CrAzYmOuSe
Well-Known Member
Just bottled my first batch yesterday. Drinking some now and I have to say, I can see how this is going to be a hit this summer at pool parties. Can't wait to start another batch this weekend.
Man, I love Apfelwein
- Thread starter EdWort
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brpruett
Active Member
Having lived in Ebblewoi (Apfelwein) country for years I was thrilled to find this thread. I now have 2 6.5g carboys going. One with Ed's original recipe and one substituting ec-1118 for the Montrachet yeast. I am anxious to do a side-by-side comparison.
I have a new question for you:
I have the opportunity to get a quantity of fresh-pressed flash pasteurized apple juice. I can even stipulate the types of apples! My concern is that it is only flash pasteurized and must be stored cold. Can I still use this for apfelwein? My assumption is that it will ferment out just fine, but I do not want to have to cold store the finished product if at all possible.
Any thoughts?
I have a new question for you:
I have the opportunity to get a quantity of fresh-pressed flash pasteurized apple juice. I can even stipulate the types of apples! My concern is that it is only flash pasteurized and must be stored cold. Can I still use this for apfelwein? My assumption is that it will ferment out just fine, but I do not want to have to cold store the finished product if at all possible.
Any thoughts?
abbot555
Well-Known Member
Tried to search but could not find a answer.
I just checked my Apfelwein (followed the directions to a T) and got a FG of 1.006. My problem is that it is carbonated. Is their anyway to get rid of the carbonation, dont want bottle bombs ?
Thanks
I just checked my Apfelwein (followed the directions to a T) and got a FG of 1.006. My problem is that it is carbonated. Is their anyway to get rid of the carbonation, dont want bottle bombs ?
Thanks
How did it become carbonated? I have uncarbonated beers by putting them in a corny and opening the relief valve a few times a day.
Hegh
Well-Known Member
Treat it like wine -- there's no serious pasteurization of grape juice, as far as I know. The fermentation and alcohol will help it keep for a long time. If you're really worried, use campden tablets to chemically pasteurize the must a couple days before pitching the yeast (I'm not experienced with this, though, check the rest of the wine making forum).
Tried to search but could not find a answer.
I just checked my Apfelwein (followed the directions to a T) and got a FG of 1.006. My problem is that it is carbonated. Is their anyway to get rid of the carbonation, dont want bottle bombs ?
Thanks
That's just dissolved carbon dioxide. The cooler you ferment, the more will stay in solution. Stir it really well before bottling, preferably with something with lots of arms, like a whisk or a bottling brush, to knock the gas out.
You shouldn't have to worry about bottle bombs anyway, it shouldn't be seriously carbonated and it shouldn't produce any more carbon dioxide. With wine bottles you might need to worry about the corks popping out (happened to me just a couple weeks ago with one of my last two bottles from a batch I bottled in January of 2009).
AirborneBrewer
Active Member
Made my first batch Saturday, 8 May with Nottingham Ale Yeast. It was bubbling away Sunday morning and still going strong today, 12 May. There is about a Inch Krausen on top with a steady plop, plop from the blowoff tube.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
I have 5 gallons of Ed’s Apfelwein which has been fermenting about 4 weeks now. When I do decide to bottle, do most people carbonate their Apfelwein or leave it still? I understand it is a personal choice, but traditionally how is it served?
Thanks!
Thanks!
brpruett
Active Member
BCC:
I lived a decade in Frankfurt and environs, so here is the scoop on how it is traditionally done>
Carbonation: Ebblewoi is only lightly carbonated and I believe that it is because they do not degas it before bottling. At first pour you get a light and quickly dissipated head. Thereafter only a slow stream of bubbles up the side of the glass. If a Frankfurter wants it carbonated they will order a bottle of seltzer and mix it to their preference. That is very common and is known as a 'gespritzter'. Purists are offended when one adds a sweet soda like Fanta to it, but many people still drink it that way.
Alcohol: In Frankfurt they add no sugar to the juice and it naturally ferments out to about 6%. They view apfelwein as a lighter and more refreshing drink than bier that they can drink for a longer period w/o getting f*!&#d up. The addition of sugar to drive higher abv's in Ed's original recipe is, I believe, an accommodation to the American desire to get more bang from the bottle. I laugh at all the people complaining about hangovers as it is a self-inflicted wound.
Additions: The very best apfelweins have about 1-3% Speierling (Speyerling) juice added. Although the Germans call it an apple, in reality the Speierling is a very rare form of mountain ash, sorbus domesticus. Its fruits are apple-shaped and must be stored until they become overripe. The juice adds an additional astringency to the apfelwein. I have never seen any other additions (such as cranberry, peach, etc.) made to any commercial apfelweins. I think that the Germans would consider it sacreligious. I myself am having a difficult time finding Speierling in the US and so I am considering substituting quince or persimmon in some experimental batches.
Food pairings:
Apfelwein is incredibly food friendly. It works with everything, much like champagne does. Real BBQ, asian food, anything pork, fish .. all of it pairs well.
I hope that this gives you a little insight as to traditional Ebblewoi.
