Graff (Malty, slightly hopped cider)

[richlong8020]

My batch was all grain, hence the 90 min boil..but you could certainly use DME! Apologies but I'm brain farting on the OG. My brain is saying 1.050 or 1.060, and I'm almost certain its 1.050, but I'll have to check. I'll edit this later.

That's cool. I'll just use 1.5-2 lbs of DME and a 30 min boil and should be great.

 

[richlong8020]

Just did this recipe again but where it was 1/5 ale and 4 parts cider it's now 2/5 ale (just doubled the recipe) 1.5 gallons aj and 1.5 gallons cranberry juice. Plus added some acid blend and special B cara-pil for head retention. Should turn out good

Would like to see a pic of that when it's ready.

 

[richlong8020]

Instead of reading the whole post I'll take the lazy route and ask what I assume already has been asked.
Do you prime when bottling just like you would for an ale?
How much sugar per liter if so?

When I did my last batch I primed it like a normal 5 gal batch. Either use the sugar or the drops.

 

[blstr]

So, here's the scenario...I've made a few batches of graff and they all came out great. The one I've currently got in the keg,...well not so hot. My kids had snatched one of my jugs of apple juice so with turnabout being fair play I substituted with a gallon of their grape juice. Now my graff tastes like a grape nehi and I really hate that stuff.

Can anyone that's used grape juice can tell me if I'm stuck or will it mellow with some age? Maybe I wasn't watching my fermentation temps well enough.

 

[Weezy]

That's cool. I'll just use 1.5-2 lbs of DME and a 30 min boil and should be great.

OG was 1.066, targetted 1.065....doh.

And aa far as the no hops. For this batch, I wanted malt to complement the apple flavor. here hops are just going to confuse the flavors.

 

[richlong8020]

OG was 1.066, targetted 1.065....doh.



And aa far as the no hops. For this batch, I wanted malt to complement the apple flavor. here hops are just going to confuse the flavors.

Sounds great. I don't keg so the bottle time helped the hoppiness lessen. Maybe this new batch will have more flavor. I look forward to this weekend. Gonna make it.

 

[brewman551]

Just brewed another batch of this stuff. Used about .40 ounces of Glacier and about .20 ounces of Hallertauer hops at 30 minutes and tossed another .20 of hops in with about ten minutes left in the boil, just to get rid of some stuff. Can't wait to taste it. All in all, less than an ounce of mild hops, so it should be good.

 

[hunter_le five]

Just put another batch into the fermenter. This time used a ratio of 3:2 juice to beer instead of the standard 4:1. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Took my first pull from the keg last night of my modified Graff. 'Tis good.

It's a bit sweeter than the Colonel's Original Recipe. Maltier, and far less tart than my previous batches. Hop character is just slightly noticable, whereas previous batches had none. Hard to tell from my crappy cell phone pics, but it came out super clear after a few weeks in the keg.

Overall I think I prefer the (relative) dryness of the original recipe, but I think this version would be more of a hit with those that like a sweeter cider, without it bring cloying.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421619015.724342.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421619027.123240.jpg

 

[MInoobbrewer]

Nice. I recently did the same. Something to look forward to.

 

[MInoobbrewer]

Well I've brewed up my 2/5 ale with a juice mixture of half Apple and half cranberry juice. It's not bad. A little less tart than my original Graff which I did too exact specifications. I think the acid blend I added at bottling day helped cut back the tart flavor. Plus I used Brown sugar as my priming sugar. So it's really not bad. I'll have to do this again. Oh but it's got almost no head

 

[Weezy]

That looks mighty tasty!

 

[cheeseplease]

Hi guys, if I don't add hops to this recipe, how long should I boil the wort for? The original recipe says:

"Add DME and bring to a boil.
Add hops when boiling starts and boil for 30 mins".

Do I boil for 30 minutes even without hops?

Thanks

 

[sportpak]

Hi guys, if I don't add hops to this recipe, how long should I boil the wort for? The original recipe says:

"Add DME and bring to a boil.
Add hops when boiling starts and boil for 30 mins".

Do I boil for 30 minutes even without hops?

Thanks

You'd be good with 10-15 minutes to sanitize.
A smidge of hops pulls it all together, I would consider it.

 

[richlong8020]

I made the latest rendition of this with out the hops. Looking forward to the malt and the tart. Gonna be a long 5 weeks.

 

[Strut]

I brewed my second batch about 3 weeks ago and moved it into a keg Saturday. I immediately made another batch, pitched onto the leftover yeast cake. It was bubbling like crazy in just an hour or so.

Yesterday, I'm having dinner watching the airlock go crazy and realized that in my haste I had totally forgot the DME! I didn't have anymore apple juice, but I found a frozen can of cranberry in the freezer. I boiled this with about a half gallon of water and the DME until the hot break subsided. I then cooled in an ice bath and added it in. Holy krazen explosion! I had to add a blow off tube she went so crazy!

