Man, I love Apfelwein

[idrinkstuffnthings]

First glass of carbed apfelwein from the brand new keg system. All I can say is......man... I love apfelwein. Cheers!

 

[sethlovex]

First glass of carbed apfelwein from the brand new keg system. All I can say is......man... I love apfelwein. Cheers!

Picture?

 

[sethlovex]

Sorry Apfelwein is better than porn

 

[Leadgolem]

Sorry Apfelwein is better than porn

Brewing porn.

What is your avatar anyway?

 

[sethlovex]

Oh my that looks delicious.

It's a spice rub I made for a chicken wing recipe on HBT. It was really good. Search anybody got BBQ 25 or apl chicken wings

 

[idrinkstuffnthings]

Picture?

There ya go

 

[Roughster]

OK I have gone through 500+ pages of this thread, still working on the next 600 ish

While I keep reading as of today 05/02/13, can I get some thoughts on:

- To rack or not to rack after it ferments dry? Seems like varying opinions, is there a current consensus on this or just leave it in the primary for the entire 3 months?
- To carb or not to carb? Mine has definitely fermented to dryness. Will it be impossible for me to bottle carb this in the bottle by adding dextrose? Or will I need to add more yeast?

Thanks for any thoughts / suggestions

 

[Walter_Whites_Batch]

OK I have gone through 500+ pages of this thread, still working on the next 600 ish

While I keep reading as of today 05/02/13, can I get some thoughts on:

- To rack or not to rack after it ferments dry? Seems like varying opinions, is there a current consensus on this or just leave it in the primary for the entire 3 months?
- To carb or not to carb? Mine has definitely fermented to dryness. Will it be impossible for me to bottle carb this in the bottle by adding dextrose? Or will I need to add more yeast?

Thanks for any thoughts / suggestions

I’ve read the whole thread. Consensus is: no need to rack. Leave it in primary as long as you can stand. Beyond 6 months even, 1 month being the minimum. Almost everyone seems to enjoy it carbed. I bottle carb mine just as I do with my beer. I think this takes a bit longer to bottle carb than beer. It does taste good chilled and still, though. Even at gravity below 0.99, the Montrachet will carb up 5 gallons if you add a ¾ cup of dextrose.

 

[Roughster]

Awesome Walter, really appreciate it!

 

[Pitman]

My second batch has been in the carboy for about 2.5 months. I am going to prime and bottle in flip top bottles like I did last time. This time I would like to prime with frozen apple juice concentrate. Does anyone know how much to use for 6 gallons? Has anyone done this?

 

[bleme]

My second batch has been in the carboy for about 2.5 months. I am going to prime and bottle in flip top bottles like I did last time. This time I would like to prime with frozen apple juice concentrate. Does anyone know how much to use for 6 gallons? Has anyone done this?

That's a tough one because there isn't any standard for how much sugar the apple juice concentrate is supposed to contain.

You wouldn't happen to have a refractometer would you?

 

[detlion1643]

I seem to recall lots of posts about adding 1 can of concentrate into the bottling bucket for 5 gallons. Of course, as mentioned, there are different sugar amounts in different concentrates.

I've never carbed a batch yet, but if it was me, i'd be inclined to do 1 can and see how it works. Work up another batch and if 1 can proved too little carb, use 2 cans the next batch. You can always cut with ginger ale in the glass if the first 1 can attempt didn't do enough.

 

[Leadgolem]

Lets see. 1 can of apple juice concentrate usually makes 2 quarts of juice with a gravity of around 1.050. 1lb of table sugar has 46 gravity points, though that does not compensate for the increase in volume from the sugar addition. That should put 1 can of apple juice concentrate roughly equivalent to just under 1/2 lb of sugar.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

For 2.25 volumes of co2 in a 5 gallon batch at 75f you would need 3.7oz of table sugar. That would be about 1/2 a can of apple juice concentrate I think.

You could always use a soda bottle as a pressure tester, and then bottle pasteurize when you reach your desired level of carbonation.

 

[mike_in_ak]

So mine was awesome.

Then I bottled.

Even the still stuff isn't as good now.

Does it have to settle/age after bottling?

(Sanitation is not the issue.)

 

[mike_in_ak]

It is about 6.5 months old.

6 months in carboy.

7 days in bottles.

 

[Leadgolem]

How did you do your bottling? Did you maybe oxidize the brew?

 

[BrewerBear]

probably bottle shock,just needs some time.

 

[mike_in_ak]

How did you do your bottling? Did you maybe oxidize the brew?

I could have I guess, but it doesn't have the tastes I associate with that, but I don't have an expert palate. I bottled normally, racked to bucket, uses spigot with bottling wand attached.

probably bottle shock,just needs some time.

Interesting stuff. I hadn't heard that term, probably because I am not familiar with wine stuff. Hope you're right.

My thinking was "hey I didn't carb these so I can drink them right away!" Well apparently there's a catch.

