Man, I love Apfelwein

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I have my first ever 5 gallon batch sitting in my kitchen, since August. It's time.
I just can't decide if I want to keg or bottle.
 
Maidenhead said:
I have my first ever 5 gallon batch sitting in my kitchen, since August. It's time.
I just can't decide if I want to keg or bottle.
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I like it both ways. My wife likes it carbonated and kegged better. Easy choice for me seeing how easy it is to keg.

I started a batch yesterday with 3 year old packs of Montrachet. I used two, but we will see how it goes. I do have some new ones getting delivered soon.
 
By the time you finish reading this thread start to finish (#13524 posts) - You should have at least 7 gallons of Apple Wine in various carboys working away! and please please please use the search function - I figure atleast 7500 redundant posts in this thread.
 
I started a batch over the weekend. My wife wasn't too keen on having to buy the 4.5 gallons of apple juice at Sams. But we'll see.

I used brown sugar instead, and used an old brew bucket, as my fermentors were also being filled.
 
Hey guys, I have a quick question. I put my first batch on in September and finally bottled it today. Last night when I took the carboy out, it was crystal clear and of course I sampled a bit and it tasted great. When I transferred it to my fastfermenter to bottle I noticed I sucked up a bit of the yeast cake into the fermenter, so I closed it up and added an airlock and waited until this morning for the yeast to drop out before bottling.

This morning when I bottled it, I bottled 5 into wine bottles and then added priming sugar and put the rest in beer bottles. While I was bottling however, I noticed the Apfelwien was still cloudy? Should this settle out after a few days? Also, will the yeast that got mixed back up cause any issues in the wine bottles? No potential of pressure building up?

Thanks guys!
 
Fontaine, first, the cloudiness should clear - soon likely if it was recently clear and muck just got stirred up. Of course, it's still in the bottles so once you start pouring, it will swirl back up a bit. No harm there.

I'm confused though on the question of pressure building up. I assume you added priming sugar to add carbonation - which, of course will kickstart added pressure. Muck or not, unless you stabilized, you probably had some yeast to act on the priming sugar.

So, not sure what your specific concern is but, from what you described, I think outside of seeing a little sediment that might swirl up a little when you open it, you probably should be good to go on all fronts.
 
Jeff Wilson said:
Fontaine, first, the cloudiness should clear - soon likely if it was recently clear and muck just got stirred up. Of course, it's still in the bottles so once you start pouring, it will swirl back up a bit. No harm there.

I'm confused though on the question of pressure building up. I assume you added priming sugar to add carbonation - which, of course will kickstart added pressure. Muck or not, unless you stabilized, you probably had some yeast to act on the priming sugar.

So, not sure what your specific concern is but, from what you described, I think outside of seeing a little sediment that might swirl up a little when you open it, you probably should be good to go on all fronts.
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I guess my concern with the Apfelwein I have in the wine bottles is, is there anyway kicking up the yeast sediment could kickstart fermentation again once inside the wine bottles, I’m assuming there isn’t but just asking for confirmation? Just to clarify, I bottled the wine ones before adding priming sugar for the ones in beer bottles.
 
Fontaine said:
I guess my concern with the Apfelwein I have in the wine bottles is, is there anyway kicking up the yeast sediment could kickstart fermentation again once inside the wine bottles, I’m assuming there isn’t but just asking for confirmation? Just to clarify, I bottled the wine ones before adding priming sugar for the ones in beer bottles.
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Ah. I see. You only added the priming sugar to the beer bottles. Missed that little detail. In the wine bottles, you might end up building some pressure if you did not stabilize - though that would be the case with or without the sediment which is likely mostly dead yeast cells or other precipitate. The yeast that could conceivably kickstart new fermentation might not be visible - for instance, introduced during the actual bottling. That said, if it has been sitting since September, I'm guessing its pretty dry and run it's course. If you stabilized, I'd say no need to worry. If not, there is a chance but, given the age, you're probably ok and very unlikely it will build rapidly. So, just keep an eye out for micro-movements on the corks. I wouldn't worry.
 
Jeff Wilson said:
Ah. I see. You only added the priming sugar to the beer bottles. Missed that little detail. In the wine bottles, you might end up building some pressure if you did not stabilize - though that would be the case with or without the sediment which is likely mostly dead yeast cells or other precipitate. The yeast that could conceivably kickstart new fermentation might not be visible - for instance, introduced during the actual bottling. That said, if it has been sitting since September, I'm guessing its pretty dry and run it's course. If you stabilized, I'd say no need to worry. If not, there is a chance but, given the age, you're probably ok and very unlikely it will build rapidly. So, just keep an eye out for micro-movements on the corks. I wouldn't worry.
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Thanks for the great reply, puts my my mind at ease now anyway. Truthfully I don’t think the wine bottles will last long enough to build considerable pressure even if they could haha.
 
