I designed this recipe after taking some cues from the viral apfelwein posting by Edworts on Home Brew Talk, as well as practical advice from some cider brewing books. I made it a couple of months ago, and it's in the secondary now. It's an attempt to merge the Old World tradition of fruit wine with a twist from a New World ingredient: maple syrup. It's what I imagine German and Scandinavian immigrants to Wisconsin and Minnesota probably threw in with their apfelwein to boost up the booze with a locally available sugar source. I also really liked The Saint by Crispin, which is a cider brewed with maple syrup and a Trappist ale yeast.
I used Red Star Côte des Blancs yeast, which is typically used for white table wines. I tasted a sample of my product when racking to the secondary and it was tart as a Granny Smith apple. This is a plus for me. I don't prefer desserty wines, and I don't want to play around with chemicals needed to backsweeten the apfelwein.
As with the mead I recently made, this is my first attempt at apfelwein. Any experienced brewers of ciders and wines who come upon this and shake their heads at my rookie mistakes have full permission to drop some knowledge on me. It's the only way I'll learn.
I used Red Star Côte des Blancs yeast, which is typically used for white table wines. I tasted a sample of my product when racking to the secondary and it was tart as a Granny Smith apple. This is a plus for me. I don't prefer desserty wines, and I don't want to play around with chemicals needed to backsweeten the apfelwein.
As with the mead I recently made, this is my first attempt at apfelwein. Any experienced brewers of ciders and wines who come upon this and shake their heads at my rookie mistakes have full permission to drop some knowledge on me. It's the only way I'll learn.
St. Bigfoot
Style: Apfelwein
Juice:
5 ½ gallons of apple juice (365 brand, organic, fresh pressed).
A few more cups of apple juice (if necessary) to add when racking to secondary to achieve desired volume.
A few more cups of apple juice (if necessary) to add when racking to secondary to achieve desired volume.
Other fermentable sugars:
16 oz. maple syrup (two 8 ounce bottles, 365 brand, light amber)
12 oz. can of frozen apple juice concentrate (Sno Pac brand; thaw before adding to must)
12 oz. can of frozen apple juice concentrate (Sno Pac brand; thaw before adding to must)
Yeast:
2 packets of Red Star Côte des Blancs yeast
Other Ingredients:
1 tsp. of Wyeast Wine Nutrient Blend (½ tsp. added to the must on day one; ½ tsp. added to the primary on day four).
½ tsp. of LD Carlson Yeast Energizer (¼ tsp. added to the must on day one; ¼ tsp. added to the primary on day four).
The process was pretty simple. First, rehydrate the contents of two packets of the Côte des Blancs yeast in 4 oz. of warm water (approximately 105 F) in a small sanitized measuring cup or bowl.
Then, take three gallons of the apple juice and pour into a sanitized bucket. Also add one bottle of the maple syrup. It helps to immerse the bottle of syrup in hot tap water for a few minutes to cut down on the viscosity so it pours easier. Paddle the must for 5 to 10 minutes to aerate before pouring through a sanitized funnel into a sanitized 6.5 gallon carboy.
Next, add the remaining 2 ½ gallons of juice to the bucket, along with the second bottle of maple syrup and the apple juice concentrate. Aerate for 5 to 10 minutes and then add to the rest of the must in the carboy. Add the first addition of yeast nutrient and energizer to the carboy. Stir the must vigorously for two minutes using using the narrow end of a sanitized paddle in order to fully incorporate the mixture.
Finally, after the yeast has been rehydrating for at least 15 minutes, gently stir it with a sanitized spoon. Pour the yeast into the carboy and gently stir the must to evenly distribute it.
Stir in the second dose of the yeast nutrient and energizer after four days. Ferment in the primary for two weeks. Transfer to a secondary 5 gallon carboy and add extra juice to minimize head space (though probably not necessary because of initial volume). Keep in the secondary for 2 to 3 months, or until final gravity is reached, which I'm estimating should be between 1.000 and 0.996. Original gravity was 1.064, so the ABV should be around 8.5%. Bottle still and enjoy!
You can backsweeten the wine if you don't like the dry, tart character, but make sure to do so safely. If you add extra fermentable sugar without properly dispatching the live yeast with appropriate chemicals, then get in the bunker and prepare for bottle grenades.
So make some! Taste a little this year, but hide half of it away in a closet or cellar to let it get interesting. Dust it off next November and release the beast!
The process was pretty simple. First, rehydrate the contents of two packets of the Côte des Blancs yeast in 4 oz. of warm water (approximately 105 F) in a small sanitized measuring cup or bowl.
Then, take three gallons of the apple juice and pour into a sanitized bucket. Also add one bottle of the maple syrup. It helps to immerse the bottle of syrup in hot tap water for a few minutes to cut down on the viscosity so it pours easier. Paddle the must for 5 to 10 minutes to aerate before pouring through a sanitized funnel into a sanitized 6.5 gallon carboy.
Next, add the remaining 2 ½ gallons of juice to the bucket, along with the second bottle of maple syrup and the apple juice concentrate. Aerate for 5 to 10 minutes and then add to the rest of the must in the carboy. Add the first addition of yeast nutrient and energizer to the carboy. Stir the must vigorously for two minutes using using the narrow end of a sanitized paddle in order to fully incorporate the mixture.
Finally, after the yeast has been rehydrating for at least 15 minutes, gently stir it with a sanitized spoon. Pour the yeast into the carboy and gently stir the must to evenly distribute it.
Stir in the second dose of the yeast nutrient and energizer after four days. Ferment in the primary for two weeks. Transfer to a secondary 5 gallon carboy and add extra juice to minimize head space (though probably not necessary because of initial volume). Keep in the secondary for 2 to 3 months, or until final gravity is reached, which I'm estimating should be between 1.000 and 0.996. Original gravity was 1.064, so the ABV should be around 8.5%. Bottle still and enjoy!
You can backsweeten the wine if you don't like the dry, tart character, but make sure to do so safely. If you add extra fermentable sugar without properly dispatching the live yeast with appropriate chemicals, then get in the bunker and prepare for bottle grenades.
So make some! Taste a little this year, but hide half of it away in a closet or cellar to let it get interesting. Dust it off next November and release the beast!
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