high5apparatus
Well-Known Member
Last night I poached pork chops in this cider with a little garam masala before broiling them with Montreal steak seasoning. Oh. Meh. GERD.
Man, I love Apfelwein
- Thread starter EdWort
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Walter_Whites_Batch
Well-Known Member
That is sad to hear, but thanks for the tip. Reading through this thread (I think I have at least touched every page) I saw a lot of "put it together, and tuck it away and forget about it for 3 months minimum" I will be sure to check my airlocks daily. And since I am using vodka, I think it evaporates even more quickly. The peak fermentation in the 54 Litre Demijohn is amazing to watch. It almost looks like boiling water!My most recent batch (2nd one) was a disaster at bottling time. It was completely turned.
I let it sit in the primary for about 5 1/2 months before noticing that the airlock was drying up. Not completely dried up yet though. Filling it up again took a backburner to other things I was doing that day and a couple days later, noticed the airlock did not have enough liquid in it to prevent o2 from getting inside. O2 could've been exposed for a little less than half a day when I filled it up again.
Since I was bottling it in the coming weekend I didn't campden it or anything. In the bottling bucket I normally dissolve my campden with a little water. Did that and my normal bottling routine and tasted a sample. Very watery apple taste with a bitter aftertaste. Yuck! I could tell it was turning. I ended up with 23 bottles of it. Tried 1 a week later and it was even worse...
So, there ya have it. I ruined a 5 gallon batch in less than half a day after 5 1/2 months. Keep an eye on your airlocks folks, don't make my mistake...
Going for my 3rd batch of it tonight. Won't make the same mistake twice
Maverick22
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Hey Walter, I didn't know you home brewed
Anyways I'm wondering this, everyone seems to put the cal on the airlock, does this not pop up during fermentation?
Oh, and please post pics :cross:
Hawaiibboy
Well-Known Member
Just got the dextrose and yeast for this! Need to pick up some juice and get to filling my carboy! Pics to come!
Loodachris
12th man loud and proud!
Finally put this in bottles a couple days ago after being the in the carboy for 2 months. My wife and I tried it and both think it needs to be a bit sweeter. What could I do to make this a bit sweeter and not so dry? Great apple and white wine flavor but really dry and we really don't want to add any Sprite or anything with carbonation. Any suggestions?
Goofynewfie
Well-Known Member
You could add nonfermentable sweeteners ex. Splenda
detlion1643
Well-Known Member
Live and learn... I already had a replacement batch going the next day. Also picked up another better bottle to get a semi-rotation of it going. Everyone loves it and keeps wanting more, plus I want to get a stockpile of it going so I can age some for years without being tempted to open it because nothing else is around.
Loodachris said:
With it already bottled, I would just add a splash of apple juice when I serve it.
Walter_Whites_Batch
Well-Known Member
Well, I took my first taste of this stuff today at lunch time. It was 3 weeks old, and appeared to have stopped fermenting and was starting to clear, and I was dying to take a gravity reading.
It was around .997, looked clearer in the hydro tube, and tasted like a lightly sparkling dry white wine, with a hint of sour apple. I quite liked it, and did not find it too dry or too sour.. And this was using lalvin K1 V-116. I am quite relieved, because I have so much in the pipeline. I cannot wait to bottle carb, chill, age, and then drink lots of this. With the amount my wife and I drink and spend weekly on wine, This apfelwein just might save me a luxury car payment per month. (Up here in Quebec, a cheap bottle of 750ml of wine is $10)
It was around .997, looked clearer in the hydro tube, and tasted like a lightly sparkling dry white wine, with a hint of sour apple. I quite liked it, and did not find it too dry or too sour.. And this was using lalvin K1 V-116. I am quite relieved, because I have so much in the pipeline. I cannot wait to bottle carb, chill, age, and then drink lots of this. With the amount my wife and I drink and spend weekly on wine, This apfelwein just might save me a luxury car payment per month. (Up here in Quebec, a cheap bottle of 750ml of wine is $10)
If I ever get brave enough to open this thing, part of my next batch of Apfelwein is going to go in this.
