Posted: 6/1/2010 3:14:35 AM EDT
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Asking first, not sure if there is an official fermentables discussion location. I know there are other forums on the net, I visit em but they are not arfcom, looking to bring some brew-blab here. I brew beer, make white and red wine and have a sweet cider recipe that will get you 10% happiness for $3 a gallon. |
 just wanted to check.I started with an Apfelwein recipe from here. I have since settled on a pretty good variation of the original recipe. It is quite different than the super tart original and a lot higher abv. Sweet and light tasting, little bit of fruit note to it and you never suspect it is packing the power it has. Needs a new name however, a friend suggested "postban's Apple Hammer" after tasting it.  Recipe; 5 gallons juice (I use cheap Aldis AJ or Cranberry Apple) (Use their sugar too) 5lbs sugar, dissolved in barely warmed AJ, usually takes three times using 1/3 of sugar and 3 cups AJ or more precisely buncha glugs and a big pour of sugar, warm on stove stirring constantly till clear again. 5tsp yeast nutrient 2tsp acid blend 2tsp Pectic enzyme 500ml Montrachet dry yeast/apple juice starter (24 hrs on the stir plate) it all fits in a 6gal Better Bottle right to the bottom of the neck. OG somewhere 1.090-1.080 2oz oak chips, vodka sterilizing soak 20 min, dump it all in give it 4 weeks primary, conks out around FG 1.012-1.008 You can secondary if you wish or just use gelatin for fining, works well. Bottling; Only use these directions after 10 days minimum of same gravity!!! Heat 2 cups fermented juice with 5oz sugar and one tbsp unflavored gelatin till it dissolves, add in, stir very well, bottle like beer. I organize it in the carboy like this; ^^^^^^^seventh; top up with AJ ^^^^^^sixth; Oak chips if you are using them ^^^^^fifth; 500ml yeast starter ^^^^fourth; 1 gallon AJ ^^^third; warm AJ infused with sugar ^^second; pectic/acid/nutrient (shake to stir in powders) ^first; 1 gallon AJ Currently have one Apple on oak and the other Cranberry apple. This stuff has been turning out 10%+abv, still sweet though. I don't think the yeast can do much more in that alcohol content. It is Montrachet so it should go to near 18% but gravity was the same for 15 days on the last batch. It produces very little lees (wine version of trub) less than one cup so there is almost no loss. Vid of previous batch fermenting;  |
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http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ Quoted: Asking first, not sure if there is an official fermentables discussion location. I know there are other forums on the net, I visit em but they are not arfcom, looking to bring some brew-blab here. I brew beer, make white and red wine and have a sweet cider recipe that will get you 10% happiness for $3 a gallon. |
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Quoted: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ Quoted: Asking first, not sure if there is an official fermentables discussion location. I know there are other forums on the net, I visit em but they are not arfcom, looking to bring some brew-blab here. I brew beer, make white and red wine and have a sweet cider recipe that will get you 10% happiness for $3 a gallon. I am a Premium Member there already. Like I said, that ain't arfcom.  |
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Quoted: Quoted: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ Quoted: Asking first, not sure if there is an official fermentables discussion location. I know there are other forums on the net, I visit em but they are not arfcom, looking to bring some brew-blab here. I brew beer, make white and red wine and have a sweet cider recipe that will get you 10% happiness for $3 a gallon. I am a Premium Member there already. Like I said, that ain't arfcom. Cool I just started my first Mead . its been racked twice and in now aging in a car boy |
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Quoted:
The ghetto grain thread got me interested in all grain brewing, need to get the wife to like beer though... Cider might be a good start. Cider WOULD be a good start. That's what won me to beer and ale. Woodpecker cider (from the UK) Woodchuck here.  Start her out on some established ciders because they'll be smoother and yummier and more consistent than first homebrewed attempts (I'm guessing).
