Apfelwein question

I 've been making dog treats with most of my spent grain and I give the rest to my chickens. That’s pretty awesome with the deer though!

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If you can plan that, that is best… Most times I have it planned as such… It will take a few times before you get the sequence right… Sneezles61

Ok thanks. I’ll just let it go until tomorrow with best of hopes

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If it’s got bubbles you’re on the right track. The bubbles are CO2 exiting the solution. There won’t be a traditional krausen as there are no hops and minimal trub. You’ll see some krausen and krausen ring. Ideally you want to time your pitch then.

Ok I figured it would take 2 to 3 days and it has been bubbling non stop. I put it in a room around 68 degrees for the night after shaking it and I will pitch it tomorrow into the Saison with at the same temp. Should be great. The apfelwein and it’s smaller blackberry sister really took off in terms of fermentation today. Can’t wait!

I had 1-1/2 gallons of Australian yeast, trub and all. I washed this past week, boiled water, cooled it, added that and shook it up… I left it out over night, the next day, it was separated very nicely. I sanitized a 1 gallon jug, poured the top white creamy layer into it and left it alone until Friday, maybe a half gallon by volume. I made a starter, 1 cup DME to 1 quart boiling water… cooled it and added to the washed yeast… Again, shaking it up when ever I went by it ( to pour pints of home brew)… Had a nice starter going yesterday… Brewed 10 gallons IPA, pitched at about 4 PM… Checked just a few minutes ago, that monster is blowing yeast down the blow off tubes again! I took precautions to sanitize and seal up a growler as a blow off container as best I could… Once the growler is about full, I’m going to salvage that yeast… That yeast has made some very great brews, its just a monster! Sneezles61

That sounds like a huge starter. Should it take more then 3 days to really get going? It looks like I’m postponing brew day until tomorrow after work now. Brewing in the dark

You can tell by your activity of the starter… I brewed 10 gallons … so more yeast was needed… Sneezles61

I brewed on Monday and pitched and there is plenty of activity so I am thinking it was a success. I missed my OG by about 20 points though so I just rolled with it this time. I do biab and I added an extra quarter or half gallon of water to compensate for the extra 6 lbs of grain than I am used to brewing and I chose not to do a mash out at 170 degrees for 10 minutes so I am attributing that to my loss. Better attention and success next time hopefully. I am doing my next starter for a Belgian wit I will brew Friday and then rack onto the remaining 12 lbs or so of frozen blackberries I have collected this fall! Happy brewing!

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I do stir quite frequently whilst recirculating… Do you add your grains after reaching temp, or on the way up? I have been tinkering with a split mash… 142-145 for a half hour, the ramp up to 158 for another half hour… then I go to warp 10 and pull the basket about 165… Do rinse a bit with 170 wort to… I have had my final gravity under 1.010 a few times now…Sneezles61

I heat completely and then add my grains. Shoot for about 160 then add 12 to 14 lbs of grain at room temp and come in around 152. That is with 7 and 1/2 or 8 gallons of water. I did this outside in an uninsulated break it Monday night in the mid 40’s outside, and only dropped by 2 degrees or so over 30 mins. I highly recommend heating up to 170 after rest and letting sit for an additional 10 mins at that temp before pulling grains

Well, that should work… Stirring much? I get 80% with my setup… Sneezles61

I don’t stir at all. Don’t really measure efficiency other than the first time I did it

Here is the blackberry cider experiment. Very tasty but also incredibly dry! We will see how it gets with a little age and some carbonation. I bottles it aiming for 3 volumes of co2

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That looks very nice! Perhaps you can find some non sugar sweetener and add to your glass? I did an apple cider like that… in the keg and snuck up on the sweetness I was looking for… I do like mine drier, yet, just a bit in the background is alright for my taste… Again, very nicely done!! Sneezles61

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Thanks!

You can make a simple invert sugar and add it to taste in the glass. If you use granulated sugar and pour in a carbonated drink, you’ll make a mess… but invert sugar works great and keeps a long time in the fridge.

I just opened a bottle of this apfelwein that was bottled last year and must say it is quite nice. Took a few months to carbonate in the bottle as I usually keg it but I have three 22 ounce bottles left now.

The earlier pic looks like not much carb. How’s it look in the glass now? Same beautiful color?

Yeh its beautiful