Graff (Malty, slightly hopped cider)

[MrOrange]

Started my second batch of this last week. I was thinking about racking off a gallon after fermentation was done and adding some spices to it. I was thinking cinnamon stick, allspice, nutmeg, and maybe a clove. Does anyone here have any experience with any of these spices in this Graff? If so, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[onipar]

Started my second batch of this last week. I was thinking about racking off a gallon after fermentation was done and adding some spices to it. I was thinking cinnamon stick, allspice, nutmeg, and maybe a clove. Does anyone here have any experience with any of these spices in this Graff? If so, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey, I've been cataloging my experience with a 1 gallon spiced test batch in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/spicing-graff-255199/

If you read through, you'll see I list how much I use, tasting notes, etc. The only thing is, this is my first time doing it, and I won't be bottling till this weekend. I'll post more tasting notes on bottling day about how it tastes coming out of the primary.

Currently it's been "spiced" in the bucket for less than a week.

 

[GeoGirl]

Ok, I have spent the past 3 days reading through just about every post in this Graff thread. I think it will be close to what I am looking for but have a question. Has anyone added in cinnamon & nutmeg for an apple pie flavor? I saw this asked a couple times but never any answers. Would I want to add the spices in at the boil or in the fermentation?

 

[onipar]

Ok, I have spent the past 3 days reading through just about every post in this Graff thread. I think it will be close to what I am looking for but have a question. Has anyone added in cinnamon & nutmeg for an apple pie flavor? I saw this asked a couple times but never any answers. Would I want to add the spices in at the boil or in the fermentation?

See my post above yours.

I wouldn't necessarily say I was going for "apple pie," but I'm sure it'll come out something like that. I put my spices into primary because it's a 1 gallon test batch, and I wanted the other 4 gallons to be the regular recipe.

Check out the thread I posted.

 

[GeoGirl]

See my post above yours.

I wouldn't necessarily say I was going for "apple pie," but I'm sure it'll come out something like that. I put my spices into primary because it's a 1 gallon test batch, and I wanted the other 4 gallons to be the regular recipe.

Check out the thread I posted.

Thanks! I just checked that out. Thinking that this might be the weekend for me to do some experimenting

 

[onipar]

Thanks! I just checked that out. Thinking that this might be the weekend for me to do some experimenting

Cool! Be sure to let me know what you do and how it works out. You can post it in the "spicing a graff" thread. I'm particularly excited to see how my vanilla sugar "bottle primer" works out.

 

[BootsyFlanootsy]

I've made a few batches of this stuff by now and have to say I was never very happy with it. Honestly, over time it seems most cider becomes quite acidic if a malo-lactic fermentation never takes place. All that malic acid makes for a pretty unpalatable beverage in my experience. I suppose if you make this stuff, ferment it quickly, fine it quickly, keg it quickly, ( NOT BOTTLE CONDITIONING), and drink it quickly it could be great. but that's all I can see....this seems like a drink that should made and drank quickly, it doesn't seem to age well. take it for what it's worth.

 

[MrOrange]

this seems like a drink that should made and drank quickly, it doesn't seem to age well. take it for what it's worth.

Thats odd. the last batch I made didn't seem to really start tasting good until like 2 months after bottling IMO

 

[Clifton]

Thats odd. the last batch I made didn't seem to really start tasting good until like 2 months after bottling IMO

I agree. Mine was best after about 4 months.

 

[BootsyFlanootsy]

I have some 16oz bottles sitting around that are damned near a year old and they just taste like super dry, tart, acidic champagne made out of apple juice. I always used the best top notch cider I could get my hands on, and yes, it was pasteurized. The last batch I used the West Yorkshire, ( Timothy Taylor), yeast. Still wound up at 0.990. I'd love to try a bottle of this from someone who says it doesn't wind up all chalky, dry and tart though.

 

[onipar]

I have some 16oz bottles sitting around that are damned near a year old and they just taste like super dry, tart, acidic champagne made out of apple juice. I always used the best top notch cider I could get my hands on, and yes, it was pasteurized. The last batch I used the West Yorkshire, ( Timothy Taylor), yeast. Still wound up at 0.990. I'd love to try a bottle of this from someone who says it doesn't wind up all chalky, dry and tart though.

How many batches have you made, and what other yeast have you used?

I've only just made my first batch, and it isn't even bottled yet (so i can't comment on how well it ages), but I will say I used US-05 yeast and my main batch finished at 1.006, while my 1 gallon test batch finished at 1.002. Not quite as dry as yours.

Only time will tell how it comes out for me, but I am disappointed to hear it may not age well, because I don't think we will be drinking this all that fast.

