Man, I love Apfelwein

[MidAtlanticBrew]

First batch .... I cut the sugar in half and I'm at week 7 as of today, tastes pretty good, tart for sure, definately a bit green and still cloudy ... added some Biofine today ... i'm sure my friends will want t dispatch this over the holidays

 

[HippyD]

With ec1118 is 4lbs/5gal overkill? Would it even ferment out? I accidentally added too much sugar,hope not all is lost.

 

[Maylar]

Did you measure the gravity?

 

[HippyD]

No hydrometer, so I just used the formula sg-og/.75. And estimated the SG to be 1.080-1.090 I could be wrong but I used eds treetop + 4lbs sugar. Mistake on my part, just hoping it turns out.

 

[HippyD]

Well I hydrated 2.5g ec1118 and pitched it to primary 5gal. I was just worried about my not seeing any signs of fermentation during the first few days. But now of course its looking pretty vigorous, hopefully it it isn't too rough and doesnt take a year to age.

 

[brewit75]

With ec1118 is 4lbs/5gal overkill? Would it even ferment out? I accidentally added too much sugar,hope not all is lost.

Well I hydrated 2.5g ec1118 and pitched it to primary 5gal. I was just worried about my not seeing any signs of fermentation during the first few days. But now of course its looking pretty vigorous, hopefully it it isn't too rough and doesnt take a year to age.

The 1118 is a beast of a yeast and will do just fine with all of that sugar. The problem you may have is, it will be super high in ABV that it may take a much longer time before it's able to be enjoyed. What you can do is, split this into 2 batches and just double the amount of juice. If you have extra carboy and airlock, this is probably the best option.

 

[brewit75]

With ec1118 is 4lbs/5gal overkill? Would it even ferment out? I accidentally added too much sugar,hope not all is lost.

Actually, you're close to making "Pappy's Ptub Cider" which doubles the sugar to juice ratio. Take a look at the link below or just search the forum. It's listed in the cider recipe database.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=408610

 

[HippyD]

Thanks brewit, I know I went against Ed's exact recipe, my lbhs didn't have the Montrachet, and I should've double checked my sugar measurements, but I'll definitely try to double up on juice, I'm 7 days in so hope it's not to late.

 

[ubermench]

Hi all - recently made my first batches of this. Based on the massive comment chains, this looks extremely promising...

Got a few questions which I can't seem to find great answers to in ALL the comments, so forgive me


I wanted to explore different variations on this, so I made 4 batches, each with 5 gallons Treetop juice + 2 lbs dextrose. Two batches received a pitch of Montrachet, the other two received Cote des Blancs, to look at the impact on final product.

Stupidly, I forgot to collect OG readings, but the consensus appears to be somewhere in the ballpark of 1.075. I'll just have to take readings for the next batch

Due to the time of year (started this in mid-October), ambient temperatures inside have been ~55-60 F, which made me somewhat concerned for its impact on fermenting. However, bubbles kicked off within 24 hours for each carboy, so I was happy. The Montrachet batches were more vigorous than the Cote des Blancs ones, but neither had any issues with blowoff. My bubbling looked nearly identical to those seen in the video in EdWort's original post, nothing like the Krausen seen in some other photos here (even the ones who still used wine yeasts).

Fast-forward 9 weeks, and all batches are crystal clear, with no sign of any bubbles in the Cote bathes in almost 2 weeks. I decide to keg up one batch of the Cote, to collect FG readings, as well as let it age for longer. FG was 1.020, a good bit above the 0.995 - 1.000 I was expecting... I realize 2 months in primary is young, I just wanted to see what it looked like at this point, and make some holiday Grog The others will be remaining in primary for at least another 2 months longer. The Montrachet batches have calmed down significantly, but still have a few *VERY* tiny bubbles rising up, which I'm assuming is a little bit of natural malolactic fermentation. The Montrachet batches also had a very noticeably larger amount of lees than the Cote batches.

Question time:

• I don't think the one Cote batch fermented fully, though it tasted fairly dry. Was this most likely due to fermenting too cold? It's now in a keg at ambient temp and off the lees, so restarting fermentation would be tricky...
• If this was too cold, I'll be starting another batch once temperature warm up a bit in early spring, and let them ferment over the spring / summer. Other than the yeast's upper temperature limit, what's a good upper bound to stay under in terms of room temperature for this? I normally use temperature control for beer, but due to the large scale of this experiment, it wasn't an option here.
• I don't do much bottling, I'm mostly a keg kind of guy. Since this needs to age after primary for some time, what would the best way to do this be? Age in kegs at low PSI for several months? Rack to another carboy for secondary?
• People clearly have no issues with letting this sit on the lees in primary for an extended period of time, even though my beer senses are getting anxious Is ~ 4 months okay to transfer out of primary, without worrying about autolysis from the lees?
• For each yeast strain, I had wanted to pitch a secondary fermentation of a well-cultured malolactic bacteria, to really hit the malolactic fermentation HARD, to convert the green apple new-wine flavors to a stronger buttery apple-pie vibe. By doing a batch of each yeast with and without pitching a malolactic bacteria, I'm looking forward to seeing the difference! Any recommendations for a culture? I would assume that pitching into a secondary carboy after 3-4 months of primary would be a good time.

