Man, I love Apfelwein

[EdWort]

Ed, looking at your sig, do you ever have time to brew anything else?

Yep. Just brewed my first batch using grain from my bulk buy. Nailed 83% efficiency 2 times in a row thanks to the Barley Crusher.

I can make 3 batches of Apfelwein in under 30 minutes. The hardest time is waiting the 4 to 6 weeks before kegging. I've got two batches that will be kegged this coming week. I have 9 5 gallon cornies and two 2.5 gallon cornies. My goal is to get them filled.

 

[Kadmium]

Ok guys, I tried eds traditional recipe, using a champagne yeast however. I kegged it about a week ago and the damn keg blew last night! so its time to mix another one up. However, even thow I LOVE the recipe, because its dry as hell, I had many complaints, and truth be told I would love to try a more sweeter version. My idea so far is this, ferment it with honey instead of sugar, and use an ale yeast. I am hopping the yeast do not atenuate very well and leave atleast some sugars behind, including the honey taste I would get. I am aiming for about 4 pounds honey. I plan on kegging it.

Hopefully it will turn out great, more like a honey cider. Thinking of adding some spices into there, maybe calling it "Eds honey spice apfelwein"... let me know what y'all think.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Ed,

Are you bathing in Apfelwein?

You seem to have a non-stop supply going at all times. Is this part of a daily communion for you or do regulary have people over drinking your wein & brew?

Just curious... It would take me awhile to go through all that.

 

[EdWort]

You seem to have a non-stop supply going at all times. Is this part of a daily communion for you or do regulary have people over drinking your wein & brew?

It's a combination of that. A little dab behind the ears, brush the teeth with in the morning, etc. We do have folks coming over and I also drop off a 1.5 liter bottle for neighbors and friends.

Its' a staple drink at my house and it has its own dedicated tap. I've got room to keep kegs cool & carbed, so one has to keep the pipeline full. You won't realize it till the keg blows and you don't have one in reserve or even worse, you don't have one fermenting.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Well its about time at 7 weeks!!! Its starting to get clear enough to see bubbles rising several inches from the side of the carboy. But I have a very slow steady stream of CO2 coming out of the airlock.

Is it been common to have it fairly clear and to still have airlock activity?

 

[EdWort]

Well its about time at 7 weeks!!! Its starting to get clear enough to see bubbles rising several inches from the side of the carboy. But I have a very slow steady stream of CO2 coming out of the airlock.

Is it been common to have it fairly clear and to still have airlock activity?

Yep. During warmer temps, it would clear in about 3 weeks, but you could see champagne bubbles running up the side of the carboy.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Waiting longer is a good idea since I plan to bottle. Right! No Bubbles.

 

[DNisich]

My batch is doing the same thing. It's been in the carboy for about 6 weeks now and there is still just a little stream of the champagne bubble streaming up. It has slowed down a lot and cleared a lot also but I guess as long as it continues to show any bubbles at all, I will just wait to bottle it.

 

[dmiller038]

Got my batch bottled tonight, after 2 days of sitting with no bubbles and looking clear I threw some in the fridge to test tomorrow, maybe with some club soda or 7-Up.

One thing I noticed... I tasted some today while I was bottling and it definitely had a bit of a yeasty flavor. This will go away soon, correct?

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

Mine started to clear after week 2. It's now week 4 and it's crystal clear (not quite) and is smelling, looking, and tasting beautiful. I like how simple Ed's approach was to this so we took the same principle and are trying Hard Lemonade. We know that dextrose will leave little sweetness and dry it out, we're going to sweeten it with lactose when it's done fermenting. But first we want to get the full use of our yeast.

Once I bottle the Apfelwein i'm going to make some Ananas-Wein (no not Bananas, Ananas, German for Pineapple, my fav. fruit) using the Apfelwein Yeast Cake, are there any problems using the Apfelwein Yeast Cake? I'm using the Ed Wort style there too. Fruit Juice, Concentrate, and Dextrose.

We'll have 3 wine type drinks to go with our 4 beers. :rockin:

 

[Jester]

how clear should this be..?? I know its been a little over a month since I started and it has definitely cleared some.. but it is not really clear... Thanks..

Jester

 

[EdWort]

how clear should this be..?? I know its been a little over a month since I started and it has definitely cleared some.. but it is not really clear...

Mine clears pretty well, but it takes time depending on the fermentation temp and the type of yeast you are using. If you keg, it will clear even more as it sits in a chilled keg waiting to be dispensed. Here's what mine looks like.

 

[Schlenkerla]

.......One thing I noticed... I tasted some today while I was bottling and it definitely had a bit of a yeasty flavor. This will go away soon, correct?

Yes to it getting better, less yeasty! - I'm on my first batch of Ed's Apfelwein, but on previous batches the cider was yeasty tasting. This will fade. A month conditioning and time in the fridge and will do wonders.

 

[Jester]

Mine clears pretty well, but it takes time depending on the fermentation temp and the type of yeast you are using. If you keg, it will clear even more as it sits in a chilled keg waiting to be dispensed. Here's what mine looks like.

Sounds good to me.. I may go ahead and keg now then... let it age and clear...

 

[drpduck]

Has anyone primed with frozen concentrate? I will be bottling my batch and would like to prime have more apple flavor, but I certainly don't want bottle bombs!

I was figuring on using 1 can of concentrate (preservative free) for 5 gallons.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Has anyone primed with frozen concentrate? I will be bottling my batch and would like to prime have more apple flavor, but I certainly don't want bottle bombs!

