I started reading this thread in mid-June and went right ahead and made a batch on June 22nd, but it was only today that I finally finished reading every post - #1 to #6687. (I swear by all that is holy, if one more person asks how to prime their bottles...)
I am officially awarding myself an advanced degree in Apfelwein Making, even though I haven't actually finished making any.
Highlight of the thread:
Condom Airlock
Recommendations for first-timers:
1. Just follow the freakin recipe. After you've got 5 gallons of Ed's Original Recipe under your belt, then you can experiment all you want.
2. There is no 2.
I didn't follow my own advice, but that's because I started making my first batch before I was awarded my advanced degree in Apfelwein Making. My first batch was a bit of a kitchen sink affair:
- 3 gallons Bloom (store brand) apple juice, from concentrate, with ascorbic acid
- 2 gallons White House (because they only had 3 gallons of the cheaper Bloom on the shelf), from concentrate, with ascorbic acid
- 2 lbs. light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 5 tsp vanilla extract (because that's what was left, and that's the amount that I put in my Oak Vanilla Stout)
- 2/3 cup orange blossom honey (because that's what was left)
- Lalvin EC-1118
Now, not too long ago, bpruett
posted a comparison of EC-1118 to Montrachet and said:
Montrachet supporters, your response? Is there going to be a throw down, and can we buy tickets?
I've also read from multiple posters that EC-1118 ferments and clears faster than Montrachet. However, my batch (possibly due to the honey) did not start clearing until about the 4-week mark, and it still isn't quite newspaper-through-the-carboy clear now, at the 5-week mark. Temperature has been generally 72, but may have gotten up to 78 a few times.
I took my first gravity reading and tasted my first sample last night, and scored a 1.002 on the former and a "bleah" on the latter. The "bleah" went away by the 3rd sip. I then chilled what was left of my sample, and it did taste a little better. I can tell it will improve with carbonation. However, it is generally without flavor at this point. In the glass, it was very clear and straw-colored. Smelled like the rhino farts that I thought I'd smelled the last of 3 weeks ago, but the smell dissipated quickly. GREAT mouthfeel, cheap white wine tang at the beginning (the "bleah" taste that was subdued by chilling), slight buttery apple at the very end. Nothing much inbetween. Interesting.
I'm excited to see how this turns out after aging. I think at this point, it's just a bit young.
(This next sentence has been said often throughout this thread, and is generally not true, but it is this time.) I've read through the whole thread, and have not found this question to have been answered definitively (although there have been hints). Let's say I have 6 months. Which is better, 2 months in the carboy and 4 months in the bottle, or 4 months in the carboy and 2 months in the bottle? Put another way, is bulk aging better than bottle aging, given equal time?
I have the priming sugar, bottles, and caps ready to go any time, and the ingredients for a proper Ed's Original to throw in after I get this out of the carboy.
Ed, what you have created here is made of awesome. Whether I bottle or leave in the carboy, I'm thinking that around Christmastime, the entire family will be wishing you a merry one, and subsequently cursing your name.