Man, I love Apfelwein

[MikeRLynch]

MidRex

I used K1-v1116 in mine, and it cleared right away, within three weeks. If it's still not clear for you, stick it in the fridge for a couple days and it should start to drop some sedement. After that you can either bottle if it's clear enough for you or rack and let it sit. Mine cleared on its own pretty good, but cold stabilizing worked wonders.

mike

 

[ill.literate]

Yeah, it's gotta be the yeast strain. Did you take SG readings and calculate your ABV? I would guess it's above 10%, which takes out just about all the remaining sugars. I'm planning on making this in the next month or so, and I'm going to follow EdWort's recipe exactly the first time. Then I'll tweak it on subsequent occasions.

No... on bottling day for our Bock, which was "brewing" day for the Apfelwein, I knocked over some bottles that were standing upside down on a towel, draining from washing, and one of the bottles fell onto our hydro, breaking it, naturally.

If we ever find time to get to the LHBS I'll get a new one and calculate it.

Next time we'll use Montrachet yeast.

 

[Torchiest]

D'oh! I've broken one hydrometer so far, and now I make a point to keep it in its little plastic casing all the time except for the minute or two I'm actually taking the reading, because I am prone to minor little mishaps which a delicate piece of equipment like a hydrometer can't handle at all. They should make stainless steel hydrometers!

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

Well, what the hell, I'll toss my hat in the ring.

Went to the LHBS tonight, picked up 2 lbs Corn Sugar ($2.50) , 1 packet red star montrachet ($0.80), and enough yeast nutrient for 50 gallons ($1.25).

Stopped by safeway (grocery store) and Tree Top is $4.99/gallon (the half gallons are on SALE, 2 for $5...what a deal!)...I'll wait until this weekend and stop by Costco on my way back from dog training, I'll be able to cut my costs by about 40% this way, hopefully they have it.

They also have Tree Top "apple cider", I wonder what the difference is, same price, ingredients just listed "concentrated apple cider"?

I was thinking about adding a jar of honey that I have that is a bit crystalized to some warm/boiling apple juice, maybe it will add some sweetness to the apfelwein...

 

[RichBrewer]

Now I know what you guys are talking about with the sulfur smell. My whole basement reeked this morning. It is a little better tonight but noticeable.

 

[EdWort]

Now I know what you guys are talking about with the sulfur smell. My whole basement reeked this morning. It is a little better tonight but noticeable.

Ahh, the smell of Wonderful Apfelwein. Soon to be nectar of the gods and an excellent panty remover.

 

[EdWort]

My g/f didn't really like it much, and I'm going to experiment with sweetening it, etc. It did, however, get a little better after I'd had a couple three or four sips.

Next batch, follow my directions to the letter. Chill it, carb it, and make sure g/f drinks 3 glasses before judging if she likes it or not. It's an aquired taste at first for some folks.

 

[Schlenkerla]

What Ed is saying is correct. I drank Strongbow in England after a couple Whitbread Best Bitters. I drank about half of a mason jar-like mugs worth before my opinion changed.

At first it tasted like winey bitter apple juice, then snap, it was like drinking apple juice with bubbles. I was hooked on cider from this point.

I'm expecting the same thing here. I might just like it right off the bat.

Can't wait.... need another 2-3 weeks + 2 weeks carbing.

 

[user 574]

Somewhere here; perhaps post 244 as an estimate I replied how tart it was after 2 weeks in the bottle initially. A bit too tart actually for my tastes (followed Ed's recipe exactly). As time went on it lost the big tangy flavor and now is just awesome. It's 9 weeks in the bottle now. Gets better with age IMO. Early on when it was young I made the following recipe I found. Very good:
----------
Heisse Ebbelwei
1 Liter Apple Wine
1/8 Liter water
60 grams sugar (approx 2oz)
1/4 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
Peelings of half a lemon or two lemon slices
Preparation
Bring the sugar, spices and water to a boil. (instead of the water experts say that you really should use apple wine for a better flavor) Then let this mixture steep for 30 minutes.
finally, mix in the remainder of the apple wine and carefully reheat to just under the boiling point.
http://altfrankfurt.com/Weihnachten/
----------

I only got 15 22's left. I got to get some more in the works so it can age...

 

[RichBrewer]

Hey EdWort,
Do you have any idea how many gallons of Apfelwein have been brewed as a result of this thread? We should try to figure it out.
The apple juice companies must be loving us about right now.

