Man, I love Apfelwein

[Schlenkerla]

Good point Schlenkerla! Gotta make sure folks follow the rules here!

This makes 1,500th post in the thread! Wow!

Edwort - Congratulations!!!!

Most people fail to remember how much they loved their first beer. I recall back when I was 15 or 16 years old. I was like wow this is great when it was really horrible tasting (I recall drinking Schlitz & Hudipol)! Its what my buddies were doing to feel like adults.

To all Apfelwein Neophites; Apfelwein is a quickly acquired taste. My first cider tasted like appley wine, not sure whether I liked it, after getting through 1 or 2 glasses the dry bitter twang was gone. The rest of the night I drank cider and boy did I have a rude awaking after I got off the bar stool to take a leak. Wham, the buzz hit me with some wobbley legs. Drink with caution. It can sneak up on you.

 

[Ryanh1801]

Ok im not sure but I think I might have a problem. Mine is still bubbling away and hydrometer reading is .90. it have been 6 weeks and a few days. Is their any reason why it would go this low? It taste very good though.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Your fine! Its done! - The damn thing will bubble forever it you let it go. Its at a trickle rate.

Out of curiosity what's the temp comp???

Mine No.1 was bubbling at .9 the thing is filled with gas and will pass bubbles for awhile. I'm not a wine maker but i think this is why they degass wine.

 

[Ryanh1801]

So if in a few days the gravity is the same should I go ahead and bottle? I have it in a tub of water that stays around 65 maybe a little higher. Also should I consider degassing it? ah I feel like such a moron, lol. I just want to drink the stuff now.

 

[Schlenkerla]

So if in a few days the gravity is the same should I go ahead and bottle? I have it in a tub of water that stays around 65 maybe a little higher. Also should I consider degassing it? ah I feel like such a moron, lol. I just want to drink the stuff now.

It not a bad idea to let wait, if its dropping day to day. My question is how much is it off with the fermentation temp. The gravity readings fluctuate with temperature. My thoughts were that its not off much since the temp is low. That's all. Something to consider in your readings.

Don't think you're a moron we've all been there. You don't need to degass it, I was saying this about wines seeming to have residual carbonation. It continues to bubble even when its done. If you want to bottle it still (w/o any bubbles) then degass. If you want carbonation like 90% of us just make a priming solution equivalent to beer. Your apfelwein is possibly 25% of the way to being carbonated. If you want to drink it now leave some to the side and chill it in a bucket of ice. A small Paul Mason Carafe works well. An old wine bottle does a good job too.

 

[Drunkagain]

How does this stuff do ageing in the keg? I'm gonna make a batch next payday and if I like it I was thinking I'd make another batch and put it away in the keg for a few months. It dosne't turn to vinegar or anything, right?

 

[Bobby_M]

I finally made myself a batch. I used Farm Flavor apple juice from Shoprite (99 cents per half gallon) for a total of $10, boiled 1/2qt of water and 2lbs dextrose. Montrachet yeast of course. The total price including the local LHBS ripoff $4 for 20oz of dextrose was $16.25 for 5 gallons.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

Yeah, I bought mine for $.88 per half gallon. So $8.80 for 5 gallons, about $2 for corn sugar and $.75 for the montrachet. A whopping $11.55. That is my first batch and it is still in the carboy. I think it has been a month? Have to check that. Tasted it and took a reading a week ago. Tasted like white wine apple flavored of course. It was only down to 1.008. So, I'll let it sit I guess.

Got 5 more gallons of juice waiting to go. Not as good a sale on those but hey only a couple of bucks more.

 

[EdWort]

I finally made myself a batch. I used Farm Flavor apple juice from Shoprite (99 cents per half gallon) for a total of $10, boiled 1/2qt of water and 2lbs dextrose. Montrachet yeast of course. The total price including the local LHBS ripoff $4 for 20oz of dextrose was $16.25 for 5 gallons.

Not bad. You don't need to boil water for the dextrose though, you can put a pound in each jug after you make room for it. Just shake and it dissolves in a few seconds. That's what I do.

 

[rmullins]

This looks pretty awesome. I think I am going to pick up another Carboy and try this pretty soon

 

[clearlysuburban]

Just a quick question: I put my first batch in my carboy today, and I was wondering how long should this take until I see some reaction. The same amount of time as for beer?

 

[Hemi]

Just a quick question: I put my first batch in my carboy today, and I was wondering how long should this take until I see some reaction. The same amount of time as for beer?

Generally 6-8 weeks from start to finish. When it is transparent its ready.

 

[Beerrific]

24 days...

Can't wait to get this in bottles, hopefully it will clear up and I can bottle this weekend.

 

[clearlysuburban]

what i meant was how long until i see action in the airlock?

 

[Beerrific]

what i meant was how long until i see action in the airlock?

Not too long. It took mine less than 12 hours with the dried yeast.

 

[EdWort]

24 days...

Can't wait to get this in bottles, hopefully it will clear up and I can bottle this weekend.

Looking good. You could have still gotten another inch of juice in there. I would not use that type of airlock till after the first week or so.

 

[Beerrific]

Looking good. You could have still gotten another inch of juice in there.

Yeah I realize that now. I wasn't sure if it would foam at all and I wanted a drink of juice

I would not use that type of airlock till after the first week or so.

Why is that?

I only have one 3-piece airlock, it is on a carboy in my fridge, the bubbler one won't fit in there.

