# Apfelwein (German Apple Wine) Recipe



## garnede

Below is a Recipe for Apfelwein, it is not mine, but it is too good not to share. It was the first wine I made and is so easy, that anyone who is interested in making their own beer or wine should try it. It makes an award winning quality wine on a budget. It is only apple juice, sugar, and yeast. If you want to use a food grade bucket as your fermenter, which you can get for free at most grocery store bakeries and for $5 at lowes, Just drill a 3/8" hole in the lid and insert a $1 air lock filled with alcohol or sanitizer. With buying a bucket and air lock you can still make 5 gallons (54 12oz bottles) of this wine for less than $30.

*Ingredients*

5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (No preservatives or additives) I use Tree Top Apple Juice
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar) [can be replaced with table sugar (cane sugar), you'll just have to shake more since it takes longer to dissolve]
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast, or latvian EC-1118


*Equipment*

5 gallon icing bucket with lid
Airlock
sanitizer (I like StarSan)


*Instructions*

First sanitize the carboy, airlock, and lid.
Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the bucket.
Open one bag of sugar and carefully add half of it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well. then pour into the bucket.
Repeat
Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and sugar from the bottles into the carboy.
Add the yeast to the bucket.
Use the remaining apple juice to rinse any leftover sugar out of the other 4 bottles.
I am able to fit all but a cup or two of apple juice into a 5 gallon bucket. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
Put your bucket lid on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka or clear rum. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv. If you don't keep cheep vodka/rum on hand then use a little sanitizing liquid or expensive vodka/clear rum.
Thereâ€™s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles (see here). I'm able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature. 67-75 degrees If you go colder than 65 it can take anywhere from 6-14 weeks to finish, but it will have better flavor. You just want to keep the temperature as stable as possible.

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 don't have a hydrometer just wait till the wine clears and it should be finished below 1.000

Apfelwein really improves with age, so if you can please let it sit in a bucket/carboy for up to 3 months before bottling or kegging, then let it sit even longer. but if this is your first batch feel free to drink it as soon as it is ready, just know that you will drink it all long before it reaches it's prime. So if it is your first batch start a second batch as soon as you can after you start the first.

If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of sugar will work fine. dissolve in 1 cup of water on the stove and then let it cool and add it to the wine. Then stir it and bottle it. It will be as bubbly as champagne, but it will not hold a head like beer.  You can not use wine bottles or screw top glass bottles/jars to carbonate in.  It must be a beer bottle, champagne bottle, or heavy glass bottle like a martenelli's apple cider that can be capped with a beer bottle cap.  I have heard of some people using plastic 20 oz bottles, but I would rather not rely on plastic for a second use. 

Remember to reserve judgment till after 3 glasses. It grows on you. *WARNING: If you drink 3 glasses you'll probably be smashed!

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!*


*GENERAL QUESTIONS*

*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. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out. But it is easily drinkable a month from when you start brewing if you want it still and 8 weeks after starting if you want to carbonate it.

*How do you sweeten it?*
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any local home brew shop (LHBS) that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don't have to make a whole "sweet" batch that way.

You can also try to make it sweeter by using a little molasses, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup in place of some of the sugar.

*What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?*
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 sugar. 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.

*Whatâ€™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, as long as it does not have preservatives that might harm the yeast.

*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. From concentrate is ok as long as there is no ingredients other than water apple juice concentrate and ascorbic acid.

*How much will this recipe cost me?*
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.


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## tedsknives

Thanks for posting this. I have got to try this one.


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## John I. Shore

Great post, I haven't had that stuff in a couple yrs, will give it a try.

Prost!

John I.


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## Nastytater

You can also sweeten the taste,by adding some cinnamon sticks to a mason jar when racking it out. IMO. I tried this same reciept a year or so ago,and the wine I made was an absolute favorite among my family and friends. But what most of the family liked,is when I made the Blueberry wine. I truely believe it turned out the best.


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## John I. Shore

Have u ever tried Blue or Raspberry?  Just thinking, sounds like u could use most any berry/fruit juice.

John I.


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## garnede

messermacher said:


> Have u ever tried Blue or Raspberry?  Just thinking, sounds like u could use most any berry/fruit juice.
> 
> John I.



Not yet, but I think it is worth a try.


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## Fletch_W

Credit is due to the recipe's creator, Edwort on www.homebrewtalk.com


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## garnede

Opps I meant to credit him when I said it's not my recipe.  There are a lot of people who might see and try it from here that would never go to HBT.  Thanks for noticing that I forgot to give proper credit.


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## garnede

I have 2 more batches of this bubbling.  Everyone I have shared it with wants more and/or wants to know how to make it.