kitties |
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Quoted: The ghetto grain thread got me interested in all grain brewing, need to get the wife to like beer though... Cider might be a good start. You can start with as small as a one gallon batch. Try just Apple Juice {any} and Nottingham dry yeast with no sugar bump. It will end up around 5-6% abv and be light and crisp with some apple left. |
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I made my first cider last fall. Went like this: Get five gallons worth of 'Simply Apple'. To it add 8 pounds of brown sugar. Ferment the cider with Saison yeast. After it is done fermenting, add 6 cans of cherry raspberry juice concentrate (the kind that come at room temp in a pop can). I was planning on making a still cider, and let this sit in the secondary until the specific gravity stabalized, then I added campden tablets. It was still for about the first four months, but those Saison yeast are hard to kill. They came back and the last few bottles were carbonated about like champagne. It was much, much better that way. It is dry like this, and sneaks up on you. Two glasses seems ok until you try to stand up. I don't know abv because I failed to write down the starting gravity, but I'd guess its somewhere around 12-15% |
| I just started 5 gallons of blueberry wine yesterday. I posted the process up on my blog. I do everything from hard cider to beer to wine. |
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Quoted: 3 EFFIN DOLLARS A GALLON!!! sign me up, how do I get started? no seriously...how books supplies whats up why's everybody keeping me outta the loop? lol You have a great group in your state; http://www.wahomebrewers.org/. I am sure they could advise you on local supply sources. Or there is the net, zillion sources. My local place is http://www.homebrewing.org/ where I would advise you to get a starter kit and some Montrachet Yeast. The only other things you will need are Apple juice and Sugar. And then some thought to where you will store the fermented cider, bottles, jugs or kegs. The Starter kit comes with a good basic brew knowledge book, there are better more extensive ones and also the net to guide you. Read that book and then follow my recipe in post #3 and enjoy. |
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I just got an email from hops direct. They already have great prices, but they sent a Fathers Day coupon for another 5% discount. HDFATH20, good through July 4th. One little warning. They don't figure shipping in their checkout. (At least they didn't the last time I bought from them). It's usually about the same for 1-5 lbs, so order 3-5 lbs.
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Just doughed in on an all grain Midwest Penninsula India Pale Ale, 6 gal batch. Ought end up about 80 IBU and 7% abv Mash out at 4:55 pm, Fly Sparge with 3.8 gal at 5:05pm, 60min boil shortly there after, 6 oz of 7.5AA Cascades Safale us05 Yeast. Supposed to hot 1.061 OG, we shall see.... |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
The ghetto grain thread got me interested in all grain brewing, need to get the wife to like beer though... Cider might be a good start. Cider WOULD be a good start. That's what won me to beer and ale. Woodpecker cider (from the UK) Woodchuck here. Start her out on some established ciders because they'll be smoother and yummier and more consistent than first homebrewed attempts (I'm guessing).
kitties I'm a fan of Strongbow
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Here's my setup. I'm only setup for 5 gallons but that's enough for me. I just brew every weekend and try to get two brews in every few weeks. When I get behind I punish myself with Keystone Light  . I don't want to get too crazy because I know once I start upgrading it will never end.
Here's the scotch ale that I did on Memorial Day. This is getting bottled and I'll be saving it for special occasions. 
And here's my brew bench. I finally found a good use for it . The gallon jug on the far right is an experimental pepper wine. It's probably going to be a cooking wine. The two carboys are pale ales. I brewed the one on the right last week. I brewed the one on the left yesterday. The gallon jug on the far left is just an english mild that I made out of the third runnings of my pale ale batch and 1/4 ounce of hops or so. I started with two gallons and boiled it down. It ended up boiling down a lot more than I'd hoped it would. I'm still trying to get a hang of small batch stovetop brews.
