Man, I love Apfelwein

[AkBrew907]

Coming up on 4 weeks on the 19th. Wait is killing me. Might siphon some off into a growler to taste with the wife and let the rest sit for a few months.

 

[hopfanatic]

Anyone had success using a Mr. Beer fermentor with this?
I have been fascinated reading through this thread, but have only gotten through a couple of hundred pages so far. I did a search of this thread, and while it was mentioned occasionally, as a plan people were planning on trying one, not much reporting if it went ok. Can anyone comment on how it turned out in a 2 gallon Mr. Beer?

I don't see why it wouldn't work, you have everything you need to ferment. Give it a shot and see what happens...what's it going hurt?

 

[Andyoesq]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, you have everything you need to ferment. Give it a shot and see what happens...what's it going hurt?

I guess my only concern was the the seal on the Mr. Beer is a little odd, and was wondering if not having a true seal there would spoil the applejuice or something?
Or, if having it in relatively cheap plastic for so long would somehow oxidate / turn the applejuice?

 

[hopfanatic]

I guess my only concern was the the seal on the Mr. Beer is a little odd, and was wondering if not having a true seal there would spoil the applejuice or something?

Or, if having it in relatively cheap plastic for so long would somehow oxidate / turn the applejuice?

As far as the seal: if you're brewing beer with it and your beer hasn't been skunked, I'd say you're good to go.

The plastic should be good- if I'm not mistaken, the fermenter is made from PET which, in addition to being food grade, is also pretty impervious to oxygen. I'd say you're in business. Give it a shot, man.

 

[hopfanatic]

So, it's been awhile since I've made apfelwein and since I had 3 gallons of apple juice and a bag of this wonderful smelling organic light brown sugar SWMBO bought, I thought I'd make some.

Ingredients:

3 gal of Apple juice
.75 lb of light brown sugar
1 pkg of Montrachet dry yeast
Yeast starter

The yeast starter really isn't necessary, I do it because I make mead and lots of big beers, so it's a habit for me.

Yeast starter:

500 ml of filtered tap water
.5 cup of light Dry Malt Extract
.5 teaspoon yeast nutrient
.5 teaspoon yeast booster

Process:
Boil water for 15 min, remove from heat, add DME, yeast nutrient and booster. Boil for additional 5 min. Remove from heat and cool until starter is 80-95 deg F. Once cool, pour into a sanitized mason jar, add yeast and stir with sanitized spoon until yeast is absorbed. Let sit covered for 20 min.

Process for apfelwein:

Pour 1 qt apple juice into a sauce pan and put on low heat.

While Apple juice is warming, pour remainder of apple juice (2.5 gal) into sanitized fermenter using a sanitized funnel.

Return to juice in saucepan and slowly add brown sugar until all of it is dissolved. Once dissolved, allow to cool for 5 min or so and pour into fermenter. Shake fermenter to mix.

Now, add your yeast starter- no mixing required. Install sanitized airlock, place fermenter in a cool, dark place and let the yeast do it's magic.

Ferment for 4 weeks then bottle.

Just made mine yesterday and you'll see some krausen at the top because of the vigorous fermentation due to the starter. Here's a picture...

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1426865171.748588.jpg

 

[BrewdogSC]

Mixed up a batch of EdWort's original recipe today, can't wait see how it turns out.

 

[Horsehead]

Steamed up some clams using the apfelwein for a base last night. Really turned out good.
More on point, the original recipe seemed a little thin. Added a cup of very strong black tea to my last batch to increase the tannin. A little soon for a verdict, but early testing is positive.

 

[hopfanatic]

Steamed up some clams using the apfelwein for a base last night. Really turned out good.

More on point, the original recipe seemed a little thin. Added a cup of very strong black tea to my last batch to increase the tannin. A little soon for a verdict, but early testing is positive.

I was thinking about adding black tea for the tannin as well. Could you post back once you get a good sample?

 

[photobru]

Since I want a carbed cider that isn't too dry can I backsweeten with lactose when I add my priming sugar? Or will the wine yeast eat that too?

 

[hopfanatic]

Since I want a carbed cider that isn't too dry can I backsweeten with lactose when I add my priming sugar? Or will the wine yeast eat that too?

Yes, you can use lactose and the yeast won't touch it.

 

[rockydog101]

I siphoned off a very small amount of 7 week old Apfelwein that's still in the carboy. Tasted delicious. Can't wait to try it at 3, 6, 9 months, etc.

