Man, I love Apfelwein

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samurai388 said:
One last question would using yeast nutrient be a good idea?
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Huh, what do you know. I've read this recipe a few times and decided I'd finally try it, and that was my first question, too. No nutrient needed? Is there any reason to think it would harm the final product?
 
I have another question :eek:

I live out of city limits and all I have is well water. Should I buy some bottled water (distilled water?) to sanitize my equipment?
 
samurai388 said:
I have another question :eek:

I live out of city limits and all I have is well water. Should I buy some bottled water (distilled water?) to sanitize my equipment?
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I'm on well water. No issues at all for mixing sanitizer or even adding tap water right to the wort to top off to 5 gallons.

I have a micron filter and a UV light though.

I am planning on doing a water test at some point to see what the composition is like for hardness.
 
A2o4F.jpg


Woo!
 
I happened upon this forum about 4 months ago after searching for hard cider recipes online,initially putting together 2 batches of EdWorts style (which came out the best so far)and playing with a few different adjuncts for several other batches.The one question I have for everyone is what can i do to reduce the headache the next day?
 
Just had this pop into my head about bottle carbing and back sweetening so bear with me, it's early and I'm sober. Could you pour in half of the priming amount into a plastic carboy and let it carb under "some" pressure? Then sorbate the yeast to death and sweeten before bottling?
 
Just started a 2 gallon batch in my MRB keg. 2 gallons apple juice, 4 oz of EC1118 champagne yeast. My LHBS owner recommended this yeast for what I am doing. A good choice?
 
After scanning this thread for the first time in several months, I continue to be amazed at how many people are rushing their apfelwein. I bottled my 2nd 3 gallon batch today after letting it sit for 6 months in primary. I let the 1st one sit in primary 4 months & let it sit in the bottle 2 months before drinking.

I used apple cider for the 2nd batch & was a little worried about how well it would clear. It cleared great, was a little darker & the apple aroma/taste are much stronger than the first batch. The 9% ABV should be nice as well...
 
I just kegged my first batch of this after a month in the primary, and can't remember if I weighed out 2.5 oz or 5 oz of corn sugar :eek: Hopefully I measured right and this won't be hyper-carbed after a few months. The sample I took was very tasty and unexpectedly strong.
 
martinfan30 said:
Just started a 2 gallon batch in my MRB keg. 2 gallons apple juice, 4 oz of EC1118 champagne yeast. My LHBS owner recommended this yeast for what I am doing. A good choice?
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4 oz of yeast? Is that a lot for a 2 gal batch? I'm also getting ready to brew in a MR Beer keg and was curious on how much yeast to use. Should I scale it down for a smaller batch or just pitch the whole packet (5 grams)?
 
I admit I rushed my first batch. I bottled after one month, but I immediately poured another two gallons of juice and a pound of sugar onto the yeast. This is the batch that will sit for at least three months before I even take a taste.
 
This is what I get for not checking things. I thought I bought six 1G bottles, turned out they where six 86oz bottles.... Wtf? They couldn't even give me the 8oz to make it 3Quarts and to make fixing this mistake easy? Yay for 2.6Quart bottles.
 
4.03 gallons of Motts apple juice (86oz bottles)
2 gallons Publix apple juice (not from concentrate)
1lb 4oz Corn Sugar
12oz Brown Sugar
2 packets Montrachet

OG - 1.066
 
Wheeew, Motts ain't cheep either.. Least not in my neck of the woods..
Why 2 paks o' yeast? just for the brown sugar?... jim.
 
smurfjuice said:
Wheeew, Motts ain't cheep either.. Least not in my neck of the woods..
Why 2 paks o' yeast? just for the brown sugar?... jim.
Click to expand...

Actually the Motts was from Sams Club, paid $4 per 2pack of 86oz bottles. So $12 total for 4.0123151243 gallons of Motts (stupid packaging sizes) and I paid $4 per gallon for Publix store brand. If I got the Motts at Publix they wanted $5.32 per Gallon. Crazy ****.

I pitched the two thinking of it as pitching dry into beer. Mr Malty said for the yeast dates I would need 1.5 so I popped them both in. For less than a buck it didn't bother me.
 
BJs just raised the price on their apple juice from $0.65 a quart to $0.83 a quart. Over a 27% increase!
 
I scanned some of this thread but it way too long, so quick question before I start a batch.

How are you bottling this...........in wine bottles with corks or in beer bottles with caps?

I perfer to do wine bottles if I can.
 
If you're going to carbonate you should use beer bottles. Standard wine bottles and corks are not made to withstand pressure. If you're not carbonating it should not matter as long as fermentation is complete.
 
Thing is going good today, 3 bubbles a second blurping out. I wish I had somewhere else to keep this, my room smells like eggs, not rotten just cooked eggs.
 
samurai388 said:
4 oz of yeast? Is that a lot for a 2 gal batch? I'm also getting ready to brew in a MR Beer keg and was curious on how much yeast to use. Should I scale it down for a smaller batch or just pitch the whole packet (5 grams)?
Click to expand...

