Man, I love Apfelwein

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MCH said:
Did a quick search and couldn't find an answer.

I plan on bottling half carbonated and half still. What's the best method?? Transferring the entire 5 gallons into the bottling bucket, then bottling half of it and then adding approx. 1/2 the regular amount of priming sugar??

Or would just putting approx. 2 1/2 tsp of sugar in each 12 oz. bottle work just as easily???
Click to expand...

DO NOT try and prime individual bottles....that's just asking for trouble.

Your first method is the best.
 
MCH said:
Did a quick search and couldn't find an answer.

I plan on bottling half carbonated and half still. What's the best method?? Transferring the entire 5 gallons into the bottling bucket, then bottling half of it and then adding approx. 1/2 the regular amount of priming sugar??

Or would just putting approx. 2 1/2 tsp of sugar in each 12 oz. bottle work just as easily???
Click to expand...

Adding sugar to each bottle is a PITA as well as potentially dangerous. Bottle half then add sugar to the bottling bucket to ensure even priming.
 
solidghost said:
Okay, just my 2nd day fermenting the apfelwein and the airlock smells of ........well, apple juice! Is there something wrong with that? No alcohol smell (that you would normally associate with beer making), just sweet apple juice.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how it should smell, once any sulfur is released anyway. ;)
 
Saccharomyces said:
Add sugar until the hydrometer reads 1.100. :rockin: Don't go over 24 Brix (about 1.110), or Montrachet will stall out. Oh, and don't use an airlock for the first 4-5 days at that high of a gravity, it needs access to oxygen.

If you try it that strong... allow at least six months. I tasted it after two months and it was nast-ay yeasty alcohol burn.
Click to expand...

How does this turn out after you age it?
 
Finally tried EdWort's Apfelwein. It's day three and the airlock is going like crazy and my whole bedroom smelled like sulfur with a hint of apple so SWMBO made me stash it in the basement. Is that normal? I don't really have any questions or comments beyond that, I mainly just wanted to announce my assimilation into the Apfelwein collective and be part of this ridiculously long thread. :D

f_008.jpg
 
Anyone try this with Lalvin Saccharomyces bayanus yeast? The LHBS was out of Montrachet, and owner suggested I used that yeast when I explained it was supposed to be a dry cider (around 1.000 FG). Hopefully this yeast will work fine because I just mixed up a 5 gallon batch of it! :drunk:
 
Last night I brought a few bottles of apfelwein to a dinner party, knowing my friend's wife would be there. She's from Germany, but has spent the second half of her life living here in the USA. Every time she visits home, she brings me a bottle of wonderful German brandy, so I wanted to do something for her. Well she lit up like a xmas tree when I told her I had apfelwein, and couldn't wait to try it.

To cut to the chase, she loved it, and said it was exactly like the commercial apfelwein she remembers from home. She even got rather emotional about it, which surprised me, but I'm sure she was sincere. Soon, all the guests were loudly "prosting" each other with apfelwein...considering that most of them were latino, this was rather amusing to hear!

I'm mailing her a printout of the recipe, hopefully she'll be making her own soon.
 
After reading through about 58 1/2 pages of this thread I noticed that I had to just post as everything has been asked, commented on and repeat...

I just started my cider last week using real apple juice that I pressed. I waited until the next morning to add the yeast and used Pasteur Champagne yeast. This is the style that I am looking for and I have more experience with wine than I do beer, so this is right up my alley. I am aiming for a very dry, crisp and refreshing cider that I will then carbonate similar to champagne.

Here are the questions that I am looking to get answered.

1. Has the bottle conditioning gotten figured out yet? For 5 gallons any thoughts on the amount of sugar?

2. What is the longest anyone has had this around in the bottle?

Thanks much for everyone. As I said, I got through a ton of pages and didn't yet see my answer. Sorry if you answer this for the hundredth time, but I am not going to read through 347 pages (took me five days to get through what I did)

Cheers,
Matt

PS...I am reading some wine forums too, but I think that in 350 pages, something might have been figured out :D
 
Matt Up North said:
I think that in 350 pages, something might have been figured out :D
Click to expand...

