Man, I love Apfelwein

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I searched this thread and couldn't find my answer, but I want to back sweeten mine at bottling with lactose.

How much lactose should I use?

*I know I already posted this, but nobody answered my question. :cross:
 
A search returned this, I have not tried this yet, my first batch is only 5 weeks old, but I plan on sweetening about half the batch when I bottle.


Post no. 3888

"I just made my first 5 gallons over the summer. The sample after 2 months in the carboy was quite dry for my likeing, but tastey nontheless. I "backsweetened" at bottling with 1 lb of lactose. I just added the lactose to the priming solution I made up to carb the bottles. I couldn't wait for the carbonation to take place and cracked open a bottle last Friday after it was chilled. Split the bottle with SWMBO and we were both quite amazed at result. You will not be disappointed if you can backsweeten with some sort of unfermentable."




dunnright00 said:
I searched this thread and couldn't find my answer, but I want to back sweeten mine at bottling with lactose.

How much lactose should I use?

*I know I already posted this, but nobody answered my question. :cross:
Click to expand...
 
I killed my first corny of apfelwein last month and am now 2 weeks into making my second batch. I had an awful time dealing with foam on the first batch. Like a glass would be 80% foam at first. I served the keg at about 25 psi and only have about 10 feet of beer line on that tap . . so yeah, I know that that's probably causing some of the problem. But in general, I was hoping to have a perfectly headless sparkling wine product.

Does kegged apfelwein typically have a head when poured?

Is there a way to completely eliminate the head? Something like fermcap that won't drop out of solution maybe?

Thanks in advance.
 
brewthunda said:
I killed my first corny of apfelwein last month and am now 2 weeks into making my second batch. I had an awful time dealing with foam on the first batch. Like a glass would be 80% foam at first. I served the keg at about 25 psi and only have about 10 feet of beer line on that tap . . so yeah, I know that that's probably causing some of the problem. But in general, I was hoping to have a perfectly headless sparkling wine product.
Click to expand...

Too much pressure. You need to balance it.

These work great. I serve my apfelwein at 21 PSI using two of these. It pours with very little foam and has a nice champagne-like quality to it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/
 
shadohman said:
A search returned this, I have not tried this yet, my first batch is only 5 weeks old, but I plan on sweetening about half the batch when I bottle.


Post no. 3888

"I just made my first 5 gallons over the summer. The sample after 2 months in the carboy was quite dry for my likeing, but tastey nontheless. I "backsweetened" at bottling with 1 lb of lactose. I just added the lactose to the priming solution I made up to carb the bottles. I couldn't wait for the carbonation to take place and cracked open a bottle last Friday after it was chilled. Split the bottle with SWMBO and we were both quite amazed at result. You will not be disappointed if you can backsweeten with some sort of unfermentable."
Click to expand...

Thanks for that! I don't know why I couldn't find anything. I kept finding Lactose in the topics, but nothing on how much.

Only sweetening half eh? I might try that.
Are you going to carb it?
 
I'm in the UK and don't know of anywhere to get hold of dextrose, will sugar suffice? What affects will it have?

Or do any UK brewers have advice on where to get dextrose?
 
Nice article! For us Dextrose fortified Apfelweiners and Malt fortified Graffers, this excerpt from the article was interesting..

Cider makers haven't yet been infected with whatever fever has propelled vintners toward unreasonable alcohol levels and garishly imbalanced flavor profiles.
Click to expand...

:mug:

..and who says MEAD doesn't pair well with food???

Ummm I guess THIS guy:

http://www.slate.com/id/2184361/
 
For me the best line in there was, "Our forefathers knew a failed experiment when they tasted it" Referring to brewing with corn and other cheap starches.
 
I'm finally ready to keg the Apfelwein I've had sitting in the carboy for the last 3 months :ban:


I can't wait to taste what all the hype is about!

I'm sure it's great!

You think after a week of carbing, will it be ready to be enjoyed? Or should I just try and hold off a few more months?
 
I made my first batch this weekend & it is already stinky & fermenting like crazy.

Cool thing is we got to go to the apple farm to buy our cider.

