Graff (Malty, slightly hopped cider)

[jm_brewer]

Keep brewing, this Graff gets sooo much better with age. I had used (the one time I made it) too many IBU's in my hops. It settled down and really was smooth after two months, just the perfect apple aftertaste. I will be making more of this one and geting the IBU's right next time.:rockin:

Much appreciated

I have to admit to googling IBU up! LOL was a little clueless to what that mean't but it makes perfect sense. I'm really hoping that I haven't made a huge mistake but at the end of the day it's drinkable

Thanks agin Stuntmanoo

 

[Stuntman]

Much appreciated

I have to admit to googling IBU up! LOL was a little clueless to what that mean't but it makes perfect sense. I'm really hoping that I haven't made a huge mistake but at the end of the day it's drinkable

Thanks agin Stuntmanoo

It is all Brandon O's details to me, in an earlier post. I just relayed them. This brew can be tapped very soon, but I am going to make it next time, and sit on it for two months, with ten gallon brews I should really get a grip on how great it could be. Thanks for the Kudo's

 

[Pivot]

im gonna try a 1 gallon batch of this. anyone have luck with a one gallon batch?

 

[dderemiah]

Question:
I just opened a bottle of my graff and it has no head. I added .5 lb of Carapils if I want it to have some foam on the next batch, do I add more Carapils? Double it?

 

[wscott823]

If you want some serious head retention you may consider using flaked wheat or flaked barley. 1/2 lb of that should give you a long standing foam head.

 

[spitfire]

I went through about 20 pages and didn't see. How is it if you don't carb and leave it still?

 

[mvhsbball22]

I know it's been said before, but this stuff is amazing. I essentially followed the basic recipe using store brand juice. It's only been bottled about a week at this point, but it's pretty well-carbed and already has some apple flavor. If the common wisdom is true and more apple flavor will come out in the next couple weeks, this may become my favorite drink, beer or not. Already, I'm planning on making this one that I always have on hand. Always.

 

[Troxs]

I'm looking for something similar to a savanna cider from south africa. I have not actually tried it, but my father-in-law swears it is the best thing in the world. (He lives overseas) Anyone have a flavor profile for this? I'm looking for something clean, and dry with a nice apple taste

 

[mvhsbball22]

Having never tasted the Savanna, the way you described it fits perfectly with Graff. It is certainly clean and has an apple taste. It is fairly dry, but more reminiscent of beer than Apfelwein seems to be. The worst that happens is that you get Graff and are a bit off from Savanna. You will probably be able to figure out how to adjust if you need to.

 

[jm_brewer]

How long does it normally take to carbonate? Just curious, as I plan to leave it for a few weeks if not another month. also would storing it within a cold area effect how long it takes? (not a fridge)

 

[Recluse]

How long does it normally take to carbonate? Just curious, as I plan to leave it for a few weeks if not another month. also would storing it within a cold area effect how long it takes?

Took mine a long time to carb..maybe 3 weeks to 1 month at basement temps...but now it is REALLY heavily carbonated with a nice foamy head. I think I used 1 oz (by WEIGHT) of Dextrose per gallon of Graff.

 

[chemnitz]

Thanks for the recipe! I've been working on brewing a drink for my wife, who wants something that tastes like Strongbow. I have not been entirely successful with juice+yeast recipes. I gave this batch a little Belgian twist (recipe below):

2.5 gallon batch

0.3 lb. crystal 60
1 oz. torrified wheat
1.25 lb. LME
1/2 oz. Tettnanger (3.2% AA)
2 gallons apple cider
Yeast cultured from a bottle of Chimay Red

I'll post on here in about 5 weeks with tasting notes.

 

[tincob]

My graff resulted in a tart taste with a sourish smell.

Kirkland AJ with Nottingham, no hops

It's been bottle carbing for 3+ weeks now. I like it but my wife doesn't for the above reasons.

I'm wondering if the tart flavor and sour smell will dissipate with additional bottle conditioning? I stashed a six pack away while I drink the rest.