 

[bembel]

After 100s of successful gallons of cider and applewine, I had a very promising batch get acetified in less than a week after a 6 week primary fermentation finally slowed down. This was an odd batch to start with, the Kreusen and fermentation lasted a STEADY 5 weeks, and even though the temps were never more than 64F, I had crazy banana smell from the airlock and I was really excited since the samples after week 4 and 5 were off the charts,

I would appreciate any thoughts on why this went wrong

6 gallons Motts
Tartaric acid. was low .47.
Added 5 teaspoons malic as well as 1.25 teaspoons tannin.
Added 2LBS turbinado sugar and 2 oz raisins

Pitched 2/14/15 harvested Wyeast 3056 (from jan 25) in a 2 cup starter.

CRAZY KRAUSEN within 1 day, rich, foamy beige bubble gunk blew out of airlock and has filled headspace in a 6 gallon BB carboy.
steady temps 61-63, Kreusen has NOT fallen, steady air bubbles as of 2/24/15- light sulfur smell mixed with apple.

I took a wine thief sample on 3/1 and another on 3/14, SG was down to 1004 and the aroma and flavor were amazing, but I STILL had active kreusen on top

on 3/22 the Kreusen was nearly gone, so I racked and immediately smelled that it was just starting to turn to vinegar, you could really smell it when racking, the flavor is still nice, but with a hint of sour.

in the secondary, I hit it last night with 2.5 grams of K-meta and 4 teaspoons or K-sorbate based on recommended doses to hopefully arrest the acetification, ( is this even possible) and airlocked it with an inch of headspace.

So, please chime in if you can offer advice

#1, should I just toss it, will it get worse?

#2 should I have racked sooner, even though the fermentation was still very active?

#3 is there a better way to sample multiple times from a carboy without exposing the juice to O2?

#4 How the HECK did I get banana esters from apple juice at 63F

Thanks!!

 

[hopfanatic]

After 100s of successful gallons of cider and applewine, I had a very promising batch get acetified in less than a week after a 6 week primary fermentation finally slowed down. This was an odd batch to start with, the Kreusen and fermentation lasted a STEADY 5 weeks, and even though the temps were never more than 64F, I had crazy banana smell from the airlock and I was really excited since the samples after week 4 and 5 were off the charts,



I would appreciate any thoughts on why this went wrong



6 gallons Motts

Tartaric acid. was low .47.

Added 5 teaspoons malic as well as 1.25 teaspoons tannin.

Added 2LBS turbinado sugar and 2 oz raisins



Pitched 2/14/15 harvested Wyeast 3056 (from jan 25) in a 2 cup starter.



CRAZY KRAUSEN within 1 day, rich, foamy beige bubble gunk blew out of airlock and has filled headspace in a 6 gallon BB carboy.

steady temps 61-63, Kreusen has NOT fallen, steady air bubbles as of 2/24/15- light sulfur smell mixed with apple.



I took a wine thief sample on 3/1 and another on 3/14, SG was down to 1004 and the aroma and flavor were amazing, but I STILL had active kreusen on top



on 3/22 the Kreusen was nearly gone, so I racked and immediately smelled that it was just starting to turn to vinegar, you could really smell it when racking, the flavor is still nice, but with a hint of sour.



in the secondary, I hit it last night with 2.5 grams of K-meta and 4 teaspoons or K-sorbate based on recommended doses to hopefully arrest the acetification, ( is this even possible) and airlocked it with an inch of headspace.



So, please chime in if you can offer advice



#1, should I just toss it, will it get worse?



#2 should I have racked sooner, even though the fermentation was still very active?



#3 is there a better way to sample multiple times from a carboy without exposing the juice to O2?



#4 How the HECK did I get banana esters from apple juice at 63F



Thanks!!

What yeast are you using?

 

[bembel]

What yeast are you using?

About halfway through the original post

"Pitched 2/14/15 harvested Wyeast 3056 (from jan 25) in a 2 cup starter."

That was one of the strange things, with wort, this yeast eats through in about 5 days at a cooler temp, but with apple juice plus sugar, it took 6 weeks?

 

[hopfanatic]

About halfway through the original post



"Pitched 2/14/15 harvested Wyeast 3056 (from jan 25) in a 2 cup starter."



That was one of the strange things, with wort, this yeast eats through in about 5 days at a cooler temp, but with apple juice plus sugar, it took 6 weeks?

Sorry, didn't see that about the yeast. I've never used ale yeast to make apfelwein or cider, I've always used either wine or champagne yeast and have had fantastic results. From my experience, the juice takes longer to ferment because there are more fermentable sugars in fruit juice than there are in wort. I would suspect the banana esters are from the yeast you're using. I generally get more of a sulfur smell with the yeast I use.

 

[AkBrew907]

So I have about 6 gallons in a carboy that's been sitting for about 5 weeks. If I was to siphon half out and bottle is there any ill effect to leave the other 3 gallons in a half filled car boy?

