Man, I love Apfelwein

[adejesus]

I have been fermenting a batch of Apfelwein for 3 months. I just bottled it up and took a reading and it read 1.000 - 0%. I dont understand why this would happen any suggestions on what could have happened?

 

[kc9eci]

What are some other brands of juice used? Tree top is not available by me

Don't know about others, but I use the Indian Summer brand. I've also got some frozen concentrate from Aldi's that I plan to use in the near future.

 

[Grumpybumpy]

I have been fermenting a batch of Apfelwein for 3 months. I just bottled it up and took a reading and it read 1.000 - 0%. I dont understand why this would happen any suggestions on what could have happened?

It fermented.... Don't read the potential alcohol scale when you've fermented. It's all about the og vs the fg. 1.000 means it dried out, which is a good thing!

 

[odh2507]

So im deploying for a year pretty soon. Good thing comijg out of it. The inlaws will let me ferment...so im doing a 5gal batch of apfelwein, and one batch with 3gal apple juice and 2gal cranberry juice!! Should i use 2 lbs of sugar in the cranapfel batch as well or more or less? Its gonna age for a whole year!! I cant wait

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Best of luck and thanks for the service odh.

 

[musicawal]

So I had my parents over for a bit last night and we were playing around with some drink recipes. We came up with this it's simple, easy, and delicious. 8oz apfelwein, 1oz Bacardi silver, and 1/2-1oz triple sec served on the rocks! It was delicious! Also my apfelwein is carbed and kegged. Anyways I encourage everyone to give it a try but be careful it'll sneak up on you real quick!!! Anybody else make any cocktails with this stuff?

 

[rwagner23]

Mixed with Butterscotch schnaps.

 

[sfrisby]

Assistance with back sweetening.

My method up to this point has been to let it ferment down to 1.016 and bottle. At 1.01 pasteurize. For this batch, I wanted to add bourbon and oak, ala woodchuck private reserve from the fall.

So, if it ferments all the way down to 1.00ish, how much sugar do I add to back sweeten to 1.01. I figure add that amount plus the normal carbing amount, let it carb then pasteurize.

 

[Skagdog]

So I had my parents over for a bit last night and we were playing around with some drink recipes. We came up with this it's simple, easy, and delicious. 8oz apfelwein, 1oz Bacardi silver, and 1/2-1oz triple sec served on the rocks! It was delicious! Also my apfelwein is carbed and kegged. Anyways I encourage everyone to give it a try but be careful it'll sneak up on you real quick!!! Anybody else make any cocktails with this stuff?

1 part glass
5 parts Apfelwein
1 apple juice ice cube

 

[natewv]

I like hard cider and ginger ale

 

[seanthefreak]

Just came back from the wine store with supplies to make my first batch. So excited, this will be my 3rd wine im making ever, so i hope it works. thanks ed

 

[seanthefreak]

Okay just finished making my first batch, the starting sugar was 1.6 or 1.61, if it finishes dry, what will be the abv

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Okay just finished making my first batch, the starting sugar was 1.6 or 1.61, if it finishes dry, what will be the abv

Do you mean 1.060? That down to 1.000 would be 8% abv

 

[seanthefreak]

yea im dumb i was reading it wrong, lol, 1.06 yea

 

[Greenash]

Made my first batch this evening. Only difference is I used Mott's apple juice. Definitely excited to try this out in 6 weeks!

 

[rico567]

Bottled my first batch this week, a little over three months after putting it in the carboy to ferment. FG 0.998. Tasted great; did everything according to recipe, except for using 5 gal. of the local orchard's apple cider instead of apple juice. They had a late Fall blend of 13 apples, pretty tart (which is what I wanted), and nothing at all in it, just flash pasteurized. I primed it with 5 oz. dextrose. Now to wait until June, and we shall see.

 

[dlgolladay89]

I would just like to add that I made a batch of this recently, and for some reason or another, it tastes quite good if you plop 2 ice cubes in with 12oz of it. It's definitely going to be one of my regulars from now on.

 

[Lazarous]

Made my first five gallons one week ago, following Ed's recipe exactly. So what is the consensus on time in the carboy? I only ask because the instructions say one month in primary then keg/bottle, but I've read on this thread that it can benefit from a little age. So my question, how long are you all leaving this to age? I'm thinking that since this is my first batch I'll bottle it at the 4 week mark, but what do you all think? I'll probably have to make another batch and age it longer to compare..

 

[Jukas]

General consensus in this thread seems to be you should try and forget about it for 6-9 months if possible. You should be able to bulk age it in a carboy for up to a year, but I'd personally be inclined to rack it to secondary before doing so.

 

[Brewcrew86]

Started my first apfelwein fermentation Sunday. Question...is the fermentation supposed have an overpowering smell? You can smell it within ten feet of my bucket. It's not the worst smell, but definitely not the best. A little help please.

 

[smagee]

Prepare for it to get worse! Reports indicate that yeast nutrient helps with the rhino farts. If nothing else, I'd recommend placing a damp towel over the bubbler, as it at least reduces their circulation.

 

[Grumpybumpy]

Prepare for it to get worse! Reports indicate that yeast nutrient helps with the rhino farts. If nothing else, I'd recommend placing a damp towel over the bubbler, as it at least reduces their circulation.

Yeast nutrient worked for me! Mine has been sitting since new years in the carboy. I think I'll bottle this weekend and try it late april

 

[slingshot81]

Got a 1 gal batch of this going... just took a sample. Pitched yeast 5 days ago. reading was .999

Tastes like a white wine.

Tastes nice, definite lil alcohol bite to it but I don't mind. Suprised at how little time it took.

 

[Matteo57]

I am sure it says it somewhere here but I don't feel like reading through the last 939 pages of it.
What is starting OG if following OP recipe?

Thanks!

 

[smagee]

My first batch was done to exact specifications and it clocked in at 1.069. It'll vary depending on the type of juice, but it should be in that vicinity.

 

[BobJ]

Yeast nutrient worked for me! Mine has been sitting since new years in the carboy. I think I'll bottle this weekend and try it late april

Worked for me as well.... Step fed mine like a mead and it's been very active and no sign of Rhino Farts....

 

[tennesseean_87]

My first batch was done to exact specifications and it clocked in at 1.069. It'll vary depending on the type of juice, but it should be in that vicinity.

After doing a batch with half apple-cranberry blend and then another with half blueberry-pomegranate-apple blend, but with and extra half pound of sugar, the latter batch came out to 1.07, just like the first. I then looked at the sugar content on the nutrition label, and they were different. This varies from apple to apple juice as well, depending on manufacturer.

 

[Brewcrew86]

Yeast nutrient worked for me! Mine has been sitting since new years in the carboy. I think I'll bottle this weekend and try it late april

Thanks guys. I was going something unusual wasn't going on. I have carboys but they are full of beer at the moment. I got a bucket specifically for apfelwein. I can't what is happening and don't want to open the bucket. Thanks again.

 

[DarkBrood]

I'm curious....a number of people seem to be adding yeast nutrients purely to control sulphur odor production (da "rhino farts"). Has anyone noticed any difference in the end product such as changes in flavor, aroma, body/mouthfeel, yeast sedimentation, aging time, etc.? Any side-by-side nutrient/no-nutrient comparisons?

 

[befus]

Read SEVERAL pages of this and it sounds very good. I will start a batch this week. One thing I never ran across was approx. how much Splenda would be added to a five gallon carboy to cut the edge of this stuff just a tad? And at bottling or beginning of fermentation? TIA. Had some apfelwein many years ago in Sachsenhausen outside Frankfurt. Can't wait to relive the moment.