 

[hroth521]

12-01-09 was brew day on this one. Today I had 4 bottles left (2 months 2 days later).

After drinking half a bottle, I had to post, this gets so much better with age. I now have apple smell, perfect sweet on top of tongue, with sour on sides of tongue. After taste reminds me of the old Jolly Rancher Green Apple hard candy.

This is a refreshingly fruity very enjoyable drink. I had to give some away as I was literally losing time, whenever I drank too much of it in one sitting.

I attribute it to the fact that it goes down like a beer, screws with your brain like a wine! My SWMBO is so forgiving.

I sure am glad I had these four bottles left. Will definitely do a batch and sit on them for 2 months before cracking the first one.


Thanks Brandon O.

Oh man,
Mine's been carbing for 2 1/2 weeks in bottles and I opened one today. So good, so appley and fruity. Tart but very nice. Just the right amount of bitter - this is not going to last long. It's also relatively high alcohol - I think close to 7.5%

+1 Thanks Brandon O.

 

[wscott823]

Thanks for the recipe! I've been working on brewing a drink for my wife, who wants something that tastes like Strongbow. I have not been entirely successful with juice+yeast recipes. I gave this batch a little Belgian twist (recipe below):

2.5 gallon batch

0.3 lb. crystal 60
1 oz. torrified wheat
1.25 lb. LME
1/2 oz. Tettnanger (3.2% AA)
2 gallons apple cider
Yeast cultured from a bottle of Chimay Red

I'll post on here in about 5 weeks with tasting notes.

Continuing the belgian twist, bet it would've tasted fantastic with Special B instead of C60

 

[savnac]

Thanks Brandon O, made my first batch a month or so ago and followed the recipe exactly. The first week after it carbonated in the keg I wasn't sure about it but now after a few weeks it is tasting really good. Crisp, tart and very drinkable. Finished at 1.009. Thanks again.

 

[mrgreen4242]

Well, my batch of Graff is starting to come into its own. About half of it has been drunk or given away, but what's left took a solid 4 or 5 weeks in the bottle to go from dry like champagne to a little sweet and tart. I have half a case that I am going to age for another month or two and try it then.

Next time I want to try a yeast that will quick fermenting earlier and leave more sugar behind - though I don't know how that'll go with bottle carbing...

 

[Recluse]

I like it the way it is, but I wondered if a Windsor ale yeast would leave more sweetness.

 

[dderemiah]

I like my Graff but it is still pretty flat with no head. I primed with 1cup dextrose. It has been a month at around 68*. I used Nottingham yeast, is that why it is taking so long?

 

[Recluse]

I used Nottingham too and it took quite awhile to carb, but I think it was fairly well carbonated in 4 weeks. It did get progressively MORE carbonated by 8 weeks. After 4 it was fizzy but the head disappeared very quickly. After 8 weeks and beyond it had a nice head, though it wasn't really creamy. I used CaraPils instead of Torrified Wheat, though. If you drink it just under room temperature (actually 68 is probably perfect) it had much better head retention than when ice cold.

 

[dderemiah]

Here is the recipe I used:

.5lb Crystal 120L
4 oz Caraoils
2lbs (1 light and 1 amber)
.5 oz German Perle (8.3%)
1lb Brown sugar
3 Gallons Kirkland AJ
1 galllon pear juice
Nottingham yeast

It had a blowout at the bigining of the ferment. It has a good balance of bitter verses sweet.

 

[Skelington]

After a crazy holiday season, and life returning to normal, I went to make a fine St. patties brew. Only to find I had a batch of Graff in my primary from October!!!! Is it going to be salvageable? Or is it sadly Fubar?
Thanks for your help gang!

 

[hroth521]

904 + 5 = 909

Accidentally used 1 lb crystal malt instead of 1/2 lb
Used 1 lb Briess sparkling amber malt and 1 lb Briess light
1 oz torrified wheat
1/2 oz fuggles hops
4 gallons plus top off pasteurized Michigan juice from whole foods

Steep crystal malt at 158 F down to 147 F for 1/2 hour in 3/4 gallon. Sparge with 1 quart water at 175 F. Boil with malt, hops and wheat for 1/2 hour. Temp of juice was 52 deg F, added wort directly to juice for temp of 71 deg F, pitched 1 oz Nottingham yeast.