Planned to bottle and carbonate the first 3 gallons. Just use same measurements as I do when doing beer?(using corn sugar)

 

[AkBrew907]

One more thought. Would racking the other 3 gallons into some large growlers to let sit for a few more months be ok? Will just use some large plastic hose into vodka as an airlock or something. I want to use my carboy for other projects

 

[TBaGZ]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1427411598.746360.jpg

Three gallon batch with s04 about three weeks in. Super cloud bomb! Should it start to drop clear soon?

 

[Viper2k3sr]

It should drop soon, as per siphoning off 3 gals and leaving 3 in the carboy it should be fine but be careful you don't contaminate the batch

 

[TBaGZ]

It was only three gallons to start with.

 

[Viper2k3sr]

Actually i was replying to you and the previous comment together. Sorry should have made that more clear

 

[Goofynewfie]

Just found a bottle from 2013 in my basement. Now I can't decide if I want to open it or age it more. Its the last one from that batch

 

[Dominic1920]

Just found a bottle from 2013 in my basement. Now I can't decide if I want to open it or age it more. Its the last one from that batch

Drink that puppy. Let us know how it is though.

 

[snacks]

I read this entire thread a while back and I don't recall if it's recommended to keep the Apfelwein in the carboy the entire time (3-8months) or to rack into secondary to age or bottles once fermentation has completed.

 

[Viper2k3sr]

Typically i rack mine off like a wine to clear and if it is a still batch to degas

 

[bembel]

Another good trick, if you have access to an extra corny keg and a picnic tap, is to take a batch that just turned out 'so so' and then give it a full recommended dose of potassium sorbate as well as K -Meta ( I think this concentration makes it un-drinkable, but it also makes it nearly inert. Which is a great thing to have if you plan to rack a few times.

When racking, use this to close off the headspace. It foams up and pushes any O2 out.

I now rack 3 times, as soon after primary is slowed down to a crawl (3-4 weeks) then about a month later as more lees drop out. After the second racking I can tell if I want to bottle or not. Based on results. Great gets bottled. Less than great goes into a keg. If I want to bottle? I generally I bulk condition it cold for another month to clear it then bottle. No carb or priming. Just still.

 

[Grunner]

I've made about eight 5-gallon batches of this. I experimented with when to bottle but typically will leave the batch in the 5 gallon carboy for no less than 2 months untouched. I've left several batches for the full three months untouched before bottling and it tastes really good. I leave it to fully ferment out all the dextrose which gives it a dryer taste which I really like. Hope this helps some.

 

[DerrangedPOJO]

I have a batch that has been in the carboy for 6 weeks. It has cleared completely! I used Nottingham yeast. My issue it is stuck at 1.04.... it seems to still be fermenting due to the small bubbles on the top..? The temp is around 65 in my basement. should it be farther than that by now if so what do i need to do know?

 

[Viper2k3sr]

Small bubbles typically means MLF (maliolactic fermentation) let it go a bit longer

 

[Horsehead]

I did a batch or two per EdWort''s recipe and was very pleased. So naturally I decided I had better fix it. My first mod was the addition of black tea, for tannin which I think will be a good choice, if there is anything left to sample when it finishes.

My house stays at lagering temps 6 or 8 months out of the year, but I like lager. But the thing is, it takes apfelwein a long time to finish. The fact is that the "flat" bottled examples of my early batches produce an impressive head when poured, and are very easy to uncork.

But anyway, where I was going with this story is that I wanted to see how this recipe would work out with other juices. I thought I would try a gallon batch using Costco cranberry (cocktail) juice. So, I got my fermenter ready, boiled up a cup of tea, (because that's just my irrational thing, now) and began to think about the parameters of my experiment. That's when it occurred to me that I had always just whipped up the recipe without ever bothering to check beginning or end gravities.

Obviously, one does not just give up when in the pursuit of science. One makes the best assumptions possible, and proceeds with the best information available. Yep, even if it's all bull****.

So, I said to myself, Self, you are extrapolating from the Apfelweiin recipe, and Apfelwein is just a light, low alcohol wine, and the OG for wine starts at about 1.1 and you're at about 1.07 now so you are going to have to throw in about a pound of sugar to get you where you want to be. So I did, and topped the gallon up to the neck, and pitched a full packet of yeast.

Over the next three days, I recovered the air lock, about five times, from various locations around the house and washed out the gelatinous krausen it was filled with, and returned it to the fermenter. On about the fifth day, the lock settled down to a nice burp every 10 seconds or so. It is just a one gallon batch. Now, about four months down the road, the activity has slowed to a comfortable burp once every 12 seconds.

I've actually racked it to a clean fermenter twice. I guess the question is, have I created a perpetual motion machine?