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Quoted: One week in to the latest batch of "Apple Hammer" Time for a little brew language lesson for those unfamiliar to this. The Apple on Oak is forming "krausen" (beer brewing word means foam on top) which is rare for cider, I have never had apple juice do that. It is also cycling the oak up and down through the must (must is unfermented wine/cider. It is common for oaked Wine batches to do this, neat to watch, better than a fish tank). I like to imagine each trip up and down adds a little more oakiness to it, great anticipation is an understatement. Eventually all the little oak chips will lose buoyancy and sink to the bottom with the yeast and form "lees" (that is the wine/cider version of 'trub' or dead yeast scum at the bottom of the fermenter) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/postban/homebrew/th_IMG_0220.jpg http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/postban/homebrew/th_IMG_0222.jpg The Cranberry/Apple is fermenting much more calmly, very slight krausen ring at the top. Both are bubbling through the gas traps about the same. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f49/postban/homebrew/th_IMG_0221.jpg No gravity check yet, I do not even bother till day 21 Update on the two cider and one IPA batches; Midwest Peninsula IPA racked to secondary, went in at 1.065 OG, out at 1.015 so 6.55% abv, big floral nose of cascades, good malt balance and crisp bitter finish. Ought to be just right after clearing and bottle conditioning. Oaked Apple Hammer racked to clarifying- OG was 1.080, FG was 1.000, 10.5%abv. It is not full dry but is less sweet than previous batches, oak chips added a little of the butter taste you get in Oaked Chardonnay and some oak bite too. Nose is light apple and light oak. Still a ton of yeast in suspension so flavor will develop a little as it clears. One of the best I have tasted at this stage and at one sip you can "feel it". Cranberry Apple Hammer - OG was 1.080 and the measured gravity yesterday was only 1.050. I figure something in the Cranberry caused the Montrachet yeast I used to conk out way to early. I used the exact same starter, 1 liter of it split between the Oaked Apple and Cran/Apple so that was not the problem. I left it in the primary vessel and I repitched it with some dry Champagne yeast which hopefully can get it to where I want it. Actually tasted like a fizzy cranberry soda, only 4% alcohol now which is less than half of where it should end up. I have made test batches of Champagne yeast cider before with mixed results, one with this amount of sugar left to convert, came out with some flavors I did not like, maybe the cranberry will be good, dunno. |
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Another update; the Midwest IPA is three weeks in the bottle, I used all bomber size 25oz bottles, good color, great nose, as big a head as you decide to pour. Tall pour will foam the glass, sneak it down the side and it is minimal. Started a new batch of Super Oaked Apple Cider, twice the oak as the last batch on 7-8-2010 and it is already down to 1.000/10.5%abv. Tastes good warm, full of yeast and right out of the primary. Gonna kill it, clear it and use wine bottles. It kinda tastes like a Chardonnay to me. Ought to be something aged, cleared and chilled. Passed the wife test too, she actually said "tastes really good". More room to improve, going for a Super Toasted Oak Cider next, see what kind of flavors I can find. The Cranberry Apple never went past 1.045, re-pitched it with champagne yeast, that had been stir-plated for six hours, it was live and well but also failed to drop gravity any. Decided to kill it and clear it. Tastes like a light non-specific fruit punch and is about 5%abv. Party swill in 1.5 liter wine bottles is its future. Wife liked it. Will stick to the plain AJ from now on. Win some, lose some. |
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Opened a 3 month old bottle of my cider yesterday and it was as carbonated as champagne. This was made before I started oaking it. It was like a lighter sweeter apple champagne. Most of them are not carbonated to this level. Also have had no problems with bottle bombs. The wife and I enjoyed it with some dark chocolate and fresh strawberries. |
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Quoted: Opened a 3 month old bottle of my cider yesterday and it was as carbonated as champagne. This was made before I started oaking it. It was like a lighter sweeter apple champagne. Most of them are not carbonated to this level. Also have had no problems with bottle bombs. The wife and I enjoyed it with some dark chocolate and fresh strawberries. I love it when that happens. My cider carbonated like champagne last fall. Only got one bottle left, I better get to brewing. |
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Did another batch of cider, came out at 12.5%, let it go all the way to 0.988 full dry. I let a few people from work try it, most commented no taste, just alcohol. I hit it with campden tablets and killed the yeast and then back sweetened it with a half gallon more apple juice. I had used 16ozs of oak chips soaked in enough whisky to sterilize them and then just plopped the whole thing into the carboy. Also made a 1 liter starter with Montrachet yeast, then into the carboy with enough yeast nutrient and acid blend for 6gal. This has been the result of more than a dozen batches and really is a great and delicious beverage that will get you hammered silly for pennies. I am at approx $18 for 6 gallons with no cooking and it is ready to drink in 2 weeks. Some notes on trying to carbonate cider in a bottle; I have done three carbonated batches in 12 and 25oz bottles. None have exploded as I have heard they would. The thing is they are super carbonated, like double or triple what champagne is. Almost impossible to pour. you have to wet glasses and baby it down the side or it foams massively, it also dries out a bit more than when bottled. Taste is good but the fizz is not a plus to me as I thought it would be. I am only doing killed cider now. Make it so you can use wine bottles or what ever you want instead of having to cap. Not much money difference between caps and cheap corks, just my preference. |
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If you go to brewheads.com there is a carbonation calculator. It's under quick calculators. It' beats blowing up a bunch of stuff. Wait.... If you're blowing it up, then it's pretty cool. Just remember to post pics, and profit.
