Apfelwein doesn't require a boil?

[sea2summit3]

Been reading up on apfelwein recipes here at HBT. Seems that no one does a boil as you would with wort. Is this because the main ingredient (apple juice) is pasturized and considered bug free?

What about the dextrose then? It seems that members are just mixing it with apple juice and pouring straight into the fermenter. Wouldn't you want to boil it first with some of the apple juice first to kill off any wild bacteria? Am I missing something?


For those wanting to make apfelwein... Another great resource to buy apple juice is WinCo (a discount food store). I got 5, one gallon containers of Langers Apple Juice for just under $17 !

 

[eschatz]

Yeah, I constantly have at least 10 gallons of Apfelwein fermenting at one time and 5 gal on tap. Trust me the recipe is solid and can't be denied. Just mix it all no boil at room temp. Drop in your yeast put an airlock on. Trust me, buy another carboy or bucket and make an extra 5 gal when you do the first 5 gal. You'll burn through the stuff pretty quick and the longer you let it age the better it gets. At about 6 months it tastes like champagne!

 

[michael88n]

Trust me, buy another carboy or bucket and make an extra 5 gal when you do the first 5 gal.

+1 on the extra primary.

And I don't boil anything or heat anything up. I pour half a bottle (one gal bottles) of apple juice in the carboy and then pour one pound of Dextrose in the
remaining half bottle of Juice. Just shake the heck out of the bottle and the whole pound will dissolve in the remaining half gallon of juice.

I do the same thing with the remaining pound. And I've not had a problem with wild bacteria.

Ed's recipe is pretty dummy-proof.

 

[sea2summit3]

Thanks guys. Guess I'll put my bacteria paranoia to bed and get bubbling!

 

[ifishsum]

You won't be sorry...I just bottled my first batch of Apfelwein and had about 10 oz left over, it was yummy just as it was and should get better from here.

 

[sea2summit3]

You won't be sorry...I just bottled my first batch of Apfelwein and had about 10 oz left over, it was yummy just as it was and should get better from here.

How long did it take for your fermentation to start? This is the first time I've used anything diff. than beer yeast. Such a simple process... I'm anxious to try the results.

 

[eschatz]

It'll happen within a day or so. You'll smell the funky sweet smell of Apfelwein brewing. BTW if you're married hide it from the wifey for a couple of days in a closet/basement/whatever where she wont smell it. It actually has a smell for about 3 days and sometimes the SWMBO doesn't dig it!

 

[sea2summit3]

Yeah... been wondering how to handle that. I live in a really small apartment and do all my fermenting in the apt. I also live in the mountains and its starting to get real cold at night so my shed is probably not a good option. How cold can you ferment with Apfelwein? The packet didn't say. Using EC 1118.

SWMBO is excited about trying Apfelwein but has no idea that it smells like "Rhino farts" while fermenting. BTW... Does someone have a pet rhino?

 

[alex_wilkosz]

i started mine thursday night....it started bubbling in about 2 hrs. and is going strong still. ur right it smells pretty rancid when it starts, im hoping that smell dies down a bit though

 

[lapaglia]

If you use yeast nutrient it wont smell like rhino farts.

 

[alex_wilkosz]

If you use yeast nutrient it wont smell like rhino farts.

i wish i had known that before....it def smells like a rhino ate his entire days calorie count in eggs...ick

 

[TexLaw]

It passes in a few days. Just hang in there.


TL

 

[alex_wilkosz]

thank goodness. its still bubblin like crazy and has turned a goofy orange color. i cant wait for it to be done...and its only been goign since thursday...darnit! i got like 3.5 weeks to go. then carb, then drink...now only if i could freeze myself to hurry time up! reminds me of a South Park Episode for the Wii

 

[GroovePuppy]

Opened my first "smack pack" at the weekend. Boy I had to convince myself i was doing the right thing throwing it into my wort. I thought something had died in there!

On a "back to the thread" note, if I brew up some Apfelwein can I just prime and bottle it into 2L soda bottles or is that particularly crass question? I'm just thinking I might be able to do a batch soon without needing to accumulate more beer bottles. I don't need to tell you what a hellish job it is emptying beer bottles for homebrews.

 

[sea2summit3]

thank goodness. its still bubblin like crazy and has turned a goofy orange color. i cant wait for it to be done...and its only been goign since thursday..

Mine hasn't started bubbling but I've got lots of little air bubbles forming on the top. My house is cooler so maybe it'll just take longer. I'll worry if doesn't start in a couple days.

First time using a glass carboy. Pretty cool to watch (only a homebrewer would think yeast are cool to watch!)

 

[Yooper]

Opened my first "smack pack" at the weekend. Boy I had to convince myself i was doing the right thing throwing it into my wort. I thought something had died in there!