It was completely untreated though, I am wondering how that is gonna be,
 
Well, I've been reading and researching long enough, and have just finished pitching my first batch of EdWort's Apfelwien! Not sure how I could possibly have any questions after reading this entire thread... HBT rocks!

SG was a solid 1.075


UPDATE: this thing went CRAZY. 18 hours after pitching, the whole thing's spewing bubbles up the sides like a just-cracked bottle of Mountain Dew. I thought the Montrachet would take longer to "go", but it's burping twice a second through the S-lock and isn't showing any signs of slowing...

What do you guys use to get drool out of your carpet?
 
I just checked the gravity on my Apfelwein after 2 week (Really I just wanted to taste some:D) It is down to 1.011 from 1.078 which i think it might be as far as it will go because I used brown sugar in it. Tastes great I let SWMBO try some and she gave it the thumbs up. very light apple flavor with a tail of cinnamon. The cinnamon sticks worked out great!

Richard
 
First time brewer here, just mixed up my first batch of apfelwein yesterday. Used 71B-1122 yeast and added cinnamon sticks and cloves to spice it up a little. Plan on having it with family on Thanksgiving!
 
warispeace said:
First time brewer here, just mixed up my first batch of apfelwein yesterday. Used 71B-1122 yeast and added cinnamon sticks and cloves to spice it up a little. Plan on having it with family on Thanksgiving!
Click to expand...

Be careful with the cinnamon. I used three sticks and found that it had reached about the right level after about 3 days. The apple flavor is very delicate so you do not want to over power it.

Richard
 
HOLY **** ED! Mine has been going in the primary for about 24 days now and I finally decided to take a gravity reading. Not b/c I was afraid it wasn't fermenting, but mailnly b/c I had to get me a taste of this stuff. I can still see some fermentation bubbles in the carboy (pretty crazy to an ale guy.) Anyways, my gravity was 1.000 and the taste is friggin amazing!!!! I'm not that big of a white wine guy and haven't really had that many white wines, but I'd say this is better than most white wines I've drank! Fairly dry, but just enough sweet. You know when you make a really good beer and you say dang, did I make that? Yep, that's what happened here.

Great job,
J
 
Finally finished reading this entire thread. Took about 3 weeks but read it all. Got my batch chugging away and keeping an eye on it. Waiting to bottle it (some carb, some still). Condition for a few months and enjoy.
 
Heckle said:
Finally finished reading this entire thread. Took about 3 weeks but read it all. Got my batch chugging away and keeping an eye on it. Waiting to bottle it (some carb, some still). Condition for a few months and enjoy.
Click to expand...

I know waiting is great for flavor, but eventually you will have to take a gravity reading. Once you get a taste of that, I doubt it will last a few months. Espcially if it's in bottles!
 
philrose said:
1.011 seems high for apfelwein, brown sugar or not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd have to agree. What yeast did you use? Did you use an ale yeast or a wine yeast? Those wine yeasts are able to ferment all of the sugars where I think most ale yeasts couldn't handle fermenting really dry like the wine yeasties do.
 
Mine was kegged yesterday after a 3 month primary. FG was 1.000. Tastes good! Can't wait till its fully carbbed!
 
I plan on splitting this batch, half carbonated and half still. I will sweeten half of both styles, so four different styles to taste test.

Will bottle on 10/20, 8 weeks in primary, planning on letting it condition until New Years Eve.

Sorry I have been reading the other sections of this site, a lot of good info available here.

When I read through this monster of a thread, I copied and pasted things like back sweetening or different things people had tried, juice, sugar, yeast combinations. Did not want to ever go through this from the beginning again.





dunnright00 said:
Thanks for that! I don't know why I couldn't find anything. I kept finding Lactose in the topics, but nothing on how much.

Only sweetening half eh? I might try that.
Are you going to carb it?
Click to expand...
 
HalfPint said:
Yeah, I'd have to agree. What yeast did you use? Did you use an ale yeast or a wine yeast? Those wine yeasts are able to ferment all of the sugars where I think most ale yeasts couldn't handle fermenting really dry like the wine yeasties do.
Click to expand...

My guess is it isn't done yet. When I use Montrachet it finishes around 1.002, I just had a batch with S-04 ale yeast finish at 0.998!!
 
