Another German Delicacy - Federweisser

EdWort · Dec 14, 2006

Well, the German Mother-in-Law arrives in a week, so I'm off on another project. This time it is Federweisser or Neuwein (New Wine).

Federweisser is a seasonal drink that is available about a week after the grape harvest in Germany. Folks start drinking the wine as soon as it has about 4% abv, but it's pretty sweet then and still full of yeast. SWMBO and her mom love it, so this year I'm adding a new twist. At 7 days, I'm going to keg it and dispense it from my kegerator with CO2. A little carbonation is great with this drink and SWMBO will be making some Zweibelkuchen (Onion Cake) to go along with it.

We'll see how long it lasts.

BrewStef · Dec 14, 2006

Hi EdWort,

Your Apfelwein recipe was a hit, SWMBO and I loved it along with everyone else who tried it.

What is your recipe for Federweisser?

Cheers! :mug:

BrewStef

EdWort · Dec 14, 2006

BrewStef said:
What is your recipe for Federweisser?

It's pretty simple. Get a can of Alexander's Sun Country Concentrates - Emerald Riesling (You can get it from Northern Brewer). 1 Can makes 2.5 gallons. Follow the instructions on the can. Ferment in a bucket with a spigot. Start drinking it in 7 days. Each day will taste different.

Get it in containers and refrigerated by day 10.

BrewStef · Dec 14, 2006

Interesting...very quick! What yeast do you recommend?

Chairman Cheyco · Dec 14, 2006

Onion cake and green fermented beverages. Are you familiar with the term Scott Pack?

:cross:

Caplan · Dec 14, 2006

Newly fermenting wine and zweibelkuchen. Yum yum.

Add a side plate of sauerkraut and a soleier or two for a full rectal prolapse....

EdWort · Dec 14, 2006

Chairman Cheyco said:
Onion cake and green fermented beverages. Are you familiar with the term Scott Pack?

:cross:

Oh yeah. I'm an old volunteer firefighter. Go with positive pressure.

EdWort · Dec 14, 2006

BrewStef said:
Interesting...very quick! What yeast do you recommend?

A good dry white wine yeast like Lalvin 71B-1122.

Reverend JC · Dec 14, 2006

what the hell is onion cake? i like onions and i like cake sounds like a winning combo to me!

EdWort · Dec 14, 2006

Here's a recipe for Zwiebelkuchen from Allrecipies.com

Zwiebelkuchen

German Zwiebelkuchen (Onion Pie)
Submitted by: Bill Whitford
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 11 members Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 2 Hours
Yields: 11 servings
"Zwiebelkuchen is an onion pie from Swabia, in south-central Germany. It is a special time of year, in the fall, when the mom & pop winemakers will open a BasinWirtschaft in their barn or garage. They serve the new wine, fresh zwiebelkuchen, and perhaps some wurst, for a minimal fee. A few tables are set up, and they are open when they have time to serve. To indicate they are serving, they will hang a straw broom over the doorway. The combination of the onions and the 'green ' wine can have explosive consequences later on!"
INGREDIENTS:
6 pounds onions, sliced
4 slices bacon
1 (16 ounce) container sour
cream
4 egg

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
2 recipes pastry for a 9 inch
single crust pie
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a jelly-roll pan or large pizza pan with prepared dough, making sure dough extends up sides of pan.
2. Saute onion in a until translucent and pour cooked onion into a large mixing bowl. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, chop and add to onion; mix well.
3. Stir in sour cream. Beat eggs enough to break up yolks, then mix in to pie mixture. Add flour to thicken mixture (onions will create a lot of water), then add salt. Mix well and pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with caraway seed.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until onions start to turn golden brown on top.

Kaiser · Dec 14, 2006

Back when I had Federnweisser, we just got juice from a winery and waited for it to ferment naturally. And yes, this stuff was awsome.

Kai

brewman ! · Dec 15, 2006

Onion cake and green fermented beverages. Are you familiar with the term Scott Pack?

*laughing. *still laughing. ROTFLMAO. That is so funny. I guess you would have to know my inlaws to understand why.

zoebisch01 · Dec 15, 2006

EdWort said:
To indicate they are serving, they will hang a straw broom over the doorway. The combination of the onions and the 'green ' wine can have explosive consequences later on!"
.

Lol, they were quite tactful in the explanation. Explosive....ewwww....

Anways, this sounds like a nice dish.

EdWort · Dec 15, 2006

Yeah, it creates a scene reminiscent of the Blazing Saddles Campfire. It's a very tasty combination.

I just started a batch this morning. O.G. is 1.080. Next Thursday, we'll see what it's like and I'll check the gravity again.

I'll post pics of the Zwiebelkuchen.

olllllo · Dec 15, 2006

Treberbrot
Apfelwine
Federweisser
Zwiebelkuchen
You have us all hanging brooms over our doors.

Good God Ed, admit it. You are the Ambassador of Germany right? Or the Minister of Cultural Affairs? Or an insane millionare with a diabolical plan...

to create a zombie army of German Caterers.

You've brainwashed us and you're going to send a coded email to awaken the GermanFest Tactical Catering Team. We'll arrive in Austin with our goods an assigned roles, flawlessly preparing German delicacies and speaking fluent German even though some of us have never spoke a word of it.

In a week, we'll remember nothing but will have smiles on our faces and 10,000 extra calories in our guts.

