juicers, apples and pectin

tonyhibbett · Aug 12, 2011

This year I have a huge crop of apples of unknown variety but possibly a Cox's variant, Early Windsor. Hard, tart (pH 3.5) and about 8.5% sugar. I once attemted to make wine from them but it turned to jelly because I did not use pectic enzyme and the pectin content was high. THe next time I used the enzyme, but the dry wine was rather too acidic. On third attempt, I combined it with grape juice cocentrate, honey, dried elderflowers and oak chips. More complicated and expensive, but good wine.
This time I've got a whole fruit juicer, which takes 3 apples at a time, extracting 40% cloudy juice, with brown froth and about 20% sediment. I've just read that breaking down pectin adds extra methyl alcohol to fermented fruit juice in quantities to produce a headache when drunk
So my question is: has anyone used a juicer to make apple wine or cider, and was pectic enzyme required?

Eric_S · Aug 13, 2011

I have the Philips alu juicer which I used to make my 1st batch of cider using mostly Gala apples. I filtered the juice through a piece of kitchen towel (paper). I then used a teaspoon of pectolase when fermenting and it came out fine.

I think I juiced over 100 apples to get the 1 gallon of juice!

G-Town Brewer · Aug 14, 2011

Wife and I juiced 4 boxes of apples yesterday - a mix of cooking and eating. Took ages and the effeciency is not great with our Phillps juicer, but got 2 gallons of juice. Could probably have got more but we discarded lots of apples due to having specks (maggots) in.

Have left over night with 2 campden tabs. Will pitch yeast today along with a bit of pectolase.

Made it last year and it came out crystal clear, albeit a little low in aclohol. So am thinking of adding a little sugar this year.

Anyone know of quanities for sugar?

Moley · Aug 14, 2011

What's the gravity of the juice, and what sort of OG do you want to increase to?

You need to add about 125g sugar to the gallon to give a 10 point increase.

G-Town Brewer · Aug 14, 2011

Thanks Moley. Haven't measured yet. Will do later.

Think I should be aiming for around 1055?

Would be nice to reach around 6-7% when finished.

user 1290 · Aug 15, 2011

tonyhibbett said:
This year I have a huge crop of apples of unknown variety but possibly a Cox's variant, Early Windsor. Hard, tart (pH 3.5) and about 8.5% sugar

That seems like a very low sugar content.

I've been pressing Worcester Pearmain and Beauty of Bath and have been getting 12.5 - 13% sugar in the juice. Today I checked the sugar content of one of my Tom Putt cider apples at 13%, so they will be next.