Man, I love Apfelwein

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I needed my pail so I racked to a carboy and my apfelwein no longer smells like ass. We should start a new thread. How many people have gotten laid due to Ed Worts panty solvent.
 
Just cracked open a bomber of 6 month Apfelwein. Man I love this stuff. Got several bottles of 10 month old left and a full carboy in the closet. I think it's probably time to experiment a little. Some of those recipes above look mighty tasty.

brandonjonesVW said:
complete recipe:
2 gallons Mott's Apple Juice
3 gallons Musselman's Apple Cider
2 lbs Corn Sugar
2 lbs Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
1.5 lbs Clover Honey
2 x 12oz cans Welch's Apple Juice Concentrate
3/4 lb Golden Raisins
+ 32oz water to dissolve new ingredients
Click to expand...

Did you need to add more yeast when you racked to secondary with the extras added or was the first pack enough.
 
RandalG said:
Just cracked open a bomber of 6 month Apfelwein. Man I love this stuff. Got several bottles of 10 month old left and a full carboy in the closet. I think it's probably time to experiment a little. Some of those recipes above look mighty tasty.



Did you need to add more yeast when you racked to secondary with the extras added or was the first pack enough.
Click to expand...

Ya know, I saw that too and it's been making me think. I have some three month old Apfelwein still sitting in the primary and I'm thinking I may rack into a secondary with a cinnamon stick and a couple of chopped apples for a week or so. After that, I'll throw it straight into a keg to serve around Christmas time.

Sound good?
 
RandalG said:
Did you need to add more yeast when you racked to secondary with the extras added or was the first pack enough.
Click to expand...

I actually did add another pack of Montrachet, forgot to put that in my previous post. Though, as cloudy as it still was, I would have probably gotten by without re-pitching. Better safe than sorry, I guess. :drunk:
 
HalfPint said:
Ya know, I saw that too and it's been making me think. I have some three month old Apfelwein still sitting in the primary and I'm thinking I may rack into a secondary with a cinnamon stick and a couple of chopped apples for a week or so. After that, I'll throw it straight into a keg to serve around Christmas time.

Sound good?
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me. Let us know how it turns out!


brandonjonesVW said:
I actually did add another pack of Montrachet, forgot to put that in my previous post. Though, as cloudy as it still was, I would have probably gotten by without re-pitching. Better safe than sorry, I guess. :drunk:
Click to expand...

The other thing I was wondering is how long do you leave it in the secondary with the raisins.I've never racked on fruit yet so is their a limit to how long before you have to keg/bottle?
 
Threw together a 5 gallon batch of apfelwein. followed the directions exactly. pitched the yeast around 5pm checked before work at about 10:30 and no airlock activity yet. hopefully when i get home in the morning it will be bubbling away.
 
RandalG said:
The other thing I was wondering is how long do you leave it in the secondary with the raisins.I've never racked on fruit yet so is their a limit to how long before you have to keg/bottle?
Click to expand...

I'll rack whenever the fruit drops. It's still bubbling slowly @ 67 degrees, maybe a burp from the airlock every minute or two. The CO2 keep the raisins floating up top. No real reason, as far as I know, to worry about them. The blanket of CO2 & increasing alcohol content prevent anything funky from happening to the fruit.
 
Don't you worry about the yeasties that the raisins bring to the party on their own? Or do they spray raisins with some sort of sorbate before they box them up and send them to us?

BTW, how big of a carboy do you use for this recipe? I see 5.25 gallons of liquid, plus some dissolved solids (the dextrose & sugar), and the raisins. Are you using a 6-gallon primary?
 
khiddy said:
Don't you worry about the yeasties that the raisins bring to the party on their own? Or do they spray raisins with some sort of sorbate before they box them up and send them to us?

BTW, how big of a carboy do you use for this recipe? I see 5.25 gallons of liquid, plus some dissolved solids (the dextrose & sugar), and the raisins. Are you using a 6-gallon primary?
Click to expand...

A 6 gallon Better Bottle.

better.jpg
 
rocketcrab said:
I just started a half-batch [2.5 gallons] yesterday and used Lalvin yeast - it was the only wine yeast I had around. We'll see what happens. :mug:
Click to expand...