Please Ed, I beg you. Let me be awake!

olllllo · Dec 15, 2006

or is the German Mother-in-Law the mastermind? Hmm....

Seriously.
Thank You for helping me express my 1/4 German heritage.

But the point is that there will be many on this board versed in some German specialties. A fest is in order.

user 574 · Dec 15, 2006

Ed,
You've not mentioned Eiswein (Ice Wine) yet. Had some in Toronto once but know the history of it came from Germany. Cool how it's made. Outrageously expensive. How much for a quality bottle over there?

FYI - Not homebrewer achievable...

http://www.winesofcanada.com/icewine.html

EDIT - After an internet search the price was a lot more in the 80's. I was out to dinner with a president of a canadian corporation where he bought two bottles for dinner @ $300 a pop.

Reverend JC · Dec 15, 2006

desertBrew said:
Ed,
You've not mentioned Eiswein (Ice Wine) yet. Had some in Toronto once but know the history of it came from Germany. Cool how it's made. Outrageously expensive. How much for a quality bottle over there?

FYI - Not homebrewer achievable...

Why are you threatening Ed? Do you really want him going crazy trying to figure out how to make this at home?

olllllo · Dec 15, 2006

Oh, you don't think he has a sleeper cell of Canadian Grape Pickers?

EdWort · Dec 15, 2006

Ach Ja, vee have vays of making do tings der Cherman vay, ja?

olllllo · Dec 18, 2006

Ed/Kai:

I really want to make this but I have questions:

From the NB site:

To make five gallons of wine from these concentrates, you will need two cans, additional sugar, yeast nutrient, acid blend, bentonite, and wine yeast.

Do/Did you use any of these?

what additional sugar?
which yeast nutrient?
which acid blend?

Do you use bentonite?

Wine yeast has been answered: Lalvin 71B-1122 Narbonne

From what you're saying, it looks like this needs to be consumed quickly (no shelf life?) so is bottling out of the question?

I envision having a get together, but bottling what doesn't get tapped.

Thanks.

Kaiser · Dec 18, 2006

olllllo said:
Do/Did you use any of these?

When I made it, I was still living in Germany and had a girlfriend who lived in a wine growing region. We just went to a vineyard and got some fresh unpasteurized juice and let it sit unrefrigerated for a few days. I'm not sure how to make it with concentrate.

Kai

olllllo · Dec 18, 2006

Yeah, I'm guessing it's no frills.

EdWort · Dec 18, 2006

The batch I started on Friday had all those things included. It came with a packet of bentonite, but this is a 6 gallon batch. I guess you can drink some and rack the rest to make some Riesling wine.

When I used the canned concetrate, I just bought some acid blend, Fermax, and bentonite from the LHBS.

Refrigeration will slow the fermentation process down, so you can keep it a week or so in a bottled growler. Just vent it every now and then.

olllllo · Mar 12, 2007

Ed. I made a 2.5 gallon of this for my open brewery and it turned out awesome. I didn't add any acid blend, but I did use nutrient and bentonite.

Given that we had 9 other beverages, it didn't get hit too hard, so I have it in a 3 gallon keg on low co2 refrigerated. We'll see how it lasts.

We also made the Zwiebelkuchen. Good combo.

Thanks, man.

EdWort · Mar 12, 2007

Good stuff, isn't it? What did you use for grape juice?

Congrats on the success and the Zwiebelkuchen! I bet there was some serious Muzik that night.

BierMuncher · Mar 12, 2007

Great. I can see it now... 1000 + posts of

"Man I love Federweisser"

Only 974 posts to go...

Make that 973

olllllo · Mar 12, 2007

EdWort said:
Good stuff, isn't it? What did you use for grape juice?

Congrats on the success and the Zwiebelkuchen! I bet there was some serious Muzik that night.

I used the Reissling kit you suggested.

Oakwoodforge · Oct 10, 2007

Ok, So my wife and I just got back from the Rhineland Pfalz region of Germany, my wife has fallen in love with Federweißer. I haven't brewed a single darn thing in 10 years and I want to make a batch of the yummy stuff for her Birthday next month. I have the basic stuff ordered, carboy, ferm lock & stopper, Riesling concentrate, the recommended yeast, acid & nutrient stuff. I'm not a total Noob, I've done this a few times before, years ago, but that was hard cider and fruit wine.

I don't want to mess it up being my first real brew project , what should I watch out for and what am I most likely to screw up ?

Prost !

Jens

EdWort · Oct 10, 2007

Oakwoodforge said:
I don't want to mess it up being my first real brew project , what should I watch out for and what am I most likely to screw up ?

Make sure your equipment is clean and sanitize everything. Also use a bucket fermenter with a spigot. It makes it very easy to sample the Federweisser starting at day #5. Using one can of concentrate, you can make 2.5 gallons.

I've missed the very sweet phase, but it will change every day, so pull a sample and when it hits your sweet spot, pour it into jugs and store in fridge to slow down the fermentation. I use 1 gallon growlers just for that.

Enjoy!

Another German Delicacy - Federweisser

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

***DRAMATIZATION***

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

2500 gallons year to date

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

[]-O-[]

[]-O-[]

Dirty blonde

2500 gallons year to date

[]-O-[]

Well-Known Member

[]-O-[]

Well-Known Member

[]-O-[]

Well-Known Member

[]-O-[]

Well-Known Member

...My Junk is Ugly...

[]-O-[]

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

DRAMATIZATION