2020 Cider season

[DavieC]

First time this year using the shredder, I stripped it down and cleaned everything I could, I did wonder about the blade but decided it would be in so little contact with the apples and for such a short time it wouldnt do any harm? Time will tell. It made light work of pulping but the pressing seemed to take me ages.

 

[BartonMillBrewer]

I have a 33L basket press with a 10 tonne hydraulic bottle jack. Works well enough but it is too small for the mill. The mill can process 400Kg of apples an hour but the press takes the 33L a go and each press takes about 10 minutes.
All part of the fun.

 

[Moonraker]

Yesterday the weather was foul, so how better to spend it than making cider? :^)

Started out racking off my Batch 2 Blackberry & Elderberry wine as there hasn't been any activity in the airlock for over a week and it's starting to clear nicely. @Nicks90 - you said it would be lethal if it fermented out; OG 1.140 FG 1.010 which I make to be 17.5% - is that lethal enough? The taste is very much like Port, deep rich berry flavour and quite sweet, very promising if a little harsh, but nothing that a few month's maturation in the garage won't sort.

So it was 13:00 by the time I got outside to face the 7 bags or 80kg of assorted apples that have been waiting for the past couple of weeks;

I've now worked out a production line sequence for washing, cutting, scratting, pressing that's about as time efficient as possible, but even so it took me the best part of 7 hours to process about 60kg of apples for 6 gallons of juice, but enjoyed every single minute of it.

So now got my personal best of 14 gallons of homebrew on the go and have run out of DJs, feeling tired but well chuffed. :^)

 

[Viamphie]

I started a cider today. Our Apple yield wasn’t great, I only managed to squeeze about 5ltrs of juice so I’ve added a further 12ltrs of apple juice and 3ltrs of apple and mango.

 

[Nicks90]

@Moonraker
At 17.5% - possibly a bit more to go albeit slowly - it'll definitely be a sipper and not a quaffer wine!
Good on yer

 

[Moonraker]

@Nicks90 thanks, I'm already thinking I'll be bottling it in 1/2 size 375ml wine bottles, otherwise there's a risk that it finishes you before you finish it. :^)

 

[DavieC]

feeling tired but well chuffed. :^)

Great work @Moonraker , that press looks same as mine, you won't go thirsty with that lot to go at

 

[Bernie]

Bottled first cider produced from apples. Not much apple flavour.
Pass the blackcurrant!

 

[Moonraker]

@Bernie what were your OG/FG and what bottles are you using?

 

[Bernie]

@Bernie what were your OG/FG and what bottles are you using?

OG 1.050 (about) FG 1.000. I bottle in Champagne 3/4 litre bottles (even beer) since the 29 mm crown caps have a silicone seal that is really effective. I added a level teaspoon to each bottle to make it sparkling.
Oh well! First ever cider with real fruit. It will still have to smooth out a bit and it'll be Christmas, at least, before I try one.

 

[Moonraker]

I've just had a lovely morning racking off :^)

I'd started this latest batch with the idea of maybe trying out different sweetening methods, but after tasting the first couple of demijohns, I've changed my mnd.

Each DJ is in turn tasted and measured, siphoned into the spare brown dj, the chicken soup thrown out, washed out, cider siphoned back in and then topped up.

I gave my wife a sip from the shot glass; What she had intended to say was "Ooh, that's nice." but it actually came out as "Ooh <cough>" as the alchohol hit the back of her throat. Very strong apple scent and taste, a bit rough around the edges, dry but with a sweet aftertaste. Mmmm.

The following 4 weren't quite as nice and I'm surprised at the variantion between them given that I've tried to standardise production as far as possible, but none of them particularly need sweetening other than the priming sugar I'll be using when bottling at beginning of December.

Cider 5 hasn't quite fermented out yet, so I'll give 'em another week or so and then pop them with the previous batches out in the shed.

DJ - OG-FG Strength Taste
===========================================
Cider 1 - 1085-992 12.5% Dry/Medium Lovely
Cider 2 - 1080-993 11.6% Dry Acceptable
Cider 3 - 1090-991 13.3% Dry Sharp
Cider 4 - 1080-992 11.7% Dry Smooth
Cider 5 - 1100-1000 13.5% Dry (not finished)


I've got a job interview next week, so fingers crossed...

 

[freester]

Crikey you making rocket fuel. Did you add sugar or is this the natural strength of your apples?

 

[Moonraker]

that's what 500g Demerera sugar per gallon gets you (except for Cider 5 that had 750g as an experiment).

 

[Moonraker]

I've been eyeing up the leftover bags of apples in the garage and decided to have a go at making Pomona (apple wine).

Setting up my production line for the last time this year I used up the last Cox's, eating apples and Bramley's to get 2 gallons in record time, then off into the kitchen to heat it up and dissolve in 1.8kg of Muscuvado brown sugar

The resulting gloop is very dark and very sweet with a strong apple taste, when tasting it I have an immediate flashback to a taste of childhood, growing up we used to spread "Sirop de Liege" on bread (Sirop De Liège) a very dark and sweet apple-based concentrate with a consistency like axle grease, this tastes just like it!

With a starting gravity of 1190 and a healthy dose of pectolase and yeast nutrient, I have high hopes for this one!

(Oh and I got the job. )

 

[DavieC]

Oh and I got the job.

Well done, moonraker,great news

 

[jof]

Well my first amature attempt at cider has been the following.

Take bags of apples.
Use one of those apple slicers/corers to chop them into 8 segments.
Put segments into the magimix & blast in batches.
Empty pulp into 40 pint fermenting vessel along with 3L of apple juice for some 'liquid content'
Add campden tablets & pectolytic enzyme
Leave 24 hours
Add wine yeast (cus that was the only spare yeast I had lying around)
2 days later sieve out pulp in batches to hand press until I get about 2 gallons of juice out.
Put into a net vegetable bag,
Put bag into the top level of a steamer & press hard with a a block of wood I had cut to fit.
Repeat until the remaining liquid is fairly runny.
Return the liquid to the barrel & dump the squeezed pulp on the compost bin.

I now have 4 gallons in the fermenting bin & its bubbling away nicely.
I will try to pick another load of apples & see if I can get the total liquid levels back above the 5 gallon mark so I can transfer it to a 5 gallon wine fermentor until spring.

 

[Moonraker]

@jof that sounds like a lot of effort for getting 4 gallons! Did you weigh how many apples you needed to get that? I'd be interested hearing how much goes into your next 5 gallons...

 

[jof]

No idea. Just picked up free wind falls from where I do some volunteering.
I'm not short of time, so I can mess about and experiment.
I seem to be getting about 60% juice from the pulp I squeeze out.

 

[BartonMillBrewer]

Bumper year for apples and added another supply. Net result first use of 120L FV. After milling and pressing managed to get 100L of juice.
OG 1.042 but should ferment to 1.005 assuming the cold weather last couple of nights hasn't killed the yeast.
Will filter into other 120L FV before adding conditioning sugar and bottling. Should be ready for May 2021.

 

[Moonraker]

Finally got the last of the cider bottled and safely stashed away.

I am planning a taster session on Xmas eve and I found a recipe for hot mulled cider I am looking forward to trying out.

I haven't bottled the 4 DJ's of wine yet as 3 of them are still giving a "plib" every 60 seconds or so, some 3 months later - is this normal?!