Man, I love Apfelwein

CornyKegs 728
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Thwizzit said:
Cool. I marked my calendar for July 17th to crack my first bottle. How long did you let it ferment before bottling?
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it's variable w/ the a-wine. Four weeks is the absolute minimum, w/ high ferm temps. Depend on your hydrometer and bottle when you are very close to 1.000 as Ed mentions in the OP. Mine was carbed with 1 cup of corn sugar.

It's tuff to wait, but I've found that making(several) EdWort's Pale Ale helps.
 
and only fitting that Ed posted #3000
It kinda gives me a warm tingly feeling inside to be part of something this big...Kinda like how it feels after a glass or 2 :mug:

I know it's been said before, but for over 5000 gallons made to date, 3,000 posts on this thread, over 1000 on the "How Many" and lots of independent threads on the subject, I think it's fitting to say again:

THANKS ED!

We should have T-Shirts!
"Official Apfelwein Brewers Society"
 
BigKahuna said:
and only fitting that Ed posted #3000
It kinda gives me a warm tingly feeling inside to be part of something this big...Kinda like how it feels after a glass or 2 :mug:

I know it's been said before, but for over 5000 gallons made to date, 3,000 posts on this thread, over 1000 on the "How Many" and lots of independent threads on the subject, I think it's fitting to say again:

THANKS ED!

We should have T-Shirts!
"Official Apfelwein Brewers Society"
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Thanks guys. I feel honored. Over 3,000 replies. Amazing. It's great that so many folks enjoy it and realize how simple it is to make.

I'm going to have to start another 10 gallons myself. :D
 
EdWort said:
I've done it once and it turned out fine. I probably won't do it again though. I think I prefer to clean out the carboy, freshly sanitize it, and use fresh yeast with each batch.
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I'm going to concur with this.

Unless you are practicing GREAT sanitization rules, you want to clean out your fermenter every other batch. Otherwise, you risk infection.)

Guys, (and gals) I used to do this professionally. (Making beer, that is.) We had bad batches, and itwas re-using the yeast too often.

steve
 
IrregularPulse I dont think that will work well. Something about ciders and meads being not real good for reusing the yeast.
 
IrregularPulse said:
I plan on pitching another 5 gallons of Juice on my yeast cake when this batch is done fermenting. and just adding the sugar.
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What do you gain by doing this? Yeast is fifty cents, why even chance it?

I started my first batch of this following the original recipe yesterday, I hope it lives up to the hype.
 
So I'd like to make some of this as my next batch (after my sweet choc. stout is done fermenting). But I know the OP says it comes out pretty dry. I'd love to read all 3000+ posts, but I don't have the time. What's the easiest way to get a sweeter product?
 
web250 said:
So I'd like to make some of this as my next batch (after my sweet choc. stout is done fermenting). But I know the OP says it comes out pretty dry. I'd love to read all 3000+ posts, but I don't have the time. What's the easiest way to get a sweeter product?
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I believe there is some discussion early in the thread about backsweetening with Splenda and other non fermentables. You can probably actually search the thread for that term as that's what I recall them calling it...
 
web250 said:
So I'd like to make some of this as my next batch (after my sweet choc. stout is done fermenting). But I know the OP says it comes out pretty dry. I'd love to read all 3000+ posts, but I don't have the time. What's the easiest way to get a sweeter product?
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Kitty Litter Brewing has a good bunch of posts about it..
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=51032
 
Hmmmmm I think I'll start another batch of apfelwein!!!!
Hell yeah!!!

LOL, I have 6L I am saving for My B-day! I will have aged 5months by then
 
SWMBO says I am not allowed to make this anymore. My basement smells like fart. :cross:

I trust that the smell will go away soon?
 
MULE said:
SWMBO says I am not allowed to make this anymore. My basement smells like fart. :cross:

I trust that the smell will go away soon?
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Blame it on the dog. :D Actually, just open up a window and turn on a fan. It lasts only a couple of days.

To me it's the aroma of sweet fermentation.:tank:
 
Crazytwoknobs said:
I have no experience with oak, but I don't think it'd turn out too well... I could be completely wrong.
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I agree. After aging 8 or more months, the apple flavor & aroma return stronger. It's too subtle to mess with by adding Oak to it.

Then again, I get all sorts of emails asking if I've done it this way or added this extra ingredient. I don't do anything different than what I listed in my recipe. It's the way I like it, and I keep it consistent.
 
I keep hearing about all these flatulent smells you guys get out of your fermenting apple wine. Well I am on day four and haven't had anything like that. The only smell I get is a small bit of apple juice, quite pleasant actually.
 
I finally tried the "3 glass rule" with my Apfelwein last night...the result was me getting pretty darn :drunk: , and falling asleep early! It certainly did start going down smoother mid-way through the 2nd glass...hehe.

Regardless though, I'm still going to experiment a bit with my next batch to get a somewhat less dry end product. The fun of brewing :)
 
Just cracked my first apfelwein last night. This stuff is very potent. I am a large man who can usually put down a lot of beer and vodka with little consequence. Two 22oz bottles and I was weaving around the house. Not going to go for three or I may end up on the floor! Stuff is mighty tasty even flat!
 