After an eight year break, I assembled a batch of @Ed-Wort ’s famous recipe on September 19th. I only used 1 lb of dextrose.

I racked to a secondary (10/17/20) and added a half cup of erythritol, one cinnamon stick and one whole clove.

2ED662D1-C242-4F8A-AFD2-9E481B110AC1.jpeg


I also dumped another 5 gal of apple juice on the yeast cake. In less than 30 minutes I had 3 inches of krausen. I thought I’d have an explosive fermentation, so I rigged a blow off tube. This morning it was looking much more calm.

41811370-7165-4F83-9EA2-375082CEC9AC.jpeg

SWMBO was really excited help and to see the process in action. Now we just have to wait a few months.
 

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Bottled a first test batch today, 4 litres of mostly apple and a little black currant juice. 5 weeks in the fermenter and crystal clear. I used champagne bottles and carbed it right up. Then went and got more juice, this time a total of 10 litres, mostly apple, some black currant and some pear.
 
I have a 3 gallon carboy that I do not use so I will be making a 3 gallon batch. I was wondering if it's better to age the wine in the carboy or eventually bottle it and let it age in the bottle. Thanks.
 
d40dave said:
I have a 3 gallon carboy that I do not use so I will be making a 3 gallon batch. I was wondering if it's better to age the wine in the carboy or eventually bottle it and let it age in the bottle. Thanks.
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I've only tried bulk aging in the carboy once; a red barleywine.

did not go well, I was discouraged from ever trying to brew it again, so I don't know what went wrong

took it to brew club & comments were "paint thinner", "don't smoke & drink this" & "smells like superelasticbubbleplastic"
 
I've got a three gallon batch going. Having lost count on how many of these apfelwein batches I've made, I want to post the variations I've included.

I have used cloudy organic cider as well as clear, cheap apple juice in the past. Any flavor differences are subtle. This batch is split between one gallon organic cider and two gallons apple juice.

I used three cans of apple juice concentrate to boost the brix, along with one pound of sugar. Potential ABV is right at 10%.

Instead of Montrachet, I've started using Wyeast 1388, which I've fallen in love with from making Bray's One Month Mead. I use the same feeding schedule as with BOMM. Those Belgian ale yeasts really stand up well at higher ABV, and I feel the spicy esters they're known for really shine in this apfelwein after six months. They also age really, really well.

Finally, I think this apfelwein is at its best when carbonated. I bottle condition all of mine these days. Considering how syrupy sweet commercial ciders are, it's wonderful to be able to introduce someone to a truly dry apfelwein and watch their expectations exploded.
 
Quick question guys.
I used to buy my apple juice for this at Costco. Costco no longer sells it. It’s SO expensive somewhere else. Any advise on suppliers? Where are you guys getting non concentrate, pasteurized, no preservative apple juice at a reasonable price? Thanks ahead of time
 
I have been thinking about making this too. My local Shoprite had Mott's on sale for $2 for a 1/2 gallon. I looked at the label and it said it was make from apple and grape concentrate. The Shoprite brand was made with just apple concentrate and was just $1 per 1/2 gallon, it didn't mention any preservatives. So I decided not to get the Mott's and am still deciding what to do. Would the Shoprite brand be OK to use?
 
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Don't overthink it. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is the most common preservative found in apple juice, and it won't impact fermentation. If you read through all 9 million-plus posts in this thread, you'll see many, if not most of the regular brewers here use the cheapest apple juice they can get their hands on, and it turns out fine. As long as ascorbic acid is the only preservative listed, you should have no problem with fermentation.

Apple and grape concentrate will ferment just fine, but the result will likely have a somewhat different flavor profile.
 
jblaschke said:
Don't overthink it. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is the most common preservative found in apple juice, and it won't impact fermentation. If you read through all 9 million-plus posts in this thread, you'll see many, if not most of the regular brewers here use the cheapest apple juice they can get their hands on, and it turns out fine. As long as ascorbic acid is the only preservative listed, you should have no problem with fermentation.

Apple and grape concentrate will ferment just fine, but the result will likely have a somewhat different flavor profile.
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OK, thanks. I guess I will do use the Shoprite brand.
 
made a batch 3 or 4 years ago with Basque cider yeast (Jasper Yeast & yeah, I have a "yeast guy," don't you?) and it tastes like a really nice, dry white wine.

think next time I make it with this yeast, I will back-sweeten it just a bit
 
I've got a batch that has been in primary since Thanksgiving Day, and intend to cold-crash/bottle this week.

My question is, if I bottle this in flippies, is it alright to leave it still, or will I need to carbonate it in order to create a pressure seal?

