Would a beer drinker like Apfelwein?

[KCBrewer]

I've got an Ale Pale sitting here that has been unused since switching to glass carboys, so I was considering putting it to use with some Apfelwein and ignoring it for a few months, maybe until early fall. I've read nothing but good things about it. I'm pretty much a beer only kind of guy, but a change of pace every so often is nice. So does it taste like wine? Or more like cider? I just don't like the mouth drying, bitter taste most wines give me, and don't want to end up with 5G of it.

 

[android]

it kinda tastes like white wine with just a little apple flavor. i guess it depends on which yeast you use. it's good and all, but i have had a batch sitting around for quite a while now, and haven't thought about having one for some time. i just prefer beer i guess, and apfelwein is like 9% ABV, so it's pretty dangerous.

edit: but, it's easy to make and satisfies a brewing desire and others seem to enjoy it, so it's definitely worth brewing if you have a free fermenter.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

IMO, homebrewed apple products have almost nothing to do with commercial cider.

The apple sugars are almost completely fermentable, so unless you're going to be back sweetening with lactose the flavor will be very similar to a dry white wine. If you choose a yeast that leaves some residual sugars it will be more of an off-dry white wine, but still nowhere near as sweet as beer normally is.

If you dislike white wines, I'd stay away from appfelwein.

As a beer brewer, it's also really hard to let wines mature long enough. 3-6 months is when you should start thinking about opening a bottle, not opening the one you saved to see how it would age.

 

[Lcasanova]

You know what, make it and see what happens. I like it as a good summertime alternative to beer and all of my friends seem to like it...just do it man

 

[Coastarine]

I tried apfelwein and I'll try it again, but I really prefer cider made from ale yeast. Backsweetening really makes it good IMO, which I do with concentrate, but you pretty much have to be a kegger to do that. Still, even ale yeast ferments cider pretty darn dry, so you might not like it.

 

[glenn514]

I really enjoy beer, too. In fact, I'd rather have a good, interesting beer with my meal than a glass of wine. However...I bottled my first batch of EdWort's apfelwein yesterday, and oh, my goodness...OH, MY GOODNESS...was that stuff tasty! From the apfelwein thread, I understand it now needs to sit for some time, aging and carbonating. But right out of ther fermenter, it was quite good!

glenn514

 

[lowlife]

Its not for everyone. I made mine per recipe (fermented cool) and carbed it. I aged it over a year. I cant give it away. We are all beer drinkers though.

edit..Its cheap enough to make, you might like it

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I'm a beer drinker, I also like wine & cider. I like apfelwein ok, but I like graff a LOT more. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/ Graff really bridges the gap between cider & beer quite well. You could always do the math & scale down the apfelwein recipe to do a 1 gallon batch. Regards, GF.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I don't like white wine. I enjoy Apfelwein occasionally. I don't think it comes close to the hype it receives here though. At the 3-4 month mark, it's a white wine with very little apple flavor. 6-8 months is when I prefer to start drinking it. Also I like it better carbed from the tap. I've got 1-2 bombers left from my last batch (3rd or 4th all together) and don't plan on making any more any time soon. It is a nice quick batch to get into a fermenter though. But god, the hangovers. It should really be drank like a wine, not a beer. But I tend to drink it out of pint glasses 12-22oz at a time

 

[archiefl98]

I dislike just about any wine out there. But I make Apfelwein frequently enough to have a never-ending supply. I just love that there's a ton of flavor in it, I can get it carbed up nice like champagne. I make mimosas with it on the weekends. Since I start my weekend brew day at about 6am, I'll kick it off with some Apfelwein Mimosas and then move on to having a beer or later, when it's more "acceptable" -- say 7am or so.

As others have said, it's cheap enough -- make some and see for yourself. I've turned a bunch of people at my work onto it and a few have even started making their own.

Plus, chicks dig it.

 

[eibbor]

I am hoping it is good. I started a batch two and a half weeks ago basically due to everyone that has this listed in their signatures. Everyone is correct it is cheap and super easy to make.

 

[Huey]

Definitely worth giving it a try. If you want to avoid some of the danger you can just mix apple juice and yeast for a similar drink that's about 6%. Tastes nearly the same.

 

[Dave258]

I am a beer drinker primarily. I do not like any kind of wine at all. I love Apfelwein! The batch I have now, is my second batch. I made it in November, and just started drinking it. I think it is great! I have the fixens to make 10 more gallons on hand, but this time I am going to try Nottingham instead of the montrachet.

 

[mullenite]

I like it, I also like dry white wines which is what it tastes like to me.

I do mine as a no sugar added, straight apple juice and wine yeast and enjoy it. I don't think adding sugar really adds anything else to it and it really doesn't taste too much like the apfelwein I was used to before I started brewing.

 

[HSM]

I don't like dry white wines and did not like the apfelwien I made.
I back sweetened it in the keg last May.... I'll have to put it on tap and see if it's any better.

 

[KCBrewer]

I added some montrachet to my order from NB and am going to give it a try. I've also got a 5G sanke keg that I'm no longer using, so I may just put it in that. I was also considering a longer (4-6 month) beer like a barley wine or imperial stout, so I would still have the ale pale for that.

I would definitely like a sweeter, more cidery flavor from the apfelwein. I have only drank wine a few times, and it is really not my thing. Any tips on how to get a sweeter, cider flavor before I begin?

 

[Sacdan]

Definately make some. I don't sweeten mine at all. I do carbonate it though. I suggest that you make it without any sweeteners to start with. Put it in your keg. Try it and see how you like it. You can drink it after 4-6 weeks. If you need to sweeten it, you can always do that later.

 

[Onescalerguy]

IMO the stuff should be called Apfelprisonhooch.Think cheap white wine and vinegar.That said,the old lady likes it and we usually have some on tap.