Best cider ever.

[Brandon O]

I hope this recipe is good. I bought the stuff today to make it. I made the apfelwein before andI wasn't that impressed. Tasted like hootch!

A lot of people feel that way about apfelwein. If you have a lot of experience with wines or ciders before making and trying apfelwein, you might not be so impressed as all the rest.

 

[RayInUT]

I think this recipe will be good. I used Saaz for the hops and boiled about 20 minutes. I'll be looking forward to trying this beverage.

 

[RayInUT]

Took a gravity reading this morning and it sure smells good! It has the thickest, creamiest krausen I've ever seen. It literally looked like thick, bubbled whipping cream on top of the cider. I couldn't even clear a space to get a reading! It got all over the hydro and wouldn't give an accurate read. I'm looking forward to trying this in a few weeks.

 

[RayInUT]

I snuck a hydro sample today. This stuff is going to be really good!

 

[emr454]

Made my first batch last week, true to the recipe but without the torrified wheat. Unfortunately I fermented it a bit too warm, about 77*. Took a hydro sample yesterday and its at 1.010, down from 1.064 in 6 days. The taste wasnt overly fruity, as I had been told it might be from high fermentation temps. I could taste the malt and the apple, and it had a bit of fruit in the finish bu not overpowering. I used fresh cascades in the boil so that may account for some of the fruity taste as well.

The best part though, it didnt taste like hooch! Im anxious to see how it ends up after carbing it. I'll definitely be making more Graff in the future.

Eric

 

[EvilTOJ]

I did some searching, it looks like no one else has made Graff like in this thread. So if it ever shows up anywhere else, we know where it came from! I may be making a batch of this as soon as I get a free carboy.

I prefer Nuka-Cola for my Alternate World refreshement.

 

[Brandon O]

Made my first batch last week, true to the recipe but without the torrified wheat. Unfortunately I fermented it a bit too warm, about 77*. Took a hydro sample yesterday and its at 1.010, down from 1.064 in 6 days. The taste wasnt overly fruity, as I had been told it might be from high fermentation temps. I could taste the malt and the apple, and it had a bit of fruit in the finish bu not overpowering. I used fresh cascades in the boil so that may account for some of the fruity taste as well.

The best part though, it didnt taste like hooch! Im anxious to see how it ends up after carbing it. I'll definitely be making more Graff in the future.

Eric

holy crap that's a hot ferm temp. Glad it's still okay, but I bet you will love it even more with a 66-68 degree temp.

 

[Brandon O]

I did some searching, it looks like no one else has made Graff like in this thread. So if it ever shows up anywhere else, we know where it came from! I may be making a batch of this as soon as I get a free carboy.

I prefer Nuka-Cola for my Alternate World refreshement.

This recipe is entirely original, JayHuff got me started experimenting with specialty grains in ciders. The hops and malt came from trial and error.

 

[RayInUT]

Brandon,

Have you tried oaking it?

 

[Brandon O]

negative. I have a batch in the keg I could add some chips to though. Might try that and let the keg sit in the closet for a month or two.

 

[RayInUT]

I'll let you know how mine comes out. It's been a week in the fermenter so It should be ready to go soon. It's done fermenting. I'm just waiting for the krausen to settle and I might rack it to a carboy with more chips if it needs it.

 

[emr454]

I think I might try priming my batch with apple juice, like this recipe:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/sams-choice-sparkeling-cider-99923/

I made a batch of it and it carbonated very well, though I may use just a bit less so it doesnt turn out overly fizzy.

Eric

 

[RayInUT]

Oaked cider sounds awesome to me. The slight maltiness and bitterness of the Saaz should make it go really well with a toasted oak. I can't wait to get this in the keg! With enough carbonation it should taste a little like a fine champagne. I might even add some Hennessy to the keg to give it a little extra flavor.

 

[Brandon O]

what kind of oak chips did you use? I'm gonna do a 5 gallon batch.