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## javery

This sounds good.I'm gonna try it this year,one of my brothers in law owns one of the apple houses up here so I'm gonna use the fresh cider.
 I made some out of blue berries several years ago and everyone that had some seemed to enjoy it.


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## javery

This might be a dumb question to some of the pros on here.I got two gallons of the fresh cider that have been in my man room fridge since Thanksgiving.I've not added anything to them,evidently the plastic jugs are sealed good enough to hold some pressure but they leak enough so the lid doesn't pop off.
 Do you think I should add some sugar and yeast and let it work at room temp for a month or so in one of the buckets?I've only tried making wine a couple times and don't call myself an expert.Thanks for any advice.


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## garnede

Get a 2 gallon icing bucket and have at it.  For 2 gallons you need about 13 ounces of sugar.  You'll need to drill a 3/8" hole in the lid and add a air lock, or you might blow a lid off.  It ferments vigorously, but it does not foam up.


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## javery

Thanks man,gonna try to get it going tomorrow.


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## CollinsCraft77

Just out of curiosity, what happens if one uses too much sugar? Buddy of mine made this yesterday and bless his heart, he got five 64 oz bottles of apple juice, not five gallons but he used the same amount of sugar. After I pointed this out and we had a good laugh, he let it be in the bucket and said I guess we will see. Neither of us knew.

So what happens? Ruined? Too sweet? What. Not a wine maker here.


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## garnede

Well I don't have the program to figure out what the specific gravity would be, but It would make the wine about 15-16% alcohol if the yeast he used will go that far.  If it won't then it may finish a little sweet.  If the yeast won't go that high then you won't be able to carbonate it.  You have a few options let it go and it will make a strong wine, which will need more aging not to taste like fire water, but will keep for years due to the higher alcohol content.  The other option is to dilute it with more apple juice.


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## CollinsCraft77

He diluted it. He isnt interested in carbonation. Just straight wine.


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## Artfuldodger

Nastytater said:


> You can also sweeten the taste,by adding some cinnamon sticks to a mason jar when racking it out. IMO. I tried this same reciept a year or so ago,and the wine I made was an absolute favorite among my family and friends. But what most of the family liked,is when I made the Blueberry wine. I truely believe it turned out the best.



I boiled some cinnamon sticks in water to use the water for flavoring. I noticed it tasted sweet. Does it have a natural sweetener or just a taste reaction?


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## CollinsCraft77

Ok I'm doing this as well. He gave me a airlock and I did everything last night.

So now my question. How is it intended to be prepared? As a wine or carbonated? Can you do a little of both? You have 5 gallons so I suppose you could but if I were in Germany, how would they do it?

Also, would it be safe to assume that the amount of sugar would be the same if you substituted another fruit juice? I'm ready to play and try some of this. Say blueberry or even a strawberry type of wine?


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## garnede

> So now my question. How is it intended to be prepared? As a wine or carbonated?


This recipe, which is a little stronger than traditional german apple wine, is meant to be carbonated.



> Can you do a little of both?


Yes you can do a little of both, you'll just have to adjust the amount of sugar you use for carbonation to account for the un-carbonated wine.



> You have 5 gallons so I suppose you could but if I were in Germany, how would they do it?


In germany they would serve it as wine or as a cocktail mixed with soda, usually lemon soda.



> Also, would it be safe to assume that the amount of sugar would be the same if you substituted another fruit juice? I'm ready to play and try some of this. Say blueberry or even a strawberry type of wine?


Different fruits have different levels of natural sugars, but as long as you don't mind having slightly higher or lower alcohol percentages then you would be ok.  But you might be able to produce a better product if you used a recipe for strawberry or blueberry wine. Check out Jack Keller's site.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/
He has literally thousands of recipes on his site, and regularly post more on his blog.  There are several different pages with recipes, so you may have to search. Most of his recipes are for 1 gallon though.

Strawberry
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques5.asp

Blueberry
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request227.asp
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request108.asp
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques38.asp


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## CollinsCraft77

Excellent. Thanks. I'm gonna be pretty patient and let this sit for awhile. I will go carbonated route if that is how they do it.


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## patriotarcher

Ive got a 3 gallon batch of this going right now. Started it on April 14 but only had 3/4 of a pound of dextrose to put in. Would it be ok to remove air lock and add another 1/4 pound or so right now or should i just leave it alone?


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## garnede

Adding more now will be fine, it just may take a little longer to finish.   There is actually a technique where you hold back some of the sugar and then add it later to get the yeast to consume all of the sugars.  It is not needed with this wine, but it will not hurt either.