Ya actually meant 4 grams. The packet said its good for 1 to 6 gallons of brew.
 
Does it make a difference If I make this in a 7 gallon fermenting bucket instead of a 5 gallon carboy? (I still would plan on making a 5 gallon batch though)

I was reading the first 10 pages of posts and it looked like everyone was using a carboy. I don't have a free one so I was wondering if one of my free beer or wine buckets would work ok.
 
Put together a video this week on how I made Apfelwein. Hope you enjoy!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
johnsmh2 said:
Does it make a difference If I make this in a 7 gallon fermenting bucket instead of a 5 gallon carboy? (I still would plan on making a 5 gallon batch though)

I was reading the first 10 pages of posts and it looked like everyone was using a carboy. I don't have a free one so I was wondering if one of my free beer or wine buckets would work ok.
Click to expand...

I'm doing mine a 7 gallon bucket and then transferring it to my 6 gallon carboy after I transfer my lagger to a 5G.
 
I'm going to have to eat eggs every day now until this **** is done to cover myself.... or I can try Swampcooler in the garage. Time to go see if this bucket will fit in the cooler.
 
You folks who are getting that rhino-fart odor must not be sanitizing well. I've done 10 6 gallon batches and never had any foul odors. I am meticulous in cleaning however.
I have 3 batches going now here in my office and it just smells a litlle appley...and barely that.
Be very thorough with your sanitation and you shouldn't have a problem.
 
brpruett said:
You folks who are getting that rhino-fart odor must not be sanitizing well. I've done 10 6 gallon batches and never had any foul odors. I am meticulous in cleaning however.
I have 3 batches going now here in my office and it just smells a litlle appley...and barely that.
Be very thorough with your sanitation and you shouldn't have a problem.
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It's not a sanitation issue. If it was sanitation you would taste and smell in the final product not just during fermentation. Some yeast tend to put out a lot of sulfur. Octoberfest Lager blend gave me tons of it, probably 10x the amount this is giving me, final product after lagering has no sulfur smells or taste. American Lager yeast put out a fraction of the sulfur but about the same as this.
 
Moved it out into the garage into my swamp cooler with towels and frozen bottles. I have gotten it cooled down from 76 to 72 and it isn't throwing as much sulfur now. This is going to be a real PITA keeping it cool when it's in the upper 80s outside.

How long do these typically off gas? I want to bring it back in the house if I can. Next time I do this I'm going to have to make sure I'm not doing a lager so I can stick it in the chiller.
 
Mine stunk up the guest room right before we had guests over for a weekend. Swmbo was not happy but she loves the final product. the stink lasted about two weeks.
 
SwampassJ said:
It's not a sanitation issue. If it was sanitation you would taste and smell in the final product not just during fermentation. Some yeast tend to put out a lot of sulfur. Octoberfest Lager blend gave me tons of it, probably 10x the amount this is giving me, final product after lagering has no sulfur smells or taste. American Lager yeast put out a fraction of the sulfur but about the same as this.
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Not actually 100% correct; lack of proper sanitation can allow natural yeasts to infect the batch and result in the production of H2S. H2S will dissipate or you can treat it with copper to facilitate dissipation. I've used EC-1118, Montrachet and Pasteur Red to make batches and never a whiff. I don't deny that the use of some particular yeast can also cause that reaction, especially if you are trying to up the ABV by throwing in more sugars... but if you followed the original recipe and are getting a smell then look to your cleanliness as a primary suspect.
 
brpruett said:
Not actually 100% correct; lack of proper sanitation can allow natural yeasts to infect the batch and result in the production of H2S. H2S will dissipate or you can treat it with copper to facilitate dissipation. I've used EC-1118, Montrachet and Pasteur Red to make batches and never a whiff. I don't deny that the use of some particular yeast can also cause that reaction, especially if you are trying to up the ABV by throwing in more sugars... but if you followed the original recipe and are getting a smell then look to your cleanliness as a primary suspect.
Click to expand...

Mine has stopped putting out noticeable sulfur at 70 degrees. Going to have to assume mine was a temp issue stressing the yeast or something they just wanted to do through the first 24-48 hours.
 
SwampassJ said:
Mine has stopped putting out noticeable sulfur at 70 degrees. Going to have to assume mine was a temp issue stressing the yeast or something they just wanted to do through the first 24-48 hours.
Click to expand...

Interesting. It wouldn't surprise me if temperature was a big factor. My first batch is reaching the end of week 1, and I've not had a whiff of sulfur yet. It's been under 70F the whole time.
 
I have made this 2x without much smell at all. I wonder if its because it was in an open room with vaulted ceilings so the smell dissipated? The second time I made it it was with the yeast cake from the 1st.
 

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