 

[RayInUT]

I used the untoasted oak chips from the homebrew store, I wrapped them in a packet made of tin foil and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 425*F. I used half an ounec but next time will use an ounce. It needs more oak flavor.

Next time I will buy the oak BBQ smoking chips they sell at Walmart and do the same thing as far as toasting them. You get a big bag for about the same price and I'm sure it's the same stuff. The chips at the brew store are a rip off!!!

My graff tastes like a dry apple pie with cinnamin. I think it's from the oak and the 1/2 ounce of Saaz that I used. I boiled with the hops for only about 10 minutes so it has a good Saaz flavor but no bitterness other than what is needed to balance out the apple flavor and malt. This would be interesting to drink warm...maybe around 125-130*F or so. In fact, I might have a glass now!

 

[phished880]

Ok. i just opened the first bottle tonight. Brandon, well done! This stuff rocks. I just wish the wife was able to try it. well maybe i'll just have to brew more in 9 months. cheers and thanks for sharing.

 

[bob1852]

just popped my first bottle last night - only one week since bottling and I was amazed at the flavor and body. This stuff is good; even with it being so green!

 

[nakros]

Here's to you, Brandon.

Made a batch based on your recipe back in mid-June and forgot about it until tonight. I used 20 litres of generic apple juice, 2 litres of pure raspberry juice, 1 lb light DME, and a couple of cups of dextrose. Fermented with regular old Cooper's ale yeast.

Found it tonight and bottled it. It is spectacular. I have sampled a bit too much and have another pint on the go now! Wow. Simply wow. I will put on another few batches of this (and hopefully work and vacation won't get in the way of bottling next time).

I didn't take an initial gravity, but it finished at 1.009., so based on what I put in, I'd guess a 7.5%ish or so. Very very tasty. I can't wait until it carbonates a bit.

 

[jon]

So last year about this time, I went up to MN from alabama to pick up a couple of old czech 2 stroke bikes from a guy. On the way back my friends and I stopped off in Madison, WI to get a bit of rest at my parents and to stock up on good beer. There is a local brewery, New Glarus, that makes some phenomenal beers.

They have a deal where they brew some random thing that may or may not ever be brewed again, and at the time this beer was an Apple Ale. Being a big cider fan, and a big beer fan, I thought to myself, sounds like a worthwhile experiment... It is six kinds of apples and a brown ale base of wisconsin grown barely. Tastes like a good cider with an subtle undertone of something caramely and slightly choclatey that lingers in the after taste. I have somehow managed to save two bottles until now, but reading this thread on Graff (which is a fabulous name for this substance, BTW) made me grab for one of the last bottles to compare.

I have been wanting to make something like this all year, in fact I have not brewed in almost 9 years and this has got me excited to do it again. I wasn't sure where to begin, how much apples to use, etc. etc. but this recipe of yours Brandon, looks like a great starting point - especially in terms of how much malt to apple ratio, and the amount of hops to use, how long to boil, etc. ONe good thing about doing a brew like this is that I have no need to find a huge pot to do the boil in, since only the malt and hops will be heated.

I got some malt, hops, yeast, etc from the local homebrew supply. I also picked a bunch of pears and have some apples to crush and press into juice. I'll be posting what I made along with some results when I get some.

Thanks again to all who have contributed to the information here that will get me started

-jon

 

[Brandon O]

So last year about this time, I went up to MN from alabama to pick up a couple of old czech 2 stroke bikes from a guy. On the way back my friends and I stopped off in Madison, WI to get a bit of rest at my parents and to stock up on good beer. There is a local brewery, New Glarus, that makes some phenomenal beers.