 

[Hemi]

what i meant was how long until i see action in the airlock?

My bad. Ya 12-24 hours it should start bubblin pretty good....its a pretty agressive fermenter and may bubble as much as 30 times per minute within 24-36 hours but you should start seeing action within 12-24.

 

[mgayer]

Mine took a day and a half to see anything. Started the 28th at 4:00pm. The yeast just stayed suspended but when I got home from work yesterday I saw a bit of foam. This morning I had activity in the airlock about once every 3 to 4 seconds and about half an inches of foam.

By the way the vodka in the air lock works great!

 

[EdWort]

I only have one 3-piece airlock, it is on a carboy in my fridge, the bubbler one won't fit in there.

I recommend getting another one. The fermentation is very steady for a week or so and the bubbler will evaporate quickly, so you need to pay attention to how much is in there as you will need to add some vodka every other day or so till the fermentation slows down. The 3 piece airlocks hold more vodka, that's all.

Keep an eye on it and don't let it all evaporate.

 

[mot]

I bottled my first batch last sunday, it was alright, wasnt a huge fan at the moment. Just wondering how your guys conditioned out? How long were they sitting before they got really good? I had mine in the primary for about 7 or 8 weeks and in a secondary for 2.

I carbed most of them and left about 6 or 7 uncarbed. I tied mising some with sprite and I didnt really like that, will have to try it again once it conditions.

 

[CBBaron]

Mine took a day and a half to see anything. Started the 28th at 4:00pm. The yeast just stayed suspended but when I got home from work yesterday I saw a bit of foam. This morning I had activity in the airlock about once every 3 to 4 seconds and about half an inches of foam.

By the way the vodka in the air lock works great!

Mine had the freaky ghost ring on the top of the juice at 8 hours but still was not bubbling at 24. It probably would have helped to rehydrate the yeast but I was in a hurry and skipped that step.
Craig

 

[Schlenkerla]

I bottled my first batch last sunday, it was alright, wasnt a huge fan at the moment. Just wondering how your guys conditioned out? How long were they sitting before they got really good? I had mine in the primary for about 7 or 8 weeks and in a secondary for 2.

I carbed most of them and left about 6 or 7 uncarbed. I tied mising some with sprite and I didnt really like that, will have to try it again once it conditions.

A couple things, drink this cold and bubbly. Just wait until you cop a quick buzz. The stuff requires some getting use to if you don't normally drink cider. Hence the 3 glass rule. Stopping for a bit after the 3rd glass is wise. It can knock you on your a$$ if you slam them. 2 for 1 on ABV, meaning 1 drink is ~ 2 beers.

This definately gets better with time. SWMBO commented on it w/o my asking. Cider will last long in a bottle if you let it, however as it gets better you will drink it faster. Give it some time.

BTW mine was clear when I bottled, it still dropped out some yeast weeks later.

You can also dilute this with plain juice but I don't think its necessary.

 

[mot]

A couple things, drink this cold and bubbly. Just wait until you cop a quick buzz. The stuff requires some getting use to if you don't normally drink cider. Hence the 3 glass rule. Stopping for a bit after the 3rd glass is wise. It can knock you on your a$$ if you slam them. 2 for 1 on ABV, meaning 1 drink is ~ 2 beers.

This definately gets better with time. SWMBO commented on it w/o my asking. Cider will last long in a bottle if you let it, however as it gets better you will drink it faster. Give it some time.

BTW mine was clear when I bottled, it still dropped out some yeast weeks later.

You can also dilute this with plain juice but I don't think its necessary.

Cool, in my secondary there was not much yeast sediment. It did have a faint bread.. yeasty smell, I hope that isn't some sort of infection or the yeast dying off?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Cool, in my secondary there was not much yeast sediment. It did have a faint bread.. yeasty smell, I hope that isn't some sort of infection or the yeast dying off?

It'll be noticably better in 4-6 weeks. The yeasty taste is gonna be there for a little bit. High ABV stuff requires a little more time to mature. Unless you detest dry wine, you'll like it better shortly.

I brought my first batch to my HB club meeting after 4 weeks in the bottle. I was told to enter it in the state fair competition for ciders.

 

[The Drizzle]

I just bought a second glass carboy, just so i could do this.

 

[jjasghar]

i used organic apple juice from central market...it fermented just fine, tastes great, but alas it looks like --->

http://aoeu.nu/album/homebrew/apfelwein/

it never cleared up....is that because of the juice?

 

[HarvInSTL]

Just took a gravity reading 4weeks in and I'm sitting at 1.010. Guess its needs a couple more weeks.

 

[EdWort]

i used organic apple juice from central market...it fermented just fine, tastes great, but alas it looks like --->

http://aoeu.nu/album/homebrew/apfelwein/

it never cleared up....is that because of the juice?

Was the organic juice cloudy to start with? What kind was it? What yeast did you use?

 

[Kayos]

Funny story...
I used my carbinator cap on a 2L bottle for my first taste. It was pretty good, but I was looking for sweeter. On the second bottle, I bottle conditioned individually with 2.5 tsp of cane sugar in a 1L bottle. It would not carb, so I used the carbinator cap again. This stuff tasted great! What gives, I wonder....turns out SWMBO put Splenda in the sugar jar and was trying to see if anyone noticed a difference!!! LMAO!!! So now I have 2-3 tsp of Splenda in the bottles and carb them with about the same of cane sugar.