Man, I love Apfelwein

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Mine is less than a week old, vigorous fermentation is over, the yeast are settling out. There is almost 1/4" of lees. It is almost totally off white yeast.
 
I have read alot of the 800 or so pages but couldnt find an answer so... What do you guys think of putting the apfelwein back into the juice jugs after being in the primary for a month or two? I dont care to have it carbonated and dont want to use one of my kegs.. would it hold up in the jugs for months or years?
 
kevin476 said:
I have read alot of the 800 or so pages but couldnt find an answer so... What do you guys think of putting the apfelwein back into the juice jugs after being in the primary for a month or two? I dont care to have it carbonated and dont want to use one of my kegs.. would it hold up in the jugs for months or years?
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Not sure where you missed it in the thread :p

JK man, I have actually read every single post in here and I know at least 10 people asked this and have done it. I have done it. You will be fine.
 
Now almost 3 months after pitching, and 6 weeks after bottling ...

I can't describe how happy I am at this moment after two bottles. I'm a happy guy when I get just enough to get buzzed :). Wonderful apple taste. I love it dry ... I can't think of anything to criticize. As good as it is, I know from the aroma that the next batch is even better that the two bottles I had tonight (different yeast). Good stuff ... Good stuff ...
 
nukinfuts29 said:
I can't wait to pop open a one year old bottle.
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Yep, I have a batch still in the fermentor from early February. Expecting it to be great.
 
Another one bites the dust. This was too cheep and easy to make to pass up, so I started my first brew tonight. I'll add my total to the other thread.
 
I did my first batch of Apfelwein last Sunday. Everything seems to be going good. Airlock was going nuts up to about yesterday. I am assuming the action will calm down now. What will give me the best results? Was thinking about leaving it in the carboy until atleast the spring/early summer and then bottle it. Do I have to worry about keeping it "topped off"?
 
No topping off required. Sweet spot seems to be three months primary then keg age. If your going to bottle age i would leave it in the primary twice that then bottle for another six months. Others opinion for that kind of aging is ti rack secondary at three months. Depends on your style.
 
I am going to bottle. How about temp? I think some where it said room temp. Because of the sulfur smell, I left it on my dining room table until the smell has gone away. My dining room is around 72-75. I am going to move it to where my primary for my beer is. That area is 66-68. I'm assuming the temp drop wont hurt it.
 
garnede said:
Another one bites the dust. This was too cheep and easy to make to pass up, so I started my first brew tonight. I'll add my total to the other thread.
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That is what got me too, Cheep "Check", Alcohol "Check", I can do science me "Check"

Athos
 
I'm a confirmed Woot.com addict. I don't buy often, but I look every day to see what's there. A few weeks back they had a Mr Beer kit for $20+ shipping. I had one that I got at a yard sale maybe a decade ago, never did anything with it and sold it off on ebay years and years ago. I decided that I'd give brewing a shot again. I did a little around 1999-2003 or so.
It showed up and I put the West Coast Pale Ale to fermenting. Then I got to looking on the Mr Beer site and before that was over had another fermenter and a Orchard cider mix en route. That is now in the fermenter doing it's thing.
I'm keeping both Mr Beer fermenters in a large Coleman cooler in my basement and monitoring the temp with a remote outdoor thermometer from La Crosse Technologies.
Meanwhile, I ran across this thread. Looked simple enough, so I rounded up some supplies and loaded the carboy last evening.
indajug.jpg

(sorry for the image quality, I was uing my ipod to take the photo)

This morning, there are signs of active fermentation!
apfelweinfermenting.jpg


I still have some airlocks and gear left and I have to take my mom to walmart later today so I might get some honey and use one of the apple juice containers to get some mead working as well.
 
made up a batch of this in october, followed ed's recipe pretty closely. finally got my ket setup going this past week, and from thursday-saturday, me and my roommates almost killed a keg of apfelwein. so delicious, and sneakily alcoholic. coupla fun nights, thats for sure. gotta get another batch going asap!
 
Made a batch of this last night. Any problems fermenting this in the low 60s with the montrachet yeast? I'm sure it will warm up once fermentation starts.
 
Did a 5 gallon batch in July 2011 following original recipe closely. I kept it in the primary for almost 6 months and put it in bottles a month ago. I just cracked open the first bottle last night... (i set aside a 6 pack to sample as the bottle conditioning progresses) Very nice! Really dry with a fruity, full-bodied apple aftertaste. I can't wait to see how this tastes in the fall... Also, I can really see how using the best ingredients available to you is essential for this recipe since there's not much to it besides pure juice. I tried mixing with 7up but felt like that covers the taste too much. I'll report back when I open my next test bottle in a month or two.
 
On average how long would people suggest keeping this in the primary? Can I just keep it in the primary for about a month or two and then bottle it and age it for however long in bottles and it will be the same won't it?
 