Update - this is weird stuff. One moment it has a layer of white bubbles on the surface. Then the next, it's gone. Look again, and it's baaaaack. I can see this because the carboy sits right next to the computer. Also, little or no activity through the airlock. But I know it fermenting. None of the smell I've read other people experiencing. Is there vodoo involved here? ;)
 
rocketcrab said:
Update - this is weird stuff. One moment it has a layer of white bubbles on the surface. Then the next, it's gone. Look again, and it's baaaaack. I can see this because the carboy sits right next to the computer. Also, little or no activity through the airlock. But I know it fermenting. None of the smell I've read other people experiencing. Is there vodoo involved here? ;)
Click to expand...

Both of my batches (from 10/30/09 and 11/8/09) have separated clumps of white bubbles on the surface of the Apfelwein. They don't disappear though. I have rolled both Better Bottles by their necks in a circular motion to reactivate the yeast a couple times and the white clumps come back. I know it's not bacteria though because I was very sanitary when I was making both batches and I used airlocks filled with Vodka.
 
Just brewed a second batch yesterday. I added 32 oz of passionfruit juice and used Lalvin K1V-1116 yeast; anyone try that one yet?
 
Wow they weren't kidding when they said this stuff stinks. I have it in the guest bedroom right now and with the closet door shut and the door shut can smell it out in the hallway and it stinks.
 
khiddy said:
Don't you worry about the yeasties that the raisins bring to the party on their own? Or do they spray raisins with some sort of sorbate before they box them up and send them to us?

BTW, how big of a carboy do you use for this recipe? I see 5.25 gallons of liquid, plus some dissolved solids (the dextrose & sugar), and the raisins. Are you using a 6-gallon primary?
Click to expand...

The golden raisins I use are Sunmaid brand & have been sulfited (the box says to preserve color). I soak them for ~1/2 hour & then rinse them 3 or 4 times, until the water is no longer grey-ish & cloudy.

Never really thought about the natural yeast on raisins, but I would assume that they are outnumbered by whatever yeast strain you introduce into your apfelwein.

I use a 6.5 gal Better Bottle or 6.5 gal glass carboy for this. To prevent oxidation when racking, I purge with CO2 using a whipped cream dispenser like they use in coffee shops that make their own whipped cream.

I also noticed very little rhino fart action with the additional ingredients. It was pleasantly more apple smelling. SWBMO was quite happy about that :ban:
 
rocketcrab said:
Update - this is weird stuff. One moment it has a layer of white bubbles on the surface. Then the next, it's gone. Look again, and it's baaaaack. I can see this because the carboy sits right next to the computer. Also, little or no activity through the airlock. But I know it fermenting. None of the smell I've read other people experiencing. Is there vodoo involved here? ;)
Click to expand...

Wow, I just noticed that, too. Get out of my mind!

Tons of airlock activity here, though. Odd that you're seeing bubbles form on the surface but nothing spewing out. Your apfelwein might be possessed.
 
*n00b warning*
I tried 4.5gl tree top/2 lbs brown sugar/cote des blancs mix, got it all in a 5 gl bucket and let it sit....Until my 11 mo pulled the airlock out and waved it all over the place. I wound up re sanitizing the lid, stopper and airlock and it seems that everything is rolling along....I am curious about a few things tho...

Since my kid pulled the airlock and I did all the cleaning, does anyone think that I might have contaminated my mix? (and if so, how can I tell)

AND

It seems that my hole drilling skills for my stopper are less than ideal, and I seem to have developed a small leak... I have several more lids that I can wash/sanitize and put a new hole into for the airlock, but I'm hesitant to do so because I don't want to open the bucket back up and risk contamination...but if I leave it there, I'm looking at the same problem cos of the leak.

Any advice?
 
I think you will be OK.. since a large amount of CO2 is being generated which blankets the headspace, and provides positive pressure, it is unlikely that any airborne contaminants entered, unless some dirt from actually dropped into the hole. Similarly the slight leak is no real problem as long as there is positive CO2 pressure. Once fermentation stops, though, with no seal you will lose this protection so you should try to seal it up or rack to a good sealed secondary.
 