You'd think so right! Thing is we all drink up, drunk up...and forget whatever it is we learned,.....make some more and try again.

1 oz corn sugar per gallon works very nicely. I don't suspect you'll have it around very long for a while....because it takes a while to stock up enough that you have some to put back.
 
I think that I will make some more out of storebought juice that will go faster. I don't want to say that this is super special, but I put a couple days into harvesting and pressing this stuff. No 30 minute session on this guy, so I think I will save it a bit more.

Lastly I am interested in the aging potential.
 
Mmmmmmm...

Two days into my last batch made and the scent of the farts of a thousand rhinos is permeating the basement...

Life is good...
 
Just checked my apfelwein started on July 26. Gravity is .998. It appears cloudy in the carboy. Once I sampled my sample, I found it to be a clear straw to gold in color. The flavor on the front of the palate is delicious! Time to bottle and start afresh.

Again and again, many many thanks Ed Wort!
 
I have my 2nd batch fermenting. To be honest I don't recall how long its been sitting but between feb and march. Used 4#'s of corn sugar. I'm going to try n make it like sparking wine, bottle, mushroom cork, n carb. Going to make it ready for thanksgiving I hope. Besides its slight darkness its crystal clear! Looks sooo yummy!!

Slight off topic question... Can a high end capper bottle mushroom corks? I'm looking at buying one and don't wanna buy a wine corker. (will probably borrow one if I have to.
 
DeadDoc, have you bottled already and if so what is the carbonation like? How long in the bottle so far? What yeast did you use?
 
Saccharomyces said:
That's exactly how it should smell, once any sulfur is released anyway. ;)
Click to expand...

Thank god I didn't smell any sulfur. I would be killed on the spot.
I think what they say is right, use Yeast nutrients to prevent sulfur being released. And I am using the Cote des Blanc yeast.
 
Matt Up North said:
DeadDoc, have you bottled already and if so what is the carbonation like? How long in the bottle so far? What yeast did you use?
Click to expand...

I have not bottled it yet. I will bottle no later than October to at least have it a month to bottle condition. I'm looking at 3.0-3.5 vol of carbonation. Standard dry yeast Montrachet or what ever it is.
 
Primed and bottled my 5 gallons last night into 3 64oz growlers, 1 1 liter flip top, 16 grolsch flip tops and several 22oz bottles.

I saved 1 12oz bottle and chilled it. Served in wine glasses. The wife isn't sure yet. I love the stuff. I can't wait till it is carbed. I have to get started on 10 more gallons this week so I have more before I run out of the current batch.

Thanks again for sharing this recipe Ed.
 
Made my first batch tonight and followed the recipe exactly. I have one question, my basement temperature is usually 65-69, is that going to be a problem or slow fermentation? Thanks.
 
On the 25th I started a batch of this using 5 gallons of Mott's apple juice (from concentrate), two pounds of 10x powdered sugar and a vial of white labs Sweet Mead/wine yeast.
I'm afraid that I chose the wrong yeast for the job and will be left with something not fully fermented and too sweet, but I'll end up bottle conditioning it like I have been with beer and see what I end up with.
My LHBS only carries White Labs and my question is which of their strains would be most similar to the Montrachet yeast mentioned? Possibly the Champagne yeast, or the English Cider? (Sorry if this has already been discussed but pardon me for not looking through all 375 pages of this two year old thread)
 
BigKahuna said:
Um....All the powdered sugar I know of is about 25# Corn Starch. I don't know what sof 10X is, or what it contains...but I don't think that Corn Starch is in Ed's list of ingredients.....Post a Pick...It may just settle out.
Click to expand...

I believe "10x" sugar is another name for bartender's sugar, which is regular sucrose that has been finely powdered to help it dissolve quickly. If that's the case, SFsorrow's batch should turn out OK.

Personally I think Ed's recipe is perfection, I don't know why people stray from it.
 