 

[sweetpoetatoe]

mabye they aged past their prime? I've found my bottles made with cheap juice, crystal 120, and nottingham or S-04 or 05 yeast to age quite gracefully, and peak around 4 months, but anytime after theyre carbonated theyve been perfect.
I wouldnt lose hope, i burned through my first batch and had to save and hide bottles to prevent anyone(including myself) from cutting its aging short

 

[Cozmcphish]

I just cracked open a bottle yesterday after it hit the 4 week mark of bottle conditioning and I do have to say it has gotten a bit better than the bottle I cracked open after week one. I noticed it had just a tad bit more initial apple taste than the first bottle, but the back end still has a dry, watery, unpleasing, spicy hop bite. I'm hoping another month or two will round this out, but what I can say is that they are already better than the Edwort's Apfelwein I bottled 2 months prior (think I'm gonna wait a year on those).

I used Mott's for both recipes, wondering if that could be the cause of the excessive dryness of both.

Here's the label I came up with as well. Cheers!

 

[onipar]

Whoa, cool label! :rockin:

 

[sweetpoetatoe]

i still like the clint eastwood label

 

[angrymeat]

I am going to brew up my first batch of this tonight wish me luck I am following the recipe with the exception of the torrified wheat lbh was out of it

 

[onipar]

I am going to brew up my first batch of this tonight wish me luck I am following the recipe with the exception of the torrified wheat lbh was out of it

Good luck! It's a nice, easy brew day. I usually brew with my brother and this one I did alone, and it was a piece of cake. We're bottling it tomorrow.

 

[angrymeat]

I have seen people post about making spice teas for this but I haven't seen them post about how they turned out I was thinking of doing the same for a nice fall graff but would like to see some feedback on how it worked for everyone.

 

[KCBigDog]

Just got my first batch of GRAFF into the carboy. Pretty relaxing brew day. Wanted to also brew a Punkin' Ale today, but don't have time.

I'm anxious to see how this turns out. My OG was 1.060.


UPDATE: 30 minutes after pitch, already bubbling!

 

[angrymeat]

Just got my first batch of GRAFF into the carboy. Pretty relaxing brew day. Wanted to also brew a Punkin' Ale today, but don't have time.

I'm anxious to see how this turns out. My OG was 1.060.


UPDATE: 30 minutes after pitch, already bubbling!

nice what yeast did you use?

 

[KCBigDog]

I used US-05. I will say that this morning, it is bubbling like crazy, but there isn't a Krausen. Is that normal with Graff?

 

[mikee]

posting to save....

 

[onipar]

I have seen people post about making spice teas for this but I haven't seen them post about how they turned out I was thinking of doing the same for a nice fall graff but would like to see some feedback on how it worked for everyone.

I haven't seen any tasting notes yet. I *will* post tasting notes on my spiced test batch, but I still have to bottle and condition, so It'll be at least three weeks.

KCBigDog, I had a huge krausen with my graff using us-05.

 

[IffyG]

KCBigDog, I had a huge krausen with my graff using us-05.

I did too, but it seemed to take longer to get there than my beers fermented with US-05.

 

[KCBigDog]

Hopefully it will look better when I get home today. Started bubbling within hours of pitch, and some foam developed, but no Krausen.

 

[onipar]

I did too, but it seemed to take longer to get there than my beers fermented with US-05.

Actually, now that you mention it, it did take a while for the krausen to build up. Fermentation started in less than 10 hours, by the 2nd day I had a thick layer of krausen, and by the end of the week it actually doubled in size.

I also thought the fermentation lasted quite a while compared to beers I've made. And another anomaly was that the krausen took a very long time to fall.

 

[KCBigDog]

And today we have liftoff!

Can't wait to drink this stuff, but it will probably wait for a slot in the Keezer. I'm a little carried away with my brewing.

On tap: Double Chocolate Milk Stout, SWMBO Slayer, Rye Saison
Keg Conditioning: Braggot (8.63%abv) and Sunset Wheat Clone on Steriods (7.1%abv)
Primary: Belgian Tripel and GRAFF

 

[angrymeat]

I just got mine pitched at about 10 pm last night it was bubbling with a thin foam layer this morning used Nottingham ale yeast on mine I cant wait to try it ill have to spice up the next batch/

 

[RobWalker]

I've decided to give Graff a go using a cider kit that contains Malt Extract as standard. The ingredients are solely Apple Concentrate and Malt Extract.

Anyway, I added some extra sugar - burnt honey - and boiled a mixture as the recipe suggests, give or take. I used the requested amount of hops, but an awful thought has just struck me...

Hops are there to balance the sweetness. It's not quite finished fermenting, but my guess is that sweetness will be much lower than usual, as I didn't add extra Malt Extract, just that which was contained in the kit. So the possible scenarios are that it's totally fine, or that it's fermented quite dry and the hops will make it bitter as hell. My OG was 1.040 because I topped up with water, as I didn't want the apple taste to be ridiculously strong.

Anyway, IF this has gone wrong, I need to correct it by restarting fermentation with Malt Extract, I'd imagine. Should adding this straight into the brew as it stands (still slightly fermenting) work or will I need to restart?

 

[MrOrange]

So i racked off a gallon of this and threw in half a cinnamon stick, some whole all spice, and a little under a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I was going to let it sit for around 3-4 days and remove the spices. Ive never bottle anything less than 5 gallons so i was wondering how much priming sugar to use. I was thinking about maybe 1oz, does anyone have any input on this?