Man, I love Apfelwein

[Leadgolem]

I also made some more today this will be my 5th and 6th batch, tried using a high alcohol yeast and more sugar on one, ill see how it goes,the other was pretty much standard, heck i love this stuff.

just a quick one, the yeast used is capable of producing up to 21% alcohol, i have used 1kg (2.2lb) of sugar in a 1 gallon demijohn, sg was i think 1010, any idea what the final Alcohol percentage is likely to be?.

Uh, I think your gravity was more likely 1.110. So if you ferment to 1.0 you would have about 14.7% abv. Distillers yeast does tend to go completely dry.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

I pitched my first batch of this today. I'm following the recipe exactly: 5 gallons of TreeTop 100% apple juice, 2 pounds of corn sugar, and 1 packet of Montrachet yeast.

I'm planning to bottle and carbonate it, which will be a first for me.

 

[idrinkstuffnthings]

After 6 months being in the business of home brewing I have finally made up a batch of the famous edworts apfelwein. Used frozen concentrate and ec1118. Sounds like it should do the trick. She's happily murky and bubbling this morning. Glad I'm going on vacation so I don't have to sit here impatiently waiting.

 

[drpie34]

I am brewing this in a 6 gallon bucket. Should I rack this to a 5 gallon carboy after a week or so, or is it fine to just leave it in the bucket and not worry about the extra head space?

 

[PastorofMuppets]

What an epic thread.

I have never had any kind of apple wine before or cider.
I am really new to brewing in general. Im only in 3 months and have already blown 1500 bucks on gear and ingredients.

I had to try the apfelwein because it seemed so easy and I wasnt wrong.
I literally spent 10 min making this.

I didnt get a gravity reading but really who cares. I dont plan on touching this for 2-3 months at least. Here is my obligatory pic.

 

[mbbarnes]

I am brewing this in a 6 gallon bucket. Should I rack this to a 5 gallon carboy after a week or so, or is it fine to just leave it in the bucket and not worry about the extra head space?

The ideal situation would be to ferment six gallons in the bucket, or just start the 5 gallons in the carboy. From your post, it sounds like you have already started with 5 gals in the bucket. If it has only been going for a week or so, I would add in another gallon of juice to top of the bucket.
5gals in a 6 gal bucket should be fine for a month, as this is common practice with beer. If you plan on aging longer than a month,either top up with apple juice early on or transfer to secondary after a few weeks.

 

[drpie34]

Thanks. I'm planning on kegging it (I want it carbonated) so I guess I'll just leave it for a month in the bucket, and then I'll transfer to the keg and let it finish aging there.

 

[sethlovex]

Just kegged up my batch made 6 weeks ago. Had about 3 pints right off the keg. Damn this stuff is good. I will definitely be going to get more apple juice tomorrow

 

[vivasbeer]

Put together my first batch last night. Original EdWort recipe....

They laughed at me at my LHBS and asked me if I was from (insert redneck state name here) when I asked for a packet of Montrachet (which I pronounced Mont-ratchet) hahaa. At least now I know the correct pronunciation

 

[HopHeaven]

Put together my first batch last night. Original EdWort recipe....

They laughed at me at my LHBS and asked me if I was from (insert redneck state name here) when I asked for a packet of Montrachet (which I pronounced Mont-ratchet) hahaa. At least now I know the correct pronunciation

Which is... Haha

 

[mattsilf]

Please fill me in on the right pronunciation so I dont look foolish also

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Please fill me in on the right pronunciation so I dont look foolish also

Mont (French silent "t") - rah - shay

You should say it with one hand on your hip, the other with your pinkie sticking out, and your nose in the air. That is how the French say it.

I like "Mont-rachet" myself. I'll have to try that sometime at my LHBS. They actually pronounce Safale as "Sahf-all-ay" vs. "Safe-ale" so it might actually fly there.

 

[mattsilf]

Mont (French silent "t") - rah - shay

You should say it with one hand on your hip, the other with your pinkie sticking out, and your nose in the air. That is how the French say it.

I like "Mont-rachet" myself. I'll have to try that sometime at my LHBS. They actually pronounce Safale as "Sahf-all-ay" vs. "Safe-ale" so it might actually fly there.[/QUOT

Lol thanks for saving me the embarassment!!...i started my first batch on saturday, original recipe, 5 gallons. Does my airlock need to be filled to the top? I thought i filled it but its about an inch down now....

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Does my airlock need to be filled to the top? I thought i filled it but its about an inch down now....

Keep an eye on it. Yeah, you generally want to keep it full but as long as the bubbles have something to bubble through it will be OK. Make sure to top it off if you are going to be away for a few days.

 

[LBussy]

Does my airlock need to be filled to the top? I thought i filled it but its about an inch down now....

