Graff (Malty, slightly hopped cider)

[hunter_le five]

Just brewed this on Saturday. Had an OG of 1.064. What is everyone else getting for OG and FG? Just curious what to expect. I would prefer it to end up a little more on the dryer side

My OG was 1.055 and FG was 1.007

I don't consider it particularly dry compared to other ciders I've made, but it's not super sweet either. I really like the balance.

The flavor of mine has really changed remarkably over the past couple months. All of the tart/green apple aftertaste is long gone and it has turned into something truly wonderful. I can't wait to make this again. It has also cleared up beautifully, it is now crystal clear, like amber glass. I'll have to post a new picture.

My advice to anyone trying this recipe: Don't get impatient and drink it all too fast. Set some aside and let it lager a few months (either in keg or bottle). It gets even better with some age.

 

[brazedowl]

Spiced ginger graff just racked to secondary. Down from 1.070 to 1.022. Tastes great and still steadily bubbling away. Hope it dries out a bit more. Used s-04 yeast.

 

[hunter_le five]

Here are the pics:



I can't say enough good things about this recipe. I just wish I had something better than a camera phone to do this thing justice.



Clear enough to read through.

 

[insanim8er]

Here are the pics:

View attachment 148648

I can't say enough good things about this recipe. I just wish I had something better than a camera phone to do this thing justice.

View attachment 148649

Clear enough to read through.

Did you brew yours with a dark malt extract?

 

[hunter_le five]

Did you brew yours with a dark malt extract?

I used a mix of light and amber, per the original recipe specs. And Tree-Top apple juice.

 

[hopbrad]

Did you brew yours with a dark malt extract?

i made my 1st batch with light and amber DME, some crystal 120 and t-58 yeast. it was decent but just lacking flavor, it had a touch of apple tartness but not much sweetnesss from the malt. i remember it being pretty dry and tart the first 2 months, then mellowed out nice. its about 9 months now. easy drinker for sure, great for people that dont like craft beer. and/or chicks

i just bottled a 2nd batch with Dark LME and used s-05 hoping that would add a little more to it. ill post pics when i crack my first in a few weeks. def looks darker in the bottle

 

[scottsaxman]

It says right on the OP:

Later on, I found hops also helped balance the overall flavor. BUT ONLY A TINY BIT, DO NOT USE MORE THAN CALLED FOR

WARNING! IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF HOPS USED, MAKE IT LESS NOT MORE, it's really just too bitter with any more.

And my pumpkin pie graff is in the fermenter now. Look at the posts right above yours.

You know, I wonder about this. I wouldn't want my graff to be more bitter, but I'm not sure a bit more hop flavor or aroma would be a bad thing. Combined with pumpkin, I can't say. I'm having a hard time imagining it all, frankly. It sounds good, but I'm never sure pumpkin translates well into a beverage that isn't really, really sweet.

 

[insanim8er]

You know, I wonder about this. I wouldn't want my graff to be more bitter, but I'm not sure a bit more hop flavor or aroma would be a bad thing. Combined with pumpkin, I can't say. I'm having a hard time imagining it all, frankly. It sounds good, but I'm never sure pumpkin translates well into a beverage that isn't really, really sweet.

Experiment? I don't think pumpkin ales are overly sweet, if done right.

With my pumpkin graff I mashed high to obtain more sweetness, so well see how it goes.

I had a pumpkin cider the other day, and it was interesting to say the least. I didn't enjoy it. I felt it was too sweet and apple forward. The pumpkin spices seemed muddy and seperate. It just didnt work. I know that sounds weird, but I think it's because of back sweetening with AJ. My GF liked it. I'm hoping mine comes out a bit dryer. If I have to sweeten it, I'll have to figure something else instead of AJ.

 

[insanim8er]

I woke up this morning to some fermentation action. Thank god because I went to bed worried. The smack pack didn't expand, and it took forever to show signs of fermentation. I guess that's 1187 (ringwood) for ya.

Anyway, here's a pix for those interested.

So the base to my pumpkin pie graff has been fermenting for about a week. I've been fermenting at 65f. I started at 13 brix (1.53) I'm now down to 7.4 brix (1.014 corrected)

I think there's still some fermenting going on. I was hoping to see about 6.5 brix (1.009 corrected). This is my first reading, but so far the sample was great. I'm almost not wanting to do anything to it, but I promised the GF I'd do a pumpkin.

I'm going to rack this over to a keg and let it sit until Halloween, then i'll spice it up.

I'll report back in a month or so with my final results. I think this is going to make a great Halloween/Thanksgiving drink. I'm worried it's not going to make it to Thanksgiving dinner, so I may need to start another one asap.

This will be a great drink to test out my new portable kegerator for Thanksgiving @ grandmas with the family.

