Thoughts on a Caramel Apple Pie Ale

[BuonAnno]

I am brewing a Caramel Apple Pie Ale the upcoming autumn season and wanted to get some feedback on the recipe.

Here is what I’m thinking:

Instead of using water for the sparge I was thinking about going 50/50 with apple juice. I’ll mash with all water and then use the apple juice/water mixture solely for the sparge.

Grain
4# Two-Row
2# Roasted Two-Row
1.5# Crystal 60

Hops
.5 oz Perle (60)
.5 0z Perle (30)

Spice additions
1 tbsp Cinnamon (15)
1 tsp Nutmeg (5)
½ tsp All Spice (5)
Zest from 4 oranges (5)

1 Vanilla Bean in the (secondary)
3# Granny Smith Apples (secondary)

I also plan on mashing high (~ 157) to get some body into it.

My hope is that the apple is in the nose and aftertaste while the spices, vanilla and toasted malt work to give it that real apple pie flavor.

For the yeast I am thinking about going with something clean like US-05 but a part of me wants to get crazy and go with WLP300 and ferment super low to get some clove flavors as well.

What do y’all think?

 

[david_42]

If you boil apple juice, you will have jelly.

 

[BuonAnno]

If you boil apple juice, you will have jelly.

Will this still happen if I dilute two gallons of apple juice in 4.5 gallons of water?

 

[jessup]

make sure to get something without preservatives like unpastuerized cider. i would just skip the juice, though, and use tons of fresh apples. def WAY more than just the 3 lbs you have listed. go overboard since it may be hard to get that apple flavor. warning: you might just be making yourself a big batch of hard apple cider. i am all about my pie beers right now, but i just don't know if apples is the way to go. bananas foster, choc chip mint, pumpkin, pecan - all great - but apples in beer? maybe you should just go full on cider?

btw why the zest from the orange peels??

 

[wcarter1227]

i think this is a great idea, expect it to be quite tart as all of the apple sugars will ferment out and you will be left with a dry apple wine taste. Also I would sparge with water and maybe top off the fermenter with apple juice, heating apple juice will give it a cooked apple taste( I know its a pie flavor your looking for) but I still dont think you should heat it. I would also be worried that by sparging the juice thru the grains you would be losing some of the sugars,(using sugars to rinse sugars???) But as always some of the craziest ideas turn out to be the best. Good luck and keep us posted, Id love to try your recipe if it turns out well.
Cheers

 

[wheatie]

Have you seen Midwest's kit for Apple Ale? That's what I'm brewing next; maybe you could look there for inspiration? (It is extract, but I believe they have an AG version as well)

 

[BuonAnno]

i am all about my pie beers right now, but i just don't know if apples is the way to go. bananas foster, choc chip mint, pumpkin, pecan - all great - but apples in beer? maybe you should just go full on cider?

btw why the zest from the orange peels??

There is a local event that is looking for Fall inspired brews and I figured that everyone would go with some sort of pumpkin/squash recipe so my wife came up with the idea of making her caramel apple pie in liquid form. That's where this crazy idea came from.

The only reason the zest is in there is because my wife puts it in her pie. It really helps cut through the sweetness so I was thinking it might add a touch of complexity to the taste.

 

[BuonAnno]

i think this is a great idea, expect it to be quite tart as all of the apple sugars will ferment out and you will be left with a dry apple wine taste. Also I would sparge with water and maybe top off the fermenter with apple juice, heating apple juice will give it a cooked apple taste( I know its a pie flavor your looking for) but I still dont think you should heat it. I would also be worried that by sparging the juice thru the grains you would be losing some of the sugars,(using sugars to rinse sugars???)

Really good points. I think that I may back sweeten it if the taste is too dry.

I've also decided to do a four gallon 90 boil with no apple juice which will hopefully get me down to 3 gallons. Then I'm going to chill and top it off with 2.5 gallons of the juice.

I've also upped the apples in the secondary to 7#.

I think this will get brewed this weekend.

 

[BuonAnno]

Have you seen Midwest's kit for Apple Ale? That's what I'm brewing next; maybe you could look there for inspiration? (It is extract, but I believe they have an AG version as well)

I haven't heard of it but thanks for the heads up.

 

[CrookedTail]

I'm brewing an apple beer in a few weeks. Here's what I'm looking to do:

Grains/Extracts
6lbs Munich LME
8oz Caramel 60L
8oz Caravienne
8oz Chocolate Wheat

Hops
1oz Willamette (60 min)
1oz Willamette (15 min)

Spices/Fruit
4lbs Apples (30 min)
1tsp Allspice (5 min)
1tsp Nutmeg (5 min)
1tbsp Cinnamon (5 min)
8lbs Apples (secondary for 14 days)

Yeast
Nottingham

 

[wcarter1227]

Really good points. I think that I may back sweeten it if the taste is too dry.

I've also decided to do a four gallon 90 boil with no apple juice which will hopefully get me down to 3 gallons. Then I'm going to chill and top it off with 2.5 gallons of the juice.

I've also upped the apples in the secondary to 7#.

I think this will get brewed this weekend.

i like that idea. let us know how it turns out. If you can keg you can hit it with potasium sorbate and add canned apple juice, if not then you can always use some lactose or splenda.

again keep us posted and if this turns out well post it in the recipe forum so the rest of use can try brewing it.:rockin:

 

[wcarter1227]

any progress on this brew?

 

[cactusgarrett]

I'm brewing an apple beer in a few weeks. Here's what I'm looking to do:

Spices/Fruit
4lbs Apples (30 min)

I wouldn't add the apples to the boil - secondary should get the job done.

 

[AwesomeSquad]

I am brewing a Caramel Apple Pie Ale the upcoming autumn season and wanted to get some feedback on the recipe.

Here is what I’m thinking:

Instead of using water for the sparge I was thinking about going 50/50 with apple juice. I’ll mash with all water and then use the apple juice/water mixture solely for the sparge.

Grain
4# Two-Row
2# Roasted Two-Row
1.5# Crystal 60

Hops
.5 oz Perle (60)
.5 0z Perle (30)

Spice additions
1 tbsp Cinnamon (15)
1 tsp Nutmeg (5)
½ tsp All Spice (5)
Zest from 4 oranges (5)

1 Vanilla Bean in the (secondary)
3# Granny Smith Apples (secondary)

I also plan on mashing high (~ 157) to get some body into it.

My hope is that the apple is in the nose and aftertaste while the spices, vanilla and toasted malt work to give it that real apple pie flavor.

For the yeast I am thinking about going with something clean like US-05 but a part of me wants to get crazy and go with WLP300 and ferment super low to get some clove flavors as well.

What do y’all think?

How'd this turn out?

 

[Danam404]

I am also curious about this

 

[dammBrewer]

Sorry to resurrect a 3 year old post...but how did this ultimately turn out? I just got my hands on 10+ lbs of apples and wonder what to do with them. And i don't care for cider/cidre.