Looking forward to this experiment. Should be Graff with a hint of cranberry.

 

[Razzlebrew]

Brewed 5 gallons of this for the first time 2.5 weeks ago. Bottled today with 5 oz corn sugar. Only change to the recipe was a cinnamon stick and 2 lbs brown sugar. fermented out to 1.01 and the sample that I consumed did not taste all that great. Hoping that the taste will mellow out during a long bottle condition.

 

[peresian]

Hi all !
What will happen if I use apple juice for fill tap space in normal ale for 2nd Fer batch ?

 

[JunkTruck]

Hi All,

Due to a busy schedule my Graff has been sitting in secondary for about 3 and a half months. I want to bottle today. i planned to bottle carb. Do i need to add any additional yeast when bottling? if so how much. i have some EC118 and S04 on hand. Or should i just add priming sugar and give it an extended time to carbonate?

 

[BrewerBear]

You'll be fine without any extra yeast. Enjoy

 

[peresian]

Hi all !
What will happen if I use apple juice for fill tap space in normal ale for 2nd Fer batch ?

Hi . Any suggestions ?

 

[user 83772]

Hi all !
What will happen if I use apple juice for fill tap space in normal ale for 2nd Fer batch ?

Hi . Any suggestions ?

Can you clarify your question? No clue what you're asking.

 

[AkTom]

I'm on my second batch. This is a 10 gallon batch. It smells so good in the fermentation chamber, I can hardly wait. First was very good. If aroma is any indication this 10 gallons will be gone in no time. Being a fairly new brewer, this is my first repeat brew.

 

[graycobra]

Is there a concensus on best all grain recipe? Looking for something a bit sweeter for the unbearable vegas summer creeping up

 

[Pontiac_Guy]

Just made this stuff. Ended up using caramel 60L in place of crystal and williamette (4.7% AA). Pitched rehydrated Notty last night. took about 24 hours for any signs of activity to be seen Sitting btwn 60-62 degrees right now. Can't wait for this stuff. Should be drinkable mid-, to late-, April.

 

[JoeLowPro]

I just brewed a Bavarian Heffeweissen kit and instead of adding the suggested 2 gallons of cold water to the fermenter, I added two gallons of unfiltered apple juice and two cups of sugar (al la Apfulwein). I will call this Graff, Apfulweissen!

 

[jmward21]

I made this on 2/1/2015. I mostly followed the main recipe, .5# Crystal 60, 1oz flaked wheat, 2.5# pale LME. I chose Czech hops since I had them leftover. ~.56oz (AA=3.5%). I used Kroger Natural Apple Juice. No preservatives or absorbic acid but it was pasteurized.

I used 3.5 gal of juice plus 1 gal of wort to ferment (4.5 total). Fermented for 2 weeks at 63F, then 1 more week at 68F. I transfered to a secondary on 2/22 and added 3 cambden tablets / 2 tsp of potassium sorbate to stop fermentation and stabilize. On 3/1/15 I cold crashed the cider. On 3/14/15, I kegged the cider and back sweetened with 1/2 of saved AJ.

I tried it for the first time today and it is very good. It is sweet but not too sweet and it has a nice apple flavor. I will definitely make it again.

 

[brewer20D]

okay, I had received my lemon drop hops last week that i had ordered and decided to play around with a batch of graf I have going in the primary now. I ended up dry hopping it with 2oz of lemon drop hops and now getting ready to put it in the secondary Tonight or tomorrow. Air lock smells great, just wondering if anyone's tried this before?

 

[Pontiac_Guy]

I just brewed a Bavarian Heffeweissen kit and instead of adding the suggested 2 gallons of cold water to the fermenter, I added two gallons of unfiltered apple juice and two cups of sugar (al la Apfulwein). I will call this Graff, Apfulweissen!

What was your starting gravity on this beast? Sounds interesting to say the least. What yeast are you using? I'm guessing the Wiehenstephaner?

 

[JoeLowPro]

I forgot to take a gravity test but it was beastly. Used Danstar Munich Wheat yeast. Primaried in corney keg with a blowoff tube in to a gallon apple juice bottle, 1/4 full of water. Huge mess in the fermenteezer!

 

[HK823]

Brewed a gallon in the beginning of November with some store bought apple juice (not the cheapest but average). Popped a few bottles last weekend - apple aroma and flavour clearly present but it still seemed a bit too tart - similar to white wine. A dollop of honey in the glass smoothed it out but the taste changes significantly. Adding sugar made it watery. Going to try sweetening it with apple juice in the glass (but that'll just dilute the alcohol).
I'm kind of so-so on this. Next I'll try dry hopping a cider kit (that I know tastes amazing by its own).