Not sure I will be able to leave it sit for 40 years like what is in it now though...
Not sure I will be able to leave it sit for 40 years like what is in it now though...
DerrangedPOJO
Well-Known Member
What is that?
A bottle of wine. There's not a whole lot that I can make out on the label anymore. What I can see is: produce of Italy, 1 gallon, red table wine. And the smaller label says it is from the 1973 harvest.
DerrangedPOJO
Well-Known Member
Sweet lookin bottle.
carlk47
Well-Known Member
Standard recipe Apfelwein on the right and a new batch of Cran-Apfelwein on the left!
Edvard, you are the man! About 6 years ago I took the wife and son to Europe. on the way back we had an 8 hour layover in Frankfurt. We took an opportunity to ride the high speed train into town. For lunch I had a frankfurter and apfelwein. I really enjoyed the apfelwein but never thought I'd have it again.
I was thrilled to find your recipe and now have three batches going. At the 5 month mark, I've bottled two gallons worth of the first 5 gallon batch. Your recipe crushes the "bottled too soon" German street vendor stuff. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Bill C.
I was thrilled to find your recipe and now have three batches going. At the 5 month mark, I've bottled two gallons worth of the first 5 gallon batch. Your recipe crushes the "bottled too soon" German street vendor stuff. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Bill C.
Wings13
Member
arborman said:
What yeast did you use?
arborman said:
Nottingham is notorious for blow off's, no matter what sugar it is eating.
robertfraser
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Ok, newbie mistake, that I need your help with:
My SECOND batch of E/A was a five gallon batch. My THIRD batch is a six gallon batch.
DumDum here just added enough sugar to carb a six gallon batch into my five gallon batch, and bottled it.
Are there any serious risks of the add'l 1.2 floz of sugar putting me into bottle bomb territory?
Also, I used table sugar, rather than corn sugar.
My SECOND batch of E/A was a five gallon batch. My THIRD batch is a six gallon batch.
DumDum here just added enough sugar to carb a six gallon batch into my five gallon batch, and bottled it.
Are there any serious risks of the add'l 1.2 floz of sugar putting me into bottle bomb territory?
Also, I used table sugar, rather than corn sugar.
Hey guys, quick question. I'm coming up on a month after starting my first batch. I made a 6 gallon batch and what I'd like to do is pull off a gallon to bottle to consume now. Has anybody racked the 6 gallons back into the individual 1 gallon apple juice containers for further aging? I'd prefer to do this so I can try a gallon per month to see how it ages. Obviously I would not carb it in the juice containers, I'd just use them for bulk aging after fermentation is complete. This would also help free up one of my fermenters.
integra93ls
Well-Known Member
I have a similar question as above but instead of the juice bottles I want to use 1 gal glass wine bottles and reuse the caps and carbonate in the bottle. Will it work
No reason you couldn't, if they're glass. You might want to dose it with Kmeta to help guard against oxidation. Plastic may not work as well. Do a search on it to find out why some people get militant about it.
No it will not. The wine bottles won't hold the pressure of carbonation, and will go boom...spectacularly
That's a nice bathtub to use as carboy storage.
Thanks for the response. The big gripe on plastic is oxidation, correct? I have it sitting in a plastic fermenter right now anyways. I don't own any glass carboys. I guess the fermenter is probably thicker plastic than the apple juice jugs, but would it really make much of a difference? I'm not talking about aging years here, probably 4-6 months max.
Help
I brewed the pg 1 recipe- cant find my original og
today is the 30th day. I racked it, tested it and it says 1.000 - water
interesting taste but the Brix reading is 6
wth is going on?
whats the cure, if any?
This was my first single mix.
Thank
I brewed the pg 1 recipe- cant find my original og
today is the 30th day. I racked it, tested it and it says 1.000 - water
interesting taste but the Brix reading is 6
wth is going on?
whats the cure, if any?