 

[Onescalerguy]

I've got two batches going(used frozen Treetop)@4.5 gals each.I started one on Jan4 and one on the 11th.The first one still bubbles a little and the stink lasted a good 2 weeks.It's still way cloudy though after 19 days but i'm not worried about it.The second batch is in plastic so i don't know how it's progressing but it is bubbling.I've held back from tasting so far.I plan to keg one and bottle the other.I bought some lactose for sweetening if we think it needs it.Being that you just leave it be and don't have to deal with racking and stuff,it's seeming like it's taking longer whereas with beer,all the steps kinda break up the time.
Cheers

 

[RichBrewer]

I'm going to start a new thread so we can figure out how much has been made.

 

[user 574]

I'm going to start a new thread so we can figure out how much has been made.

Good idea. Tell em to keep it short and sweet; maybe just increment the counter with their post?

 

[RichBrewer]

Good idea. Tell em to keep it short and sweet; maybe just increment the counter with their post?

Good Idea. I will edit my post.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Good idea. Tell em to keep it short and sweet; maybe just increment the counter with their post?

Or use a poll..."Apfelwein brewed to date"

 

[user 574]

Or use a poll..."Apfelwein brewed to date"

Only prob with that is once you answer, you're done and can never make Apfelwein again :cross:

 

[RichBrewer]

Only prob with that is once you answer, you're done and can never make Apfelwein again :cross:

Or you can just post again.

 

[anthrobe]

I just kegged mine last week. I had sampled it at week 2 to see how it was changing. It was very good with not too much sweetness. I kegged at week three and wow did that stuff get dry quick. Almost like a dry white wine. I am hoping that some age in the keg and fridge will help with the clearing. I followed Ed's recipe exactly.

 

[newguy]

yup I'm about 6 days out from bottling. I also had a sample a few days ago and very good. was tempted to keg but not sure how I would like it carbinated. So this batch I'm going to leave el'natural.

Can't wait!

 

[ill.literate]

Next batch, follow my directions to the letter. Chill it, carb it, and make sure g/f drinks 3 glasses before judging if she likes it or not. It's an aquired taste at first for some folks.

Ok, an update

I've been (hell the whole family has been actually) sick, with a cold, and a combination of that, plus working two jobs at the moment (a temporary thing) put me in the mindset last night of turning in early, but not before I indulged in a little sleep aid material.

Considering my first bottle of Apfelwein has been chilling in the fridge for two days at this point, I cracked it open. Mind you, this is the size of a standard wine bottle, with a flip top lid.

Chilled, and with a few days off the cake, it's MUCH better, still very much like a dry white wine, but very good. Trace (my G/F) even said it's better than it was.

I liked it so much... in fact... I nearly finished the entire bottle.

When I woke up this morning, Trace said I slept like a dead man.

 

[BoxerDog]

I did a bacth in my Mr. Beer since my Carboy is full and I was wondering what to look for in my mr.beer keg to make sure that yeast was pitched right.


I noticed in Eds carboys that you could see how cloudy they got , yet it didnt have much krausen at the top. The Mr.Beer keg is dark brown.


Also when I pitched my yeast, it sank to the bottom of the keg, it was a champagne yeast.

There was an increased smell that I noticed this morning, pitched it
Any suggestions? How do I know that the yeast took and if it didnt should I repitch it?

Pitched it yesterday at around 6. Thanks

 

[Torchiest]

So, the original recipe calls for just bottling it without priming sugar. Also, you leave it in primary for a month or more to complete clearing, so almost all the yeast has flocculated out. I'd prefer to carbonate mine, when I make it. How long could I leave it in primary without having to worry about losing too much yeast when it comes to bottling time? Three weeks? I get the impression fermentation actually takes a fair amount of time.

 

[MidRex]

MidRex

I used K1-v1116 in mine, and it cleared right away, within three weeks. If it's still not clear for you, stick it in the fridge for a couple days and it should start to drop some sedement. After that you can either bottle if it's clear enough for you or rack and let it sit. Mine cleared on its own pretty good, but cold stabilizing worked wonders.

mike

I could move it to the basement. It's 55degF down there. Would that work?

 

[Schlenkerla]

I did a bacth in my Mr. Beer since my Carboy is full and I was wondering what to look for in my mr.beer keg to make sure that yeast was pitched right.


I noticed in Eds carboys that you could see how cloudy they got , yet it didnt have much krausen at the top. The Mr.Beer keg is dark brown.


Also when I pitched my yeast, it sank to the bottom of the keg, it was a champagne yeast.