They have a deal where they brew some random thing that may or may not ever be brewed again, and at the time this beer was an Apple Ale. Being a big cider fan, and a big beer fan, I thought to myself, sounds like a worthwhile experiment... It is six kinds of apples and a brown ale base of wisconsin grown barely. Tastes like a good cider with an subtle undertone of something caramely and slightly choclatey that lingers in the after taste. I have somehow managed to save two bottles until now, but reading this thread on Graff (which is a fabulous name for this substance, BTW) made me grab for one of the last bottles to compare.

I have been wanting to make something like this all year, in fact I have not brewed in almost 9 years and this has got me excited to do it again. I wasn't sure where to begin, how much apples to use, etc. etc. but this recipe of yours Brandon, looks like a great starting point - especially in terms of how much malt to apple ratio, and the amount of hops to use, how long to boil, etc. ONe good thing about doing a brew like this is that I have no need to find a huge pot to do the boil in, since only the malt and hops will be heated.

I got some malt, hops, yeast, etc from the local homebrew supply. I also picked a bunch of pears and have some apples to crush and press into juice. I'll be posting what I made along with some results when I get some.

Thanks again to all who have contributed to the information here that will get me started

-jon

This sounds epic, can't wait to hear back.

 

[guscampag]

I have 5 gal of graf in the primary. When it is ready to bottle, can I use apple juice to bottle carb? How much would it take or does it totally depend on the juice. Let's say the juice is about 1.016 or so.

thanks,

gus

 

[jcobbs]

My son the film buff tells me that J.J. Abrams is going to direct the movie adaptation of The Dark Tower. Wonder if Graff will figure into the movie? I can see lots of folks brewing up special batches of Graff for Dark Tower parties whenever it makes it to DVD...

 

[jon]

as to oaking, when I made cider ages ago, we aged it in a 5 gallon barrel that previously had pear brandy in it. my roommate's grandfather had made the stuff and then dumped it all because "there are too many alcoholics in this family!" what an ass... but at least we had this really sweet barel to use. well, we let it sit and age in that barrel for at least 6 months, maybe more. can't remember, but the flavor was amazing... so much we went right back and made another when that batch got kegged and then bottled. I have been hoping to find another oak barrel ever since. a bit of a hassle, and the wait kind of sucked, but the stuff was good.

I am interested to see how the graff mellows and changes with age. most brit cider makers let their stuff sit 18 months - 3 years (except for the commerical swill). Malo-lactic fermentation seems supposed to work wonders on cider, I wonder if the graff goes through a similar process, since there is so much apple juice in the works.

 

[svengoat]

Use a blow off tube... Mine is really going strong right now...

 

[babalu87]

Brandon, say I wanted to steal some wort from an all grain batch for this Graff, what would you think the OG would need to be?

Thanks
Got a few batches of all-grain planned for the weekend and want to make this but I never keep LME/DME around.

 

[bob1852]

Brandon, say I wanted to steal some wort from an all grain batch for this Graff, what would you think the OG would need to be?

Thanks
Got a few batches of all-grain planned for the weekend and want to make this but I never keep LME/DME around.

correct me if I'm wrong folks - but 1 lb DME + 1 gallon water = 1.045; so you'd need 1 gallon of 1.090 OG wort, right (2lbs DME in 1 gallon of water)?

 

[carbon111]

After thinking about it for a long time, I think I'm finally going to do a batch of Graff this weekend.

Thanks Brandon for the compelling recipe!

 

[bob1852]

what do you think about adding a little bit of roasted barley to the bill? My only "negative" on this drink is that the color looks a little weird. I was wondering if the roasted barley would give it more of a red hue?

 

[Brandon O]

Brandon, say I wanted to steal some wort from an all grain batch for this Graff, what would you think the OG would need to be?

Thanks
Got a few batches of all-grain planned for the weekend and want to make this but I never keep LME/DME around.

1.090 or close to it. Couldn't hurt to go higher

 

[Brandon O]

After thinking about it for a long time, I think I'm finally going to do a batch of Graff this weekend.

Thanks Brandon for the compelling recipe!

You will love it if you like cider.