Graff (Malty, slightly hopped cider)

[jamesjensen1068]

tippetsnapper

thanks for the reply. Did the pasteurization process cause any haze with your final product?

 

[tippetsnapper]

It is hazy, but tastes good.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

got my first batch in primary today, will see how it comes out.

 

[knotquiteawake]

Back sweetened with two cans of AJ and force carbed in the keg. The weekend is just a little hazy and its definitely a SWMBO killer there.

 

[mattdev]

I used crystal 80 instead and treetop 3 apple blend. OG was 1.065 and final was 1.003 on this baby, so it will be quite tart!

Kegged it last night, so I'll let you know in a few days how it tastes.

 

[cscoggin]

I have the same (but with crystal 120) fermenting away right now. What yeast did you use? I have the same OG so curious if I am going to end up in much the same place (safale-05).

 

[jamesjensen1068]

Man I love this stuff!

 

[XtremeBrew]

I have yet to make this, but I am planning on it. I was curious what anybody thinks about adding some pumpkin and a little pumpkin spice might do to this. It may be interesting. Any ideas?

 

[jamesjensen1068]

I would make the original first....then see if you want to modify the recipe. But thats just me.

 

[XtremeBrew]

Oh absolutely. I'm going to brew this as soon as one of my fermenters is free. I was just drinking some Harvest Moon last night, thinking about what to brew next, and thought of Graff with pumpkin as a interesting taste combination. When I brew it, I will probably split 1gal off and try it with the pumpkin.

 

[jamesjensen1068]

Sounds like a good plan. Best of luck with the pumpkin and of course post your results. I'm sure many would be interested.

Cheers

 

[mattdev]

I have the same (but with crystal 120) fermenting away right now. What yeast did you use? I have the same OG so curious if I am going to end up in much the same place (safale-05).

I used Nottingham. We tried a bit of the undercarbonated stuff last night and it was quite delicious. I can't wait to see how it turns out after a few weeks.

 

[gratefullydeadicated]

After loving my first batch even before it was 2 weeks old, I had to try pumpkin spice version a couple weeks ago.

I added 2 cans of pumpkin sprinkled with about 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice that I roasted in the oven for about an hour. I added this to my boil and followed the recipe accordingly. My OG was a little lower than my first batch for some reason....I was expecting the opposite.

When I sampled during transfer to the carboy last week, I didn't get much pumpkin or spices so I think I'm going to make a tea and add a little more spice., but I hear that most of these flavors come out during aging so I am going light.

I will bottle some time in the next couple weeks, so I will let you guys know how it turns out. Can't wait!

 

[IndyMatt]

I just tasted it after two weeks in the carboy, it was VERY tart. It may just need to age in the bottles some? I used cider not juice and it is definitely not clear, more of a pumpkin looking orange color. I sanitize everything, I mean everything so I don't think it has gone bad.

OG was 1.60 and finished right at 1.00, I think I will add some splenda to sweeten.

 

[XtremeBrew]

Made my batch today. LHBS didn't have any torrified wheat, so I decided to go with regular red wheat. I also added 1oz of honey wheat. I also used 2lbs of dark DME instead of the light/dark mix. Waiting for it to cool down now so I can pitch the Notty. Smells very interesting. I can't wait to keg this and enjoy it!

 

[gratefullydeadicated]

I just tasted it after two weeks in the carboy, it was VERY tart. It may just need to age in the bottles some? I used cider not juice and it is definitely not clear, more of a pumpkin looking orange color. I sanitize everything, I mean everything so I don't think it has gone bad.

OG was 1.60 and finished right at 1.00, I think I will add some splenda to sweeten.

Keep faith alive, IndyMatt...I thought the same thing when I tasted my first batch at bottling time (FG 1.008). It was really sour and hazy, and got even worse when I tasted a bottle 4 days after bottling....VERY sour with no taste of apples anywhere. Let me tell you though...I have had a sample a week and just had another after 24 days in the bottle and WOW! This is getting better than almost any commercial cider I have tried. Almost all the sourness has disappeared, the apple flavor and sweetness has returned and it has cleared up perfectly!

