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Man, I love Apfelwein * 2
    #8553653 -

Easy, affordable way to make a super smooth and potent clone of the classic German Apple Wine @ 8.5% abv.  Follow this recipe exactly, and you will be amazed.  I started a batch last month, and even sampling at the skunky stage I ran out and started another 5 gallons.  Credit to Ed Wort at homebrewtalk forum.



Award Winning Apfelwein Recipe (German Hard Cider) Apple Wine Recipe
Placed 1st in the Cider & Apple Wine category at the BJCP sanctioned Alamo Cerveza fest (out of 11 entries) and took 2nd place for Best of Show for the main category of Meads & Ciders (out of 50 entries).

Ingredients

5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (No preservatives or additives) I use Tree Top Apple Juice
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar) in one pound bags
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

Equipment

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)
Carboy Cap or Stopper with Airlock
Funnel

  1. First sanitize the carboy, airlock, funnel, stopper or carboy cap.
  2. Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the carboy using the funnel.
  3. Open one bag of Dextrose and carefully add it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well.
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3, then go to step 5.
  5. Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and Dextrose from both bottles into the carboy.
  6. Add all but 1 quart of remaining 3 gallons of apple juice to the carboy.
  7. Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel.
  8. Use the remaining quart of juice to wash down any yeast that sticks. I am able to fit all but 3 ounces of apple juice into a 5 gallon Better Bottle. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
  9. Put your stopper or carboy cap on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv.

There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles (
see here
). I'm able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature.

It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary. It ferments out very dry (less than 0.999, see here)

If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of corn sugar will work fine. Use as you would carbonate a batch of beer.

Remember to reserve judgment till after 3 glasses. It grows on you.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!


GENERAL QUESTIONS

How does it taste?
It ferments quite dry. Some people have tried different yeasts in order to achieve a sweeter taste. It may take you a few glasses to get a feel for the flavor. It is very reminiscent of a sort of apfelwein produced locally in Germany. There really is no comparable product in the United States. It's drier and less sweet than commercial hard ciders. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out.

How do you sweeten it?
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any LHBS that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don't have to make a whole "sweet" batch that way.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?
EdWort says, “Most ciders are a bit sweeter. Ciders and Apfelwein are about 6% abv, but I like the little boost I give it with 2 pounds of Dextrose. It adds no body or flavor and still tastes like Possmann's Apfelwein, only it will kick your butt much quicker.”

Is this like Apfelmost / Apfel Korn?
No. Apfel Korn is a german liqeur made from wheat spirits. Apfelmost is spontaneously fermented with fresh-pressed apples or apple juice. It is probably similar, but the results may vary as a result of the spontaneous fermentation. Either way, Apfelmost is most certainly has a lower alcohol content since the initial gravity is not increased by the use of concentrate or corn sugar.

What’s the difference between apple juice and cider?
Cider is made by pressing apples. Juice is then filtered to remove all of the stuff that makes it cloudy.

Can I use apple cider instead?
Sure! You can use whatever you want. However, there is not enough information in this thread to give you any better details as to how it will turn out. I recommend starting a new thread or ask more experienced cider-makers.

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

How much will this recipe cost me?
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.

What else can you do with this recipe?
EdWort says, "this makes a great Grog in the winter time. Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It'll warm you right up."


GENERAL WARNINGS

Excessive consumption of Apfelwein WILL get you drunk at warp speed.

Drink a quart of water and take 3 aspirin before going to sleep tol help reduce the effects of excessive Apfelwein consumption as well as the urge to call EdWort a M'F**kR the next morning!

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #8576404 -

Yeah, sounds like hard cider. I didn't use the extra dextose and used champagne yeast. But damn it does grow on you, and fucks you up fast. Nice recipe. Fond memories. I'll have to get my carboys out of storage. :]

pz,

G


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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #8576687 -

Try this with wild flower honey... :cool:

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Brainiac]
    #8577155 -

I tried this recipe and ended up getting some vinegar :frown: I gotta work on my homebrew skills

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Duaber]
    #8577164 -

If you can grow mushooms, this should be a cake walk..


--------------------
:Awesketch:

:cool: Fair is Fair :devil:

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #9266581 -

Just had to say....

This was the first wine I tried brewing a while ago.  And it is an amazing drink!

Love the dryness and ease of drinking.

I tried a spiced version with cinnamon/clove/licorice, but it came out slimy and too clovey.  I'll still use it for mulling this winter, but still this recipe is perfect.