I was figuring on using 1 can of concentrate (preservative free) for 5 gallons.

If nobody knows, you could Krausen. Here is one of my old threads. You'll need to know the starting gravity first. If you don't know it, buy some juice to scale down the original recipe, sugar added, and measure it, then do the math. Or ask what others had for starting gravities with your recipe.

Read the assumptions post at the bottom of the thread. You will have to make several iterations because the formula assumes the gyle comes from the original 5 gallons. So you'll need to calculate something more than 5 gallons. Like 5.5gal. To see if comes out to 2 quart addition and so on.....


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3473&page=2

Good Luck!

 

[AleHole]

I just made my first batch of Apfelwein today. I have one question however. I nearly topped of my 5 gallon glass carboy, about 3 or 4" from the top. Ed's recipe on the first page say's that its not a problem to fill them up this high. However I feel as though I may have put just a bit to much in. How much room does this stuff need? I have an airlock attached but was wondering if a blow off is needed?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Don't worry. You can add a blow off if you want.

Mine was filled 1" from the very top. My airlock filled with cider. I saw this as no problem. It had rinse free sanitizer in the air lock. You can do the same or fill it with vodka or attach the blow off.

As long as everything is sanitized I don't see it being an issue.

 

[AleHole]

Well I put vodka in the airlock. I will just ride it out and see what happens. It just seems weird to not leave any room but then again this is not beer.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Whats even more weird is how the air lock lets CO2 go. I use a "S" Bubbler. For about two weeks the flow of CO2 susspended the liquid or kept it totally out of the trap. Usually it oscillates back and forth as air passes in packets.

Apfelwein had a steady stream or constant pressure going.

 

[EdWort]

Has anyone noticed that this thread has over 35,000 views?

That's 35 Thousand! Wow!

We're approaching 500 gallons fermenting too.

I'm humbled and yet proud that ya'll enjoy my simple recipe for my favorite German Fruit Drink

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

Has anyone noticed that this thread has over 35,000 views?

That's 35 Thousand! Wow!

We're approaching 500 gallons fermenting too.

I'm humbled and yet proud that ya'll enjoy my simple recipe for my favorite German Fruit Drink

Not only that ed but your technique is so simple and can be applied to plenty more fruits. I'm trying Ananas-Wein (pineapple) after i bottle the apfewein, i'm going to throw it ontop of the apfelwein yeast cake. Have you tried reusing apfelwein yeast cakes?

 

[EdWort]

Have you tried reusing apfelwein yeast cakes?

My latest batch is on the lees of a batch. I was in a hurry one night after kegging 5 gallons, so I just poured the juice & corn sugar on top.

It's fermenting nicely. It will take a month before I find out, so I won't do it again till after I sample some it after the proper aging.

 

[RichBrewer]

Mine has been fermenting for 7 weeks now. I just checked the gravity and it finished at 1.000. I'm calculating about 9% alcohol ABV. I'll keg it tomorrow.
I already like it. Even warm and flat it is good. It has a very subtle apple flavor and it isn't hot at all. It does warm as it goes down though. I would call it dry but not too dry. I can't wait to try some chilled and carbonated! :rockin:
It is a bit cloudy but I think that is because of the cool temps where it is kept (62F).
It should clear in the keg because I'm going to keep it at 38F.

 

[EdWort]

Welcome to the Apfelwein Club Rich!

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

Welcome to the Apfelwein Club Rich!

Correction welcome to the apfelwein cult.

 

[oznozz]

Since I haven't posted anything in ... well a while ... I'm the guy that fermented the cider on the Nottingham ale yeast cake from a pumpkin (squash) beer. At first taste, I thought my cider smelled nice and tasted kind of flat. It seems to be improving itself. Nowadays, the carbonated version when chilled to about 58 F is delicious, strongly carbonated and refreshing. The flavors from the squash beer might add some subtle color, but it's solidly in the "cider" range. And it seems to pack some decent ethanol without being offensive also. I've been enjoying having it with delicious homecooked food especially.

 

[Markusface]

Oh my lordy lord this stuff is amazing! It is so drinkable, it's hard to believe that it is 9% AVB. I didn't need the 3 glass rule, 1 was enough! It's beautifully clear as well, with a nice yellow hue. This has definitely sparked my interest in winemaking, I'm going to try a strawberry wine recipe when they are in season. I'll start a thread once it's made

 

[MikeRLynch]

I've found the type of apple juice make a HUGE difference in the end product, more than I had anticipated. My last batch was in the carboy for two months, didn't give off a terrible sulfer smell while it was working, but upon opening it a few days ago it was terrible. Had to dump it. I had used the same kind of yeast on other batches (k1-v1116) and had no problems. Apparently there wasn't enough in the juice for the yeast to work on. Has anyone done this with frozen apple juice concentrate in the cans? That's my next experiment.

mike

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

I've found the type of apple juice make a HUGE difference in the end product, more than I had anticipated. My last batch was in the carboy for two months, didn't give off a terrible sulfer smell while it was working, but upon opening it a few days ago it was terrible. Had to dump it. I had used the same kind of yeast on other batches (k1-v1116) and had no problems. Apparently there wasn't enough in the juice for the yeast to work on. Has anyone done this with frozen apple juice concentrate in the cans? That's my next experiment.

mike

Yes i used 4 gallons of apple juice from concentrate and 4 sleeves of frozen concentrate.