Man, I love Apfelwein

[bearkluttz]

Just bottled my first batch after a month in primary. GOOD STUFF!!! can't wait for it to age a little longer and se what happens. Should be on the money by at least Thanksgiving or at the latest Christmas. SWMBO has requested that i make another batch but add white cranberry juice this time. My only concern is that the only WC juice that i can find (ocean spray) has citric acid and sodium citrate. I'm not overly concerned about the citric acid (let me know if i should be) but i am concerned about the sodium citrate. If i use 1.5 gallons of WC juice and 3.5 gallons of apple juice should i be concerned? Thoughts anyone?? Thanks for the help.

 

[ChshreCat]

Sodium citrate, as a preservative, is more there to stop oxidation rather than to stop things from growing in it. Not sure if it would be any problem at all.

 

[oberon567]

I just bottled mine after a month in the primary as well. 2 gallons in growlers, the rest in regular bottles. i am already excited to make more... but this was more expensive than my high ABV beers! Apple juice is pricey, around here... 5 gallons of Trader Joe's Apple Juice cost me $50 or so...

 

[mstev50]

I just bottled mine after a month in the primary as well. 2 gallons in growlers, the rest in regular bottles. i am already excited to make more... but this was more expensive than my high ABV beers! Apple juice is pricey, around here... 5 gallons of Trader Joe's Apple Juice cost me $50 or so...

50 bucks? OUCH! I usually get mine at Costco. About 6.50 for 2 gallons. Just bottled my third batch last nite and it's off to Costco for more juice tomorrow. Gotta keep that Apfelwein pipeline full!

 

[DeadDoc]

I just bottled mine after a month in the primary as well. 2 gallons in growlers, the rest in regular bottles. i am already excited to make more... but this was more expensive than my high ABV beers! Apple juice is pricey, around here... 5 gallons of Trader Joe's Apple Juice cost me $50 or so...

Buy from a regular store if you can.... trader joes is a specialty store and has a surcharge on everything in there. I have quite a few around me and not all that satisfied with it.

 

[BigKahuna]

Do you guys not have Target Stores?

 

[Saccharomyces]

I just bottled mine after a month in the primary as well. 2 gallons in growlers, the rest in regular bottles. i am already excited to make more... but this was more expensive than my high ABV beers! Apple juice is pricey, around here... 5 gallons of Trader Joe's Apple Juice cost me $50 or so...

I buy mine at Sam's Club. $20 a batch.

 

[icso]

I've gotten through page 130. Good reading.

Just started 12 gallons. A 6 gallon with Cote Des Blanc, 6 cans of concentrate and 1 lb of dextrose instead of 2. The other with Montrachet with 6 cans of concentrate and 1lb dextrose. Trying to make it a little sweeter. I don't think I'd mind the original, but the wife is all for this and I want to make sure she stays all for it. She's already planning an apfelwein party for the fall. Most of our guests will probably want to add Sprite or apple juice though, which might not be a bad idea considering it's 8.6%

I also have some 1 gallon test batches going. One with a can of concentrate and no dextrose, one with 2 cans of concentrate and no dextrose, and one with the original recipe (6.4oz dextrose) plus 1/2 tsp of stevia extract. Figured I could add the stevia at the end, but I want to see if it adds any undesirable tastes after some time sitting in the juice. I'll update in 4 weeks. I want to get ideas on how to make the next two 6-gallon batches. Ideally if the stevia one comes out good, I'll stick to that since concentrate adds $9 or $18, at 1 or 2 cans per gallon.

Thanks EdWort. This couldn't be simpler. Well, I guess it could've been if I didn't go messing with the recipe. I see there's a reluctance to call this brewing, so I'll just say, this is my first attempt at making my own alcohol.


Edit: I realized with all my batches going, I didn't even dedicate 1 gallon to the original recipe. So I made one gallon with the original. Now I'll be able to compare all the modifications to it.

 

[Pogo]

icso -

I'm thinking that for some reason you have cut the juice recipe in half.

All of the concentrated juice directions I've used require two cans of concentrate to make a gallon of juice, and even then the SG is lower than the SG of a gallon of bottled apple juice.

Is there a method to your madness?

Pogo

 

[bearkluttz]

Just bottled my first batch after a month in primary. GOOD STUFF!!! can't wait for it to age a little longer and se what happens. Should be on the money by at least Thanksgiving or at the latest Christmas. SWMBO has requested that i make another batch but add white cranberry juice this time. My only concern is that the only WC juice that i can find (ocean spray) has citric acid and sodium citrate. I'm not overly concerned about the citric acid (let me know if i should be) but i am concerned about the sodium citrate. If i use 1.5 gallons of WC juice and 3.5 gallons of apple juice should i be concerned? Thoughts anyone?? Thanks for the help.

