Man, I love Apfelwein

[podz]

SWMBO was drinking a still version of this tonight. I think I may have to cut her off of this! @$/^!

Whaaa? Cut a woman off booze? Which one of you lost your mind first?

 

[Wineomatic]

SWMBO was drinking a still version of this tonight. I think I may have to cut her off of this! @$/^!

Hmm, still deciding if I want to keep my still or carbonate it. I know it's all taste preference, I am sure it is good either way! Its only been three days since it started bubbling......I need a Flux Capacitor....

 

[BinghamtonEd]

Quick question for all you who've made this successfully : Mine has been in the primary (bucket) for 5 weeks. Should I continue to age it in the primary, or would I be fine to bottle it (with priming) and let it age in the bottle for another couple months?

 

[DrewschBag]

Some of that "it reminds you of something sweet, but doesn't have any sugar in it" flavor comes back as the alcohol mellows.

This is what I'm worried about as SWMBO would prefer it to be very dry. She's been looking forward to this because of her gluten issues. I tend to enjoy the process more than the product.

 

[thelerner]

Whoops, I filled up my 3 gallon carboy for my third batch and found out my airlock was missing its top and the 'umbrella' piece that goes over the small tube. Thus mostly worthless. I covered the top with aluminum foil and thought I'd get a new one the next day. But it took 3 days to get a new top. In retrospect I should have used the aluminum to recreate the umbrella part of the airlock too.

Anyway, my krausen, foam on top has been a grey brown color, instead of white. The smell is fine, but I'm wondering if its contaminated and I should throw the whole thing out?

Whats the word on a brown foam? I put a half cup boiled unsulphured dark raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and a vanilla bean into this batch, so maybe its normal??

 

[endorphine44]

Anyway, my krausen, foam on top has been a grey brown color, instead of white. The smell is fine, but I'm wondering if its contaminated and I should throw the whole thing out?

Whats the word on a brown foam? I put a half cup boiled unsulphured dark raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and a vanilla bean into this batch, so maybe its normal??

It's probably just the additions you made. I just started a new batch with cinnamon sticks in it, the krausen is brown. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Leadgolem]

Whoops, I filled up my 3 gallon carboy for my third batch and found out my airlock was missing its top and the 'umbrella' piece that goes over the small tube. Thus mostly worthless. I covered the top with aluminum foil and thought I'd get a new one the next day. But it took 3 days to get a new top. In retrospect I should have used the aluminum to recreate the umbrella part of the airlock too.

Anyway, my krausen, foam on top has been a grey brown color, instead of white. The smell is fine, but I'm wondering if its contaminated and I should throw the whole thing out?

Whats the word on a brown foam? I put a half cup boiled unsulphured dark raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and a vanilla bean into this batch, so maybe its normal??

It's probably just the additions you made. I just started a new batch with cinnamon sticks in it, the krausen is brown. I wouldn't worry about it.

+1 Yup, sounds like the cinnamon to me.

 

[Loodachris]

I could not get anyone that tried the apfelwein to say they liked it ( too dry, sour ect) leaving me with 10 16oz bottles just sitting in my garage since I didn't want to give anymore out. I had a empty keg so I decided to dump in all the bottles and add in a can of apple raspberry concentrate along with it put it on CO2 and now a week later it's fully carb'd and I can't keep the wife off the tap and my neighbor even brought over his mug a couple times today to fill up while he was working on his shed. Guess I know what I'll be doing next time I make this. Great for the perfect summer weather we are having now.

 

[SupervisingChildren]

Hmm, still deciding if I want to keep my still or carbonate it. I know it's all taste preference, I am sure it is good either way! Its only been three days since it started bubbling......I need a Flux Capacitor....

I do half and half. Bottle the still first, then I do half of the priming sugar you'd need. I dump rest of sugar into the next batch. Figure if someone doesn't want it still, you have carbed too.

 

[thelerner]

It's probably just the additions you made. I just started a new batch with cinnamon sticks in it, the krausen is brown. I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks. I have high hopes for this spiced batch.

 

[BrewerBear]

Quick question for all you who've made this successfully : Mine has been in the primary (bucket) for 5 weeks. Should I continue to age it in the primary, or would I be fine to bottle it (with priming) and let it age in the bottle for another couple months?

Either way is fine.

 

[BinghamtonEd]

Thanks, I just want to free up my buckets. My pipeline is about empty and I want to get an IPA going asap so I have something that will be ready soon while I wait for whatever I put in the other bucket.

I shouldn't have any issues with the bucket imparting flavors into other batches so long as it is thoroughly cleaned, right?