I bottled my second batch last night. Here is the recipe...

4 gal apple juice
1 gal apple raspberry juice
2 lbs dark brown sugar
3 cinnomon sticks (last week in primary)
1 packet Montrachet yeast

Honestly, I think I messed with it too much. I am going to stick to Edwort's recipe from now on. My wife loves this recipe, she says it is a great holiday drink. To me it tastes like a spiced cider, but with too much cinnomon. I will have to try it again in a month or so.
 
kish53a said:
*n00b warning*
I tried 4.5gl tree top/2 lbs brown sugar/cote des blancs mix, got it all in a 5 gl bucket and let it sit....Until my 11 mo pulled the airlock out and waved it all over the place. I wound up re sanitizing the lid, stopper and airlock and it seems that everything is rolling along....I am curious about a few things tho...

Since my kid pulled the airlock and I did all the cleaning, does anyone think that I might have contaminated my mix? (and if so, how can I tell)

AND

It seems that my hole drilling skills for my stopper are less than ideal, and I seem to have developed a small leak... I have several more lids that I can wash/sanitize and put a new hole into for the airlock, but I'm hesitant to do so because I don't want to open the bucket back up and risk contamination...but if I leave it there, I'm looking at the same problem cos of the leak.

Any advice?
Click to expand...

I too had a bit of trouble with my drilling skills and the hole for the stopper was a bit oval instead of round. I stuck the rubber stopper in(pre-drilled for the airlock) and then I just plugged in my hot glue gun and put a nice dollop of hot glue round the side where the leak was, wet my finger and smoothed it down(watch out, for some reason, hot glue was HOT!:eek::D)and it worked fine-- I don't think I would have used it if the fermenting wine was gonna touch it, but since it was way above the wine, it worked fine. Hope this helps some.
 
OK, so I made my first 5 gal batch a week or so ago, and it should be at 5 weeks just in time for Christmas. I also made another batch to age. When aging for extended periods of time, do you leave it in the fermenter, or do you rack to bottles after fermentation and age in the bottle? I've been looking through the thread, but have not seen the answer yet...
 
Niederhofer said:
OK, so I made my first 5 gal batch a week or so ago, and it should be at 5 weeks just in time for Christmas. I also made another batch to age. When aging for extended periods of time, do you leave it in the fermenter, or do you rack to bottles after fermentation and age in the bottle? I've been looking through the thread, but have not seen the answer yet...
Click to expand...

What do you mean by extended? I have a batch still in the fermenter right now that has been in there for 5 months... and since I am busy, it probably won't see bottle/keg for at least another month.
 
Well, I had a sanke sitting around, so I made a big batch (15 gal) and stuck an airlock/stopper in the top. I was planning to let it sit for 6 months or so, but I wasn't sure if it would be better to bottle before to get it off the yeast.
 
I would actually rack it out of the primary (and its yeast cake trub) into a secondary rather than let it sit too much longer than about 2 months. I left my first batch in the primary for 6 full months without racking it off of the trub, and it almost turned to vinegar due to autolysis of the yeast. I backsweetened it with a fresh gallon of apple juice and two cans of apple concentrate, but it's still very, very tart - too tart for my wife to drink.

I'd STRONGLY recommend taking it off of the primary yeast cake if you're looking at long-term aging. Bottle it or put it in a different glass carboy.
 
My first batch has been in a primary for three months today. Think I'll bottle this weekend and start a third batch. Second batch is close behind and should be ready for bottling the next week or so.
 
I put made my first batch the beginning of October and bottled about a month later leaving 3 gallons to batch age. I drank about 16oz last night and was pleased with it, my wife even liked it so I know just about everyone else will too.
But, I curse you Edwort.
 
I put a quart of passionfruit juice in mine... I'm curious to see if that will even have any effect on the taste. Sounds like cinnamon can have too much of an effect.

I've got some dried berries; cranberries, cherries and blueberries. I'm thinking about tossing some in there...
 