 

[LogicBomb]

A bit concerned:

Followed the recipe to a T (minus the torrified wheat) and used Safale-05. Poured the hot wort into the cool cider (fresh, unpasturized from the orchard), pitched the rehydrated yeast, and stored it away at 65F.

4 days later now, and no krausen has formed, at least in the traditional sense. What I DO see is this very thin (quarter-inch?) layer of thick, smoothish, brown "sludge" on top. It kind of looks like it could be yeast clumped together in a big round brick, but unlike any krausen I've ever seen. No bubbles from the blow-off tube either. I see no "yeast dances" in the carboy either.

Is this somewhat normal for this graff? Should I repitch another pack of yeast and give it a solid shake? Leave it be and hope for the best?

 

[OhNo789]

How would this change if I used fresh pressed unpasteurized cider? Would that change the ferment and aging times much? My local homebrew shop is offering cider, and I want to get some of the fresh stuff while it is in season, and maybe have some ready by thanksgiving.

 

[insanim8er]

A bit concerned:

Followed the recipe to a T (minus the torrified wheat) and used Safale-05. Poured the hot wort into the cool cider (fresh, unpasturized from the orchard), pitched the rehydrated yeast, and stored it away at 65F.

4 days later now, and no krausen has formed, at least in the traditional sense. What I DO see is this very thin (quarter-inch?) layer of thick, smoothish, brown "sludge" on top. It kind of looks like it could be yeast clumped together in a big round brick, but unlike any krausen I've ever seen. No bubbles from the blow-off tube either. I see no "yeast dances" in the carboy either.

Is this somewhat normal for this graff? Should I repitch another pack of yeast and give it a solid shake? Leave it be and hope for the best?

Are you using a bucket? The one time I used a bucket, I really never saw much action since it was leaking from the lid seal. Also what temp are you fermenting?

Did you take an OG and test to see if its gone down any points? I would probably start there. That will also allow you to sample it to see if something is wrong.

 

[dave8274]

I've had this in the fermenter for 2 weeks as of today. I was going to leave it for 3, but apparently we are having a big Oktoberfest party in 3 weeks, and I would love to serve this. I just checked the SG and it was at 1.008, and there has been no airlock activity in a few days.

Do you think I'm good to bottle? I hate to rush it but I don't want to serve it at the party if I don't bottle it till next weekend.

 

[LogicBomb]

So after a week of no krausen, no airlock activity and just one giant yeast raft (which has broken up to many smaller ones now) I'm seeing a gravity reading of like 1.060 or 1.062 (I'm terrible at reading the hydrometer). And it still tastes like juice.

I forgot to take an OG but it looks like most people have OG's around that same mark - guess my yeast didn't take possibly?

 

[BrewerBear]

Yeah if your reading is 1.060 I would say you had no fermentation going on.

 

[insanim8er]

Yeah if your reading is 1.060 I would say you had no fermentation going on.

+1

What temp are you fermenting at? Have you tried agitating it and lowering the temp assuming its too low? Otherwise, If the juice still taste good, hurry up and re-pitch.

 

[twofocused]

I wanted to change it slightly and I had to go with what my lhbs has.

Went with.........

-US-05 Yeast (Pitched @ 75, Ferment at 68)
-Flaked wheat instead of torrified wheat
-8oz Crystal 155 instead of 60
-3lbs of Amber LME instead of DME
-1oz of citra @ 30 min
-El cheapo Walmart Great Valu Apple Juice

It smelled amazing so 4 weeks in primary and then at least 4 weeks in the bottle and I'll check back in.

Thanks to the OP for the recipe.

 

[insanim8er]

So I wasn't going to update this for a month or so, but I transferred my pumpkin pie graff to a keg to finish fermenting and to conditioning under pressure. I've been pulling samples. I've finished fermenting right at 7 brix (1.012), so I'm at about 5.3% ABV.

I am absolutely blown away with how great this is, so I started to experiment with the flavor.

I went to the store and picked up a bottle of Black Heart spiced rum. I added some of it as well as vanilla and pumpkin spices. WOAH! It turned out better than I had ever hoped. I am going to lager it until Halloween. In the mean time, I am making another batch this week. I know this first batch won't make it to Thanksgiving.

I am 1000% happy with the results. I will not change anything in my next batch except for the graham and nilla wafers. I'm not going to use them in the mash because I'm not convinced the flavors made it to the final product. I also plan on upping the brown sugar to boost the ABV to 7% and I'm going to make a yeast starter. Ill also ferment the Ringwood at a higher temp.

 

[insanim8er]

Now onto my next flavored graff experiment.... Chocolate Cherry Jubilee. Sounds like a good Christmas drink to me.