 

[Leadgolem]

Thanks, I just want to free up my buckets. My pipeline is about empty and I want to get an IPA going asap so I have something that will be ready soon while I wait for whatever I put in the other bucket.

I shouldn't have any issues with the bucket imparting flavors into other batches so long as it is thoroughly cleaned, right?

Well, the flavors do tend to linger. Scrubbing it out good with baking soda should do the trick. If you run several batches in a plastic fermenting bucket then you probably won't be able to get the flavors out of it, but after one batch it should be fine with the baking soda.

 

[chetduggan]

Since there are over 1100 pages and nothing really came up on a search for fractional freezing, wondered if anyone has tried this? If so, how'd it turn out? Got 5 gallons going right now and thought I might reduce/freeze 2 gal or so.

 

[podz]

Since there are over 1100 pages and nothing really came up on a search for fractional freezing, wondered if anyone has tried this? If so, how'd it turn out? Got 5 gallons going right now and thought I might reduce/freeze 2 gal or so.

Search for "applejack". This may or may not be legal in your jurisdiction.

 

[chetduggan]

We're not talking about distilling. That's a different proces altogether but thanks.

 

[podz]

Applejack is made by freezing apple wine and discarding the ice. Some claim that it is dangerous due to concentrating methanol that "might" have been produced in some small amount during fermentation. Others have drank it for years and still see 20/20. In any case, methanol has a lower vapor point than ethanol, so distallation is a sure fire method not to have methanol in your end product.

As said, there are often laws against freezing fermented liquids and tossing out the ice.

 

[Leadgolem]

I would appreciate it if the subject could be moved to another thread. Every time this comes up it turns into a debate on the legality of the matter.

 

[jstampler]

So my batch has been in the carboy for 16 days now and the bubbling has slowed to a crawl. I'm going to leave it in until it hits at least 6 weeks. I really want to try it carbed and still so that I know for the future what I prefer and to have it both ways for friends and family to test out.

Im new to this. If I bottle the first half and leave 2.5 gallons in the carboy, how exactly would I carb it? I have dextrose that I assume I would use, but at what quantity and would I mix it with some water or just dump it in? Do I stir it once its in?

 

[jstampler]

If I carb this would I be able to use swing top bottles or does this need to be capped in regular beer bottles?

 

[Pitman]

You can use swing tops

 

[FoCobrewguy]

Mason jars will work if you just want to back sweeten, I bottled about 1/3 of mine in mason jars, if you're looking for carbonation you'll need to use a keg or beer bottles to hold the pressure.
I might also add some k-meta or sorbate at the end of my next batch, I ended up with a little bit of yeast/trub in the bottom of my back sweetened bottles this time.

Hello endorphine. Do you do anything special when using mason jars? Just sanitize fill and cap...

 

[FoCobrewguy]

One other question. Anyone made this straight into a keg with an airlock lid? Don't have to worry about head space wasn't sure if there were any down falls? Have extra keg limited on carboys. Thanks for any tips in advance.

 

[endorphine44]

Hello endorphine. Do you do anything special when using mason jars? Just sanitize fill and cap...

That's it, just sanitize, fill, & cap. They won't hold much pressure so make sure fermentation is done.

 

[Wineomatic]

Hit FG 1.00 today after a week of bubbling!! Tasted a little bit of it, tasted pretty good, just needs to age a little bit!!

 

[judgerey]

Once bottled, what is the shelf life of apfelwein?

 

[Raenon]

Once bottled, what is the shelf life of apfelwein?

I think the general consensus is "longer than anyone can keep their hands off it"

Seriously, I just bottled 24 gallons that I'm giving away as favors to guests at my wedding, and I'm recommending they age it a further year to be opened on our first anniversary. I expect the last 30 bottles to be stored and drank at intervals over the next few decades on special occasions.

 

[jstampler]

I'm almost 3 weeks into my Apfelwein fermentation and it's beginning to clear. I'm going to leave it until the 6 week mark but it's time I start thinking about bottling. I plan on bottling 3 gallons still and then carbing the remaining 2 gallons and capping it in beer bottles. It's my first time making this so I want to figure out which way I prefer it.

I'm a little confused on how I will need to go about carbing this. I have dextrose, do I just put this directly into the carboy(how much dextrose?) or do I boil water and desolve it first? If so, how much water and dextrose would I need to use? Is there any easier way to carb than using dextrose?

Also, if I carb the remaining 2 gallons do I need to rack it off of the yeast into my primary bucket before bottling or can I just bottle right out of my carboy? I assume I'll have to wait a week or so before drinking once I bottle them?