Niederhofer said:
OK, so I made my first 5 gal batch a week or so ago, and it should be at 5 weeks just in time for Christmas. I also made another batch to age. When aging for extended periods of time, do you leave it in the fermenter, or do you rack to bottles after fermentation and age in the bottle? I've been looking through the thread, but have not seen the answer yet...
Click to expand...

Both will work. From what I've read here, you can bulk age for a couple of months with no issues. Beyond that, my guess would be that it's best to bottle it.

I have a question about bottling. I see early in the thread that Ed Wort bottled it in Grolsch bottles. If I bottle it 'still' in Grolsch or some other glass bottles and let it age for a while (a year if I can!) should I be concerned about purging them at bottling time? With beer you don't have to worry, because the CO2 from bottle conditioning displaces the air/oxygen, but if it's going to be still should I have concerns?
 
Guinness said:
Both will work. From what I've read here, you can bulk age for a couple of months with no issues. Beyond that, my guess would be that it's best to bottle it.

I have a question about bottling. I see early in the thread that Ed Wort bottled it in Grolsch bottles. If I bottle it 'still' in Grolsch or some other glass bottles and let it age for a while (a year if I can!) should I be concerned about purging them at bottling time? With beer you don't have to worry, because the CO2 from bottle conditioning displaces the air/oxygen, but if it's going to be still should I have concerns?
Click to expand...

I bottled some in bail top water bottles after a month or so of fermenting and there was still enough residual yeast feast that they are mildly carbonated when I pop the top. It quickly dissipates and becomes still.
 
Hey Ed,

Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It'll warm you right up.

I know it's probably personal preference to some extent but what's your recommendation on quantities of rum and sugar for this grog at least for a starting point?
 
Threw together my third batch this morning, total time: 20 minutes. Speaking of... I should probably go check if it's started bubbling yet. My first batch took 104 hours.

This time I used table sugar because I didn't have dextrose, but I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference.
 
I made a one-gallon batch with a pound of brown sugar and a cinnamon stick for the holidays. The brown sugar was OK, but I couldn't really taste any cinnamon. Spices might do better in secondary, I don't know. In any case, I mulled some tonight for an after-Thanksgiving warmer--poured two mugs' worth in a saucepan and heated it with a few tablespoons more brown sugar, a clove, a dash of lemon juice, about a half-teaspoon dried orange peel, and a couple of shakes of powdered cinnamon. Then poured it into mugs over a teaspoon of honey (we like it sweet). Tastes nice, but it's definitely a potent potable. SWMBO was expecting something more like mulled apple juice--her first word was "whoa...." Next time I'll probably cut it with straight juice...unless she really likes it ;)
 
Hello,

I pitched my first batch on 11-19-09.
4 gal tree top apple juice
1 gal tree top apple cider
1.3 # Dark brown sugar
.7 # white sugar
EC 1118 yeast

It was bubbling the next day. My house was about 75 degrees for the first 4 days. I have since lowered the temp to 74 degrees, closed the vent in the room to cool it down some. It's upstairs and without my thermometer, I would say it's about 70 degrees in there now.

My question is, today bubbles are starting to form on top. This has slowly started happening since yesterday. Its real tiny bubbles like the fermenting bubbles, but now are starting to build up. Is this normal because most pics I see, they don't have a layer of bubbles on top.

Thanks for your help!
 
vvolf27 said:
... My question is, today bubbles are starting to form on top. This has slowly started happening since yesterday. Its real tiny bubbles like the fermenting bubbles, but non are starting to build up. Is this normal because most pics I see, they don't have a layer of bubbles on top.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's normal. It'll be fine.
 
vvolf27 said:
My question is, today bubbles are starting to form on top. This has slowly started happening since yesterday. Its real tiny bubbles like the fermenting bubbles, but non are starting to build up. Is this normal because most pics I see, they don't have a layer of bubbles on top.
Click to expand...

That is normal to have those tiny bubbles on the top. With the different yeast strains that are being used there will be slight differences.

I ued Premier Cuvee and I have the same little bubbles.

EC1118 and Premier Cuvee descriptions both mention that they can be used for champagne.
 

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