Apple graff

[OHIOSTEVE]

Drinking my first properly carbed glass... wow. It is REALLY good.

 

[FromZwolle]

correct.

 

[StretchBrew]

Sunday is the end of my 3 week bottle conditioning period ... I'm excited! i think two or three are going in the fridge tonight to get cold for Sunday! =)

 

[donjonson]

Sunday is the end of my 3 week bottle conditioning period ... I'm excited! i think two or three are going in the fridge tonight to get cold for Sunday! =)

So is there some residual sweetness or is it very dry? I ask because I am going to try to make a cider soon and my wife really like woodchuck. I have heard that since I am going to bottle condition that there is no way to have any residual sweetness left over because the yeas will just keep going until the sugars all gone.

1)How do I get around this? If I back sweeten before bottling what do I use so that it is sweet even after bottle carbing?

2) Instead of back sweetening could I use a low attenuation yeast and hope it leaves some sweetness behind?

 

[akthor]

It tastes more like an apple beer than an Apfelwein type. To me it has lots of aplle flavor and it's different than cider in that it has a hop flavor to it. It's awesome!

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

It tastes more like an apple beer than an Apfelwein type. To me it has lots of aplle flavor and it's different than cider in that it has a hop flavor to it. It's awesome!

yep. I just tell everyone it is a sour apple beer. I like it much better than apfelwein.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

So is there some residual sweetness or is it very dry? I ask because I am going to try to make a cider soon and my wife really like woodchuck. I have heard that since I am going to bottle condition that there is no way to have any residual sweetness left over because the yeas will just keep going until the sugars all gone.

1)How do I get around this? If I back sweeten before bottling what do I use so that it is sweet even after bottle carbing?

2) Instead of back sweetening could I use a low attenuation yeast and hope it leaves some sweetness behind?

it uses some crystal malts so there is some sweetness left even after bottle conditioning.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I made some graff using a little DME dissolved in boiling water and apple juice. It was good. Really sweetens the cider and gives it a bit of a beer taste. Steeping a little crystal malt would probably add a little sweetness without as much beer taste.

Currently I have a graff clarifying that is a blend of store bought apple juice, apple concentrate and some extra run off from a Belgian quad I made a few months ago. It's going to get bottled in a couple of weeks. So far it smells delicious.

 

[StretchBrew]

I'll let you know come sunday if it's not that dry, but its not supposed to be. in fact the hyrdo sample was quite tasty and did have sweetness to it (i can't remember my FG off hand) I doubt its going to be woodchuck sweet, and i'll also report back my what sister thinks of it because she likes commerial ciders (woodchuck, harpoon's cider) she already requested a six-pack of it on thanksgiving when I was talking about brewing it!

 

[StretchBrew]

Just finished my 2nd glass of Graff in as many days ... It's very good. this really was my 1st real brew (other than a couple gallons of apfelwein) so I did make some mistakes, but all in all its good. More body than apfelwein and definitely not as dry (FG was around 1010) also not as sweet as woodchuck but just the right amount of sweetness. I'm not getting any of hint hop taste it in,(which might be right) but the mistake I might have made there was I thought I was doing good by putting the hops in a grain bag so it'd be easier to remove them when i brewed this and i don't think enough hop flavor came out. I can see this becoming a regular brew to have in the house for non beer drinkers and beer drinkers alike! heh sorry probably a rather terrible review, but I'm no pro at beer reviews! hope this helps! bottom line ... give it a try i doubt you'll be disappointed

 

[Calder]

The hops are in there to give it a touch of bitterness, not any hop flavor. The original recipe calls for adding the hops and boiling for 30 minutes. Hops boiled for over 20 minutes will not give much ,if any (flavor). If you want some hop flavor, add additional hops in the last 5 to 10 minutes.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

Cant wait to try it - got any pics?
Yes I have seen the how-to thread

 

[StretchBrew]

Well I can't say I was looking for much of a hops flavor to go along with the apples and I didn't get any bitterness really, but I guess it is supposed to balance out the potential tartness of the apples, correct? I just went with what the original recipe said and hoped for the best and I'd have to say it worked out well!

 

[Justibone]

So is there some residual sweetness or is it very dry? I ask because I am going to try to make a cider soon and my wife really like woodchuck. I have heard that since I am going to bottle condition that there is no way to have any residual sweetness left over because the yeas will just keep going until the sugars all gone.

1)How do I get around this? If I back sweeten before bottling what do I use so that it is sweet even after bottle carbing?

2) Instead of back sweetening could I use a low attenuation yeast and hope it leaves some sweetness behind?

There is a sticky about pasteurization in the cider forum. Check there.

 

[Rowdy]

i have 2 bottles left almost a year after brewing. had a couple the other day yeehaw!! hard to believe but it got even better.