Hi everyone, I'm new to this and need some help woth cider

[Tommcd]

Hi everyone
Ive ordered a kit to brew cider
I'm looking to make it from apple juice rather than pressing the apples myself! Will look into that when I get into it all a bit more. But with the limitations in the shops with only 3 items it will take a long time to get 20ltrs of apple juice. Has anyone got any website or advice on where to get it from?
Cheers

 

[RichardM]

If you've ordered a kit why do you need apple juice? Anyway, I thought most shops had lifted their restrictions on number of items, if not just visit a number of shops, purchasing apple juice until you have enough

 

[Tommcd]

Sorry not a cider kit, all the fermenting tubs ect. I'm in Dorset and most shops still have restrictions. Yes I could do that, just wondered if there was a website people used to get it from.

 

[fury_tea]

Could you order from an online supermarket and get it delivered?

 

[Tommcd]

We have no delivery slots in our area for a few months. I think I will have to try going in the shops every few days.
Just wondered if anyone had websites they had ordered off.
Thanks for all you help guys

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Just wondered if anyone had websites they had ordered off.
Thanks for all you help guys

The only problem I can see is postage is going to be expensive for 20 Kg of juice.

Have you got a supermarket near you?

 

[Tommcd]

I have found it online one shop
Can post it from London the postage is more than the juice.
I think I will try going to a few shops today and see if I can get some.
Thanks

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi everyone
Ive ordered a kit to brew cider
I'm looking to make it from apple juice rather than pressing the apples myself! Will look into that when I get into it all a bit more. But with the limitations in the shops with only 3 items it will take a long time to get 20ltrs of apple juice. Has anyone got any website or advice on where to get it from?
Cheers

Good morrow and welcome to the forum. What part of Dorset? That was my old stamping ground.
Rule number one: Thirst always finds a way.
Why don't you go to a number of shops and get three cartons from each?
or get three cartons of a number of different brands.
Rule number two: Never pay for stuff if you can get it for free:
I wouldn't recommend making cider from apples until you've got a free source. It takes a lot of apples to make 20 litres of cider. In the autumn, you'll be surprised at how many people have got apples they can't use. They even grow by the roadside if you look for them.
You'll need a method of pulverising them and a press, as well as the equipment you've already bought.

 

[Tommcd]

Good morning and thank you.
I'm from a little town called wareham its in-between swanage and Poole how about you? I think I will have to go to loads of different shops and get a few different brands. That's a good idia thank you I could put a post on Facebook and see if anyone I know has apples. Yes I have thought of that I want to make a few batches out of apple juice before looking into a press and all that also I'm a sheet metal engineer so making one out of metal should be easy enough but find the ones online are made fromm wood is there a reason for this?
Thanks for your help

 

[An Ankoù]

Good morning and thank you.
I'm from a little town called wareham its in-between swanage and Poole how about you? I think I will have to go to loads of different shops and get a few different brands. That's a good idia thank you I could put a post on Facebook and see if anyone I know has apples. Yes I have thought of that I want to make a few batches out of apple juice before looking into a press and all that also I'm a sheet metal engineer so making one out of metal should be easy enough but find the ones online are made fromm wood is there a reason for this?
Thanks for your help

I know wareham well. We used to go to the beer festival in the Masonic hall every Good Friday. I used to live and brew in Upper Parkstone. You can't use mild steel for your scratter (apple crusher) as the acid in the apples will attack the iron and make the juice turn black. I've seen some designs that use a big wooden roller with ordinary screws or studs screwed into the rolled, but that's limited contact. Stainless would be ideal. If your talking about the press, then wood is just the traditional stuff, but you could make a press out of steel and paint it and use a bottle jack to get the pressure. It's most important to be able to reduce the apples to a coarse pulp, though, as this will enable the juice to flow out more easily. If you get chance, go and have a word with Charlie Newman at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers, he makes his own every year, or used to, and I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a few pointers.

 

[Tommcd]

Yes the beer festival is great also the cider and sausage festival in Stoborough is a good day and evening.
I was thinking of using stainless Steel as we make kitchen equipment and know that is used as its food safe, would that be OK or would that cause problems? That's what I had in mind a stainless press with a bottle jack and coming up woth a design for the pulp.
Thanks you have been a great help

 

[fury_tea]

The one time I made cider from scratch, I bought a used electric fruit juicer from eBay for about a fiver.

It was a bit of work to juice the apples, and made a hell of a mess but the cider I produced was actually really nice. I used a mix of free cooking apples that I was given and some eating apples I found in the supermarket that were going out of date. The whole batch (12L) cost me around £1 all in all so can't really moan!

 

[Tommcd]

Ahh thanks that could be an idea worth looking into!
And worked out really cheap aslo the taste was a pluss.
Thanks for your help

 

[dwhite60]

Make sure your juice does NOT contain any sulphites or especially potassium sorbate.

Sulphites will stunt your yeast. The sorbate will keep them from multiplying so you'll get limited fermentation. You want pasteurized only.