Jekyll2022-07-28T14:55:48-04:00https://www.kmcnally.net/feed.xmlKyle McNallyMy siteKyle McNallyApfelwein2014-01-08T00:00:00-05:002014-01-08T00:00:00-05:00https://www.kmcnally.net/blog/2014/01/08/apfelwein<p>I brewed up some one gallon jugs of Apfelwein (Apple Wine) last night, using the ‘famous’ <a href="https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/">EdWort’s Apfelwein Recipie</a>. We had a Buy One, Get One sale at our grocery store for <a href="https://www.whitehousefoods.com/Products/Apple-Juice/64oz-White-House-Premium-(Fresh-Pressed)-Juice.aspx">Apple Juice</a>, so I picked up a few jugs. The recipe is quite simple.</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Ingredients</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>2 half gallon jugs of Apple Juice</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2 lbs. Dextrose</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1 packet Montrachet Yeast</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pectic Enzyme</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Yeast nutrient</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Equipment</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>One gallon carboy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cleaning equipment</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Funnel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kitchen scale</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Airlocks</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/11840060904/"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7387/11840060904_2f8808f3b7_z.jpg" alt="Equipment" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Steps</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Add half a jug of Apple juice to the carboy.</li>
<li>Add half a pound of dextrose to the jug and shake until dissolved.</li>
<li>Pour into carboy, then add another jug until just below 1 gallon of juice.</li>
<li>Measure original gravity.</li>
<li>Add more dextrose until you hit desired original gravity.</li>
<li>Add pectic acid and yeast nutrient, then shake until dissolved.</li>
<li>Top off your gallon with the rest of the juice.</li>
<li>Add half packet of yeast.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/11840427606/"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7346/11840427606_08eb5c3534_z.jpg" alt="Two carboys of Apfelwein" /></a></p>
<p>That’s pretty much it. I also made some Apfelwein with raisins and brown sugar. I took about 2.5 ounces of raisins, plumped (and sanitized) them with a cup of boiling water. I added the raisins and 4 ounces of brown sugar directly to the carboy.</p>
<p>If you look at how much juice I have in my carboys, it’s WAY to much, so I ended up spliting both batches into a third batch and topped it off with another half gallon of Apple juice.</p>
<p><a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/11840064744/"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3795/11840064744_5fd5747e45_z.jpg" alt="Three! carboys of Apfelwein" /></a></p>
<p>I started with an Original Gravity of 1.042 for just the Apple Juice alone. After adding dextrose, I ended up with a gravity of 1.084 on my regular Apfelwein, 1.092 on my Raisin Apfelwein, and I never checked the third carboy, but it’s somewhere lower than those. (Because it was about a third of the mixture of the other two gallons, then two thirds of regular apple juice.)</p>
<p>I’ll be updating this post as time goes on because I’m planning on letting them age in their carboys for 4-6 months before I bottle them.</p>Kyle McNallyI brewed up some one gallon jugs of Apfelwein (Apple Wine) last night, using the ‘famous’ EdWort’s Apfelwein Recipie. We had a Buy One, Get One sale at our grocery store for Apple Juice, so I picked up a few jugs. The recipe is quite simple.My Brew Schedule2014-01-03T00:00:00-05:002014-01-03T00:00:00-05:00https://www.kmcnally.net/blog/brew-schedule<iframe src="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?showPrint=0&showTabs=0&showCalendars=0&showTz=0&height=600&wkst=1&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=kmcnally.net_nbp6uuvduopq7fib4e3nnjgjd4%40group.calendar.google.com&color=%236B3304&ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border-width:0 " width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>Here is a list of recipies I’ve brewed. (Newest brew at the top)</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="/blog/2014/01/08/apfelwein/">EdWort’s Apfelwein</a> 3 Gallons - Brewed 01/08/2014</li>
<li><a href="https://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-kits/chestnut-brown-ale">Chestnut Brown Ale</a> - Brewed 12/29/2013, Secondary 01/02/2014</li>
<li>Hard Apple Cider - Brewed 11/27/2013</li>
<li><a href="https://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/smashing-pumpkin-ale-all-grain-kit.html">Smashing Pumpkin</a> - Brewed 11/16/2013</li>
<li><a href="https://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/smashing-pumpkin-ale-all-grain-kit.html">Smashing Pumpkin</a> - Brewed 09/26/2013, <a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/tags/smashingpumpkinale">Pictures</a></li>
<li><a href="https://brooklynbrewshop.com/1-gallon-beer-mixes/grapefruit-honey-ale-mix">Grapefruit Honey</a><br />
Some nice tones of grapefruit and honey. I had to let it condition in the bottle for a while, at least 4 weeks.</li>