Edit - I'm not sure if it matters or not, but I used honey rather than dextrose or table sugar when I started the apfelwein. Should I give it another week or two before cold-crash? My main concern is autolysis.

Thanks in advance -
 
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TasunkaWitko said:
My question is, if I bottle this in flippies, is it alright to leave it still, or will I need to carbonate it in order to create a pressure seal?

Thanks in advance -
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batch I did (see post just previous to yours) I left it still & bottled in flippies, and absolutely no problems to report (no apparent casualties) so far. 3 or 4 years now
 
Thanks, guys - I cold-crashed two days ago (6 weeks) and am bottling today. For this batch, I won't carbonate.

This batch was made from Tree Top's Three Apple Blend with added honey. Next batch will be made from Martinelli's and honey. I'm not expecting any appreciable difference, but the Martinelli's was on sale so I paid a little extra in order to give it a try. I may carbonate that batch, for comparison.

Thanks again -

Ron
 
Update - this Apfelwein turned out to be pretty amazing...better than any previous attempt. I was surprised that it was do good, considering that it is quite "young," barely two months.

From the one-gallon batch, I got 5 bottles; I'll let the other four bottles gather a little dust, and try them sometime this summer. In the meantime, I'll get another batch started, using a gallon of Martinelli's. The honey (instead of corn sugar) seems to be working very well, so I will continue with that.
 
After many years... I followed the original recipe with added yeast nutrients to hydrate the yeast (Fermstart), feed it during fermentation.(Fermaid K), plus a couple teaspoons of grape tannin.
 

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Hi all. First time posting, first time brewing. New to the game.
I started brewing three 5-gallon batches of Apfelwein on 4/22 of this year. As this was my first time brewing I did not take an initial gravity reading. I bottled the first batch on 5/22 of this year, exactly a month since starting. At bottling, the drink was less potent than expected and much less dry than described on this forum. Since then, the bottles have gotten a bit stronger and drier and have a final gravity of approximately 1.060 . I reracked the other two batches today and they both also have a gravity of 1.060 as of now. When EdWort says the finished product is at less than 0.999 gravity is he referring to the difference between the initial and final gravity or just the final gravity reading itself?
The two unbottled batches definitely taste drier and stronger than the bottles but I doubt they are at the 10-12% abv point yet.
Did I bottle the first batch too soon and can I expect the abv/flavor to change significantly in the bottled batch?
These are general questions and if they've already been gone over somewhere in this massive thread I apologize for the redundancy.
 
balrog said:
How’d you measure FG of 1.060?
That’s typically starting gravity.
Did you use corn sugar and if so how much in how much juice?
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I used 2 lb of dextrose per batch and just under 5 gallons of apple juice per batch as well.
I used the following yeast-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074KC2J34?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_detailsIs that the right kind?
I also have some yeast nutrient. Would adding that to the batches now do anything or should I just wait and let them do their own thing?
 
APple juice if I recall has Specific Gravity abuot 1.050
Adding 2lbs per 5gal dextrose should take you to a 5 gal Original Gravity of 1.065
Montrachet is the yeast I use.
Given 6-8weeks, that takes it to 1.000 or 0.998, every time, 1 packet per 5 gallons, 60-65 degrees F ambient, no temp control.

Did your apfelwein clear completely?
DId you measure finish gravity with hydrometer that measures 1.000 in (best if distilled) clear water?
 
balrog said:
APple juice if I recall has Specific Gravity abuot 1.050
Adding 2lbs per 5gal dextrose should take you to a 5 gal Original Gravity of 1.065
Montrachet is the yeast I use.
Given 6-8weeks, that takes it to 1.000 or 0.998, every time, 1 packet per 5 gallons, 60-65 degrees F ambient, no temp control.

Did your apfelwein clear completely?
DId you measure finish gravity with hydrometer that measures 1.000 in (best if distilled) clear water?
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Well, I just remeasured the gravity today and it looks like somehow I got it wrong yesterday. I'm using a "Thief" product to take samples out of my carboys and I suspect the bottom of it leaked too much product yesterday without my knowing.
According to my measurements taken just now, I'm actually at about 1.018 - 1.020.
gravity.jpg

Does this seem more on track for 5.5 weeks?

Here is a picture of the batch itself. I don't keep it in the sun usually but figured it would give a good visual on the clarity (or lack thereof) of the product thus far.
batch.jpg


Also, this is the kind of apple juice I used-
https://www.costcobusinessdelivery....ple-juice,-10-oz,-24-ct.product.10182038.html
 
I let it go a little longer, it really will get it VERY close to 1.000 and it will go crystal clear. THen I bottle/keg knowing therre is no residual sugar to add to the priming sugar I want, so I have a better chance getting the carbonation I want and not having too much carbonation. 1.018 would make me nervous.
 

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