Man, I love Apfelwein

sound good I think it would need something to boost the abv..... brandy?.....

 

I like the way you think.

 

I dunno - it goes down awfully easy as is, a higher abv could make it lethal!

 

I'd like to make another batch of this with honey as my sugar or instead of sugar. How much honey would I use, still 2lbs would be enough?

also, how would I mix the two? I know for the sugar you just shake and it dissolves, but for the honey would I need to heat up some juice to mix with the honey first? and then let it cool and then add to the carboy? I'm just not sure what is the bestest tried and true way to get GREAT results

thanks all for any help in making this twist to this great recipe happen.

 

Wouldnt you just have a cyser if you used honey?

 

I was thinking just up it to about 12% like a sangria.

 

Yes.

 

Thought so. Hey, not that there's anything wrong with that!

 

I'm ok with that...

thanks

thanks for the replies...but, still wondering, how much honey would I need or use for making this? and how would I go about adding it to my juice? I've never made a cyser before either...but I'm sure you can tell that ...mostly just wine kits until recently with the SP and edwort's apfelwein...:rockin:


p.s. oh, like the Seinfeld reference btw...

 

5 weeks in. At 1.006. Tastes delightful.

 

Throw a small bit of orange stoli vodka in there and you are golden!

 

I'm definitely going to have to give this a try....

 

Just bottled my first batch (1 gal). I got 10 bottles, put a half tspn of sucrose in 5 of the bottles for carbing. I got a couple ounces to taste, it was much more tart than I expected - almost lactic like a Berliner but with a nice apple flavor as well. I think I'll like the carbed version of this more, but we shall see. Using the yeast cake for skeeter pee today!
Oh, and I used Lalvin 71B - not sure if that contributed to the tartness or not.

 

hey guys, any tips for how much honey to use for a batch of apfelwein? thanks again.

 

What are you doing with the honey? EdWort's recipe doesn't call for honey in its pure, still form...

 

Hey I had a few to many home brews while making my second batch i pitched the yeast and then to a og reading. Do you think that will mess anything up? I'm thinking it will be find but decided to get a second opinion from you guys.
Thanks

 

Sorry for typos just re-read it haha cheers

 

hey NineMilBill, thanks for the reply, if you check back a page, I was asking/thinking of making some apfelwein with honey instead of sugar....I know, it would be considered cyser then...I was told that already on the previous page as well...so, then I guess my question is, using ed's recipe as a base for a cyser recipe, how much honey would be required then

oh and yes I would be making mine still as well, not carbed at all.

thanks,

 

It'll be fine.

 

I believe standard practice is to balance the two until you reach your desired gravity, and then base the yeast off of the type of cyser you are going for in accordance with its alcohol tolerance. My brew book says my first Apfelwein hit 1.061...so just add diluted honey until you hit that in your applejuice. Matching the OG would assume that the standard Montrachet would be sufficient.

 

oh ok, thanks for your reply. I have used EC-1118 for my first batch of apfelwein, and my SP...and that's what I have on hand as well...I'll just maybe wing it and see what happens...I was thinking, if it was 2lbs of corn sugar, maybe it would be 2 lbs of honey...or maybe 4 lbs, since its maybe tougher to break down for the yeast...I'm not sure of all those specifics, that was why I was asking...so, I'll just see what happens, thanks again.

 

I don't think honey is all that tough for the yeast to break down, at least as an adjunct. It tends to ferment to dryness--leaving behind little flavor and only increasing the alcohol. I think the difficulty in mead is it's lack of nutrients, which the apple juice makes up for. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

I am thinking you are correct. Mother nature is fairly efficient. She wouldn't have bees making a complex sugar that's hard for baby bees to digest.

 

wonderful news, thanks

 

Just bottled a batch that I subbed two 60oz bottles of POM juice from Costco. SWMBO says it tastes like a white zin. It is just a little more tart than the original. Can't wait till it has it's time in the bottle!!

 

I was thinking of doing this exact thing. Would you recommend it?

 

Drank about 16oz of it that didn't fit into 750ml bottles about an hour ago after having not eating anything today. Went straight to my head.

