wow, based on your 1.135ish OG before that's an impressive 12.4% or so.

Based on the massive Apfelwein thread, EdWort's regular recipe ends around 1.000 or below. I've seen a lot of people stop around 0.999 and at least one person say they got to 0.996. If you were able to get it down that far you'd be around 18%, which is pretty crazy.

Do not even think about stopping the fermentation before 1.020. That is "sweet". Anything above that is super sweet. And ifyou don't actually get it stopped like you thought you did, having that much sugar around is dangerous for bottling, even at 1.020.

As for it being sweet, dry, etc, that is all up to your tastes.

My first apple wine was around 1.110 or thereabouts, ended up below 1.000 and around 15 or 16% it was fine, aged it a few months and drank it up faster than I should have I love it carbed (tap a draft here) and mixed with a little Sprite and a couple ice cubes, When you throw in the sprite the apple taste just goes baboom and it tastes like carbed apple juice and not a bit alcoholic, my kid took a few swallows one night and didn't realize it was my glass he was drinking out of, he went to bed early that night.