Went ahead as planned with the white cranberry. The sodium citrate doesn't appear to have had any effect on the yeast. The house smells of rhino farts and it sounds like a tiny machine gun going off on top of the fridge!

 

[icso]

icso -

I'm thinking that for some reason you have cut the juice recipe in half.

All of the concentrated juice directions I've used require two cans of concentrate to make a gallon of juice, and even then the SG is lower than the SG of a gallon of bottled apple juice.

Is there a method to your madness?

Pogo

Oh. Sorry. These are all made with concentrate in addition to apple juice, not water. For the 6 gallon carboy, it comes out to about 5.5 gallons of apple juice, plus 6 cans of concentrate. So it is stronger than regular juice. Cutting the dextrose to 1lb brought the OG to 1.063, as far as I can tell. I haven't done this before so I hope I'm measuring it correctly. The gallon with no dextrose and one can of concentrate came out to 1.061. Right in that range of the original recipe.

 

[Pogo]

Originally posted by icso-

Oh. Sorry. These are all made with concentrate in addition to apple juice, not water. For the 6 gallon carboy, it comes out to about 5.5 gallons of apple juice, plus 6 cans of concentrate. So it is stronger than regular juice. Cutting the dextrose to 1lb brought the OG to 1.063, as far as I can tell. I haven't done this before so I hope I'm measuring it correctly. The gallon with no dextrose and one can of concentrate came out to 1.061. Right in that range of the original recipe.

Ah, this makes much more sense!

My last 6-gallon batch of bottled juice, plus 2 pounds of cane sugar gave me the exact same OG of 1.063 as yours.

I ended up with an ABV of 9.8%, and very dry.

I'm thinking that yours should have a simular ABV, plus be a lot more apple-ee tasting than mine, due to all of the extra juice concentrate.

Your recipe might be worth a try, keep us posted on your results.

Pogo

 

[portlandbeergeek]

I am in love with Apfelwein. Carbonated and cold, you can't beat it. I got to thinking and would like to know if anyone's ever fortified this similar to a Port wine. That's where you add hard liquor (generally Brandy I believe) to up the alcohol and halt fermentation leaving some residual sugars behind.
Has anyone ever tried this with Apfelwein? I got the crazy idea of adding a few cups of Calvados (french apple brandy) to a five gallon batch. If it hasn't been done before, I think I may just try it. And if someone else has tried it, perhaps they can stop me if hasn't turned out in the past.

 

[tallor242]

This thread is approaching the length where it takes longer to read through it than it does to fully ferment a batch of Apfelwein!!

I started my first batch shortly after reading the first few pages of this thread on 8/23/2008. 3,853 posts later (I've read every one), it's 9/17/2008, so that batch is almost finished in the primary!

First batch was 5 gallons + Lalvin K1-V1116 because LHBS was out of Montrachet. Since then I've found some Montrachet at a different store.

Second batch was started a week later, 8/30/2008. Since everyone on this thread was saying it gets better with age, I figured why wait a whole two weeks? Experimented by using Weihenstephan Weizen yeast (Wyeast #3068). The website isn't kidding when they say "This strain is a true top cropping yeast requiring full fermenter headspace of 33%." Within 48 hours my brew made it up into airlock. I had to siphon a bit out to give it more room. It continued to have crazy amounts of krausen but it never reached the airlock again, though it did come quite close!

Fermentation temperatures have been in the low 70s on average. My first batch (OG 1.059) is getting clearer by the day. Since this weekend will be 4 weeks, I'll take a measurement and perhaps be ready to bottle!

Based on all the feedback in this thread, I'd like to leave it longer in the primary since I hear there is tremendous improvement over time. However, that's what the second batch is for, right? My desire to let the first batch sit is easily outweighed by my desire to drink it with SWMBO.

If it is as good as everyone here says it will be, my first order of business after bottling will be to clean out that primary and start a new batch. I like the three-dedicated-carboys approach. Perhaps if this first batch turns out well I'll get a third 5-gallon BB and try an original batch now that I have Montrachet.

... and yes, I added my gallon contributions to the total gallons of Apfelwein thread.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Quick question: I took a sample of my first batch which has been fermenting for 3.5 weeks now. I plan to bottle/keg this weekend, but I want to back sweeten it just a tad. Right now it's a little boozy and has a green apple tart to it and a very dry finish. I'm wondering how much maltose I should add for a 5 gallon batch.

Recipe:
5 gallons 100% apple juice
2 lbs. corn sugar
1 packet EC-118 wine yeast

OG: 1.060
current SG: .997
current ABV: 8.22%

 

[Nerro]

On a side note, the addition of citric acid and sodium citrate to a beverage is there to set the acidity of the beverage to some predetermined pH. This is done so that the juice always looks and tastes the same even though the berries that is came from were not.