Saccharomyces said:
My guess is it isn't done yet. When I use Montrachet it finishes around 1.002, I just had a batch with S-04 ale yeast finish at 0.998!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I bet you're right. MY LHBS didn't have Montrachet, so I used lalvin 1116. Mines been in the primary four about 3 weeks now and it's at about 1.000, but is still a bit clowdy. I noticed when I thiefed a glass out of it the other night it made me a little gassy.:p
 
HalfPint said:
Yeah, I bet you're right. MY LHBS didn't have Montrachet, so I used lalvin 1116. Mines been in the primary four about 3 weeks now and it's at about 1.000, but is still a bit clowdy. I noticed when I thiefed a glass out of it the other night it made me a little gassy.:p
Click to expand...


I think I speak for the majority of us here when I second that about being gassy. I drank a 8oz sample when i did my first batch and it was still cloudy.

I even bottled mine a tad bit cloudy and after a month of bottle conditioning and then a month of lagering it came out fine:rockin:
 
Just started 2 gallons with lalvin ec-1118. Each gallon got 1 cup (8 oz . . . half pound) of table sugar.

I had good luck with a the lalvin ec-1118 last time around: First Try Cider
 
Just bottled mine today and Man! It tastes good!!!

I know it's recommended to let it age for 6-9 months but, what's the soonest I can start drinking it?!?!
:cross:
 
I just opened a bottle that I bottled in June of '08. Gooood!
And now it's gone :(

I just made my first batch this evening since getting back from A-Stan... Gonna have to update the "How many gallons... " thread in a minute.

Next up... A 12 ouncer made from 1118.

Cheers,
Michael
 
So, if I want to turn my garage sale Mr. Beer fermenter into a Mr. Apfelvein, should I pitch a whole package of yeast, or half?

If I pitch half the yeast, can I save the rest? (And please, do not call me a cheap bastard because I'm not a bastard.)
 
knuckleball said:
So, if I want to turn my garage sale Mr. Beer fermenter into a Mr. Apfelvein, should I pitch a whole package of yeast, or half?

If I pitch half the yeast, can I save the rest? (And please, do not call me a cheap bastard because I'm not a bastard.)
Click to expand...

I would assume 1/2 a pack should do.

I don't know how long an open yeast packet keeps though
 
This is a question for all of you that have made batches with both lalvin ec-1118 and Montrachet.

Which did you like better and why?

I lost my notes for a batch I made a year ago. It is very good and I think I used 1118 because my lhbs didn't have any Montrachet.
Thanks
Bob
 
agrtek said:
I would assume 1/2 a pack should do.

I don't know how long an open yeast packet keeps though
Click to expand...

Thanks. What I'm wondering is whether I should just pitch the whole packet, half a packet and discard the rest, or half packet and hold on to the rest for the next batch.
 
Just pitched my montrachet.....excited to try this recipe everyone is raving about....

One question though, is the cheap vodka really necessary? I will go out and buy some if everyone seems to think it necessary but for right now I just have water in my air-lock... anyone?
 
brzrkr said:
Just pitched my montrachet.....excited to try this recipe everyone is raving about....

One question though, is the cheap vodka really necessary? I will go out and buy some if everyone seems to think it necessary but for right now I just have water in my air-lock... anyone?
Click to expand...

I use star-san. It won't hurt if it gets sucked in, and it kills anything that falls in.
 
knuckleball said:
Thanks. What I'm wondering is whether I should just pitch the whole packet, half a packet and discard the rest, or half packet and hold on to the rest for the next batch.
Click to expand...

I would do the whole thing, I personally split my packet between the two 1-gallons jugs. You get a jump start on the yeast count (effects negligible).
 
knuckleball said:
So, if I want to turn my garage sale Mr. Beer fermenter into a Mr. Apfelvein, should I pitch a whole package of yeast, or half?

If I pitch half the yeast, can I save the rest? (And please, do not call me a cheap bastard because I'm not a bastard.)
Click to expand...

Pitch the whole package; I would not recommend saving dry yeast after opening since it will rehydrate in the package from humidity in the air after opening and potentially go bad. Yeast is CHEAP!
 

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