If it's a three piece there's a fill line. Either way if there's fermentation and the thing is bubbling it is fine. So long as there's enough liquid to reach the top of the vents on the little cap thingie inside you have no worries.

 

[mattsilf]

Excellent. Thank you guys for the info...have any of you bottled both straight from the primary as well as from a secondary you racked into? Im just curious if there is a difference in the final product and if you prefer one method over the other

 

[tg123]

Put together my first batch last night. Original EdWort recipe....

They laughed at me at my LHBS and asked me if I was from (insert redneck state name here) when I asked for a packet of Montrachet (which I pronounced Mont-ratchet) hahaa. At least now I know the correct pronunciation

I did the same but they didn't laugh at me. I wouldn't have known i pronounced it wrong unless you mentioned it. Maybe they didn't laugh because I'm Asian and they expected it. Haha

 

[dlprice45]

I just stole a taste of mine (orig. EdWort recipe) after exactly one month in the carboy and had to stop myself from drinking more. It's good already. Going to get the ingredients for a second batch tomorrow.

 

[integra93ls]

Haha.. same here just tasted mine after month and its clear and taste great already. I think I'm gonna put some in bottle and some in bottle with corn sugar to carb it up.. that way I can free up the fermenter for more....
How would it work if I used the yeast that's already in the Carboy for another batch? Will it work? Or just clean it and start from scratch?

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

SWMBO has already informed me that she prefers HER Apfelwein sparkling, thank you. She thinks it is just fizzy cider and isn't aware of the added honey - and I couldn't bear to break that to her Should be pretty interesting come sampling time as she is a bit of a teetotaler at times.

 

[LBussy]

Should be pretty interesting come sampling time as she is a bit of a teetotaler at times.

That reminds me of judging a competition ... we were travelling so I wanted to be on our best behavior. I was judging Belgians and Scotch ales (!) and my fellow judge was judging meads. Late in the flight he jumped up, chair flying backwards, precariously balancing on what looked like a flat floor. In a very Keith Richards flowing move his hands waved around the current victim's mean to which he loudly proclaimed: "You give your woman this mead, her legs will just FLY (hands flinging out, distributing said mead evenly over the judges) open!"

They never invited us back

 

[Ridenour64]

My apfelwein is like 2 months old. Has been bottled. But doesn't really have any flavor to it. Made it following all direction but cut it to one gallon. I did add cinnamon sticks and can taste the cinnamon tho. Do I just need to age more?

 

[CloverBrew]

what is the typical starting gravity of this applewein?

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

what is the typical starting gravity of this applewein?

I used honey instead of the corn sugar, but my OG was 1.065. Apple juice from the store runs around 1.050-1.055 by itself.

 

[rideincircles]

Everybody so far on this page is not bulk aging long enough. I would go 3 months at a minimum. that's when the apple flavor really starts to show back. I plan on making another batch with 1 gallon of cherry juice added to it. It is killer at 5 months bulk aging. Started my recent batch in January and will keg it in a few months. Build up an inventory and or dedicate a carboy to let this stuff age. It improves immensely. My batches are a little over 6 months old now.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

Everybody so far on this page is not bulk aging long enough. I would go 3 months at a minimum. that's when the apple flavor really starts to show back. I plan on making another batch with 1 gallon of cherry juice added to it. It is killer at 5 months bulk aging. Started my recent batch in January and will keg it in a few months. Build up an inventory and or dedicate a carboy to let this stuff age. It improves immensely. My batches are a little over 6 months old now.

You mean bulk age in primary right? No need to rack even for 6 months?

 

[bleme]

Everybody so far on this page is not bulk aging long enough. I would go 3 months at a minimum. that's when the apple flavor really starts to show back. I plan on making another batch with 1 gallon of cherry juice added to it. It is killer at 5 months bulk aging. Started my recent batch in January and will keg it in a few months. Build up an inventory and or dedicate a carboy to let this stuff age. It improves immensely. My batches are a little over 6 months old now.

I propose an experiment. Pull off and bottle a gallon or 2. Bulk age the rest. Taste test in 3 months and let us know which is better.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast.

Unless you bump it and disturb all the gas - apple soda fountain!

 

[sundell]

+1 on the test

 

[HopHeaven]

While 6 months is a long time, I've recently found irrefutable proof that age helps this. I bottled after letting it sit for 2 months. The day of bottling, roommate who is a big wine drinker really liked it. Popped open a bottle a week later, roommate said it was even better. I'll be letting the batch I have going now with wine-soaked raisins go for about 5 months and then bottle.

Then again, I thought this stuff tasted great at the 2 month mark, but age would make it taste even more glorious. So balance your patience against need to drink some of this stuff ASAP.