Man, I love Apfelwein

[odh2507]

so i have a fairly simple question real quick. with no definite answer.

before i deployed, i made 2 5 gallon batches of apfelwein, as per recipe. the wife racked to seconday after 2 months. its been sitting there aging, getting good for 7 months...ill be home in two weeks...

i was thinking of bottling in mason jars...no carbonation. straight from carboy into mason jar. should i leave space at the top, or fill all the way to top? its done fermenting, no more yeastcake or anything. the reason for this, is to give to family, etc. if i dont fill to the top, anything i need to do, in order for it to not to do, because of the air caught inside?

thanks guys

also, this will moe than likely be refrigerated as soon as its in the mason jar, besides what i cant fit in the fridge lol...maybe age it longer..

 

[Xpertskir]

Ive searched high and low, and I'm either not good at searching or the answer isnt easy to find...

Ive had my apfelwein on the cake for going on 6 months and plan to bottle. Do i need to add yeast for bottling(with carbonation)? Should I use Montrachet or a jar of beer yeast?


Thanks.

 

[BrewerBear]

odh2507 I like the mason jar idea,if I did it I would seal the canning lids in a water bath like canning tomatoes.

Xpertskir you would not have to add yeast to prime at bottling but it would not hurt if you did.If you do I would say the Montrachet would be fine.

 

[Jsmith82]

On the twelfth day of christmas hbt gave to me..........

12 psi serving pressure
11 drinks shared
10 friends a drinkin
9 still awake
8 kinds of cheese
7 types of sausage
6 gallon carboys

5 gallons of apple juice....

4 sprinkles of pectic enzyme
3 sprinkles of yeast nutrient
2 lbs of dextrose
And a packet of montrachet yeast



About sums up my night

Merry Christmas HBT

 

[Leadgolem]

...i was thinking of bottling in mason jars...no carbonation. straight from carboy into mason jar. should i leave space at the top, or fill all the way to top? its done fermenting, no more yeastcake or anything. the reason for this, is to give to family, etc. if i dont fill to the top, anything i need to do, in order for it to not to do, because of the air caught inside?

odh2507 I like the mason jar idea,if I did it I would seal the canning lids in a water bath like canning tomatoes.

Yup, definitely heat the lids and seal the jars. I haven't had the best of luck sealing brew in mason jars though. The extra surface area of the larger mouth of the jar has a tendency to promote oxidation. You can end up with a kind of green apple flavor after a while. It isn't a fatal problem with an apfelwein, but it does detract from the overall flavor. Nothing clever has occured to me for dealing with the problem.

Not really a big issue if you are going to be drinking it soon though.

I've had better luck with pry top beer bottles and oxygen absorbing caps. Especially for a still brew.

...Ive had my apfelwein on the cake for going on 6 months and plan to bottle. Do i need to add yeast for bottling(with carbonation)? Should I use Montrachet or a jar of beer yeast?...

Xpertskir you would not have to add yeast to prime at bottling but it would not hurt if you did.If you do I would say the Montrachet would be fine.

Yup again. I'd use the same yeast you used to make the apfelwein, whatever it may have been. Some yeast strains will leave a lot of a specific kind of sugar still in solution after fermentation. If you then add another kind of yeast you could end up with more continuing fermentation they you want and bottle bombs.

If your FG was right around 1.0 that shouldn't be a problem, but if you finished at more like 1.01 or higher you might have an issue mixing yeast.

Happy brewing

 

[Rys06Tbss]

Wife: Ryan, The pantry smells like somebody farted then dropped a load in their pants.
Me: Oh yeah... I forgot to tell you this stuff might smell a little.
Me: People say this stuff smells like Rhino farts for the first couple days.
Wife: THATS EXACTLY WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE!


I did have an American Pale and I currently have a Black IPA fermenting in there. Suppose I should give it time to air out after this is all done.

 

[HopHeaven]

So given that there are 700+ pages in this thread this question has probably been asked but not in the first 30 pages I read so bear with me. This will be my first time making a wine, I've done a couple beers and 10+ ciders.

Has anyone tried this with raisins? It's my belief that these will add some more sugar, nutrients, and mouthfeel. I've done one straight cider fermented dry with no back sweetening and the last one I tried was a little watery in feel so I think I'd like some more mouth feel in this. If anyone has done this, how much was added and when in the fermentation process(I'm thinking in the beginning)? Thanks guys, pumped to try this and merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate!

 

[opus345]

I have not, but....

Apfelwein Thread Search
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/index827.html#post3420198

Google Search
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/1-gallon-apfelwein-recipe-159102/#post1838070
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/apfelwein-such-225820/#post2652486
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/pomegranate-apfelwein-great-169962/#post1965353
http://snakeriverbrewers.org/index....b0818b98fe58dec9&topic=3797.msg54766#msg54766

Not sure if they will answer your question about how it turns out, but it should give you some more info that you could use to drop some PMs.

