Man, I love Apfelwein

[Goofynewfie]

I did not peel mine before I juiced them.

 

[Leadgolem]

Nope, if you're going to juice you don't need to peel. There is some debate on whether you should core or not. I prefer to core before juicing, I think the juice tastes better. Though it's been quite a few years since I've pressed my own apples. If you have the option, cold press is preferable.

 

[podz]

I finally threw a 5 gallon recipe together per the original posted by Edwort. After day 2 my 6 yr old came home from school and wants to know why the house smells like poop! From what I've read, this means I am right on point to make good Apfelwein!

Kids are funny!

I've made more than 10 batches and I've never smelled the rhino farts, but that may be because I can't get Montrachet where I live so I use Kitzingers Reinhefe champagne yeast instead. Except with my last batch that is using Safale us-05, but that hasn't farted yet, either.

 

[Grimster]

Kids are funny!

I've made more than 10 batches and I've never smelled the rhino farts, but that may be because I can't get Montrachet where I live so I use Kitzingers Reinhefe champagne yeast instead. Except with my last batch that is using Safale us-05, but that hasn't farted yet, either.

I've always used Lavlin EC-1118 with no major smells either.

 

[DrewschBag]

Scientifically speaking, Rhinos fart more when the temperature is hotter.

 

[Powhatan]

Scientifically speaking, Rhinos fart more when the temperature is hotter.

My batch is sitting at 70*. Is that too warm?

 

[BadDeacon]

Probably not. Depends on the yeast strain.

 

[Leadgolem]

My batch is sitting at 70*. Is that too warm?

I had a fairly good batch that was sitting at 85 through most of the fermentation. It needed an extra couple of months conditioning, but was still very good.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Mmm apfelwein

I can't quite tell if it's newspaper clear but it's definitely toaster clear!

 

[gcdowd]

I can't quite tell if it's newspaper clear but it's definitely toaster clear!

Haha both

 

[jstampler]

I just bottled up my first ever batch of Apfelwein! How does it look? Does the color look right? I actually didn't even sneak a taste so I'll see how it tastes tomorrow when the bottle I stuck in the fridge cools down.



I have the leftover yeast cake still in the carboy with a bung on it. Has anyone ever started a new batch on top of if without cleaning it out? I have everything I need, and I can do it tomorrow night if that's something that can be done. A

 

[BamaProud]

Looks good to me.

How old is the yeast cake?
I tried to start Skeeter Pee with a leftover yeast cake...it was about 3 months old. It never fermented...so I just added another packet and it took off.

 

[jstampler]

Looks good to me.

How old is the yeast cake?
I tried to start Skeeter Pee with a leftover yeast cake...it was about 3 months old. It never fermented...so I just added another packet and it took off.

I started the Apfelwein exactly 2 months ago today and just bottled it last night.

Maybe I'll try making some skeeter pee for next summer.

I love the options of having an open carboy!

 

[hio3791]

Finally got around to making this last night. Followed original recipe, using Mott's apple juice. It's in the basement at 65F. I'll report back in a few months!

 

[Powhatan]

I'm really torn after reading the Caramel Apple thread over whether I should ride this original batch out or split it in half and make a 2.5 gal batch if Caramel Apple cider. Anyone done this?

 

[TexasWine]

I'm really torn after reading the Caramel Apple thread over whether I should ride this original batch out or split it in half and make a 2.5 gal batch if Caramel Apple cider. Anyone done this?

I did. Ended up making a 6 gallon total batch. Used 5 gallons for caramel apple cider (keg limit) and 1 gallon for apfelwein.

 

[Powhatan]

How did te caramel apple turn out? Worth the effort to split?

 

[jstampler]

What's the best way to make this a bit sweeter other than back sweetening? I love my batch now but I want to make another batch with a tad more sweetness to it. Brown sugar? A different yeast? Apple cider instead of apple juice? Another kind of juice mixed into it? Cinnamon sticks? Any suggestions?

 

[Tritonal]

Started this last year and had a little mold issue after transfering to secondary (still don't know the cause) well it's been sitting in the secondary for a year now and in the bottle for about 3 weeks. Tasted it today and let me tell you what! This is terrible! Almost pure alcohol taste with little apple. I don't blame the recipe it had to be something I did, just rather upsetting. I now have 24 or so bottles, maybe use it for a mulled wine in the fall?

Or is there a way to save the bottles? I'll gladly uncork em all and recork them if theres something I can add to atleast sweeten it up and bring the apple out a bit more

 

[TexasWine]

How did te caramel apple turn out? Worth the effort to split?

I think it was worth the effort. My plans changed mid stream and I was looking for something that was drinkable sooner. So the caramel apple cider was the perfect solution. And I've got some apfelwein aging while I drink the cider!

 

[Powhatan]

Thanks. That's what I was hoping to hear. Looks like I will be splitting this batch.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Started this last year and had a little mold issue after transfering to secondary (still don't know the cause) well it's been sitting in the secondary for a year now and in the bottle for about 3 weeks. Tasted it today and let me tell you what! This is terrible! Almost pure alcohol taste with little apple. I don't blame the recipe it had to be something I did, just rather upsetting. I now have 24 or so bottles, maybe use it for a mulled wine in the fall?