I purchased two 32oz bottles of 100% pure black cherry juice. Later this week I will put together an all grain chocolate stout recipe. On second thought, maybe I'll multitask. I can do a 10 gallon batch of stout. 8 gallons can go into the fermenter. Once done I can rack 5 to a corny while the other 3 can go to one of my 3 gallon kegs. Genius!

I'm thinking about adding some sweet orange peel during the boil

Ill probably add the cherry juice during a second fermentation once the apple juice has fully fermented.

I will obviously add vanilla (i have like 40 beans in the mail)

At keg time, I will add brandy and probably mess around with almond extract to bring out that cherry flavor.

Any thoughts on this one before I give it a go?

 

[LogicBomb]

Well I rehydrated (as carefully an precisely as possible) a new pack of S-05 after a week of non-activity (and no gravity change). Pitched it last night.

Sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that my yeast eat the delicious food I set out for them.

 

[kingboomer]

Getting ready for my next batch, based on my 3 gallon "mess up" apfelbier I made last year. Basically I used the same grain bill for a 5 gallon batch, but only used 2 gallons of AJ. This go I'm useing .5 oz saaz hops and skipping the torrified wheat in favor of 1lb wheat DME, then adding 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice at flameout. I'll let you guys know how it goes~!


-Kingboomer

 

[LogicBomb]

Well I rehydrated (as carefully an precisely as possible) a new pack of S-05 after a week of non-activity (and no gravity change). Pitched it last night.

Sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that my yeast eat the delicious food I set out for them.

Well, 36 hours later and at least I see "something", looks pretty tepid if you ask me though:

Better than dead yeast rafts, still very little activity, no?

Yeast: S-05
Ambient room temp: 65F

 

[223nbecker45]

It looks like its fermenting now. Not fermenting like crazy but I didn't get a vigorous ferment with that yeast the 2 Times I used it. I would let it go a couple of days and test the gravity to see if its going. Maybe warm it up a couple of degrees.

 

[TEEKIZZLE]

So after a week of no krausen, no airlock activity and just one giant yeast raft (which has broken up to many smaller ones now) I'm seeing a gravity reading of like 1.060 or 1.062 (I'm terrible at reading the hydrometer). And it still tastes like juice.

I forgot to take an OG but it looks like most people have OG's around that same mark - guess my yeast didn't take possibly?

My OG WAS 1.060, prob no fermentation.

 

[LogicBomb]

Well... it's still bubbly like the photo above (less, but similar) after a few more days. I think it's doing it's thing now.

Really very, very little motion going on in the carboy (no yeast dances, that I love so much) but if I had to put money on it, I'd say I'm going to end up with beer once it's done.

Thanks guys

 

[insanim8er]

Well... it's still bubbly like the photo above (less, but similar) after a few more days. I think it's doing it's thing now.

Really very, very little motion going on in the carboy (no yeast dances, that I love so much) but if I had to put money on it, I'd say I'm going to end up with beer once it's done.

Thanks guys

Ill take your money... Since I'm guessing it'll be graff :cross:

 

[LogicBomb]

Beer-ish

 

[mrphillips]

I just got steered towards this thread, and man oh man am I pumped! This weekend I'm gunna brew up a 5 gallon batch, but instead of using apple juice, I'm gunna use some nice all natural apple cider. I'm not sure how the recipe will change, but I'm hoping that it turns out a little more tart. I'm also planning on using .5 oz of Citra. Wish me luck!

 

[CliffMongoloid]

Checked on my Graff last night, brewed on saturday (9/28/13) looked to be chugging along nicely then last night when i got home from work no airlock activity and Krausen had fallen..

Did not check gravity but i wouldn't think it would finish in 2 days... Hydrometer broken i am picking one up tonight

Internal temp was at 58 when i got home last night... Let it warm up to 62 when i left for work this morning.... Only changed 1 frozen water bottle so hopefully it stays around that temp and it starts back up

Anyone else run into this issue?

I attempted to step up a half pack of Nottingham... I think i did it correct, made a starter pitched the yeast let it go 2 days on the stir plate then fridge for a day, made another starter, decanted and pitched into new wort and on starter for a day then pitched from starter to graff... Could i have under pitched?

 

[snooby]

Does this work for an all-grain version?


4# two-row (I plan on doing BIAB with 50-60% eff) (replaces DME)
0.5# Crystal 60L
1 oz Torrified Wheat

Mash all grains at 156-158 for 60 min for fuller body (single infusion)

60 min boil
add 0.5 oz ~5% AA hops at 30 min
Cool wort, end with 1 gal wort

Add 4 gallons of AJ

Pitch US-05

rest is the same as original recipe.

Should I add/change any of the grains? Not sure what specialty grain the amber DME replaces.