First Batch of Apfelwein

[newbiewinemaker]

Started my very first batch of Eds Apfelwein last night! I used Members mark apple juice from Sams, 2 pounds of corn sugar and Montrachet Yeast. This morning i have not seen any signs of fermentation yet. Temp is about 70F. Should I be worried or wait to see if it starts after 24 hours?

Thanks

 

[jensmith]

No need to worry yet. However a good brisk stir may help. The yeast does need air to start up. If you were too carefull with stiring in the dextros you not have "added" enough air for the yeast to start.
Also check to make sure the apple juice did not have persevatives in it. They can cause problems.


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[newbiewinemaker]

No preservatives in the apple juice. I double checked that this morning and I searched and saw alot of other people had used the same kind. I gave it a pretty hearty shake earlier today and I also added just a bit of yeast nutrient. I should state that I did not rehydrate the yeast as I was following Edworts directions.

Thanks!

 

[jensmith]

I almost never rehydrate my yeast The yeast does fine.

Now just hurry up and wait!


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[newbiewinemaker]

Now im worried. I wemt back to check it and there are little white circles on top. If you look closely u can see it. Is this an infection?

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[newbiewinemaker]

I think it was a false alarm im just being a noob. Thanks!

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[jensmith]

Baby fermentation bubbles. Congrates! Your now a daddy


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[lukebuz]

Baby fermentation bubbles. Congrates! Your now a daddy

Of 450,000,000,000 children!

 

[winenoob66]

Of 450,000,000,000 children!

lol and he likes that post just wait till he sees how much in child support that will be

 

[jensmith]

Ever hear of "drinking the profits?"


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[newbiewinemaker]

Does anyone know of a way to bottle carbonate this? Would it work by adding corn sugar with it fermenting out so low?

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[sparkshooter]

I'm currently bottle carbing after fermenting out to .998 - I'm using champagne corks and the corks are now pushing up on their cages, so clearly carbonation is happening. Not sure if I was lucky or not - I used monatrecht and 4 lbs of corn sugar added to 5 gallons of juice.

 

[newbiewinemaker]

You used 4 lbs after it had already finished fermenting to bottle carb or did u not use any priming sugar?

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[sparkshooter]

Sorry I wasn't clear - the 4 lbs was for the primary fermentation. I added 2.5 ounces to 2.75 gallons of the resulting wine (I only had enough champagne bottles for just over half of the batch).

 

[newbiewinemaker]

Would beer bottles work to do this in? I only want to bottle condition some of it.

 

[krenshaw]

beer bottles would be fine.. you probably don't want to carb it up as high as beer anyways so there shouldn't be a problem about over carbing (unless that's what you are going for)

 

[newbiewinemaker]

If I wanted to bottle Carb 2 gallons would 2 oz of corn sugar be about right to prime?

I am still pretty new to brewing, only about a year of experience, so I am not sure how to figure out how much priming sugar I need for certain volumes.

Thanks!

EDIT: One more question. Would I need to pasteurize after the bottles were done carbing?

 

[krenshaw]

2 ounces sounds like a lot to me, but i'm not that good with numbers w/o a computer.. you can try "this link" .. i wouldn't carb it up higher than 1 - 1.5 volumes, but that's just me..

no you won't have to pasteurize at all.. you'll be good to go, though it will probably take a bit longer to carb up than beer typically does

 

[newbiewinemaker]

Ok so I am two weeks in and its starting to clear. I am anxious so I decoded to tast my hydrometer sample. It tastes horrible. Has a light vinegar taste. Do I have too much head space? When I bought the apple juice I didnt notice that each jug was only 3 qts so I came up short by a little and left it at that level. I learned from that with upstatemikes caramel apple cider going next to it. Thoughts on headspace? Fyi I have had these covered and those blinds closed the whole time

 

[Hopinista]

It's only been 2 weeks. You need to be patient. If you go back and read Edwort's thread he suggested conditioning for MONTHS.

I make this semi regularly and it definitely needs some time.

As for bottle carbing I use a can of apple juice concentrate and it works perfectly. :cheers:

 

[newbiewinemaker]

Okay, so first of all, move it away from the window.

Second, it's only been 2 weeks. You need to be patient. If you go back and read Edwort's thread he suggested conditioning for MONTHS.

I posted above that these have been covered so no light can get to them. I set them there so I could get a decent picture.

I was only asking due to the headspace there and the vinegarish taste.

Thanks

 

[Hopinista]

Yeah I saw that after and edited my post lol

 

[newbiewinemaker]

Yeah I saw that after and edited my post lol

No worries! So the headspace is ok? Or should I get some more AJ and top up?

I was planning on bulk aging for awhile I just want to make sure that its not going to be ruined.

Thanks!

 

[Hopinista]

It's hard to see from the pic but I think it looks okay