Man, I love Apfelwein

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Hegh:
Thanks for the response. I've made commercial quantities of premium wine but didn't put 2+2 together. D'oh!
I agree completely about the impact of fermentation vis-a-vis pasteurization.

BCC, you are completely welcome. One note, around November the local Ebblewoikneipen serve some half-fermented Stoeffche (please forgive my use of German and the local names for Apfelwein, it just seems appropriate) which is called Rauscher. As you would expect it is cloudy and sweeter than the finished product. The name means, roughly, the Intoxicator (kinda the Menthos of the booze world) because its sweetness encourages more drinking even though the abv is only in the 3% range.

Now if someone could just point me to a recipe for homemade Handkaes (another Ffm specialty) I'd be in Hessian heaven!
bp
 
I just bottled with 3/4 cup of corn sugar as any beer. Although around page 52 I think I read something about the Montrachet not carbing up the bottles. I'm a little anxious about that.
 
just put one six gallon in today and am excited to drink it for christmas. how is the best way to get you specific gravity as all the liquid is mixed in the sanitized carboy? I wasnt sure so i just followed the recipe and figure it will work out fine.
 
sbsam said:
just put one six gallon in today and am excited to drink it for christmas. how is the best way to get you specific gravity as all the liquid is mixed in the sanitized carboy? I wasnt sure so i just followed the recipe and figure it will work out fine.
Click to expand...

Use a sanitized Wine Thief or Turkey baster to suck out enough for the hydrometer tube. Alternatively you can use a sanitized length of tubing as a mini siphon.
 
Best way is to have a straw like instument called a wine thief. It fits down into the Carboy hole, you put your finger over the top hole and pull the liquid out just like you would a straw in a McDonalds cup. I've done this apfelwein twice using two different brands of juice. They came out to be 1.067 and 1.064 so they are pretty darn close. Both were using 2 lbs of corn sugar.
 
Post #6527, is anyone actually reading this far? :laugh: I've been aging about 2 months now, roughly 3 months total and this is getting downright tasty. I'm down to 1 bottle of my 1st batch after tonight even though I was aging. Inlaws came over tonight though and the wife asked me to break out some. After 1st clearing it was drinkable, 1 month later it was ok. After tonight I could drink it and be pretty happy. If that last bottle makes it a few more months I'm looking forward to it.

I have a couple more batches in the works now, but still fermenting so nowhere near there yet.

Friend of mine has been brewing beer for a few years and has a few other friend who do wine. I gave him a bottle of this a week ago. He called tonight just to tell me that it was good. He's been apparently tortured by others home wines and has done a couple himself that he didn't like, but he was really surprised with the bottle I gave him. So fanboy #whatever reporting in.

And yeah, I'm kind of drunk right now :)
 
Just bottled the first batch yesterday and set aside a half gallon to drink then because it was so good! It's a hell of a beverage, came out at 10% ABV and is waaay too easy to drink. You were not kidding with that warning!
 
Crap, swmbo just called me at work and told me my apfelwein is foaming out of the airlock! I am using a 5 gallon carboy that was filled to the bottom of the neck, It's been fermenting for 2 days now. I probably only got 4 3/4 gallons into the carboy anyway. Used Montrachet yeast.
 
I am very impatient so I just used a wine thief on the apple and the pineapple (using the exact same recipe). I am only 12 days in not too much airlock activity but I can see tiny bubbles still rising inside both bottles.

I tried the pineapple first and it was good but had a "beer" taste to it. The pineapple taste was there and if the beer taste mellows out I will be making A LOT MORE of it.

Then I tried the Apple - lets just say SWMBO picked up some more apple juice today. It is amazing already - I can't imagine this stuff tasting better than this after aging! I am sure that everyone who tastes it are going to want some; which means I need to buy stock in an apple juice company.
 
my first batch is under way, 2 - 2.5 gallons in my old mr.beer kegs. i knew i would use them for something! its been 4 days and i can see the bubbles rising up, the garage smells a little sulpherish.....oh i can't wait to try this. 653 pages this stuff has to be the shizzle!

what other juices can you do this with?
 
My first 3 gallon batch is long gone, I put my 2nd 5 gallon batch into 3 T-a-Draft bottles yesterday, put one in the fridge and pressurized it tonight. This stuff is just divine mixed 50/50 with Sprite even my non drinker wife will drink some of this.
 
654 pages. Great googaly moogaly.

I'm about 4.5 weeks into my first batch, and it's finally starting to drop out now. I'm going to give it until the end of the fifth week, then cold crash it for a couple of days, then keg. Got some... interesting yeast rafts on the surface that harken me back to my nervous noob days. But as always, am sure it'll turn out niiiice. (Now I just need to finish my @#$# kegerator so I can drink the stuff!)
 