O.G. 1.061

F.G. 1.003
Brewed Jan 25
Bottled with 4 oz table sugar on Feb 11.

I have been tasting 1 bottle every week or so.
Last night, after 2 hour in the refrigerator, I poured a gorgeous, crystal clear glass of this. There was a 2 or 3 inch head with fairly good retention. Marvelous appley fruity sweet/tart flavor with moderately long finish. Really very good - things have finally integrated into a very pleasant apple cider beer. I will make (lots) more of this soon. Might try just light extract to try to lighten up the color.

 

[Stuntman]

After a crazy holiday season, and life returning to normal, I went to make a fine St. patties brew. Only to find I had a batch of Graff in my primary from October!!!! Is it going to be salvageable? Or is it sadly Fubar?
Thanks for your help gang!

If the airlock was dry I would think that batch is lost. Try a sip and have 911 on speed dial.

 

[jalgayer]

Is it really right that I am to boil 2 pounds of dme in just 1 gallon of water?

 

[jalgayer]

Also,

I have safale-05 on hand... but also have a belgian abbey yeast from wyeast that I harvested from a dubbel. Any ideas if that would have a chance to be any good?

I dont mind experimenting a little... but do want to try something that is just kinda doomed from the start.

Any input?

 

[klyph]

After making the OP's recipe, I just bottled yesterday, and tasted a sample.

It's VERY dry, tastes like it needs sweetness, but it could be due to the fact that the hops haven't mellowed yet?

The wife was pretty harsh about. "Vomit taste" was how she described it. I think she may be talking about the sulfur/sour taste. I didn't think it was that bad, but she couldn't stand it.

Anyway, is this common when graff is still green, or did I botch something along the way?

 

[paint_it_black]

This past winter, I brewed up an all-grain version of the original Graff recipe (drafted and posted by someone in one of the earlier pages of the thread). Unfortunately, I didn't take to it as much as many of you seem to have. I found it to be far too tart, dry, and thin (not to mention the malty taste was nearly nonexistent).

I used this recipe, cut in half for a 2.5 gal test batch:

Safale-05 Dry yeast
3 lbs of 2-Row malt
1 lb of Crystal 60L
1 oz of Flaked wheat
4 Gallons of apple juice.
1 gallon of water
.5 oz low-mid IBU hops

Where did I go wrong? Why didn't my resulting product taste amazing like everyone else's? What can I do differently to make my next batch turn out great?

 

[Primetime]

Brewed a very close version of this last night.

Crystal 80 1/2 lb
Wheat 2 oz
Steeped for 30 mins / Sparged
30 min boil
1/2 oz tett
2 1/2 lbs extra light dme
1 lb of clover honey at flameout
cooled to 100 poured wort into 4 gallons of chilled apple juice
pitched 1 pkg notty
no action yet after 12 hrs
OG 1.072
Great tasting sample!
I will update the results

 

[cider_erp]

This past winter, I brewed up an all-grain version of the original Graff recipe (drafted and posted by someone in one of the earlier pages of the thread). Unfortunately, I didn't take to it as much as many of you seem to have. I found it to be far too tart, dry, and thin (not to mention the malty taste was nearly nonexistent).

I used this recipe, cut in half for a 2.5 gal test batch:

Safale-05 Dry yeast
3 lbs of 2-Row malt
1 lb of Crystal 60L
1 oz of Flaked wheat
4 Gallons of apple juice.
1 gallon of water
.5 oz low-mid IBU hops

Where did I go wrong? Why didn't my resulting product taste amazing like everyone else's? What can I do differently to make my next batch turn out great?

How long has it been bottled?

I know this recipe is supposed to be good to drink right away, but I found that it was watery and hot a month after bottling.