On a "back to the thread" note, if I brew up some Apfelwein can I just prime and bottle it into 2L soda bottles or is that particularly crass question? I'm just thinking I might be able to do a batch soon without needing to accumulate more beer bottles. I don't need to tell you what a hellish job it is emptying beer bottles for homebrews.

You can do that- but 2L of apfelwein is a LOT to drink at one or two sittings. It's as strong as wine, and if you don't have a few friends to help, you'll have a killer headache the next day! Maybe bottle in 16 ounce soda bottles, or 1L bottles, if you don't think you can drink that much at once!

 

[GroovePuppy]

You can do that- but 2L of apfelwein is a LOT to drink at one or two sittings. It's as strong as wine, and if you don't have a few friends to help, you'll have a killer headache the next day! Maybe bottle in 16 ounce soda bottles, or 1L bottles, if you don't think you can drink that much at once!

But I'm prepared to give it a go!

No seriously, I was thinking if I treated it like soda and just recapped and refrigerated. Not necessarily what I planned to do just a thought. You have to excuse my over excitement but I'm new to this. I've had plenty hobbies that involved consuming alcohol but this is the first that created it too!

 

[Yooper]

But I'm prepared to give it a go!

No seriously, I was thinking if I treated it like soda and just recapped and refrigerated. Not necessarily what I planned to do just a thought. You have to excuse my over excitement but I'm new to this. I've had plenty hobbies that involved consuming alcohol but this is the first that created it too!

Oh, you can do that, but it won't stay as carbonated. It will go flat pretty fast (well, like soda does). It will also disturb the sediment on the bottom, so I'd pour it into a pitcher (the amount you're planning on having) and put the rest in the fridge to resettle.

 

[joe6pack]

I have been wanting to try apfelwein... and have a couple questions.

First is how to pronounce it... is it ap-fel-ween or ap-fel-wine? I suspect its the latter, but I'm not sure.

Second, what is the yeast nutrient / is it readily available at a LHBS? SWMBO would not like rhino fart odor.

Third, does it produce a large amount of pressure in the fermenter? I want to buy a 3 gal carboy or better bottle to do some smaller brews... so in this case, could I use three gal of apple juice, or would I need to use only 2.5 gal?

Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

I have been wanting to try apfelwein... and have a couple questions.

First is how to pronounce it... is it ap-fel-ween or ap-fel-wine? I suspect its the latter, but I'm not sure.

Second, what is the yeast nutrient / is it readily available at a LHBS? SWMBO would not like rhino fart odor.

Third, does it produce a large amount of pressure in the fermenter? I want to buy a 3 gal carboy or better bottle to do some smaller brews... so in this case, could I use three gal of apple juice, or would I need to use only 2.5 gal?

Thanks.

It's a German hard cider (see the entire apfelwein thread..........) so it's pronouced ap-fel-vine. Yeast nutrient is readily available. I'd use maybe 2.75 gallons in a 3 gallon carboy- you don't need a ton of headspace, but it does produce quite a bit of co2.

 

[joe6pack]

Thanks Yooper. None of the above on my pronunciation guesses. lol

I did read the bigger apfelwein thread. Well the majority of it anyway.

Would I need more headspace if I used part cider, part apple juice, or is there no advantage in that anyway?

Is there any draw back to putting 2.5 - 3 gallons into a 6.5 gallon fermenter? The 6.5 would be more versatile if you can also do a smaller batch in it.

 

[gator_brewer]

The main draw back to putting 3gal in a 6.5gal fermentor is that you have 3.5gal of empty air. Trust everyone on this board and just fill the whole thing up, it's worth it... from what I hear, mines still fermenting. You can make the small batch, but why would you not want to fill it up since it's going to need to sit so long?


As for juice vs cider, if you use cider, you will get krasuen, so if you fill it to the top (like I did) use a blow off tube (which I didn't) or learn to enjoy cleaning up rhino poo for a few days.

 

[Crisco87]

As for juice vs cider, if you use cider, you will get krasuen, so if you fill it to the top (like I did) use a blow off tube (which I didn't) or learn to enjoy cleaning up rhino poo for a few days.

That's peculiar that you say that. I used cider and mine didn't need a blow off. It had MAYBE 1/2" foam at the top...and 1/2" is being VERY generous.

 

[Amiaji]

I think it has more to do with the yeast you use than the type of apple juice. Using Montrechet yeast you wont have much if any krausen. My second batch I used Cotes De Blanc and had more krausen, but still not much.

 

[Crisco87]

Yea I used Cote and barely had any. Like I said, MAYBE 1/2" or so.

 

[alex_wilkosz]

Premier Cuvee Yeast is what i used. cuz all the stores were out of Mantrachet...and i wanted to put it in. A guy I know there that brews said it souhld be about the same result....and i have no Krausen