This was my first single mix.
Thank
Refractometers need to have corrections made to the readings to account for the presence of the alcohol with it's different refraction rate. If you don't know your OG, then this is probably impossible. I would just accept the gravity reading from the hydrometer and be happy, it's all done fermenting.Help
I brewed the pg 1 recipe- cant find my original og
today is the 30th day. I racked it, tested it and it says 1.000 - water
interesting taste but the Brix reading is 6
wth is going on?
whats the cure, if any?
This was my first single mix.
Thank
chipsmcghee
Member
In my opinion the D47 was fruitier but that is just my opinion. I add applejuice concentrate to all my apfelwein but I still think the different yeasts leave more apple flavor.
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
"Brewed" a little over six months ago. Didn't leave the primary carboy until tonight. Brewed as conjured by Edwort, plus a tad of nutrient and a dash of whathaveyou.
Holy fock. This schit is beyond reproach.
Genius. Absolutely genius.
Holy fock. This schit is beyond reproach.
Genius. Absolutely genius.
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
Someone should track down Edwort.
idrinkstuffnthings
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First ever batch. 6 weeks primary. Pulled a sample. A big sample. 2nd glass and starting to think mmmmmm. Give this a month or two in the keg, and I think I've found a regular for the kegerator. Thx edwort!
Trash_can_man
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So I'm sure this has been asked but I'm not reading the 700+ pages of this thread. I plan on bottling and carbing my batch and giving some away as Christmas presents. Would it be better to just leave the whole batch I the carboy for 5-6 months for aging or prime and bottle and let it age in in the bottles? Will the bottles loose carbonation if they sit for that long?
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
It's in the OP! Honestly, it's worth reading the whole thread, it's like apfelwein history.
There are benefits to bulk aging. Edwort says leave in carboy for three months, the keg or bottle.
Lots of posts in this thread say leave in carboy up to 6 months or so.
I think the gist is that you'll get most of the benefits of bulk aging after a few months and then it just needs to age however.
I just pulled mine out of the carboy after 6 months and it's wonderful.
There are benefits to bulk aging. Edwort says leave in carboy for three months, the keg or bottle.
Lots of posts in this thread say leave in carboy up to 6 months or so.
I think the gist is that you'll get most of the benefits of bulk aging after a few months and then it just needs to age however.
I just pulled mine out of the carboy after 6 months and it's wonderful.
I've made a few batches of apfelwein and they have come out pretty tasty. Prior to the last batch, I haven't tried to carbonate them. This batch, I set aside a few bottles to see if I like it carbonated. It spent about five weeks in the fermenter and the gravity reading I took before bottling was normal. I added about 1 teaspoon white sugar per 12 ounces (what I usually use for carbonating beer) and waited about ten days before refrigerating. I just opened the first bottle, and it was completely flat. I bottle in PET bottles, so I can feel the firmness as my brews begin to carbonate. None of the other bottles I added sugar to feel firm. The screw caps are fairly new, so I don't think it's an issue with them not sealing properly. Any ideas?
mike_in_ak
Well-Known Member
Didn't wait long enough before fridge probably. It's high alco, it's old and the yeast have really dropped out and gone dormant, and the yeast cake gets so compact, most of the yeast probably stayed on the bottom of your carboy.
Pull them out of fridge, lightly rouse, let sit at 70 degrees for a month or more.
Pull them out of fridge, lightly rouse, let sit at 70 degrees for a month or more.
That was the only bottle I put in the fridge. I only have a few in the fridge at a time and store the rest at room temperature until it's time to replace the fridge ones. This has been working for me so far, as I have a couple passable brews if I get impatient while most of them further condition. The remaining bottles with carbonating sugar have been at room temperature for an additional week (and still are) and feel about as firm as the ones with no added sugar. Is that normal for no discernible carbonation after two and a half weeks? It's been very obvious to me for beers as they're carbonating.