I just brewed my second batch a couple weeks ago and thought I was going to prime it with AJ concentrate to bring out more sweetness and apple flavor, but after just tasting that last bottle, I am wondering if I should just do everything the same as I did the first time.

 

[IndyMatt]

That is reassuring, I back sweetened with splenda so it will be on the sweeter side which is good for me. I will try another back as long as this turns out good and see how it goes without back sweetening. Of course mine was a lot lower FG than yours it was 1.00, I measured 4 times just to make sure it was a true reading.

 

[petey_c]

I brewed 5 gals in Aug. and had two bottles so far. Neither was to my liking. I think the problem is with what I'm drinking before (beer). I tried some this morning and it wasn't nearly as bad as last night. So after I get off work (and get home) I'll try some first. I'd hate to think I'd wasted 5 gals of Graff... pete

 

[klyph]

Some people just plain don't like it. I like it, but my wife hates it. Everyone's different I guess.

 

[petey_c]

Well, last night I had some Graff before I had any other beer. Not bad, but not impressive. I think I'd like a little more apple flavor. Since I have quite a few bottles in reserve, I'll continue my research. Time vs. taste.

 

[akthor]

For the Graff I was able to buy everything but the torrified wheat. I looked online for substituions and they didn't have flaked wheat either. They did have wheat but I believe all I can do is use their mill to crush it. I did't think crushed and flaked was the same thing. I read about using maybe puffed wheat cereal (all natural) My LHBS is a natural foods store so they had this. I also read to use wheat DME for one of th 2 lbs of DME the recipe called for.

That is what I went with I replaced the 1 lb or light DME with 1 lb or wheat DME.

Are there better options am I ok? Suggestions?

 

[Obi]

Gonna start a batch of this sometime this week!

Only thing I'm not sure about is what qualifies as a "cheap store brand"...anything cheap from a store? Thinking of finding something like Mott's that doesn't have preservatives.

Just wondering so I know which kind of crystal I should use...seems like 120L would cover most, if not all, of the apple taste.

Thanks!

 

[klyph]

Gonna start a batch of this sometime this week!

Only thing I'm not sure about is what qualifies as a "cheap store brand"...anything cheap from a store? Thinking of finding something like Mott's that doesn't have preservatives.

Just wondering so I know which kind of crystal I should use...seems like 120L would cover most, if not all, of the apple taste.

Thanks!

Any 100% apple juice with no preservatives should work. The next batch I do will use 120L. I want to try and use unfermentable malt sweetness to balance the tartness a bit more.

 

[Obi]

Alright, sounds good! Guess I'll try the 120L to start with, seems to be what alot of people have been saying works

 

[akthor]

I used Great Value juice so I figured that counted as cheap juice so I used the 120L

 

[akthor]

What temp do you ferment this stuff at? It's been 24 hrs and I have no airlock activity yet. Everything else I have brewed I have had activity within 12hrs. My basement where I ferment is keeps the temps around 62 - 64 F is this too cool or do I just gotta wait longer?

 

[camatt2989]

Made a 5 gallon batch today, but substituted the light dme, with wheat dme. I like sweet ciders so hopefully this will do the trick... also i thought it would add some head retention since its so hard to find torrified wheat.

 

[bob1852]

Are there better options am I ok? Suggestions?

The torrified wheat is mostly for head retention. You could sub with carapils and be okay.

What temp do you ferment this stuff at? It's been 24 hrs and I have no airlock activity yet. Everything else I have brewed I have had activity within 12hrs. My basement where I ferment is keeps the temps around 62 - 64 F is this too cool or do I just gotta wait longer?

Whate yeast did you use? You likely just need to wait longer......(I hope Revvy sees this so he doesn't come breaking the door down with his 'fermentation can take 72 hours to start' sermon )

 

[akthor]

I used the Nottinham

 

[EoinMag]

Who actually wants a head on cider? It doesn't hold a head anyway normally. Are there some US commercial products that actually hold a head?