 

How should I store this? I just re-sanitized the gallon jugs and put the finished product back into it. Will it be fine say 6 months from now or will mold start to grow in it?

 

"brewed" tonight using Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. here we go! damn! I forgot to take a SG reading!

 

If you've let it go completely dry, just fill the gallon jugs up pretty high, and ensure the cap or however you're sealing it is air tight. It'll be good. Can you not bottle, either in beer bottles or wine bottles?

 

I'm having the longest fermentation of this stuff. It's batch number 3 on the same yeast, and it's taken nearly 2 months at 60* and is only down to about 1.010 from 1.070. Is the cold temperature to blame? I used a juice blend (apple-blueberry-pomegranate) for about half of the juice, maybe that blend has some extra mild preservative in it that the straight apple juice and cran-apple from old orchard don't have. I'm wondering how much longer it'll take to clear once it's done.

Edit: Montrachet is the yeast.

 

I did 3 gallons of organic apple juice and some corn sugar. It was about 72 degrees the whole time. My method was exactly the same as the first post in this thread except 3/5 's of everything since I used 3 gallons to his five. Mine bubbled hard for a week and then was done. I checked the gravity and like he said it finished near 1.002 or so. Really low. I'm just letting it sit to clear up now for a few more weeks. I think your temp did it but there might be preservatives.

Check the ingredients really well. I have a few bottles of 100% juice with vitamin c added (ascorbic acid) so I'll use a ph balancer when I do that batch. They say it has no preservatives, but I'm thinking they put the vitamin c in there to make it sound more nutritious and also to add a preservative while still calling it all natural since it's vitamin c and not a 'chemical'.

I can't wait to drink this stuff,, in a few months.. haha.

 

I am wondering why my Apfelwein is still hazy after 5 weeks. Not sure if I did something wrong or if the cider used is keeping it from clearing up. I went to Whole Foods and got 2.5 gal of apple juice and 2.5 gal of apple cider. I had a 2.2# bag of corn sugar so I said screw it and threw it all in with one pack of Montrachet yeast. OG was 1.090 and current gravity after 5 weeks is 1.000. If my calculation is correct the ABV is 11.81 I think this is going to stay in the secondary for a few more months before I bottle. I think I am going to cold crash it for a couple days before bottleing. Maybe that will clear it up a little. Anyone have any opinions or comments on the high ABV? will this stuff ever be drinkable and will it clear up?

 

My Apfelwein was made Dec. 3rd. I followed the recipe just as you appear to have done: nothing but the apple juice (I used fresh cider from a local orchard), 2 lb dextrose and the Montrachet yeast. After several months in the primary it was hazy, so I got some pectic enzyme (haze is likely caused by pectin) and put in the recommended amount when I racked to secondary. I bottled after a total of three months (first week in March), and the Apfelwein clarified more, but still has a slight haze to it. It tastes very good, and I expect that it will only get better.

 

so took two bottles up last night to check to see if I will have any carbonation problems. tossed them in he freezer for an hour to get them nice and cold. first one I sweetend a bit to see if my fiance liked it better with a little sweetness, I didn't care much for it and neither did she, but carbonation was good, bit more than beer but didn't seem like it would be a problem.

then the second I poured straight from the bottle. Cold, Crisp, Tad bit Tart with a a hint of apple....started working on a project and the I relized holly crap I'm wasted.....

 

How long after bottling was this? I'm gearing up to bottle mine that I made 2/24 and I'm curious if it will be 3 weeks like beer or longer/shorter?

 

just put another batch of this together over the weekend, rhino farts have taken over my basement! Won't be touching this til september at the earliest.

 

Just put my first batch of this together last night early this morning. The only thing I changed form the recipe was adding yeast nutrients, I live in an apartment and hope to keep the rhino fart smell to a minimum.

 

I am wondering how exactly you added the pectic enzyme? I have the same issue with haze and I am reaching the end of fermentation. I have some powder enzyme. Do you just toss it right into the primary how is that sanitary?

 

I can bottle only problem is I still don't have the right amount of bottles yet I need to buy some more from the brew store.All my empties are being used for my beer.