Grimster said:
My first 3 gallon batch is long gone, I put my 2nd 5 gallon batch into 3 T-a-Draft bottles yesterday, put one in the fridge and pressurized it tonight. This stuff is just divine mixed 50/50 with Sprite even my non drinker wife will drink some of this.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. Mixed with Sprite this stuff is smooth as silk and very dangerous if you don't pay attention to how much you've had! :mug:
 
I am currently enjoying a very nice batch of apfelwein right now. At 10% this stuff has some serious kick too it.

I was wondering if anyone has made a lighter version of Edworts Apfelwein? If so how did it turn out?
 
Bradinator said:
I am currently enjoying a very nice batch of apfelwein right now. At 10% this stuff has some serious kick too it.

I was wondering if anyone has made a lighter version of Edworts Apfelwein? If so how did it turn out?
Click to expand...
I'll let you know in a couple of weeks when it's ready to go - I only used one pound of the dextrose, which means it'll "only" be around 7%
 
Just finished a couple of glasses of the 'wein with lunch. Yummy! And note that I bottle-carbed them in the SAME bottles that held the apple juice. My first batch came out at 9.45% ABV. Checked the second batch this morning, and it will be at least that high, if not up a notch or two.

Goooood stuff!

glenn514:mug:
 
I'm at 2 weeks now on my first batch. I drew a sample today and it tastes pretty sour. Is this a common taste this far in or is that a sign of possible contamination? Airlock is still bubbling once every 4 seconds or so. The apfelwein is still very cloudy as well
 
Can't comment on the taste (yet) Mike, but the cloudiness hangs out for at LEAST three weeks, more likely four.
 
I usually don't even think about tasting till 4 weeks...don't even consider bottling till 8. Just started a new 3 gal batch with EC-1118 instead of Montrachet. I am going to try and leave it alone for at least 12 weeks...unless I run out of the last batch before then...which is almost a certainty. I started making this in a 3 gal Better Bottle, but I found that a 3 gal Better Bottle REALLY holds only 3 gal all the way up to the spout so I poured it into one of my empty 5 gal carboys. Next time a 2.5 gal batch in the Better Bottle that I can just forget about. Not sure what I will do if I need a secondary fermenter for >3 gal of something else in the next 3 months:eek:
 
I made a two gallon batch on 5/3/10. I used half the sugar and made it with nottingham yeast. No krausen, was cleared up and done after about two weeks. After 21 days I couldn't stand it anymore and bottled it today. I sneaked a pretty good bit to drink a glass and for the gravity sample. Mann it is good stuff. Finished at 1.000. I can see how this would get you into trouble pretty fast. I don't see how it can get much better but time will tell. I bottled it without carbing in 500ml swing tops. I think it is pretty good just chilled and no carb.
 
Hey - I just started my first batch of apfelwein, and my OG came out to 1.047, significantly lower than what everyone else seems to be getting. I followed the recipe exactly, with 5 gallons of tree top apple juice and 2 pounds of dextrose. Maybe my hydrometer is off? Or could there be another reason? Any help would be amazing.
 
eh823 said:
Hey - I just started my first batch of apfelwein, and my OG came out to 1.047, significantly lower than what everyone else seems to be getting. I followed the recipe exactly, with 5 gallons of tree top apple juice and 2 pounds of dextrose. Maybe my hydrometer is off? Or could there be another reason? Any help would be amazing.
Click to expand...

Did you stir that stuff up SUPER DUPER well? My first guess is your stuff wasn't mixed perfectly. I've had that before in wort, hydrometer reading from the spigot on the bottom = 1.065 a dropper reading from the top for my refractometer = 1.044, gave it a vicious stirring and it read around 1.055 top and bottom.
 
I've gone with 1 oz (by WEIGHT) per gallon of Apfelwein, so 3 oz of Dextrose should work.

If you like it less fizzy, then 2-2.5 should work.

The Tasty Brew calculator shows a wide range of 'standard' volumes of CO2 for cider. Average (2.25 volumes at 65 deg f) comes out to 2.2 oz (by weight) of dextrose for 3 gal.
 
Well, I made it five weeks ago, it was kept at a nuts on 75 degrees, with my only difference being I used one pound of corn sugar as opposed to two. Got it into the keg, where it's sitting conditioning (figure I'll give it another month or so at least) but carbed up a sample for SWMBO to try, since this was made just for her. I thought it tasted pretty good, her response?

"Meh. It's okay. Not my favourite."

I swear to God. One of these days...
 
A tasty recipe that's really easy to make? Sounds great! I don't have a Sam's Club or Costco membership though, so I dropped by Walmart looking for apple juice. No "Tree Top". I got some pasteurized apple juice with ascorbic acid as the only preservative, which seems to be pretty standard. The brand is called "Indian Summer". $3.72 a gallon.

My only question is... is the Tree Top part apple juice and part apple juice concentrate like what I bought? Or is it just apple juice with no concentrate? The concentrate in the gallon I bought would mean it has more sugar.

Oh, and the brewing store guy tried to tell me to use champagne yeast instead, but I insisted on Montrachet like the original recipe here says. I don't know what difference it'll make really, but this recipe is hugely popular for a reason and I'll follow it as close as I can.
 