 

[matt1776]

I've read a couple replies that said it "wasn't necessary," but does anyone have any advice on whether I should do it or not?

My recipe was 5 gallons juice, plus 2lb corn syrup, & english cider yeast. It's been going 2.5 weeks so far with about 50 seconds between airlock bubbles.

Will a secondary help it? or should I leave it in the primary?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[tallor242]

Will a secondary help it? or should I leave it in the primary?

If you're going for longer than 4 months, I'd go to a secondary. Since you're 2.5 weeks in, you have a while to contemplate it.

 

[DeadDoc]

If you're going for longer than 4 months, I'd go to a secondary. Since you're 2.5 weeks in, you have a while to contemplate it.

Actually its fine to sit for a year in primary.

 

[korndog]

I want to unsubscribe, but I keep getting sucked in. What is it about the Apfelwein thread?

 

[BigKahuna]

What is it about the Apfelwein thread?

Same thing as it is with the Apfelwein. It's kinda low speed, Pig Simple, WAY better than you'd ever think...and it kinda makes ya smile.

 

[aoverturff]

Dude, that's fu#@in' poetry.

 

[korndog]

Same thing as it is with the Apfelwein. It's kinda low speed, Pig Simple, WAY better than you'd ever think...and it kinda makes ya smile.

Yep, that's it. I've been pulling a few pints of my first batch and the sheet grows on you like a fungus. Kinda like when you tasted your first beer.

 

[JacktheKnife]

Gentlemen,

Is it true that a few cans of apple concentrate
will make the apfelwein have a higher alcohol precentage?
I wondered why the alcohol in Eds recipe was a mere 8.5%.
Kinda low for wine.

Whats Boones farm's alcohol percentage?
{the first alcohol I ever drank}
{Used to be .89 a bottle in 1967}

Would 2 Lbs of corn sugar and two or three cans of concentrate be good for a 5 gallon batch, made with 'treetop juice'?

I plan on four, new 5 gallon carbouys,
during my November Homebrew Headquarters supply run.
All devoted to Apfelwein.
{A drink incendentaly I have never tasted.}
{Hows it compared to boones?}


J. Knife

 

[truckmann]

Nothing like boones...boones is a cheap wine cooler in a big bottle. Apfelwein is twice or more the alcohol content and much better flavor.

 

[portlandbeergeek]

i was just telling SWMBO about Boone's. I jokingly said I would pick up a bottle one of these days. I remember the Strawberry flavor was great....when I was 19

Do i need to worry about Krausen with Premier Cuvee yeast? My LHBS is out of Montrachet and blamed a packaging issue, just like they said happened to Nottingham. I'm about two hours in and already seeing more foam on top than my last batch with Montrachet. I'll just be over here RDWHAHB....

 

[JacktheKnife]

Thanks 'Truck',

'Boone's Farm' apple wine definately did not taste bad,
especially back then.
But better flavor, and with more alcohol,
thats just what I wanted to know.
Yup, I'll get me 4 new 5 gallon carbouys
and devote them all to apfelwein.

I think I am onto a new thing here.


J. Knife

 

[tom777]

Do i need to worry about Krausen with Premier Cuvee yeast? My LHBS is out of Montrachet and blamed a packaging issue, just like they said happened to Nottingham. I'm about two hours in and already seeing more foam on top than my last batch with Montrachet. I'll just be over here RDWHAHB....

I did a batch with Premier Cuvee a few months back and didn't see too much difference in the amount of foam compared with a Montrachet batch. I expect you'll be fine.

 

[Boodlemania]

Last night, took a sample of my 8/13/08 vintage apfelwein, which is true to Edwort's recipe. Looked to me like 1.000, maybe 1.001. I don't have enough bottles at the moment for this as well as my weisbier, so I'm just going to let this sit in the glass carboy for another month or so.

By the way, the sample tasted amazing. Very, very little apple notes. Nice clean and dry finish with no harsh alcohol burn/taste. If this is young apfelwein tasting "bad", I can't imagine how good it'll be with some age.

BTW, "brewed" this for some friends who like Woodchuck Amber as their Christmas gift. My plan all along was to give them a case of it and keep the rest. If they don't like it, I'll gladly take it back. hehehehe

Now I'm wishing I had another carboy to get another batch going.

 

[truckmann]

Just be aware J. knife that unless you back sweeten somehow, the original recipe is going to be rather dry, on the idea of a white wine. Boones tends to be on the sweet side so you may want to back sweeten if that is the type of flavor you are looking for.