I was so disappointed that I gave up the idea of being able to make a drinkable homebrew. However, tried it again after 3 months, it's actually quite a decent drink. The alcohol flavor is gone and it's flavorful without being overly sweet. A couple more months and who knows.

Definitely going to dust off the carboy and do another one.

 

[klyph]

After making the OP's recipe, I just bottled yesterday, and tasted a sample.

It's VERY dry, tastes like it needs sweetness, but it could be due to the fact that the hops haven't mellowed yet?

The wife was pretty harsh about. "Vomit taste" was how she described it. I think she may be talking about the sulfur/sour taste. I didn't think it was that bad, but she couldn't stand it.

Anyway, is this common when graff is still green, or did I botch something along the way?

After a week and a half in the bottle, the flavor is much improved. This could be due to the sweetening of the as-yet unfermented priming sugar, or due to the fact that a lot of the yeast has dropped out and it's quite clear now. I can't wait to see how this tastes in 2 weeks (No really I can't wait, I'm trying another bottle when I get home).

 

[hroth521]

First, if you come at apple cider beer from a beer perspective it's going to seem dry, tart and thin but the flavor grows on you. And it gets better with 6 weeks in the bottle.

Second, if you come at it from a cider perspective it's a fuller, slightly sweet, aromatic cider with a touch of malt and a much better head. And it gets better with 6 weeks in the bottle.

I know everyone talks about how this is great after just 2 weeks in the bottle and it really wasn't bad then, but it really does get much better after 6 weeks in the bottle.

 

[paint_it_black]

I ave it plenty of time to condition and mellow. Of course I was impatient and tried it two or three weeks after bottling, but also left some for 2 months or so. Still didn't seem to improve.

 

[jalgayer]

Brewed a very close version of this last night.

Crystal 80 1/2 lb
Wheat 2 oz
Steeped for 30 mins / Sparged
30 min boil
1/2 oz tett
2 1/2 lbs extra light dme
1 lb of clover honey at flameout
cooled to 100 poured wort into 4 gallons of chilled apple juice
pitched 1 pkg notty
no action yet after 12 hrs
OG 1.072
Great tasting sample!
I will update the results

Definitely post the results. I am wonder what a pound of honey will do to an already drier drink.

 

[Stuntman]

Alrighty Mr. Brandon O. I am going to do this one tomorrow, maybe Sunday and let the people I will have over see how easy it is to home brew. This time I am going with your recipe perfectly, sure liked the first ten gallons. I am only doing 5 this time, as I had to be told what happened after I drank too much of this Graff. Ten gallons to me was about six hours (different days/drunks) of, "What did I do again?"

The one I still don't believe, is that my wife was taking off from my sis-in-laws and I supposedly left after handing my sis-in-law MY freshly poured full glass of beer to jump in the truck. I would have believed better, that I spilled beer all over myself trying to jump in the bed of the truck.

 

[klyph]

Giving up beer to get in a vehicle with an angry woman...

You must have been hammered.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I have some of this going in my primary right now. It's been going for 4 days and is down to 1.020. I added some molasses and cinnamon to it, and used Willamette for my hops. I just put some of it into a smaller fermenter and am dry hopping with some brewers gold and dried black currants. Should be interesting.

 

[EoinMag]

So, I've thrown on 5 Gallons of this, let's see how it turns out.

http://beernvictuals.blogspot.com/2010/04/trying-new-type-of-cider.html

 

[blaster]

I was getting ready to make a batch of apfelwein when I started reading this and now I'm torn.
I am going to a Russian imperial stout today and this had got me wondering if a 3rd running could be used in place of the mash and the dme (I have a little pilsen dme like a pound).

The only yeast I have is Wyeast Irish ale, montrachet, and brewferm lager.

What do you think? Go with the apfelwein and push the graff back or try it with a 3rd running and irish ale yeast?

 

[klyph]

The amount of grain and extract is going into 1 gallon of wort, so it's more of a first or second running. I don't think you'll get the same result with a third running.