BTW: The guy who owns the site, is an Arfcommer. |
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If you go to brewheads.com there is a carbonation calculator. It's under quick calculators. It' beats blowing up a bunch of stuff. Wait.... If you're blowing it up, then it's pretty cool. Just remember to post pics, and profit. BTW: The guy who owns the site, is an Arfcommer. Cool site. I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a home brewing community where I am today. It is rumored however, that if you sprinkle a bit of white wine yeast in a freshly opened bottle of AJ, let her sit for a couple of weeks with the cap loose, then tighten it up, you can get a darned drinkable (if slightly non GO1 Compliant) sparkling AJ with crisp acidity balancing the residual sugars and excellent flavor profile for something that young and simple to make. You just have to be careful not to close it off too early or too late, and if it warms up after closing.....you want to have it double bagged. At least that's the rumor.
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Quoted: Bump it up with dissolved-in sugar/honey (10-15% volume of the liquid) whatever you can get, then siphon it to an empty sterile container for clearing and then dump more AJ on the old yeast. Regular little production facility.Quoted: If you go to brewheads.com there is a carbonation calculator. It's under quick calculators. It' beats blowing up a bunch of stuff. Wait.... If you're blowing it up, then it's pretty cool. Just remember to post pics, and profit. BTW: The guy who owns the site, is an Arfcommer. Cool site. I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a home brewing community where I am today. It is rumored however, that if you sprinkle a bit of white wine yeast in a freshly opened bottle of AJ, let her sit for a couple of weeks with the cap loose, then tighten it up, you can get a darned drinkable (if slightly non GO1 Compliant) sparkling AJ with crisp acidity balancing the residual sugars and excellent flavor profile for something that young and simple to make. You just have to be careful not to close it off too early or too late, and if it warms up after closing.....you want to have it double bagged. At least that's the rumor. Be aware that the white wine yeast will produce sulfur gas and smell like rhino farts in the vicinity of the fermentation vessel. Blame this on somebody farting  |
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Revised and final recipe; Postbans Apple Hammer. Recipe; 5.5 gallons juice (I use cheap Aldis AJ) (Use their sugar too) 5lbs sugar, dissolved in barely warmed AJ, usually takes three times using 1/3 of sugar and 3 cups AJ or more precisely buncha glugs and a big pour of sugar, warm on stove stirring constantly till clear again. 6tsp yeast nutrient 2tsp acid blend 2tsp Pectic enzyme Montrachet dry yeast it all fits in a 6gal Better Bottle right to the bottom of the neck. OG somewhere 1.090-1.080 8oz oak chips, 8oz whisky sterilizing soak 20 min, dump it all in. give it 4 weeks primary, conks out around FG 1.012-1.008 (Watch it, last batch went to 0.988, too dry!!!) Rack to secondary for clearing, bottle after 1 week. Bottling; Do not add more sugar for bottling, just kill it with campden tablets and drink it still instead of carbonated. Wine bottles or 12/25oz beer bottles. I organize it in the carboy like this; ^^^^^^^seventh; top up with AJ ^^^^^^sixth; Oak chips/whisky if you are using them ^^^^^fifth; yeast ^^^^fourth; 1 gallon AJ ^^^third; warm AJ infused with sugar ^^second; pectic/acid/nutrient (shake to stir in powders) ^first; 1 gallon AJ |
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Question...started by first gallon attempt last weekend...a gallon of good organic apple juice and half a pound of corn sugar with a pack of Red Star Champagne yeast...
