I Bottled my Apfelwein!
1167 days agoWell, actually on Sunday but I am posting this blog to tell you guys about it today. Sorry about the delay. I have yogurt on my mind on that day. But today, it’s all about the Apfelwein. (See how it all rhythms!) This batch as started on the 18th of October and it was bottled on 23th of November. That is 5 weeks in the fermenter. Ahh….that means that it had time to mature in the fermenter. Actually it stopped bubbling actively after about 1 and a half weeks but I kept it in the fermenter for obvious reasons. For this batch, I have added 2 cinnamon sticks and the smell of the cinnamon is quite profound in the cider. When I did the bottling, I can smell the cinnamon in the cider easily. However, it seemed to mask a little off the apple smell. So, I am not too sure whether adding cinnamon is a good idea or not. At the very least, it helps to take away some of the sourness of the very tart cider. One of the biggest complains of this Apfelwein is that it is a bit too sour, so the sweetness of the cinnamon would definitely help.
I bottled most of the Apfelwein in PET bottles. However, I worry that the smell of beer in the plastic bottles will affect the overall Apfelwein taste. No matter how I clean the bottles, there will always be some residual beer smell left behind. And I also worry that the cider smell will affect my future batches of beer. Anyway, I am out of options since I don’t have the space in my house for so many bottles. The most I can keep in my cupboards is about 60 PET bottles. I have about 15 glass bottles too. Most are from the Vitasoy Soya Bean Milk drink glass bottles. I have bottled about 8 bottles of Apfelwein. They will probably be left to mature for 6 months or more. Have you guys even tasted 8 month old Apfelwein before? I heard that it is just so heavenly! Edwort, the inventor of Apfelwein, usually keeps his Apfelwein for more than 4 months before he open the bottles for a taste. Who am I to go against the expert in Apfelwein?
If you guys are interested, I will most likely be making my Wheat beer this weekend. Well, I need to find some time to do it. The Cooper’s Wheat Beer kit has been sitting in my fridge for 2 months and I still had not touched the kit. And several of my friends have been complaining about the lack of beer for them to taste. But what can I say, I have been ill for 2 whole weeks, so I guess they will forgive me. See you guys soon!
Have you tasted your first apfelwein? What does it taste like?
Taste a bit sour. I am guessing the problem lies with the apple juice I am using – apple concentrates. If you were to use apple juice made from fresh apples (not concentrates) I think you should be able to get an apfelwein that is less sour and less bitter.
Yes, there is some bittermess too. Don’t seem to be too profound, but it is there. Again, it could be due to the apple juice I am using.
you seem to know a lot about beers — would you happen to know of a beer of the month club in sing? or where i can get some unusual/micro-brew beers?
thanks in advance!
You should join the home brew club. Although they are primarily home brewers, they are very keen on micro-brews as well.