Zum Wohl!
bp
I lived a decade in Frankfurt and environs, so here is the scoop on how it is traditionally done>
Carbonation: Ebblewoi is only lightly carbonated and I believe that it is because they do not degas it before bottling. At first pour you get a light and quickly dissipated head. Thereafter only a slow stream of bubbles up the side of the glass. If a Frankfurter wants it carbonated they will order a bottle of seltzer and mix it to their preference. That is very common and is known as a 'gespritzter'. Purists are offended when one adds a sweet soda like Fanta to it, but many people still drink it that way.
Alcohol: In Frankfurt they add no sugar to the juice and it naturally ferments out to about 6%. They view apfelwein as a lighter and more refreshing drink than bier that they can drink for a longer period w/o getting f*!&#d up. The addition of sugar to drive higher abv's in Ed's original recipe is, I believe, an accommodation to the American desire to get more bang from the bottle. I laugh at all the people complaining about hangovers as it is a self-inflicted wound.
Additions: The very best apfelweins have about 1-3% Speierling (Speyerling) juice added. Although the Germans call it an apple, in reality the Speierling is a very rare form of mountain ash, sorbus domesticus. Its fruits are apple-shaped and must be stored until they become overripe. The juice adds an additional astringency to the apfelwein. I have never seen any other additions (such as cranberry, peach, etc.) made to any commercial apfelweins. I think that the Germans would consider it sacreligious. I myself am having a difficult time finding Speierling in the US and so I am considering substituting quince or persimmon in some experimental batches.
Food pairings:
Apfelwein is incredibly food friendly. It works with everything, much like champagne does. Real BBQ, asian food, anything pork, fish .. all of it pairs well.
I hope that this gives you a little insight as to traditional Ebblewoi.
Zum Wohl!
bp
BeantownR6
Well-Known Member
hey eveyone i just stumbled across this and ive been reading through alot of it but there are 600 + pages.
my 2 questions are now what temp to ferment at, is there a temp that is too high? it says room temp so i was planning on having them in my garage and not worry about it and not use my fermenting refigeratrors so i can make more beer
and 2 when bottling how much priming sugar are you all using for a 5 gallon batch?
thanks
my 2 questions are now what temp to ferment at, is there a temp that is too high? it says room temp so i was planning on having them in my garage and not worry about it and not use my fermenting refigeratrors so i can make more beer
and 2 when bottling how much priming sugar are you all using for a 5 gallon batch?
thanks
brpruett
Active Member
Hegh:
Thanks for the response. I've made commercial quantities of premium wine but didn't put 2+2 together. D'oh!
I agree completely about the impact of fermentation vis-a-vis pasteurization.
BCC, you are completely welcome. One note, around November the local Ebblewoikneipen serve some half-fermented Stoeffche (please forgive my use of German and the local names for Apfelwein, it just seems appropriate) which is called Rauscher. As you would expect it is cloudy and sweeter than the finished product. The name means, roughly, the Intoxicator (kinda the Menthos of the booze world) because its sweetness encourages more drinking even though the abv is only in the 3% range.
Now if someone could just point me to a recipe for homemade Handkaes (another Ffm specialty) I'd be in Hessian heaven!
bp
Thanks for the response. I've made commercial quantities of premium wine but didn't put 2+2 together. D'oh!
I agree completely about the impact of fermentation vis-a-vis pasteurization.
BCC, you are completely welcome. One note, around November the local Ebblewoikneipen serve some half-fermented Stoeffche (please forgive my use of German and the local names for Apfelwein, it just seems appropriate) which is called Rauscher. As you would expect it is cloudy and sweeter than the finished product. The name means, roughly, the Intoxicator (kinda the Menthos of the booze world) because its sweetness encourages more drinking even though the abv is only in the 3% range.
Now if someone could just point me to a recipe for homemade Handkaes (another Ffm specialty) I'd be in Hessian heaven!
bp
I just bottled with 3/4 cup of corn sugar as any beer. Although around page 52 I think I read something about the Montrachet not carbing up the bottles. I'm a little anxious about that.
just put one six gallon in today and am excited to drink it for christmas. how is the best way to get you specific gravity as all the liquid is mixed in the sanitized carboy? I wasnt sure so i just followed the recipe and figure it will work out fine.
Use a sanitized Wine Thief or Turkey baster to suck out enough for the hydrometer tube. Alternatively you can use a sanitized length of tubing as a mini siphon.
Best way is to have a straw like instument called a wine thief. It fits down into the Carboy hole, you put your finger over the top hole and pull the liquid out just like you would a straw in a McDonalds cup. I've done this apfelwein twice using two different brands of juice. They came out to be 1.067 and 1.064 so they are pretty darn close. Both were using 2 lbs of corn sugar.
Post #6527, is anyone actually reading this far? :laugh: I've been aging about 2 months now, roughly 3 months total and this is getting downright tasty. I'm down to 1 bottle of my 1st batch after tonight even though I was aging. Inlaws came over tonight though and the wife asked me to break out some. After 1st clearing it was drinkable, 1 month later it was ok. After tonight I could drink it and be pretty happy. If that last bottle makes it a few more months I'm looking forward to it.