Or is there a way to save the bottles? I'll gladly uncork em all and recork them if theres something I can add to atleast sweeten it up and bring the apple out a bit more

Did you stick to the original recipe or did you goose it with additional sugar? What you are describing sounds like young apfelwein. If you let it sit it will mellow out and the apple will come through.

 

[jstampler]

I just started my second batch. After bottling my first batch on Tuesday and already drinking 2 bottles, I decided something needed to be done! I decided to play around with the recipe a bit.

Here's the recipe I used in my 6 Gallon carboy.
-I used my yeast cake(Montrachet) from my last batch of apfelwein and added half a teaspoon of yeast nutrient to help it along.
- 4 Gallons of Great Value (Walmart brand) Apple Juice.
- 1.5 Gallons of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice (also has Grape and Pear juices).
- 2.25 Pounds of Corn Sugar.
- 50 or so Raisins.
- 1 Cinnamon Stick

 

[Leadgolem]

What's the best way to make this a bit sweeter other than back sweetening? I love my batch now but I want to make another batch with a tad more sweetness to it. Brown sugar? A different yeast? Apple cider instead of apple juice? Another kind of juice mixed into it? Cinnamon sticks? Any suggestions?

More sugar will only give you a sweeter product if you have more of it then the yeast can consume at it's max alcohol tolerance. If it's short of it's alcohol tolerance it will continue to ferment, even in the fridge.

In the US, apple cider is just apple juice with some of the apple particulates left in. So, that doesn't really effect your ending sugar content. Adding another kind of juice probably won't change the fact that all of the sugar in the solution is fermentable.

IMO, cinnamon sticks add depth of flavor. They don't change the ending sugar content of the brew.

You could pick a yeast with a really low alcohol tolerance, so it stalls out before all the sugar is consumed. Honestly though, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would stall out before you ended up with a fairly dry apfelwein.

You can halt the fermentation by pasteurizing before all the sugar is consumed. This is a little tricky as you have to time things right. Basically, taste it often. Once the sweetness reaches the point you want, pasteurize the batch. Either in the bottle, or in a big batch on the stove.

You can add something sweet that isn't fermentable. Either baking splenda, or for something novel like lactose. I suppose you could do that before fermentation starts.

IMO, the best approach is to let it ferment dry. Then sweeten to taste. Then bottle pasteurize, for a sweet cider.

Honestly though, unless you want carbonated cider, I don't see the point in bottling sweet. I usually bottle dry. Then use a bottle of simple syrup to sweeten the glass I'm drinking to whatever level of sweetness I'm in the mood for at the time. That way I can have a glass dry, or any level of sweet. It's easy to add sugar, it's harder to take it back out.

To make simple syrup, stir 1 part water to 2 parts granulated sugar by volume and a dash of lemon juice over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Let cool. Poor into the bottle of your choice. For a 1 gallon batch of syrup, this should take no more then 15 minutes. Though it does take about an hour and a half for that big of a batch to cool. The acid and heat breaks some of the sucrose into glucose and fructose. That keeps the syrup from crystallizing in the bottle. Any acid will work, lemon juice is just the easiest to find.

 

[Tritonal]

Did you stick to the original recipe or did you goose it with additional sugar? What you are describing sounds like young apfelwein. If you let it sit it will mellow out and the apple will come through.

That I can remember and from what I wrote down I followed it verbatim. The only thing I can think of was the mold issue but I did everything I could to avoid disturbing it and getting it in the bottles. Tonight I'll try some in a little sprite.

 

[Grimster]

Honestly though, unless you want carbonated cider

It's what everyone around here bugs me for the most, more of that "apple champagne" sweeten it, keg it, and I'm lucky if it even carbonates completely before it's gone.

 

[Leadgolem]

It's what everyone around here bugs me for the most, more of that "apple champagne" sweeten it, keg it, and I'm lucky if it even carbonates completely before it's gone.

It sounds like you need to brew more.

For bottling in that situation, I'd get a plastic soda or PET bottle that's the same volume as your apfelwein. Back sweeten, then fill your bottles. When the PET bottle is hard to the touch, bottle pasteurize the rest of the batch you put in glass.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

After seeing this thread many time I can only contribute this advice. Go to Frankfurt am mein, go downtown, and find a good place that sells handkase mit musik and apfelwein on pumpernickel, nothing of said categories will ever taste the same.

 

[jknigga]

Just bottled my batch. Only made 4 gallons. Into the fermenter on May 21st with an OG of 1.057. Bottled today, Sept 14th, with a FG of 0.960. Made it just a tad stronger than what I was hoping for but... oh well. Super dry but still tastes really good. Excited to see how it tastes around Thanksgiving/Christmas.

 

[Inkleg]

Ok, so this took me 35 minutes from start to end of clean up.
I'm just not sure I want to commit that kind of time to my brew day.
Thanks Ed, can't wait to see how this turns out.