The instructions I'm following say to allow 2 weeks for primary fermentation...then rack it and allow to sit for about two more weeks... This sound about right? Can I rack it right in some wine bottles with vapor locks? Should I add anything in when I do that? Does the above sound reasonable? |
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Quoted: Question...started by first gallon attempt last weekend...a gallon of good organic apple juice and half a pound of corn sugar with a pack of Red Star Champagne yeast... The instructions I'm following say to allow 2 weeks for primary fermentation...then rack it and allow to sit for about two more weeks... This sound about right? Can I rack it right in some wine bottles with vapor locks? Should I add anything in when I do that? Does the above sound reasonable? The champagne yeast takes a little longer to ferment, also will not stop until your cider is full dry. You will have to use a hydrometer and watch for when you get to about 1.008 gravity. That will keep a little bit of apple taste. If it gets to 0.995 the apple will be gone. Down any farther it will be very dry, not tasty at all. Kill the yeast with some Campden Tablets when it gets to 1.008 area. Then you can use regular wine corks in your wine bottle. I did a lot of 1 gallon test batches to figure out the direction I wanted the taste to go. Nottingham yeast makes a great 5-7% abv cider and Montrachet is great for 9-11% abv oaked cider. Did not like the champagne ones I tried. |
| Just pitched a batch...only had a 5 gal carboy so I did 4.5 gal juice and 4 lbs of sugar (and no oak chips...didn't have any). Used a Wyeast cider yeast...we'll see how it turns out. How long after pitching does it normally take to see some action in the must? |
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Just pitched a batch...only had a 5 gal carboy so I did 4.5 gal juice and 4 lbs of sugar (and no oak chips...didn't have any). Used a Wyeast cider yeast...we'll see how it turns out. How long after pitching does it normally take to see some action in the must? I pitched 3 gallons of straight juice the night before last. The only addition was yeast nutrient. I used Fermentis S04 and had VIGOROUS action in about 6 hours. |
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I'm paying it forward a bit. I have a buddy at work who is like me, the only income at his house. They just got cut down to 4 days a week again he's really down because he can't afford to do anything other than sit at home and watch kid toddler. He is broke and has no money for a hobby. He wants to learn to brew but has no money for equipment, etc. I buy everything in bulk for the most part. I get my fermenting buckets for free. SO....I had the bright idea to help him out. I'm setting him up with a fermenter, airlock, racking cane, rubber bung, hops and yeast. I went to my local homebrew store last night and picked him up enough DME and a couple pounds of grain for a 3 gallon batch of amber ale. That way he has a new hobby he can do on the cheap with the equipment I give him and his large stock pot on the stove at home. I talked with him at length about beer yesterday and he was very excited to learn that you can make VERY good beer using extract and steeping grains on your stove top. He's gonna crap when I show up at work with his new brewery
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I pitched 3 gallons of straight juice the night before last. The only addition was yeast nutrient. I used Fermentis S04 and had VIGOROUS action in about 6 hours. Cool. Mine definitely started fermenting at some point in the night, I think the temp was a little too high when I pitched (79) and it's now down to 73-75. It started slow but is picking up the pace, now burping about twice per second. And good on you for helping out your buddy! I am thinking about timing the bottling and the conditioning. I would like a semi-dry, lightly carbed drink, so I am not sure I want to let it ferment out. I am considering bottling while fermentation is still happening and then pasteurizing once the bottles are lightly carbed. Or do you think that I should keep it simpler since this is my first batch? Postban, why do you bottle it still, just personal preference? |
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Quoted: It might take you a few batches to get just the right outcome. I like it still after doing a few carbed batches, just my preference.Quoted: I pitched 3 gallons of straight juice the night before last. The only addition was yeast nutrient. I used Fermentis S04 and had VIGOROUS action in about 6 hours. ....... Or do you think that I should keep it simpler since this is my first batch? Postban, why do you bottle it still, just personal preference? |
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Another brewer here! Great hobby! I've made lots of the apfelwein recipe that is listed earlier in the thread. From experience, I HIGHLY recommend that you let it sit for at least 6 months. I typically make 5 gallon batches, 2 at a time. I put them in carboys for 6 - 8 months and then keg. I have 2 batches from 5/31sitting on a shelf right now. The key is not to touch them! Its tempting, I know, but if you can age them 6 months in carboy, then 6 months in a keg (or bottle) the apple flavor really comes out. I did a batch like this, aged 8 months and force carb'd for the wedding. The apfelwein was the first keg of 8 to get finished and I have been begging me for more.
I am planing to keg and carb half of my 5/13 double batch, and bottle it in champagne bottles for Christmas gifts.. the other half is all mine! |
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How does oak help in the aging? Does it mellow high alcohol content ciders, or just add another flavor to the mix? I wouldn't say it mellows the alcohol content but it does mellow tannins and or certain unsavory flavors that are sometimes present at the end of fermentation. I don't see tannins being an issue with a cider but they can kick off some strong alcohols that don't exactly taste too good. You will also get some flavors from the type of wood the barrel is made of. Oaking works well for meads, ciders, wine and big brews/lambics. |
| Hey Postban, you're not in SE MI are you? Good to see fellow minded (at least to some extent obviously). Michiganders. I really love haveing that Apfelwein around. Do you find the acid additions and such necessary? When I make it I just use the dextrose, apple juice, and some yeast (often vary this aspect just for fun). I let mine ferment out and age for 5-6 months and then force carb it in a keg. Everyone loves it when I have get togethers.... and at about 9% who wouldn't |
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