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## patriotarcher

Ok thank you. I have a 5 gal batch i started 2 weeks prior to this 3 gal. and used the full 2 pounds of dextrose . I think i may just leave this one for a little lower octane finish. Thanks


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## CollinsCraft77

Ok, I was reading your original post again and towards the end you mention raising the alcohol level by adding two pounds of sugar. Now is this in addition to the original amount in the recipe and if so when is it added?
Thanks


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## patriotarcher

Im making my first batches of this so I dont have any experience but im pretty sure you just add the 2 pounds in the beginning when making 5 gal. From what ive read here and on other forums it sounds like 2 pounds is about all your gonna want. I hear its real sneaky


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## garnede

Yes the 2 pounds in the recipe is all that is needed.  I was talking about the 2 pounds in the recipe raising the ABV of the apple juice.


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## CollinsCraft77

And if one used four pounds?


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## CollinsCraft77

Seriously, for the life of me I can't remember if I did two or four. Do I need to start over if I used four?


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## j_seph

Interesting..............
Another dumb question. How do you carbonate it or anything else for that matter at home?


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## CollinsCraft77

I noticed when I added my first bit of sugar to the apple juice it bubbled. I assume the reaction is there and you capture when bottling. 

I'm pretty sure I did it correctly but something keeps telling me I added two extra pounds of sugar. I hope I'm wrong


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## garnede

CollinsCraft77 said:


> Seriously, for the life of me I can't remember if I did two or four. Do I need to start over if I used four?



If you used 4 pounds then it will finish around 15% and might taste like fire water for a couple of months before it mellows, but with the higher alcohol it will have a longer shelf life if you want to store it for a few years.


j_seph, There are 2 ways to carbonate.  The first is force carbonation with a kegging system.  The other uses the CO2 produced by the yeast to carbonate.  Since I don't have a kegging system I'll tell you what I do.  I use 1oz of sugar per gallon, so 5 oz for 5 gallons.  If you don't want to weigh it it is about 3/4 cup of sugar for a 5 gallon batch.  So what you do is once your wine is finished, at least a month, you siphon it into another bucket while trying to pick up as little yeast as possible.  Then you mix in your 5oz or 3/4 cup sugar for a 5 gallon batch.  You can make a simple syrup of 1 part water and 1 part sugar and heat it up till all of the sugar is dissolved and then stir it into your wine after it has cooled.  Once you have added the sugar you want to fill beer bottles that do not have screw off caps and then cap them, you do have a capper don't you.  Most screw top bottles can not hold the pressure required to carbonate this way.  If you don't have the capper or don't drink beer without screw top bottles then you can use plastic water bottles, but it does not look as classy.  Do Not Use: Wine bottles (the cork will blow), Screw top beer bottles (the glass is thinner and the capper could crack it or the top could blow off due to a bad fit), Too much sugar (if you use more sugar you could end up with bottle bombs which will make a huge mess and possibly destroy the whole batch).


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## CollinsCraft77

Ok. It's been four weeks and I used the food grade bucket from lowes. Is it ok for me to take top off and see if it's clear. Will it mess it up?

Be kind. I'm a rookie


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## SmokyMtnSmoke

So let's here a how y'alls home chemistry is turning out......


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## CollinsCraft77

I bottled it up last week and it's under the dwelling to age. I do know that it popped one cork out so I'm sure I screwed up somewhere. We shall see in a few months as it ages and hopefully mellows.


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## rockdawg

I started me a batch of this today. While at the Homebrew store picking up some yeast, the fellow recommended adding crushed Campden tablets and wait 24 hours then add the yeast. I didn't mess this batch up with the Campden did I?


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## CollinsCraft77

I don't think you would


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## rockdawg

I figured the Homebrew guy knew what he was doing but this recipie didn't call for it. Just wondering. This is my first batch of wine. I have made a few batches of beer so far that's turned out great!  The hardest part of this is the wait!!


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## patriotarcher

Yea the wait is the hardest part ! Bottled my first 5 gal batch 3 weeks ago. Gonna give it about 3 more to carbonate and then test it.Bottled in 22oz beer bottles. Got 6 more gal im just gonna let bulk age for another couple months in the carbouy then bottle.


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## Corvus

I've made this recipe a few times and it always turned out well. I would leave it in primary fermentation for about a month and then bottle, there was always just enough sugar and yeast activity happening to give the drink a mild carbonation without adding priming sugar. I imagine that doing it the way I did and adding perhaps half as much sugar as needed would produce a nicely fizzy drink. 
Watch out though, it will get you drunk at warp speed.


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## garnede

You can open the top without worry, otherwise how would you take a hydrometer reading?  You may not want to do it while making yeast bread, dealing with yogurt, or other live culture foods; but otherwise it is ok for brief checks.

Campden won't hurt, but it is not needed when dealing with store bought juice since it is pasteurized before bottling.  Pasteurizing does what people normally rely on campden to do with wines.  Which is reduce microbial activity so that the yeast does not have competition that might ruin the wine.


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