First Apfelwein

Hello all. After getting my feet wet making some beer (with mixed results lol) I stumbled across Apfelwein and figured I would give it a go since I was going to buy some good AJ for the repurposing if the glass 1g jug

I did read about Edworts recipe and intend on tossing that together in a week or two but here's what I did for this batch (only a 1/2 gal).

1/2gal organic unfiltered AJ from whole foods. (Kept half for the wine, half for us to drink regular)

4T brown sugar

1/3 packet of Red Star Cote de Blancs white wine yeast.

Did all the proper cleaning and sanitizing. Poured a growler half full of juice. Put in brown sugar and shook up a few times to dissolve (some foaming so had to wait for that to subside). Poured in more juice until it was at the bottom of the neck. Pitched dry yeast on top. Bung and airlock at 4pm. Woke up at 7am to find my airlock filling with foam (is it still called kreusen in the wine world lol).

Sanitized another bung and airlock and replaced. As of now (6:45p) she's bubbling like a champ and it doesn't appear to be an issue or worry of blow off.

I'll report back to this thread if anything changes but I intend on leaving this sit for at least 6-8 weeks then I'll be racking off to bottles for carbonation.

Interesting that you got krausen, as I have never had that with mine. But then I used Montrachet...evidently Cote de Blanc is more vigorous.

I've only made 2 batches so far, but here are some observations. Keep it in the fermenter longer. With my first batch, I bottled after 2 months, and it was good, but not a lot of apple flavor. It tastes like a decent dry, white wine with a very subtle apple flavor. With my second batch I kept it in the fermenter 3 months, and the hydro sample I pulled on bottling day was very rich in apple flavor. The apple goodness really makes a comeback if you leave it in longer. It's been in bottles about 3 weeks and I'm looking forward to trying one in a few more weeks.

The key is to be patient with this and you will be rewarded with a great tasting wine that is incredibly simple to make!

I have a question on this. When following EdWorts recipe, do we need to worry about degassing if you leave it in the carboy for 2-3 months?

Thanks

newbiewinemaker said:

I have a question on this. When following EdWorts recipe, do we need to worry about degassing if you leave it in the carboy for 2-3 months?

Thanks

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I never had to degas. No real need to remove the CO2.

BTW, if you use Montrachet, you might want to add some yeast nutrient to minimize the rhino farts.

A half gallon............. Lot of trouble for two bottles of wine.

oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer said:

A half gallon............. Lot of trouble for two bottles of wine.

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No trouble at all for me. Only took about 10min to throw together and my main influence was to get the 1g glass jug the juice came in. Half gallon of awesome organic juice for the kids and 1/2 gal for me

That cote de blanc is quite vigorous. It's still bubbling like a champ as of now. Two bottles will be perfect for me. I just wanted to try it. If it's a hit I'll do a big batch to have it ready for fall.

I too am embarking on my first apfelwein. I plan to use some peptic enzyme before pitching my yeast for clarity, as well as add a few light toast oak chips to add some complexity. Problem is, I only have some English ale yeast on hand. Should I quit being a cheap-o and get some Montrachet yeast (hah - it like $1.00). I should say, quite being lazy and drive over to the brew store. Will I be ok with the English ale yeast? I supposes I will get a less dry wine with less abv. Thoughts or advice.?

Thanks

While my batch that inspired this post was my first, my LHBS said I can essentially use anything I want. I read in some other posts here that people have used ale yeasts but I wanted to stay closer to the wine strains and went with the Cote de Blanc on the recommendation of the guy at the store. I look at it this way... It takes essentially no time to throw together a small batch (assuming you have/want to use the physical space for the batch to sit) and little to no monetary loss if you don't care for it.

With my next batch I intend to use filtered juice and a different yeast. I just want to compare. I can tell you that my recipe took off like a rocket. In under 12hrs my airlock was plugged and it kept bubbling pretty strong for about two weeks. It's now subsided but I'm not touching it until the end of March.

Sounds like its pretty forgiving and easy. The cider I made had a very winey taste at bottling time (using ale yeast) so your LHBS seems accurate. I went a head and got the wine yeast to try and get a higher ABV. Will post how it turns out in about a month or 2!

Thanks

gmflash88 said:

While my batch that inspired this post was my first, my LHBS said I can essentially use anything I want. I read in some other posts here that people have used ale yeasts but I wanted to stay closer to the wine strains and went with the Cote de Blanc on the recommendation of the guy at the store. I look at it this way... It takes essentially no time to throw together a small batch (assuming you have/want to use the physical space for the batch to sit) and little to no monetary loss if you don't care for it.

With my next batch I intend to use filtered juice and a different yeast. I just want to compare. I can tell you that my recipe took off like a rocket. In under 12hrs my airlock was plugged and it kept bubbling pretty strong for about two weeks. It's now subsided but I'm not touching it until the end of March.

Click to expand...

I threw the batch together on 2/12/14 and today I noticed that the upper portion of my demijohn is beginning to clear! There is a clear phase difference and its only been 2 weeks. Pretty neat-o. I also plan not to touch it for at least until March 12th