Man, I love Apfelwein

[Longtrain4]

So you recommend adjusting the pH to ~3.2?

I tested as it came from the carboy and it was 3.6, it tasted flat and watery. I added acid blend in little increments, tasting as I went, 3.2 tasted good to me. It had a little edge, which I like. You probably should adjust to your taste.

I really didn't know what to expect from this recipe, You read the threads and take the good and bad. Do you carb, still or add a splash. I didn't know, so I tried them all. The SG of the final product was 1.004, just off dry. Drinking it still it was ok, not great, but add a spash of lemon lime soda and it transformed into something really decent. A crisp, slightly mildly sweet, tangey apple drink with alcohol.

I'm now a believer, this is good, even my SWMBO likes it. I'm glad I too the advice to start another batch after the first. It won't last long.

 

[nukinfuts29]

If it's just a week, why not just wait to make it?

I would, except that it's already fermenting. The new place is ready a month and a half ahead of schedule and SWMBO isn't going to wait on the Apfelwein lol.

 

[emjay]

I would, except that it's already fermenting. The new place is ready a month and a half ahead of schedule and SWMBO isn't going to wait on the Apfelwein lol.

Well... I normally wouldn't recommend moving a still-fermenting by vehicle, but it sounds like the answer to your question ultimately doesn't matter

 

[nukinfuts29]

Just looking for tips for moving it, like temp in the vehicle things a new brewer might not think of. Obviously careful turning and braking.

 

[BrewersKaramazov]

I dropped 5 gallons of this onto a ginger mead yeast cake today. I am really looking forward to tasting it.

 

[Strangelove]

Just bottled my first batch. I failed at instructions and used 3# of corn sugar instead of 2. SWMBO and I split a 15 oz bottle. All I can say is...wow. Tasted pretty good, but kicks like a mule. Edwort is right: you will get drunk at light speed. Can't wait to taste it finished, cold and carbonated.

 

[flananuts]

My searching abilities have failed. I want to rack my finished apfelwein to corny and naturally carbonate using apple juice concentrate at basement temperatures. I can back pressurize the the corny to keep it sealed but I'm not sure how much, 1 or 2 cans per 5 gallons. I would like to rack in the the next day or two so appreciate any assistance.

 

[jgerard]

If it is from a local orchard, it is probably OK.

Also, I don't know how much sorbate they add. Certainly enough to prevent spontaneous fermentation from wild yeasts, but when pitching a lot of yeast and making conditions sort of ideal for multiplication, it MIGHT not be a big deal. I never tried it, though. My local ACME had some Ziegler's Brand Cider, and the label indicated potassium sorbate as a preservative.

I will be getting back home today so I will probably know whether it has been going or not when I get back.

My searching abilities have failed. I want to rack my finished apfelwein to corny and naturally carbonate using apple juice concentrate at basement temperatures. I can back pressurize the the corny to keep it sealed but I'm not sure how much, 1 or 2 cans per 5 gallons. I would like to rack in the the next day or two so appreciate any assistance.

I am curious about this too because I bet it will be smoother faster if I can use a couple spoons of aj concentrate instead of cane sugar. Would I use the same ratio of concentrate to apfelwein in 12 oz bottles as you would in the corny?

 

[Arkador]

Man, I love this stuff

 

[Huskysibe]

I have a batch I put together on 11/11/11, cant wait to try it!!!!

 

[jtkratzer]

The two batches I bottled on Thanksgiving morning went smooth and I put a bottle of each in the fridge. It was a hit. Still waiting to try the bottles I put carb tablets into.

Definitely going to get more of this going, probably 20 gallons this time. Need to collect more wine bottles.

 

[Longtrain4]

Question...

I bottled my first batch, some still, some carb tabbed. If I want to still bottle my next batch in 12 oz beer bottles, should I add any K-Meta or Pot Sorbate to the carboy before I bottle? Wondering since if I put 4 gallons in 12 oz bottles, it may take a bit to drink them all and I wouldn't want any to go bad.

 

[flananuts]

Bump before this gets buried under gallons of apfelwein..

My searching abilities have failed. I want to rack my finished apfelwein to corny and naturally carbonate using apple juice concentrate at basement temperatures. I can back pressurize the the corny to keep it sealed but I'm not sure how much, 1 or 2 cans per 5 gallons. I would like to rack in the the next day or two so appreciate any assistance.

 

[Recluse]

Bump before this gets buried under gallons of apfelwein..

Originally Posted by flananuts View Post
My searching abilities have failed. I want to rack my finished apfelwein to corny and naturally carbonate using apple juice concentrate at basement temperatures. I can back pressurize the the corny to keep it sealed but I'm not sure how much, 1 or 2 cans per 5 gallons. I would like to rack in the the next day or two so appreciate any assistance

OK.. check the label on the concentrate. A good priming rate is 1 oz (by weight) sugar per gallon of Apfelwein.

So, if your concentrate is something like 28 g sugar/2 oz, then a 12 oz can of concentrate should be good to prime 6 gallons.

I generally like to prime a touch higher, so I would probably throw the whole can into 5 gal, but this is a good starting point.

Be warned...at basement temps it takes quite awhile to carb up.

 

[nukinfuts29]

the wait is killing me lmao. man it is just humming right along, the apple smell coming out of the airlock is heavenly. Two days shy of week one.