Matteo57 said:
On average how long would people suggest keeping this in the primary? Can I just keep it in the primary for about a month or two and then bottle it and age it for however long in bottles and it will be the same won't it?
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At least 3 months is the minimum, 6 months is better. Personal preference though, but thats the timeframes a lot of folks are adhering to.
 
Matteo57 said:
On average how long would people suggest keeping this in the primary? Can I just keep it in the primary for about a month or two and then bottle it and age it for however long in bottles and it will be the same won't it?
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Someone with more knowledge about ciders can correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as beer goes, bulk aging is always better.

5 gallon better bottles and carboys are cheap enough. If you really like this, I would get an extra one just for this.
 
Man I thought 5 gallons of this stunk. I made 12 gallons Saturday night went to work for 12 hours yesterday and my whole apartment stunk of rhino farts when I got home
 
brew2enjoy said:
Made a batch of this last night. Any problems fermenting this in the low 60s with the montrachet yeast? I'm sure it will warm up once fermentation starts.
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Early in this thread someone tried in the low 60's and it took their apfelwein 10-12 weeks to clear. At that point people were bottling/kegging after 1 month, when it cleared. Now it sounds like everyone is leaving it in their primary for that long anyway.
 
Huskysibe said:
At least 3 months is the minimum, 6 months is better. Personal preference though, but thats the timeframes a lot of folks are adhering to.
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I don't think folks in general are adhering to that. I'm reading that some are, that's for sure. I'm bottling about six weeks after pitching with good results. I'm also bottle carbonating when I bottle.

I'd say it clears on 4-5 weeks, and I leave it for another week just for good measure and am getting good results. Some others leave it longer and swear by their results. It is clear enough to bottle by 5-6 weeks. After that, you might want to compare and decide what is working for you.
 
Matteo57 said:
On average how long would people suggest keeping this in the primary? Can I just keep it in the primary for about a month or two and then bottle it and age it for however long in bottles and it will be the same won't it?
Click to expand...

I would say 12 weeks minimum. Right now I have 15 gallons in one of my larger fermenters I plan to leave in there for six months, then run off the yeast and leave it for another six.
 
i've read that its OK to make apfelwein in a bucket, but i just want to make sure its not a problem headspace-wise if i leave this for a year or so. can i just get a quick confirmation on this? thanks.
 
The short answer is that, pretty much, if you want to try it, it'll probably be OK. This stuff seems to be pretty hard to screw up. That said, it has turned out badly occasionally for some people for various reasons.

If you're concerned about headspace, just make more. As mentioned, if you're making the original recipe, then you *probably* won't need too much headspace to allow for a vigorous ferment. Just use more juice and sugar, and have a couple extra gallons when you're all done.
 
Question: I pitched 10 days ago, and while there are still bubbles coming up the side, there is a collection of white particles floating on the surface - is this something to be worried about - a possible infection?
 
ringobob said:
The short answer is that, pretty much, if you want to try it, it'll probably be OK. This stuff seems to be pretty hard to screw up. That said, it has turned out badly occasionally for some people for various reasons.

If you're concerned about headspace, just make more. As mentioned, if you're making the original recipe, then you *probably* won't need too much headspace to allow for a vigorous ferment. Just use more juice and sugar, and have a couple extra gallons when you're all done.
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Thanks Ringobob, I'll try to avoid it if i can free up a carboy. I'm planning on doing the original but with Pasteur Red for yeast (red star) and maybe change up the juice slightly (maybe 1/2 - 1 gal of something else). The only significant difference fermentation wise is going to be the yeast.
 
dirtyfrank557 said:
Thanks Ringobob, I'll try to avoid it if i can free up a carboy. I'm planning on doing the original but with Pasteur Red for yeast (red star) and maybe change up the juice slightly (maybe 1/2 - 1 gal of something else). The only significant difference fermentation wise is going to be the yeast.
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I have a batch that I will bottle next week that I made using Red Star Pasteur Red. We'll have to compare notes when you get yours bottled/kegged.
 
SteveHoward said:
I have a batch that I will bottle next week that I made using Red Star Pasteur Red. We'll have to compare notes when you get yours bottled/kegged.
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Not really...
 
dirtyfrank557 said:
i've read that its OK to make apfelwein in a bucket, but i just want to make sure its not a problem headspace-wise if i leave this for a year or so. can i just get a quick confirmation on this? thanks.
Click to expand...

I have made it in buckets. Why not just bottle it after it clears and let it age in the bottle rather than on the yeast for so long?
 
dirtyfrank557 said:
i've read that its OK to make apfelwein in a bucket, but i just want to make sure its not a problem headspace-wise if i leave this for a year or so. can i just get a quick confirmation on this? thanks.
Click to expand...

I started a 5 gallon batch in my 6.5 gal better bottle a few days ago. I think it will be fine. I might transfer it into my 5 gallon glass carboy though when I am finished aging my IIPA though.
 

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