There was an increased smell that I noticed this morning, pitched it
Any suggestions? How do I know that the yeast took and if it didnt should I repitch it?

Pitched it yesterday at around 6. Thanks

Boxerdog,

Grab a bright flashlight put it up against the MRB Keg and look for bubbles, millions of tiny bubbles or foam on top of the liquid.

If you see that, its working. Let it go. If you have no activity wait at least 12-24hrs with it at 65'f for higher.

When the bubbles stop and the cider clears its probably close to being done. To be sure you should use a hydrometer, it should measure less than 1.000. If you don't have one, dispense a shot into a shot glass and look at it for clarity, then bottoms up. If its sweet and/or yeasty wait. Then taste a few days later. Don't do this too much or you'll have nothing to bottle.

What yeast did you pitch?

 

[Kadmium]

Yeah, mines been fermenting for a good 2 weeks. Slowed right down over the space of about 36 hours from a bubble every 3 seconds, to 3 bubbles a minute. Its allready cleared up nicely. Took a lil taste this morning with a thief, and DAMN that stuff is so dry its like eating sand! JUST THE FREAKING WAY I LIKE IT!!! heheh. The main reason I made this stuff is that there are only 2 companies in Australia that sell comercial cider, strongbow and mercury. Both are not dry enough for me, as I hate sweet stuff. But this apfelwein was like an appley, dry as the sahara champagne. It is going to absolutley ROCK! I used a lavlin EC-1118 yeast, and the bubbles in the carby were definatley tiny, but millions of them for about a week, and now its slowed way down. I cant wait!

Just a quick question. If I leave this baby to clear right the hell up, then re-pitch some yeast for bottling, will this not make the apfelwein cloud up in the bottles? granted, there will be less trub. Just wondering about repitching on ultra clear brews?

 

[BoxerDog]

Boxerdog,

Grab a bright flashlight put it up against the MRB Keg and look for bubbles, millions of tiny bubbles or foam on top of the liquid.

If you see that, its working. Let it go. If you have no activity wait at least 12-24hrs with it at 65'f for higher.

When the bubbles stop and the cider clears its probably close to being done. To be sure you should use a hydrometer, it should measure less than 1.000. If you don't have one, dispense a shot into a shot glass and look at it for clarity, then bottoms up. If its sweet and/or yeasty wait. Then taste a few days later. Don't do this too much or you'll have nothing to bottle.

What yeast did you pitch?

It was Red Star champagne yeast, its hard to see the bubbles, but there is a lot of "yeast" smell in the closet that its stored. Its somewhat cloudy, no foam (krausen) on the top. It smells like when I would brew beer, minus the krausen. what do you think?

 

[Kadmium]

I think that is perfectly normal mate. If you have the yeast smell, and there is no krausen yet, that is no big one. With champagne yeast, and the montrachet etc, you tend not to get a very big krausen on top, just check EDs pics at the start of this post, almost no bubbles! Wine yeasts tend to take off slower then pick up for a good 2 weeks. I know mine took about 2 days before I noticed any real signs of fermentation. Give it another day or so then check up on it! Enjoy!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Its probably cranking up, it doesn't get as bubbly as a beer wort.

Mine is fairly calm with millions of bubbles rising to the top. The air lock has been blowin' out a steady stream of CO for 14 of 19 days. I can't see the top level of mine, to see if I have krausen, its got to be less than an inch from the airlock. The carboy cap is covering everything.

I made 5 gal, according to Ed's recipe with one addition, 2oz of yeast nutrients.

I wouldn't bother doing anything other than look at it for 3-4 weeks. It'll do its thing, then you'll have cider.

By the way don't get alarmed if you smell a rotten egg sulfur like smell, it seems to do that during the ferment. If you don't want to be bothered by the smell put the keg in a cooler. It will keep the stench at bay.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Ed, Ed, Ed....

I found this in kegging.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20426


I'm jealous...

...If SWMBO likes this I'm sure I'll be getting one of these. Nice Apfelwein sticker!!

 

[EdWort]

Ed, Ed, Ed....

I found this in kegging.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20426


I'm jealous...

...If SWMBO likes this I'm sure I'll be getting one of these. Nice Apfelwein sticker!!

Thanks. I used that to haul 3 gallons to a local neighborhood homebrew fest. Surprise, the keg blew pretty quick. Someone posted a site that makes the custome stickers and I got the idea from that, then I just whipped them up in Paintshop Pro.