This is now my standard brew and I'm sure to have at least 5 gallons bubbling all the time.  Highly recommended


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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Hypercube]
    #9271495 -

Glad you like, now put some bottles away to age for 4-8 months and really be blown away.


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To find a place to live between the negatives and positives.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #9288672 -

Lovely.  There is absolutely zero mystique to brewing at all.

What I do is, five litres of 100% grape juice, add lager yeast, fit a balloon with two or three pin-holes on top and bottle it a week later.

I use an elastic band to hold saran wrap on the wine bottles and the ongoing fermentation acts as a barrier to contams.

No extra sugar is added.  This method gives me a nice, easy drinking wine.

Tastes good, costs fuck-all, gets me hammered.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: monkeybus]
    #9350353 -

Quote:
What I do is, five litres of 100% grape juice, add lager yeast, fit a balloon with two or three pin-holes on top and bottle it a week later.



Are you saying you only allow it to ferment for 1 week?

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Arden]
    #9352362 -

Ild like to know this too!

Interesting shit I might have to try this ...

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: OZZ]
    #9355935 -

No guys, read the tek.  This is 8.5% drink with 2 lbs. of fermentables (on top of what the juice already has) and you need a minimum of 2-3 weeks to complete fermentation, let alone clearing up.


It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear.


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To find a place to live between the negatives and positives.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #9358520 -

Quote:
No guys, read the tek.


I was just referring to what Monkeybus said he does with his method.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Arden]
    #9387996 -

Holydiver, I just joined up over there, name is BrewTaster, probably a stupid name but I couldnt think of anything better. Whats your name over there?


--------------------
Grumpy Old Man.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #9388003 -

Also I just read this recipe like an hour ago on the site, so when I saw mention of apfelwein here i was hoping itd be one and the same! Cheers


--------------------
Grumpy Old Man.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Yarry]
    #9390662 -

After a week the fermentation slows right down, I siphon it into bottles and get to drinking over the next week.

It is cloudy and tastes/smells awful, but run it through a coffee filter and it's a magical transformation.

Prob better to leave it another two or three weeks, re-rack it into a secondary fermenter, etc, and so on, but it's too much like hard work.

I use a lager yeast 'cos that's all I had in the house.  I have recently started using bread yeast (I bake every day).  Not as alcoholic, but good enough.  It'll get you there.

This works well enough for me.  I like to sit and drink all night.  A bottle of 20% would be too much for me.  This stuff I can spend hours leisurely pouring it down my neck.

If I get the time, I'll post my tek in full.

Good luck, boys.  This aint rocket science.  As far as I am concerned, the primary fermentation is done in 3-5 days.  Filter and drink.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: monkeybus]
    #9391018 -

Well, can't help you if you don't follow the tek.  It calls for Montrachet, and that's the only yeast that will give you this end result.  No, it's not rocket science, but if you don't follow this recipe exactly then you are making some random cider and not apfelwein.  Age does wonders too, 4-6 months in the bottle is optimal.  Anything younger can taste like green.

Also nobody uses a secondary for apfelwein, it will clear on it's own in 3-4 weeks.  Yours probably tastes like crap because you are drinking it after a week, and there are billions of yeast still in suspension.


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To find a place to live between the negatives and positives.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: Holydiver]
    #9395479 -

Holydiver is, of course, right.

In this life, anything that is worth making takes time, attention to detail, patience, skill, et al.

But sometimes you just want to quickly produce quick, drinkable booze.

In the quest for the easy one week ferment, 100% apple juice + any old yeast must rank up there.

Gotta run it through a coffee filter though.

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: monkeybus]
    #9498897 -

I posted about this in another thread, but I've made about 25-30 gallons of this stuff, occasionally substituting out a gallon of apple juice for a gallon of cranberry juice and it is absolutely delicious, and gets you shnockered in a hurry!  :crazy2:

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: capsaicin]
    #9507910 -

Wheres the cheapest place to get a carboy and an airlock ... Ive got to give this a shot now  :wink:

The obvious would be of course the local brewery stores, ebay, and craigslist but if any of you home brewers have a better source up yoru sleeve Im all ears!


Edited by OZZ (12/28/08 03:53 PM)

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Re: Man, I love Apfelwein [Re: OZZ]
    #9511404 -

Thanks dio :wink: Soon i gonna start brewing, im thinking of trying this :smile:


--------------------
What is a mind, if not something to be messed with? What is consciousness, if not a state to be altered?

~I Feel
:mushroom2:
at Home~

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