I have a couple more batches in the works now, but still fermenting so nowhere near there yet.
Friend of mine has been brewing beer for a few years and has a few other friend who do wine. I gave him a bottle of this a week ago. He called tonight just to tell me that it was good. He's been apparently tortured by others home wines and has done a couple himself that he didn't like, but he was really surprised with the bottle I gave him. So fanboy #whatever reporting in.
And yeah, I'm kind of drunk right now
I have a couple more batches in the works now, but still fermenting so nowhere near there yet.
Friend of mine has been brewing beer for a few years and has a few other friend who do wine. I gave him a bottle of this a week ago. He called tonight just to tell me that it was good. He's been apparently tortured by others home wines and has done a couple himself that he didn't like, but he was really surprised with the bottle I gave him. So fanboy #whatever reporting in.
And yeah, I'm kind of drunk right now
JerTheRipper
Member
Just bottled the first batch yesterday and set aside a half gallon to drink then because it was so good! It's a hell of a beverage, came out at 10% ABV and is waaay too easy to drink. You were not kidding with that warning!
Crap, swmbo just called me at work and told me my apfelwein is foaming out of the airlock! I am using a 5 gallon carboy that was filled to the bottom of the neck, It's been fermenting for 2 days now. I probably only got 4 3/4 gallons into the carboy anyway. Used Montrachet yeast.
I am very impatient so I just used a wine thief on the apple and the pineapple (using the exact same recipe). I am only 12 days in not too much airlock activity but I can see tiny bubbles still rising inside both bottles.
I tried the pineapple first and it was good but had a "beer" taste to it. The pineapple taste was there and if the beer taste mellows out I will be making A LOT MORE of it.
Then I tried the Apple - lets just say SWMBO picked up some more apple juice today. It is amazing already - I can't imagine this stuff tasting better than this after aging! I am sure that everyone who tastes it are going to want some; which means I need to buy stock in an apple juice company.
I tried the pineapple first and it was good but had a "beer" taste to it. The pineapple taste was there and if the beer taste mellows out I will be making A LOT MORE of it.
Then I tried the Apple - lets just say SWMBO picked up some more apple juice today. It is amazing already - I can't imagine this stuff tasting better than this after aging! I am sure that everyone who tastes it are going to want some; which means I need to buy stock in an apple juice company.
BeantownR6
Well-Known Member
my first batch is under way, 2 - 2.5 gallons in my old mr.beer kegs. i knew i would use them for something! its been 4 days and i can see the bubbles rising up, the garage smells a little sulpherish.....oh i can't wait to try this. 653 pages this stuff has to be the shizzle!
what other juices can you do this with?
what other juices can you do this with?
Grimster
Well-Known Member
My first 3 gallon batch is long gone, I put my 2nd 5 gallon batch into 3 T-a-Draft bottles yesterday, put one in the fridge and pressurized it tonight. This stuff is just divine mixed 50/50 with Sprite even my non drinker wife will drink some of this.
user 40839
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654 pages. Great googaly moogaly.
I'm about 4.5 weeks into my first batch, and it's finally starting to drop out now. I'm going to give it until the end of the fifth week, then cold crash it for a couple of days, then keg. Got some... interesting yeast rafts on the surface that harken me back to my nervous noob days. But as always, am sure it'll turn out niiiice. (Now I just need to finish my @#$# kegerator so I can drink the stuff!)
I'm about 4.5 weeks into my first batch, and it's finally starting to drop out now. I'm going to give it until the end of the fifth week, then cold crash it for a couple of days, then keg. Got some... interesting yeast rafts on the surface that harken me back to my nervous noob days. But as always, am sure it'll turn out niiiice. (Now I just need to finish my @#$# kegerator so I can drink the stuff!)
Ace_Club
Well-Known Member
Absolutely agree. Mixed with Sprite this stuff is smooth as silk and very dangerous if you don't pay attention to how much you've had!
Bradinator
Well-Known Member
I am currently enjoying a very nice batch of apfelwein right now. At 10% this stuff has some serious kick too it.
I was wondering if anyone has made a lighter version of Edworts Apfelwein? If so how did it turn out?
I was wondering if anyone has made a lighter version of Edworts Apfelwein? If so how did it turn out?
user 40839
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I'll let you know in a couple of weeks when it's ready to go - I only used one pound of the dextrose, which means it'll "only" be around 7%
Just finished a couple of glasses of the 'wein with lunch. Yummy! And note that I bottle-carbed them in the SAME bottles that held the apple juice. My first batch came out at 9.45% ABV. Checked the second batch this morning, and it will be at least that high, if not up a notch or two.
Goooood stuff!
glenn514
Goooood stuff!
glenn514
MikeBrews
Member
I'm at 2 weeks now on my first batch. I drew a sample today and it tastes pretty sour. Is this a common taste this far in or is that a sign of possible contamination? Airlock is still bubbling once every 4 seconds or so. The apfelwein is still very cloudy as well
user 40839
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Can't comment on the taste (yet) Mike, but the cloudiness hangs out for at LEAST three weeks, more likely four.
newbrew77
Well-Known Member
I am about a month in and the taste is getting better!