 

[mistercameron]

About 5 weeks in this thing finally stopped bubbling. Ready to bottle this week.

 

[seanstermatic]

Using EC 1118 (rehydrated), 5 gallons rougemont (from costco, ontario), and 2 lbs sucrose (costco) fermentation was finished (0.996) at 4 days. Letting it sit for another 3-4 days and the yeast began to fall from suspension leaving a clear layer on top. I racked off this clear layer and at first it tasted nasty (only a week post pitch!!), so I left it in the fridge for 2 more days and now its awesome. NINE DAYS AND I BE LOVIN IT.

 

[KoedBrew]

So I threw together a 3 gallon batch of this in April...I won't be able to bottle it until May of 2012, do you think 13 months in primary will be too much??

 

[CreamyGoodness]

1 have a gallon batch going that stopped bubbling after just 3 or 4 days. nice little cake of lees at the bottom (so something happened) but not sure if it stalled.

I guess we shall see.

 

[Accidic]

I dunno, I think a stuck fermentation about halfway would be kind of nice. I've been tempted to heat it just enough to kill the yeast but I was afraid it would develop off flavors. Time to stabilize that one and hand off to the wife/girlfriend if it is. Would make a terrific solvent $$.

 

[mistercameron]

I don't know if it matters or not, but I was using S-05. Most of the fermentation was done in the first two weeks, but there had been a small stream of bubbles coming up from the bottom for the following few weeks... reminiscent of champagne bubbles, but slower. I'm not going to bother with FG readings for this one gallon batch, but I will be bottling as soon as I have the chance and will probably let it sit at least another month before trying it.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I have a few bottling questions. First, after 2.5+ months aging, would I need to add yeast or stir up the lees in order to carb? The latter half of this time it has been sitting in the basement at 55-60 degrees.

Secondly, at this temperature, there was a bit of disolved CO2 left. I siphoned off just a bit into a wine bottle and shoved a used, sanitized cork in just to take to immediate share with some friends. After the wine warmed up to room temperature (sitting by a sunny window) the cork blew out! Could controlling temperature toward the end of fermentation then killing the yeast be a way to leave some CO2 and back-sweeten with real sugar?

 

[tkirkm176]

Has anybody bottled this still in wine bottles? If so, how hong have you aged them?

 

[flananuts]

Thanks for the help. I'm racking to two cornies and will forget about it until the spring.

OK.. check the label on the concentrate. A good priming rate is 1 oz (by weight) sugar per gallon of Apfelwein.

So, if your concentrate is something like 28 g sugar/2 oz, then a 12 oz can of concentrate should be good to prime 6 gallons.

I generally like to prime a touch higher, so I would probably throw the whole can into 5 gal, but this is a good starting point.

Be warned...at basement temps it takes quite awhile to carb up.

 

[Recluse]

Has anybody bottled this still in wine bottles? If so, how hong have you aged them?

I did that with my first few batches. Carbed most of it, but made 2 or 3 wine bottles still. Gave them away/drank them pretty quickly. Don't think they bottle aged for more than a month or two and were fine. I prefer carbonation, so I haven't bottled much still.

Note the recent post where some 'still' wine bottles exploded when warm due to residual CO2 in the bottled Apfelwein when bottled at low temperature.

You might want to degas if you are going to bottle at cellar temps and store them warm. I had no trouble with mine in the basement and I didn't degas.

 

[BARBQ]

I bought three containers of spice I want to try. 1.5 oz each. Nutmeg, Cloves and Cinamon. Does anybody have a suggestion on how much of each I should use in a 5 gal batch?

 

[h22lude]

So I just went to my LHBS to pick up the yeast. While I was there I decided I would just buy the corn sugar there. It only came in 4 pound bags so I thought, hey why not buy two packets of yeast and make 10 gallons...so that is what I did lol Tomorrow I am picking up 10 gallons of apple juice.

I think I am going to ferment one batch for 4 to 6 weeks and the other for 4 to 5 months just to compare.

I would also like to try to taste some still and carbed. And maybe even try to split that down to carb in bottle and carb in keg. Do you think that would work from one 5 gallon batch? I don't have a corker so I would have to put them in beer bottles. I could do 1/3 in beer bottles with no priming sugar, 1/3 in beer bottles with priming sugar and 1/3 in a corny. Would that work? Or am I trying to split this batch into too many things? I'm basically just seeing which way I like. Short fermentation vs long fermentation. Still, bottle carbed or kegged.

For the 1/3 bottle carbed I would just use 1/3 the sugar so about 1.7oz.

 

[Buck33]

Quick question...just bottled my first batch yesterday, Same recipe as Ed worts, it's been sitting in glass carbon since last January, it is super sour, is this how it is supposed to taste? I like the taste I just want to make sure that is the norm... Thanks in advance!

 

[h22lude]

Quick question...just bottled my first batch yesterday, Same recipe as Ed worts, it's been sitting in glass carbon since last January, it is super sour, is this how it is supposed to taste? I like the taste I just want to make sure that is the norm... Thanks in advance!

I haven't made it yet (obviously by my last post) but I wouldn't think it should taste super sour. It will change a little with bottle conditioning. A year does seem like a long time in primary.

 

[flananuts]

I would characterize it to be similar to the dry cider flavor but less sweet. Mine finishes out under 1.0 so it's dry