From my taste so far, while a little green, I can see why it's so popular Looking forward to seeing how this smooths out in several months.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[mr_y82]

I don't imagine that those temps would have been problematic, but I am no expert...

I like to bulk age as long as I can, so I would rack to another carboy for secondary (keg idea sounds fine too, but I don't keg), and I don't think 4 mos in the primary will hurt it... I have only done a few batches of cider, but I think I have generally let them sit for a few months to clarify before racking to secondary...

That's all the help I've got... assuming it is even helpful!

Let us know how it goes!

edit: looking back at my records I have never left cider in the primary more than about 2 months before racking or bottling (racking is probably the better plan!)...

Your post inspired me to crack a bottle of 4 year old cider (had a little wildflower honey and Lalvin K1-V1116 wine yeast...). Tastes like a nice dry light wine, came in around 9%, and the honey made it clarify (I am guessing from a parallel recipe excepting that it used corn sugar instead of honey and did not clarify as quickly or as well... I have done more batches since and found that honey does seem to help cider clarify.)... Anyway, good plan!

Cheers!

 

[Lukass]

How long does a batch of EdWort's apfelwein typically take to carb in the bottle? I bottled mine about a month ago and aimed for around 2.5 vol CO2, but I'm waiting at least another 4-5 months before I even crack one open. I know ciders can take some serious time to carb in the bottle, just seeing what your experiences have been with carbonation time.

 

[thippe]

wow, so the montrachet was fine at 60? ive had a few batches going with heating pads recently here in maine because i didnt think that was warm enough.

Hi all - recently made my first batches of this. Based on the massive comment chains, this looks extremely promising...

Got a few questions which I can't seem to find great answers to in ALL the comments, so forgive me


I wanted to explore different variations on this, so I made 4 batches, each with 5 gallons Treetop juice + 2 lbs dextrose. Two batches received a pitch of Montrachet, the other two received Cote des Blancs, to look at the impact on final product.

Stupidly, I forgot to collect OG readings, but the consensus appears to be somewhere in the ballpark of 1.075. I'll just have to take readings for the next batch

Due to the time of year (started this in mid-October), ambient temperatures inside have been ~55-60 F, which made me somewhat concerned for its impact on fermenting. However, bubbles kicked off within 24 hours for each carboy, so I was happy. The Montrachet batches were more vigorous than the Cote des Blancs ones, but neither had any issues with blowoff. My bubbling looked nearly identical to those seen in the video in EdWort's original post, nothing like the Krausen seen in some other photos here (even the ones who still used wine yeasts).

Fast-forward 9 weeks, and all batches are crystal clear, with no sign of any bubbles in the Cote bathes in almost 2 weeks. I decide to keg up one batch of the Cote, to collect FG readings, as well as let it age for longer. FG was 1.020, a good bit above the 0.995 - 1.000 I was expecting... I realize 2 months in primary is young, I just wanted to see what it looked like at this point, and make some holiday Grog The others will be remaining in primary for at least another 2 months longer. The Montrachet batches have calmed down significantly, but still have a few *VERY* tiny bubbles rising up, which I'm assuming is a little bit of natural malolactic fermentation. The Montrachet batches also had a very noticeably larger amount of lees than the Cote batches.

Question time:

• I don't think the one Cote batch fermented fully, though it tasted fairly dry. Was this most likely due to fermenting too cold? It's now in a keg at ambient temp and off the lees, so restarting fermentation would be tricky...
• If this was too cold, I'll be starting another batch once temperature warm up a bit in early spring, and let them ferment over the spring / summer. Other than the yeast's upper temperature limit, what's a good upper bound to stay under in terms of room temperature for this? I normally use temperature control for beer, but due to the large scale of this experiment, it wasn't an option here.
• I don't do much bottling, I'm mostly a keg kind of guy. Since this needs to age after primary for some time, what would the best way to do this be? Age in kegs at low PSI for several months? Rack to another carboy for secondary?
• People clearly have no issues with letting this sit on the lees in primary for an extended period of time, even though my beer senses are getting anxious Is ~ 4 months okay to transfer out of primary, without worrying about autolysis from the lees?
• For each yeast strain, I had wanted to pitch a secondary fermentation of a well-cultured malolactic bacteria, to really hit the malolactic fermentation HARD, to convert the green apple new-wine flavors to a stronger buttery apple-pie vibe. By doing a batch of each yeast with and without pitching a malolactic bacteria, I'm looking forward to seeing the difference! Any recommendations for a culture? I would assume that pitching into a secondary carboy after 3-4 months of primary would be a good time.

