Man, I love Apfelwein

[thomrenault]

This is an odd set of facts. My only (so far) apfelwein was in a new bucket which soaked in 5 gallons of sanitizer overnight and fermented at 60-65 F. And it smelled absolutely awful for a couple of week, however it was in a storage closet, which still smells like sulfur a couple weeks after the wine stopped making the smell.

 

[brpruett]

All very interesting regarding smell. I ferment 3 x 6.5g carboys at a time in my office. The dimensions are roughly 12x12x8. Don't think that room size makes a difference.
Just a pleasant apple odor the entire time. My temps have approached 80f for a few batches. I've used YAN with some and not with others. Counting back, I've actually done 14 batches. No sulphur at all. I pitch my yeast dry as well. Juice is stored at room temp before fermenting.

I use 'Great Value' juice from Walmart. I wonder if the brand makes a difference?
I keep coming back to sanitation - or a people perhaps using old yeast and it is struggling?
Tired yeast put out H2S.

 

[HappyWino]

Personally I believe it to be a combination of yeast and nutrient. Some yeasts (Montrachet springs to mind) are prone to H2S production, others (EC1118 for example) are not, but can still produce some if the proper nutrients are not available in the must.

Cheers

HW

 

[BARBQ]

Good info guys. I might have to try the NOT. I used montrachet last and the sulfur was kickin hard during the beginning of fermentation

 

[MirImage]

All very interesting regarding smell. I ferment 3 x 6.5g carboys at a time in my office. The dimensions are roughly 12x12x8. Don't think that room size makes a difference.
Just a pleasant apple odor the entire time. My temps have approached 80f for a few batches. I've used YAN with some and not with others. Counting back, I've actually done 14 batches. No sulphur at all. I pitch my yeast dry as well. Juice is stored at room temp before fermenting.

I use 'Great Value' juice from Walmart. I wonder if the brand makes a difference?
I keep coming back to sanitation - or a people perhaps using old yeast and it is struggling?
Tired yeast put out H2S.

I also used the great value for the 2nd one. 1st one was motts

 

[Ace_Club]

I also used the great value for the 2nd one. 1st one was motts

I think it has more to do with people's sensitivity to he sulfur smell.

 

[Buck33]

I tried to search but didn't find anything, buy is it possible to sweeten and still carbonate in bottles?

Edit: never mind I figured it out

 

[brpruett]

I used Montrachet, EC-1118, and Pasteur Red on different batches and no smell. H2S is indeed a sign of struggling yeast... so I wonder if I hit on something with my conjecture that the smell is produced by old, improperly stored yeast. A touch of YAN when pitching the yeast may help in avoiding the sulphurous emissions. Too much YAN can produce some bubble-gum and banana flavors, so a gentle hand (and following product directions) is a good idea.
You folks who are getting the odor, is old yeast a possibility?

 

[Chuginator]

Just came across this hilariously large thread. Will be doing a batch tomorrow! Thanks, Ed!

 

[SwampassJ]

I used Montrachet, EC-1118, and Pasteur Red on different batches and no smell. H2S is indeed a sign of struggling yeast... so I wonder if I hit on something with my conjecture that the smell is produced by old, improperly stored yeast. A touch of YAN when pitching the yeast may help in avoiding the sulphurous emissions. Too much YAN can produce some bubble-gum and banana flavors, so a gentle hand (and following product directions) is a good idea.
You folks who are getting the odor, is old yeast a possibility?

It could be, I didn't check the packages for dates just pitched in two.

 

[Jester]

I've got to get another batch if this going...

 

[BLM]

Just came across this hilariously large thread. Will be doing a batch tomorrow! Thanks, Ed!

it wont be your last :rockin:

 

[mendnwngs]

Holy postcount, batman!

I read the first 30 or 40 pages all the way through, then started skipping around, heh..

Just put my first batch in a carboy yesterday.

I used EdWorts recipe (Thanks!) but changed it procedurally a bit..

1) I boiled 1/2 gal of the apple juice, with the dextrose.(LHBS re-packages it, so god knows what could be living in there)

and

2) I pitched 2X packs of the Montrachet yeast. (for 60 cents a pack, I figured why not), and a tsp of fermaid K nutrient.

OG was right around 1.064 (mathematically derived from qty of dextrose, and sugar content of the apple juice)

Its ~18 hours after pitching, and man is it a vigorous fermentation.. Its kinda cool to watch whats going on with no krausen.

Heh, and if you carboy in glass, you can hear it bubbling.. Sounds like a freshly opened soda..

Thanks for the thread, and the recipe! I cant wait to get some age on this one, and try it.

-Jason

 

[mudarra]

I'm getting ready to bottle mine that has been sitting in the carboy for four months.
Should I add a little yeast at bottling to carb, or is the montrachet up for the task?

 

[mendnwngs]

Whew!

Wow, now I know what you guys mean by rhino farts. Thats some strong sulfur..

BTW, I used "Hansens Natural" juice, the only listed ingredients are Water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)

Its still bubbling like mad, and the surface of the juice is free of any floaties, or pellicle, so I'm 99% sure I'm safe, but man oh man.. SWMBO isn't gonna be happy, LOL..

 

[MirImage]

Whew!

Wow, now I know what you guys mean by rhino farts. Thats some strong sulfur..

