Apple Ale Recipe - Methods, etc

[scottyb332]

Okay. So Ive tried Redds Apple Ale and... meh...

I'd like to make something a little more Ale-like but still full of apple flavor.

Heres what Ive come up with and I have a couple questions...

Going to brew a 2 gal. batch of a really basic ale with

3lb. Extra Light DME
.5 oz of New Zealand Hallertau at 60 min.
.25 oz of New Zealand Hllertau at 20 min.

Add 2.5 gal. of Apple Juice into fermenter and use 1 package of Munton Ale yeast at about 67 degrees F.

Anyone see any glaring problems with this? Is the wort/juice ratio way off?

Also, how would I calculate the apple juice into the OG, FG, etc...? I currently use BeerSmith.

Oh and finally, at bottling, should I add corn sugar to carb or will there be enough sugars to carry through and carb? I guess if I treat it like any other ale, go until fermentation is complete and do corn sugar as usual.

Ive also read of people waiting until bottling to mix the beer and apple juice... in that case, the sugars from the juice would do the carbing... but that sounds unpredictable and asking for bottle bombs....thoughts?

Any input is appreciated.

scottyb

 

[Omahawk]

My understanding us that there's all kinds of ranges of apple-to-beer ratios in "apple ales". I don't see why your approach wouldn't work - it'll ferment and be alcohol.

Yes, add priming sugar to carb as you normally would. Fermentation should be complete prior to bottling as per any beer, so all of the fermentables are consumed - thus the need for a little simple sugar to produce some CO2 in the bottle.

The snakebite is a drink in the UK that blends equal amounts of beer and cider - they aren't fermented together though. So there is a popular precedent for equal parts beer and apple cider.

 

[Omahawk]

Also, ciders are usually a SG of 1.05 or so without added sugar. Depends on the yeast for FG - champaign yeast will take it 100% down to nearly 1.00 as I recall. With an ale yeast, I think 80% apple juice attenuation is typical.