I should have just left it in the carboy and drank it with a straw.

 

[robertfraser]

I should have just left it in the carboy and drank it with a straw.....



Awesome. Love it!

 

[Leadgolem]

I could have I guess, but it doesn't have the tastes I associate with that, but I don't have an expert palate. I bottled normally, racked to bucket, uses spigot with bottling wand attached.





Interesting stuff. I hadn't heard that term, probably because I am not familiar with wine stuff. Hope you're right.

My thinking was "hey I didn't carb these so I can drink them right away!" Well apparently there's a catch.

I should have just left it in the carboy and drank it with a straw.

That would have been hilarious. :fro:

I think you're fine as far as oxidation goes. A bottling wand doesn't allow for a lot of aeration of the brew.

Yeah, it's probably just bottle shock.

 

[mpride1911]

I made mine back in January and transferred it 3-4 times and added potassium sorbate and a campden tablet over a week ago. I just transferred it to old cork top whiskey bottles yesterday but it keep popping the corks off. Can anyone tell me why? Do I need to pasteurize it even after the potassium sorbate?

 

[Leadgolem]

I made mine back in January and transferred it 3-4 times and added potassium sorbate and a campden tablet over a week ago. I just transferred it to old cork top whiskey bottles yesterday but it keep popping the corks off. Can anyone tell me why? Do I need to pasteurize it even after the potassium sorbate?

Yes. Potassium sorbate prevents yeast reproduction, it doesn't kill live yeast. It's effectiveness is also dependent on the ph of the solution it's in, so dosing can be a bit tricky.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

That's a tough one because there isn't any standard for how much sugar the apple juice concentrate is supposed to contain.

You wouldn't happen to have a refractometer would you?

Couldn't he just stir in concentrate slowly until he hits the right gravity for bottle carbonating? I am not sure of this, but I think it is something like 1 gravity point per 0.5 volumes of CO2. (Legal Disclaimer - if you blindly follow these numbers and get bottle bombs, it's your own **** fault for not checking and trusting half-in-the-bag strangers in a homebrew forum. Shame on you).

 

[Tritonal]

Running into a little problem with my apple wine I started it on 09-28-2012 and have since moved to a new house. I moved the carboy to the basement where it stays cool but I noticed earlier when I went down there to check it out (it's been since januaryish since last time I looked) and noticed there was a thin layer of mold on top. Do you think it can be saved? Should I try and bottle it now? And if its not very sweet is there anything I can add to it?

 

[Walter_Whites_Batch]

+1 for aging in the bottle, and I don't think I have the self control to wait 8 months...

 

[blades144]

I have read about 2/3 of this thread and have yet to see or missed it being mentioned using Wyeast Labs 4766 Cider Yeast or a White Labs WLP775 English Cider Yeast. It seems to me either of these would be more suitable no?

I used the WLP775 and EdWort's recipe to a "T" otherwise and the end result was amazing. I must ask even though I didn't wait as long to bottle as some my OG and FG have this sitting at about 7.75% ABV., why would this ferment so quickly over the Montrachet?

 

[mike_in_ak]

No, recipe is for Montrachet. It's very specific, as in if you want this goodness, get that yeast. People do use other things, but this is supposed to finish like a dry wine not a cider.

And if you search around, I believe the consensus you will find is that wyeast cider is no good. I bought and then never used my pack for anything after reading about it.

Many, possibly most, of the cider recipes on these forums do not use "cider" yeast but instead use a neutral ale yeast, wine yeast, or champagne yeast.

 

[zachary80]

I considered posting another thread, but I'll just add my apfelwein experience to this one. I've tried a few variations on the recipe:
Montrachet, 1 month - good
Montrachet, 3 months - very good
Premier Cuvee, 10 months - okay, maybe oxidized?
Montrachet, 4 gallons apple juice 1 gallon "Berry Blend" - dark pink when first made, light pink after a couple weeks, regular color after bottling. Berry flavor isn't prominent, just "different"
Montrachet, Substitute 2 cans of concentrate for 1/2lb of sugar, (no sample yet) - this one still appeared for have an active fermentation for weeks after a regular apfelwein would

 

[Leadgolem]

Running into a little problem with my apple wine I started it on 09-28-2012 and have since moved to a new house. I moved the carboy to the basement where it stays cool but I noticed earlier when I went down there to check it out (it's been since januaryish since last time I looked) and noticed there was a thin layer of mold on top. Do you think it can be saved? Should I try and bottle it now? And if its not very sweet is there anything I can add to it?

If it was mine I would rack it out from underneath the mold. Then taste it. If it tastes ok, I'd bottle and bottle pasteurize.

If you want it to be sweeter, then go ahead and add sugar before you pasteurize. The yeast will be dead, so you won't be making bottle bombs.

 

[thejudge]

Black or Green mold, trash it. White mold, I'd rack below it and try it. If you have no bad off taste then probably be ok just treat it and bottle it.