I apologize for that lack of effort in my previous post. I'm not very computer savvy. This should be more helpful.Looks good. Care to share the recipe?
Recipe Type: All Grain Yeast: Red Star Montrachet Yeast Starter: Nope Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: Nope Batch Size (Gallons): 5 Original Gravity: 1.066 Final Gravity: 0.998 Boiling Time (Minutes): None Color: Champagne Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): At least 6 weeks at 74 degrees Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): None Apfelwein (German Hard Cider) This took 1st Place at the 2007 Alamo City Cerveza Fest BJCP sanctioned competition for the Cider and Apple Wine Category and 2nd Place for Best of Show for Meads & Ciders! 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
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. GENERAL QUESTIONS compiled by Dammed Squirrels from the first 37 pages of this thread. Thanks DS! 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. 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! |