Redweasel said:
Just cracked my first apfelwein last night. This stuff is very potent. I am a large man who can usually put down a lot of beer and vodka with little consequence. Two 22oz bottles and I was weaving around the house.
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Hope you remembered your quart of water and three aspirin before retiring!

At least yours is in bottles...when you've got the stuff on tap, it's so easy to just keep "topping off" your glass, and lose track of consumption.
 
BlindLemonLars said:
Hope you remembered your quart of water and three aspirin before retiring!

At least yours is in bottles...when you've got the stuff on tap, it's so easy to just keep "topping off" your glass, and lose track of consumption.
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I always remember my water and ibroprophin. A buddy is going to put some on tap tomorrow, I'll be sure to warn him.:cross:
 
Has anyone used Tannin or Acid Blend in their Apfelwein? If so, when would you add them and what do they do?
 
Thor the Mighty said:
i might have a stuck fermentation....pitched the yeast a day after all of the main ingredients and no activity at all. wtf./
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Mine took about three days to get started. No worries.
 
Speaking of Fermentation. What constitutes rapid fermentation as opposed to slow fermentation as far as amount of time between bubbles?

When I started my Apfelwein it was bubbling once every two seconds, now it's bubbling once every six seconds. I would think that every two seconds would be considered rapid (although maybe a constant stream of bubbles is considered rapid) but I'm curious as to how many seconds between bubbles would be considered rapid, medium, slow etc.
 
Thwizzit said:
Speaking of Fermentation. What constitutes rapid fermentation as opposed to slow fermentation as far as amount of time between bubbles?

When I started my Apfelwein it was bubbling once every two seconds, now it's bubbling once every six seconds. I would think that every two seconds would be considered rapid (although maybe a constant stream of bubbles is considered rapid) but I'm curious as to how many seconds between bubbles would be considered rapid, medium, slow etc.
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Well actually bubbling in the airlock is not a true indicator of fermentation, the hydrometer is...So in a sense the question is moot....The airlock is outgassing oxygen initially and more importantly co2 (which is of course a byproduct of fermentation), but there are a lot of variables that come into play in terms of the airlock bubbling...You could have for example and bad seal between the grommet (or stopper) and the airlock, or the lid on the bucket isn't fully tight and gas is getting out elsewhere besides the airlock, or the stopper and mouth of the carboy and that would appear slow, while fermentaion is actually occuring rapidly... Or the little bubbler in the airlock could be sitting a little crooked, or become weighted down with tiny co2 bubbles and need to build up a good head of gas before blurping again.

Even having the airlock leaning slightly askew affects it.

I've got a beer in my fermentor that has had almost no airlock activity, but I see the liguid in the airlock is saturated with tiny bubbles so I'm pretty sure activity is occuring...But I won't really know until I take a hydro reading...But since I used a smack pack of yeast and a big starter I trust that the yeasties are doing their jobs...But my last beer on the other hand, the brown ale I pitched on a yeastcake from a previous batch sounded like a machine gun the way the bubbler was going up and down...I ended up needing a blow off tube once it got going...

So as you can see airlock activity varies, and should not be used a a sign of speed or lack of fermentation.
 
I was thinking about bottling this in wine bottles but I have never used them before. Is it okay to prime this to make it sparkling if using a corked bottle?
 
I am planning on making a batch this week and picked up some Publix brand Apple Juice which is 100% apple juice, no concentrate. Also it seems to have a lot of sugar in it, 26g per serving which seems to be high as well so what do you all think?
 
Thwizzit said:
If you bottle the Apfelwein before it ferments out will that make it sweeter or will it mess it up?
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You could just mix it 50/50 with some more apple juice right in the glass when you drink it.

Got my 1st half batch going today. I chose the Mr. Beer keg kit route like others on here have.
 
I have gotten lots of positive responses (no negative ones) from friends and family on the apfelwein. Of course I'm happy with it also, especially with a bunch all to myself. :)
 
I continue to be amazed by my Apfelwein experience. My "original recipe" Apfelwein has been in the fermenter for about six weeks now, and is still an opaque, hazy yellow. The batch I made with Premier Cuvee yeast was a nice, crystal clear amber color after less than four weeks (at which point I added blackberries). Both still have an unpleasant yeast taste to them.

Should I just let them sit for a while longer, or is it time to start thinking about cold crashing?
 
ArcaneXor said:
I continue to be amazed by my Apfelwein experience. My "original recipe" Apfelwein has been in the fermenter for about six weeks now, and is still an opaque, hazy yellow. The batch I made with Premier Cuvee yeast was a nice, crystal clear amber color after less than four weeks (at which point I added blackberries). Both still have an unpleasant yeast taste to them.

Should I just let them sit for a while longer, or is it time to start thinking about cold crashing?
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You can let them sit for bit or go ahead and bottle/keg. Let them sit for 3 months afterwards the yeast will settle out and the flavor will mellow nicely.

I would rack the AW off the berrys to a 2ndary. Let that sit for a bit before bottling. I would be patient with the added fruit. I've found waiting is a good idea. I have had gushers after 4 months. I used pasturized fruit too, so I'm convinced they were not infected. They were awesome at 2-3 months.
 

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