BTW, I used "Hansens Natural" juice, the only listed ingredients are Water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)

Its still bubbling like mad, and the surface of the juice is free of any floaties, or pellicle, so I'm 99% sure I'm safe, but man oh man.. SWMBO isn't gonna be happy, LOL..

My wife requested I stopped making it for a bit because of the hang overs haha.

 

[Paisano]

Whew!

Wow, now I know what you guys mean by rhino farts. Thats some strong sulfur..

BTW, I used "Hansens Natural" juice, the only listed ingredients are Water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)

Its still bubbling like mad, and the surface of the juice is free of any floaties, or pellicle, so I'm 99% sure I'm safe, but man oh man.. SWMBO isn't gonna be happy, LOL..

You can easily filter out the sulfer smell for only a few bucks with my homemade filter here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/apfelwein-sulfur-smell-apparently-solved-218577/

 

[SwampassJ]

Took a Hydro sample and taste test today and there is no sulfur smell/taste left in it. It is still very hot and very tart after only 7 days and is down to 1.002 right now. Figure another few weeks and I'll transfer it into a 6 gallon carboy for some bulk aging.

 

[Paisano]

Personally I believe it to be a combination of yeast and nutrient. Some yeasts (Montrachet springs to mind) are prone to H2S production, others (EC1118 for example) are not, but can still produce some if the proper nutrients are not available in the must.

Cheers

HW

I think you are correct. I fermented with fresh Cote des Blanc and yeast nutrient at the recommended rate. Still, the sulfur smell was overpowering after about 24 hours. So, I made this simple filter for a few bucks and it completely filtered out the smell for the rest of the fermentation. It will keep SWMBO happy if you are fermenting in a living space.

 

[SwampassJ]

I think you are correct. I fermented with fresh Cote des Blanc and yeast nutrient at the recommended rate. Still, the sulfur smell was overpowering after about 24 hours. So, I made this simple filter for a few bucks and it completely filtered out the smell for the rest of the fermentation. It will keep SWMBO happy if you are fermenting in a living space.

Coolest thing ever.

 

[saramc]

I have been told by several winemakers (commercial and amateur) that when dealing with apple alone, regardless of the type of yeast used, that you will need to do a staged-nutrient feeding...you can use traditional yeast nutrient or bee pollen if you want to. Apparently there are so many factors that affect apple, types of apples used, temperature when they were pressed, temperature when you are fermenting, etc. You may find that one time when you made it you did not experience any H2S, yet the next time you do.

 

[Chuginator]

Down the road when I'm read to serve this, I'm considering not even mentioning that it's apple wine. I think people hear "apples" and tend to think "must be sweet." Maybe I'll serve it out of a pinot grigio bottle! :-D

 

[banesong]

Well, as I was bottling a batch of beer yesterday, I decided to take a sample of my apfelwein and see where I was at. I put this batch in the carboy on January 30th, and unfortunately forgot to take an OG, but based on other's estimates, it was around 1.065-1.075 (so we will go with 1.07) for Costco organic not from concentrate juice, 2lbs dextrose and a packet of montrechet yeast.

When I grabbed the sample, I noticed that there was a decent amount of carbonation (very, very fine bubbles, almost champagne like), and so tested multiple times over the period of an hour as well as stirred the tester to get as much carbonation out as possible. The final (temperature corrected) gravity was 1.017. Based on most people's experience, apfelwein is supposed to ferment out much, much drier. Is it stuck? Should I shrug and leave it be?

Some notes:
1. I planned to leave it in the carboy until the 5th of June, so this is all probably moot.
2. It has been fermenting at around 64-66 degrees on the fermometer.
3. It tastes pretty good, but still a bit sweet for my tastes. As it is for my mother's birthday (thus deciding the schedule), it is also too sweet for her tastes - she likes Blackthorn Cider which is very dry.

Thanks
T

 

[krisabsinthe]

I forgot to ask, since I used an ale yeast do I need to transfer this to a secondary, or can I just leave it in the primary for the full 4 weeks?

I used Coopers ale yeast and I let it sit for 1 month in primary and then racked it to another carboy and let it sit until I bottled today. I started the stuff on 1-8. so I did about a month of each, and it is crystal clear! Ill take a photo of it when my camera is charged.

Edit:
Its worth noting that I used Knox Gelatin to clear, 8oz HOT water ( Not boiling temp) and mixed in one packet then added that to 5 gallons, it was noticeably clearer in 4 days.

Photos:

 

[Gordzilla]

anyone ever used Cinnamon in their apflewein during fermentation?

 

[andrew300]

I made this about a year ago and totally forgot about it in the closet. It has never been racked from the yeast. Should I go ahead and keg it?

 

[jbrookeiv]

I made this about a year ago and totally forgot about it in the closet. It has never been racked from the yeast. Should I go ahead and keg it?

Yes, it will probably be delicious.

 

[Chuginator]

My fermentation is now going like mad. I've personally never seen anything so vigorous. It's mesmerizing. I found myself sipping an Irish Whiskey just staring at the fermenter's bubbles this evening. Neat stuff.

I don't smell anything bad... yet. I even put my nose right over the airlock and gave a little whiff. I'm prepared for the worst though, considering what I've read on this thread about the smell.

 

[Gordzilla]

i cant wait to get mine going its 930 at night and im just about to get to the grocery store, dont have any corn sugar so im going with light brown sugar.

 

[gunnieyehoshua]

I've got pear/apple going at 2 weeks in... the rhino is present, but not as bad as some descriptions I've read... must be a pygmy rhino...