If I want to age the still bottles, do I need to add anything to make sure they wont go bad if so, how is this done?

 

[Leadgolem]

I'm almost 3 weeks into my Apfelwein fermentation and it's beginning to clear. I'm going to leave it until the 6 week mark but it's time I start thinking about bottling. I plan on bottling 3 gallons still and then carbing the remaining 2 gallons and capping it in beer bottles. It's my first time making this so I want to figure out which way I prefer it.

I'm a little confused on how I will need to go about carbing this. I have dextrose, do I just put this directly into the carboy(how much dextrose?) or do I boil water and desolve it first? If so, how much water and dextrose would I need to use? Is there any easier way to carb than using dextrose?

Also, if I carb the remaining 2 gallons do I need to rack it off of the yeast into my primary bucket before bottling or can I just bottle right out of my carboy? I assume I'll have to wait a week or so before drinking once I bottle them?

If I want to age the still bottles, do I need to add anything to make sure they wont go bad if so, how is this done?

You will want to rack off the yeast before bottling. I suppose you could bottle directly from the carboy, but when you mix in your priming sugar you are going to stir up the yeast in the bottom of the fermentor. That's not usually desirable.

I prefer to dissolve my priming sugar in a quart or so of the brew. I also use a priming sugar calculator. Those do the math for you, in terms of how much dissolved co2 is likely to be present in the brew and how much more sugar you are going to need to reach your desired volumes of co2. I prefer between 2 and 2.5 volumes of co2 personally.

It's best to give it some time before drinking the bottled brew. There are two things, besides the actual aging, that are going to influence how long you'll want to wait before drinking the bottle.

The first is bottle shock, it's a bit more complex then this but basically you are going to want to let the solids stirred up in bottling settle back out. That usually only takes a few days.

The second is carbonation. Apfelwein is going to have far fewer yeast cells in suspension then say beer. That means it's going to take significantly longer to carb up then is typical with beer. It will happen, but a month isn't an unusual amount of time for it to take to fully carb. The longer it sits in primary, and the fewer active yeast cells are in suspension, the longer it will take. It can also take a longer then normal amount of time if the brew is sitting at less then 60f.

Neither of these things are really any cause for concern. The yeast will eat the sugar in the brew, even in the fridge. There will always be some yeast cells in each bottle, even in something that sat in primary for 6 months. It's just a matter of how fast things are going to happen.

You could add some wine stabilizer to the still version if you wish. IMO, it's not really necessary though. There aren't any alpha acids, or anything else for that matter, that are going to degrade the flavor of the apfelwein over time. If you are paranoid about acetobacter, then you could pasteurize the bottles after they are carbed, or immediately for the still apfelwein.

 

[jstampler]

You will want to rack off the yeast before bottling. I suppose you could bottle directly from the carboy, but when you mix in your priming sugar you are going to stir up the yeast in the bottom of the fermentor. That's not usually desirable.

I prefer to dissolve my priming sugar in a quart or so of the brew. I also use a priming sugar calculator. Those do the math for you, in terms of how much dissolved co2 is likely to be present in the brew and how much more sugar you are going to need to reach your desired volumes of co2. I prefer between 2 and 2.5 volumes of co2 personally.

It's best to give it some time before drinking the bottled brew. There are two things, besides the actual aging, that are going to influence how long you'll want to wait before drinking the bottle.

The first is bottle shock, it's a bit more complex then this but basically you are going to want to let the solids stirred up in bottling settle back out. That usually only takes a few days.

The second is carbonation. Apfelwein is going to have far fewer yeast cells in suspension then say beer. That means it's going to take significantly longer to carb up then is typical with beer. It will happen, but a month isn't an unusual amount of time for it to take to fully carb. The longer it sits in primary, and the fewer active yeast cells are in suspension, the longer it will take. It can also take a longer then normal amount of time if the brew is sitting at less then 60f.

Neither of these things are really any cause for concern. The yeast will eat the sugar in the brew, even in the fridge. There will always be some yeast cells in each bottle, even in something that sat in primary for 6 months. It's just a matter of how fast things are going to happen.

You could add some wine stabilizer to the still version if you wish. IMO, it's not really necessary though. There aren't any alpha acids, or anything else for that matter, that are going to degrade the flavor of the apfelwein over time. If you are paranoid about acetobacter, then you could pasteurize the bottles after they are carbed, or immediately for the still apfelwein.

Thanks for the response. Should I be adding campden tablets before bottling the still part?