BlindLemonLars said:
Personally I think Ed's recipe is perfection, I don't know why people stray from it.
Click to expand...

I DO I DO!
I agree that Apfelwein is the "Beer" Than 'ol Ben was drinking when he said it was proof that God Loves Us. BUT! There is some serious allure to what I will forever call the EdWort Method. Not that you'll produce "Apfelwein" as that is a clone of a commercial product. But you gotta admit that Juice + Sugar + Yeast = GOOD DRINK....is pretty damn COOL


BlindLemonLars said:
I believe "10x" sugar is another name for bartender's sugar, which is regular sucrose that has been finely powdered to help it dissolve quickly.
Click to expand...

Disaster Averted!
 
BlindLemonLars said:
I believe "10x" sugar is another name for bartender's sugar, which is regular sucrose that has been finely powdered to help it dissolve quickly. If that's the case, SFsorrow's batch should turn out OK.

Personally I think Ed's recipe is perfection, I don't know why people stray from it.
Click to expand...

Bingo! I figured it would be easier to dissolve the finer ground sugar given the larger surface area it had compared to normal sugar grains. Unfortunately there has been some settlement at the bottom of my carboy, I've shaken the thing every now and again over the past couple of days and a bit of it has dissolved out into the juice but there is still some settlement. There is no corn starch listed in the sugar.

I never intended to stray from his recipe, he just should have chosen a better yeast supplier :cross:
 
SFsorrow said:
On the 25th I started a batch of this using 5 gallons of Mott's apple juice (from concentrate), two pounds of 10x powdered sugar and a vial of white labs Sweet Mead/wine yeast.
I'm afraid that I chose the wrong yeast for the job and will be left with something not fully fermented and too sweet, but I'll end up bottle conditioning it like I have been with beer and see what I end up with.
My LHBS only carries White Labs and my question is which of their strains would be most similar to the Montrachet yeast mentioned? Possibly the Champagne yeast, or the English Cider? (Sorry if this has already been discussed but pardon me for not looking through all 375 pages of this two year old thread)
Click to expand...

Well.... it will be a fully finish fermentation if the attenuation holds true. percentage from higher to lower gravity or something like that. A lower one will equal sometimes a sweeter product as there is still sugars left in the end product. A champagne yeast will generally attenuate higher and produce a more dry product. Best bet is to read the description of the yeast strain before using it to see what the general outcome will be. I used a sweet mead/wine yeast on a cider beer and it produced a stuck fermentation (was also a 1.118 SG :drunk: six months down the road at 1.042..... and still waiting... I will shortly throw in some Wyeast Eau De Vie 4347 which is noted down below to hopefully dry it out as it is sweeeet!) I fixed that by giving it a decent low foaming action swirling.

You can try and pitch in champagne yeast say a month down the road after taking a reading.... if it isn't around 1.000 try the champagne yeast and that could knock it down... though as I have heard that isn't always the case. But remember... patience is a virtue... .and a godsend to brewing.

WLP720 Sweet Mead/Wine Yeast. A wine yeast strain that is less attenuative than WLP715, leaving some residual sweetness. Slightly fruity and will tolerate alcohol concentrations up to 15%. A good choice for sweet mead and cider, as well as Blush wines, Gewürztraminer, Sauternes, Riesling. Apparent attenuation: <75%. Flocculation: low. Optimum temp: 70°-75° F

WLP775 English Cider Yeast. Classic cider yeast. Ferments dry, but retains flavor from apples. Sulfur is produced during fermentation, but will disappear in first two weeks of aging. Can also be used for wine and high gravity beers. Apparent attenuation: >80%. Flocculation: medium. Optimum temp: 68°-75° F

WLP715 Champagne. Classic yeast, used to produce champagne, cider, dry meads, dry wines, or to fully attenuate barley wines/ strong ales. Can tolerate alcohol concentrations up to 17%. Neutral. Apparent attenuation: >75%. Flocculation: low. Optimum temp: 70°-75° F

Wyeast Eau De Vie 4347 "Eau De Vie" means "water of life" in French. This yeast is a very good choice for alcohol tolerance and stuck fermentations. It produces a very clean, dry profile, with low ester formation and other volatile aromatics. Origin: France; flocculation: low; attenuation: NA; temperature range: 65-80 F (18-27 C); alcohol tolerance: 21% ABV.
Click to expand...
 
solidghost said:
Thank god I didn't smell any sulfur. I would be killed on the spot.
I think what they say is right, use Yeast nutrients to prevent sulfur being released. And I am using the Cote des Blanc yeast.
Click to expand...