<li><a href="https://brooklynbrewshop.com/1-gallon-beer-mixes/summer-wheat-beer-mix">Summer Wheat</a><br />
My first brew. It was decent, tasted like beer!</li>
</ol>Kyle McNallyBuilding a 2 Gallon Mini MLT2013-09-26T00:00:00-04:002013-09-26T00:00:00-04:00https://www.kmcnally.net/blog/2013/09/26/mini-mlt<p>Mashing is the hardest part of AG Brewing for me. Mainly, keeping the mash temperature constant. So, I took to the internet and did some research on making my own Mash Lauter Tun. I found alot of info on the subject on the <a href="https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/making-2-gallon-mini-mlt-19413/index2.html#post189663">homebrewtalk.com</a> forums, along with John Palmer’s <a href="http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html">How to Brew</a> (The eBook <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888">third revision</a> has much better directions). I decided to go with a two gallon MLT because my batch sizes are small. Here’s how I did it.</p>
<p>Here are the parts that I needed. Stick with Brass or Stainless steel. Other metals might leak some chemicals or metals into your wort and that might cause off flavors. Also, if you are using brass, make sure it is lead free!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789280315/"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/9789280315_fcc39b7ed6_z.jpg" alt="Parts" /></a></p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Part (From left to right)</th>
<th>Cost</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Two gallon water cooler</td>
<td>9.97</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 Male Barb</td>
<td>3.76</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 Ball Valve</td>
<td>8.21</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Two 5/8 Stainless Fender Washers</td>
<td>0.79 each</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 x 1-1/2 Nipple</td>
<td>3.12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 Rubber Washer</td>
<td>Included with cooler</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Two 5/8 Stainless Fender Washers (One pictured)</td>
<td>0.79 each</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 Female Barb</td>
<td>3.40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stainless Steel Clamp</td>
<td>0.45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stainless Steel Faucet Supply Line</td>
<td>4.97</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stainless Steel Clamp</td>
<td>0.45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/8 Pipe Plug</td>
<td>2.58</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
<td><strong>40.08</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I started by taking the Stainless steel faucet tubing and hacking off the ends. Then I slid the stainless steel braiding off of the tube. I used some plyers to turn in the sharp edges then attached the braid to the 3/8 stopper and the 3/8 female barb using the Stainless hose clamps. This piece will serve as a filter, pulling the wort out of the mash during lautering.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789305956/"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/9789305956_39450c4914_n.jpg" alt="The Brass nipple and two washers outside the cooler" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789279725/"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7343/9789279725_b808417101_n.jpg" alt="Staineless filter attached inside the cooler" /></a></p>
<p>After the filter is made, I wrapped the brass nipple with plumbers tape. Using the rubber washer that came with the cooler, I attached the filter to the nipple using two washers as spacers. From here I just attached the ball valve along with the 3/8 male barb and tightened everything up.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789363693/"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/9789363693_33fabb9ffe_z.jpg" alt="Entire thing assembled" /></a></p>
<p>I then enlisted the help of my daughter to help fill it with water to check for leaks.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789298984/"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3738/9789298984_dd7d23e39c_z.jpg" alt="No Leaks!" /></a></p>
<p>Yay! No Leaks! It even drains properly!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789278495/"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/9789278495_fe236131ec_n.jpg" alt="It's Open!!" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sparticuz/9789303436/"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2819/9789303436_4e9a4c7cf7_n.jpg" alt="Artistic Shot!" /></a></p>
<p>After that, I went ahead and got One gallon of water up to 155°F and poured it in the Mash tun. It was able to hold within 10° for an hour, which is all I care about! I’m really excited to use this the next time I brew, which should be soon. I’ve got a kit for some <a href="https://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/smashing-pumpkin-ale-all-grain-kit.html">pumpkin ale</a> this weekend.</p>Kyle McNallyMashing is the hardest part of AG Brewing for me. Mainly, keeping the mash temperature constant. So, I took to the internet and did some research on making my own Mash Lauter Tun. I found alot of info on the subject on the homebrewtalk.com forums, along with John Palmer’s How to Brew (The eBook third revision has much better directions). I decided to go with a two gallon MLT because my batch sizes are small. Here’s how I did it.