It really doesn't matter. Most of the cheaper apple juices are from concentrate. Check the label for Sugars per serving.. Most apple juices generally run between 25 and 28 g carbohydrates (as sugar) per 8 oz. I've used several brands..usually when on sale at the grocery store... America's Choice, Nature's Own, Kedem and they all turn out good. Not sure you get a drastically better Apfelwein with the more expensive juices (equivalent to the price differential anyway) though I am sure there are some differences to the Apfelwein connoisseur. After a couple of glasses nuance is a moot point anyway! :drunk:
 
Okay so I am at the bottom of my first 750ml bottle from my first batch. I have to say some more ageing will make this unbelievable for how easy its is to make. I find typing a challenge at this point. Think God for spell check. Tastes great as is but still young considering I just bottled it somewhere around 3 days ago. batch number 2 is 2 weeks away from bottling and I may sweeten it up just a tad for SWMBO but we will see.
Ed you are the man!
 
This step in the recipe surprised me: "Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel."

No need to rehydrate the yeast?

And thanks, Recluse. My juice is 26g of sugar and 30g of total carbs per serving. Should be fine.
 
patrick767 said:
This step in the recipe surprised me: "Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel."

No need to rehydrate the yeast?

And thanks, Recluse. My juice is 26g of sugar and 30g of total carbs per serving. Should be fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah that surprised me too. On one batch I sprinkled it in. On another I didn't rehydrate, but dissolved it right into some apple juice. Both came out fine. The most recent batch I used EC-1118 and rehydrated it just because I always have with this yeast.... Seems like it took off and went just fine..but have to wait a few weeks for the first gravity sample. Still very cloudy.
 
I bought RJ Spagnols wine conditioner to backsweeten my apfelwein. How much should I use and when should I add it to the wine? I have a 6 gallon batch going and its been in the carboy for a month.
 
I just started the first batch of Apfelwein last week. It's got a long time to go, but wondering what might be used in the end to give it a sour apple taste similar to Hornsbys. I'm not sure what it will end up tasting like, but thinking ahead.
 
newbrew77 said:
I bought RJ Spagnols wine conditioner to backsweeten my apfelwein. How much should I use and when should I add it to the wine? I have a 6 gallon batch going and its been in the carboy for a month.
Click to expand...

The original recipe calls for 2-4 oz per gallon, i'd start at the low end and sweeten to taste you can always add more if needed
 
My buddy did up a batch of this before he headed over to Afghanistan. He just bottled it. His wife likes it, he thinks it is a bit too dry, he many try lactose next time. But the idea here is that you can let it sit in primary for a very long time. Here is what he did:

5 gallons Tree Top Apple juice
Lalvin K1-1116 yeast
2 lbs dextrose

Sat in a 5 gallon glass carboy for a year. neighbor kept the fermentation lock filled with vodka. Not much temperature control. probably ranged from 55-85 throughout the year.

Starting SG 1.059 corrected
Bottled at SG .998 corrected
Used table sugar to bottle.
 
I have made three batches, all have been similar to Hornsbys Crisp Apple Hard Cider, but a little drier and I think a more sour taste. I have been using the cheapest juice I can find which might make a difference.


DarthBeer said:
wondering what might be used in the end to give it a sour apple taste similar to Hornsbys.
Click to expand...
 
I started a 5 gal batch in September, and didn't even bottle it until 1.5 months ago (about 7 months in primary). I didn't even have my first taste until last month, which tasted great. I'm going to have another bottle tonight to see how it is after almost 9 months. This is a great "set it and forget it" drink, and I can't wait until it starts getting hot again here in San Diego to enjoy it on the weekends!
 
Exactly 4 weeks in the carboy as of yesterday. I cant wait any longer so I bottled it and primed with 4cups of the same apple juice, 2 cups water and 190g of dextrose.

I also poured a glass for myself and let it chill overnight in the fridge. Wow! its amazing already. I do not find this too dry like a lot of people say? Maybe it will get drier in the bottle? Maybe the sweetness im tasting is from the priming sugars?

The first post says this stuff really hits its stride at 6 months. I guarantee it wont last that long... not even close.

I should have took Edworts advice and started a second batch 2 weeks later... well I guess im off to buy some more apple juice!
 
OMG! am I glad I started a second batch two weeks after the first. The first batch has been in the bottle about a week and has a nice light carbonation. Sprinkled with some ground cinnamon and this has the head retention of an awesome beer and the flavor I can best describe as the holidays.
 

Similar threads

nxc3441
apple pie cider under 10 bucks a gallon
Replies
2
Views
948
nxc3441
nxc3441
C
what canna do with it?
Replies
5
Views
452
fluketamer
F
H
Apple cider stupid questions
Replies
3
Views
807
Graham H
G
A
New Fermenter
Replies
16
Views
771
Austin Willoughby
A
Chalkyt
Using Fuji juice to make sweet carbonated Cider
Replies
1
Views
470
Chalkyt
Chalkyt

Latest posts

Back
Top