From my taste so far, while a little green, I can see why it's so popular Looking forward to seeing how this smooths out in several months.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jblaschke]

I'm halfway through a 3 gallon fermentation. After having success with a BOMM mead, I'm trying a similar approach with the apfelwein. In addition to using Wyeast 1388 instead of Montrachet, I added 3 can of concentrate along with a pound of sugar. The sg reading when I pitched the yeast was 1.070, which should give me something close to 9.1 abv. I've got a couple other tweaks I'm going to try, but that gives you a good idea of what I'm up to.

 

[jblaschke]

How long does a batch of EdWort's apfelwein typically take to carb in the bottle?

I've never timed it, but I don't recall it taking a particularly long time if you've given it the right amount of priming sugar. Montrachet is a strong yeast that's not going to stall out at apfelwein alcohol levels. I'd expect a month to be plenty of time. Of course, ageing longer isn't going to do the drink any harm...

 

[jpoppinmoneyunit]

Has anyone tried dry hopping this Apfelwein? A local cidery here in town has a Hopped Cider that is quite excellent! Of course you would only do a minute amount of hops since this is a cider/apple wine.

What do y'all think? Too many pages to look through for answers..

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

hops in apfelwein!!!! ..... that's so american

Has anyone tried dry hopping this Apfelwein? A local cidery here in town has a Hopped Cider that is quite excellent! Of course you would only do a minute amount of hops since this is a cider/apple wine.

What do y'all think? Too many pages to look through for answers..

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

My first Edwort's took 7 weeks to clear and 2 weeks of sipping before I aquired the taste for it. Admittedly, I hated it at week 7 and vowed never to make it again. At week 8, I said to myself, I hated this less. At week 9 ,I'm thinking, I might do this again.

 

[heckofagator]

My first Edwort's took 7 weeks to clear and 2 weeks of sipping before I aquired the taste for it. Admittedly, I hated it at week 7 and vowed never to make it again. At week 8, I said to myself, I hated this less. At week 9 ,I'm thinking, I might do this again.

I made some in Feb 2016 and finally opened a bottle around Christmas, a week ago. I didn't really care for it, unfortunately. Kinda disappointed, really. Maybe age doesnt matter all that much.

 

[thippe]

I made some in Feb 2016 and finally opened a bottle around Christmas, a week ago. I didn't really care for it, unfortunately. Kinda disappointed, really. Maybe age doesnt matter all that much.

drink 3 in a row per ed worts instructions. it can be acquired for some

 

[lukie]

I'm going to make my first Apfelwein in my Fastferment. In regards to the apple juice, I cannot get Tree Top apple juice here in Toronto. Does anyone have a viable brand alternative that's not too pricey for 5 gallons? I went to my local walmart and the options I saw aren't too inviting, with all kinds of additives. Is pasterurized apple juice with vitamin C (absorbic acid) added okay for this? Does Costco have anything better? Many thanks!

 

[buMbLeB]

Walmart's Great Value brand has nothing other than ascorbic acid, is dirt cheap and works a treat.

 

[skraeling]

Walmart's Great Value brand has nothing other than ascorbic acid, is dirt cheap and works a treat.

Ive used it for my own ciders before as well. works like a dream.

 

[GrogNerd]

cider from Costco will work, no preservatives

plus organic, if you subscribe to that nonsense

 

[Scturo]

Made mine a month ago, and it still needs to clear up. Will wait another month before I check on it again.

As far as aging for ciders/Apfelweins go. My first cider was drinkable at 1 month bottling, but much better after 4 months.

 

[SHAIV]

Walmart's Great Value brand has nothing other than ascorbic acid, is dirt cheap and works a treat.

That's also what I've used made some good stuff. Just started another batch. I've got 2 oz of simcoe and about half an oz of cluster I could potentially use. Idk about the cluster but I was planning on using the 2 oz of simcoe after the 4 week fermentation. It's quite a lot for cider but I love ipas and simcoe is just sooo delicious. If it doesn't work out I'll probably just stick with brewing beer from now on

 

[lukie]

Walmart's Great Value brand has nothing other than ascorbic acid, is dirt cheap and works a treat.

Isn't that apple juice from concentrate? It is according to this link: http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/great-value-apple-juice/6000001842760
Is concentrate okay or does it impact the end product significantly?

So at a $1L it will be $23CAD. You're right, that is quite cheap, but I'm still concerned that it's from concentrate.

 

[GrogNerd]

Nothing wrong with "from concentrate"

I sometimes add frozen AJ concentrate to bump up the ABV without adding more sugar

 

[lukie]

Nothing wrong with "from concentrate"

I sometimes add frozen AJ concentrate to bump up the ABV without adding more sugar

Good to know. But is it okay to make it entirely out of concentrated juice or are there any sacrifices in terms of the end result?

 

[GrogNerd]

definitely OK

I use that WalMart juice for most of my cider/apple wine

 

[buMbLeB]

definitely OK

I use that WalMart juice for most of my cider/apple wine

What he said.