Umm as far as I can recall never had a sulfur smell.... as well as using yeast nutrients the 2nd time... the first batch I did use it and there was no smell at all.. the 2nd batch I cant recall.
 
bottled a 5 gallon batch with priming sugar tonight. Except for the first liter that I drank siphoned straight out of the carboy.

Great stuff, looking forward to the massive hangover in a few weeks. Will report back the morning after I forget my next post :mug:
 
Has anyone tried adding a can of frozen apple concentrate to the recipe to add more apple flavor??
I have make one batch according to the recipe and it was really good and everyone who tried it liked it. I plan on making another batch and was wondering if anyone has tried adding frozen concentrate to the recipe.
 
SFsorrow said:
I've not found a description for Montrachet yeast yet thus I don't know what I am comparing it to. How does it behave?
Click to expand...

Montrachet is a dry fermenting champagne strain, moderately alcohol tolerant (stops at around 14% ABV), and low in esters. Other yeasts will likely produce a different character, sweeter and/or more "fruity" from ester production than the original. That isn't a bad thing, necessarily.. :drunk:
 
SFsorrow said:
I've not found a description for Montrachet yeast yet thus I don't know what I am comparing it to. How does it behave?

Also, why is it a bad idea to move a fermenting carboy around?
Click to expand...


Sorry I completely forgot about that one.

Red Star Montrachet Wine Yeast [00411]

5 gram package.
Montrachet is a strong fermenter, and will readily ferment grape musts and fruit juice to dryness. This strain also has good tolerance to free sulphur dioxide. It is not recommended for grapes that have been dusted with sulfur because of a tendency to produce hydrogen sulfide in the presence of higher concentrations of sulfur compounds. Montrachet is noted for low volatile acidity. It produces complex flavors and intense color.
  • Recommended for: full-bodied reds and dry whites.
  • Ideal Fermentation Temperature: 59-86 F (15-30 C).
  • Alcohol Tolerance: Good.
Click to expand...

Well it causes aeration in the beer... after a point its bad.

I think I will try one with the Eau De View yeast. Just listened to it in a podcast :) Its a distiller yeast and can tolerate to around 25% in the perfect conditions.

Saccharomyces said:
Montrachet is a dry fermenting champagne strain, moderately alcohol tolerant (stops at around 14% ABV), and low in esters. Other yeasts will likely produce a different character, sweeter and/or more "fruity" from ester production than the original. That isn't a bad thing, necessarily.. :drunk:
Click to expand...

Correct its not always bad its just different... could be very good.... you wont know till you try it. So let it sit for a month pull a sample out enough for a hydrometer reading or maybe a little more.... cool it down and try it. If you don't like the results you can try a dry(not physical but taste wise) based yeast.
 
Thanks to a deal I came across on Craigslist, I now have all my brewing equipment put together. So, I'm ready to brew my first beer. Well, ALMOST ready. I need to make something to drink while brewing my first beer. So....

I'm making EdWort's Apfelwein this weekend. :D
 

Similar threads

nxc3441
apple pie cider under 10 bucks a gallon
Replies
2
Views
819
nxc3441
nxc3441
C
what canna do with it?
Replies
5
Views
397
fluketamer
F
H
Apple cider stupid questions
Replies
3
Views
740
Graham H
G
A
New Fermenter
Replies
16
Views
749
Austin Willoughby
A
Chalkyt
Using Fuji juice to make sweet carbonated Cider
Replies
1
Views
385
Chalkyt
Chalkyt
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top