Apfelwein storage/aging

[ChshreCat]

I was curious about how EdWort's Apfelwein would age and if there would be any problems with setting a few bottles aside for a few years? Would storage be different depending on if it's sill or carbed?

It might sound like an odd question but I have a method to my madness. My 15 year old daughter heard about some of the members here brewing mead to set aside for when their young children turn 21 and she wants me to do the same.

So, I was thinking about setting aside a bottle or two of every wine or mead or whatever I make (maybe not most of the beers) for her 21st.

 

[Pogo]

I'm the last one to offer advice on this subject, but as this newbie sees things 'a wine is still a wine' is it not...even if it IS apple wine.

I've got 5 bottles of each of my first three batches set back for several years from now myself.

I say go for it!

Pogo

 

[beerthirty]

I would like to try that but since it gets good reviews from all the women I feed it to, 6 weeks is as long as it needs.

Wow you plan on them getting smashed if you set aside one from every brew. Lets do the math, 6 years times 52 brews(my schedule) or even say 12(one a month) = way too much for one person to drink in one day. I would definitely put aside some strong beers, meads and wines for the occasion, they seem to age well. Six years might be a bit much unless you have perfect storage. Constant temp, darkness, constant humidity and more willpower than I have. Why not teach her how to brew and put hers away for her birthday. She would love the fact that she had made it and would be the conversation of the evening.

 

[Nerro]

The improvement stops after a certain time. After an even longer period the product actually gets worse.

One way to ensure a longer shelf life would be to add some metabisulfite and to make the Apfelwein a high alcohol wine. So rather than 8 - 10% make it 15 or 16%. Also, make sure the seal of the bottle is as airtight as possible. Use one of those rubber corks and seal the bottle with a few layers of wax. Put is somewhere dark and not too hot. Preferably at a consant temperature.

 

[ChshreCat]

Thanks. She's 15, so we're looking at about 6 years before it might be opened. Oh well, if it's bad then it's not a huge loss. Not like I'm saving an entire batch. Just a bottle or two from each batch I make.

I'll be putting special labels on them so I know what they're for. Being a married man, I don't have lots of women coming over to drink my stuff. My wife doesn't even drink.

I don't figure on OPENING all of them on her birthday, but she'd have a nice little collection of nice wines and meads (and maybe a strong beer or two) to enjoy. She's curious about my brewing and will probably be helping out in the future.

I might just have to watch craigslist for a cheap second-hand wine cooler to keep things in if I'm going to be saving them long term. I don't have much for even temp storage in an apartment.

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone.

 

[beerthirty]

LOL I wish I could say I had a lot of women drinking my brew, many of them are friends SWMBOs that prefer wine over beer. My little one is 7 and has absolutely no interest in my hobby "it stinks" she says. I kinda hope she keeps that attitude.

 

[EdWort]

I've had mine in kegs for 1 year 3 months before it was consumed without any issues.

The main thing with bottles is oxidation. If you carbonate in bottles, it should not be an issue and can go for a couple years without issue IMHO.

I reaches a prime state in about 9 months to a year though.