 

[Xpertskir]

Damn at 6 months this stuff is SMOOTH....just had my first taste when bottling...still obviously.


Im kinda shocked at how little flavor it has, and not in a bad way, very subtle and obviously very dry like the real deal ive had in Germany.

 

[Jsmith82]

Pulling pints off a 14 month aged
batch kegged.

Delish.

 

[Vigo_Carpathian]

When should I take this stuff of the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also don't want to run into any lysing problems. Overall, I would like to age about a year before drinking.

 

[Vigo_Carpathian]

When should I take this stuff off the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also want to avoid any lysis issues. Overall, I plan to age about a year before drinking. Any suggestions?

 

[LoneWolfPR]

Finally opened a bottle of my first batch of this. I followed the recipe exactly except for bottle conditioning. I put in enough sugar when bottling for 4 volumes. I wanted it to be really bubbly, like a champagne. It went into primary at the very end of September. I opened a couple bottles for a family Christmas party. It was fantastic! Everyone really enjoyed, and it was everything I was hoping for. This is definitely getting made again! Here's a pic, though it's not terrific.

 

[Leadgolem]

When should I take this stuff off the yeast cake? I want to allow the yeast enough time to "clean up", but I also want to avoid any lysis issues. Overall, I plan to age about a year before drinking. Any suggestions?

Give it a week after it's hit FG. That should give you plenty of time for post fermentation cleanup, without any risk of other issues.

 

[verbhertz]

I just bottled my last batch that was in primary (in a better bottle) for five months. I'll post how it tastes in a few weeks.

 

[Xpertskir]

The batch I was just talking about was on the yeast for 6 months...no off flavors

 

[verbhertz]

The batch I was just talking about was on the yeast for 6 months...no off flavors

Good to hear! I'm not working about mine anymore.

 

[reinstone]

is this stuff really any good?

 

[LoneWolfPR]

is this stuff really any good?

Absolutely! See my previous post. If you like a sweet cider though it's not for you (unless you backsweeten it). It comes out very dry. However, this is exactly what I was looking for, an my batch turned out fantastic.

 

[Leadgolem]

is this stuff really any good?

Dear sweet gods yes!

 

[Vigo_Carpathian]

I've been scared of aging in better bottles due to potential oxygen issues. How long is too long to let it sit in these?

 

[Rys06Tbss]

Is there any need to pasteurize if I'm not carbing?

 

[Leadgolem]

Is there any need to pasteurize if I'm not carbing?

It isn't essential. Some people do it to ensure that they don't have a problem with acetobacter, but if your sanitation was good it's doubtful you'll have a problem.

 

[verbhertz]

I've been scared of aging in better bottles due to potential oxygen issues. How long is too long to let it sit in these?

I just bottled a batch that was on the yeast in a better bottle for almost 6 months. From what I've read, I have nothing to worry about. I'm just going to consider the better bottle / oxygen issue a bogeyman until I experience otherwise.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Without looking through the entire thread, and after a quick search not finding the answer

Does anyone have the starting gravity for this Apfelwein following Edworts recipe exactly? Treetop and everything...

I ask because mines now at 5 months or so, and i kegged it for new years, but would like to be able to put down a ABV on the tap, so people cant say i didnt warn them

Mine sat on the yeast in the primary carboy for 5 months until i kegged it today, it definately has the apple kick coming back to it and is pretty potent...plan on serving it unsweetened and just have a bowl of sugar cubes next to the tap for those that want to go wild with the sugar.

 

[opus345]

Fuzze,

Take a look at the following threads:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/edworts-apfelwein-og-202289/#post2358460
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/edworts-apfelwein-gravity-212930/#post2491405

 

[dmcl700]

Mmmmmmm to my glass of this apfelwein I opened after 4 months and is delicious ... Has mellowed a lot And Mmman I love apfelwein

 

[BlaineHomebrew]

Hello everyone. I'm getting ready to try my first cider and settled on this recipe based on a recommendation at my LHBS (http://www.thebrewmentor.com/)

I will want the final result to be somewhat sweet. I already have the suggested yeast and sugar from the first page of this thread. Can someone point me to info about how to sweeten this recipe? Thanks!

 

[Leadgolem]

Hello everyone. I'm getting ready to try my first cider and settled on this recipe based on a recommendation at my LHBS (http://www.thebrewmentor.com/)

I will want the final result to be somewhat sweet. I already have the suggested yeast and sugar from the first page of this thread. Can someone point me to info about how to sweeten this recipe? Thanks!

Add your sugar to the brew after it's hit fg to taste, lots of people back sweeten with apple juice concentrate. If you want a still brew, bottle pasteurize immediately after sweetening and bottling.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/
If you want a fizzy brew, then fill a plastic "tester" bottle with your brew. Once it's got the pressure you want, pasteurize the rest of the batch to halt the re-fermentation from the back sweetening.

 

[mike_in_ak]

Trap him with a stout?