The cider making season has just begun here !!

Initial 10 gallons in fermenting buckets today, all from local village apples.
Now for the unavoidable wait until it's done, a few weeks hence.

 

How’d you press em Mr Badger. All solutions look a bit expensive

 

Yes, initially it is expensive I suppose. We've been combining efforts in the village for a couple of years so have spread the costs, but once bought you don't need to renew or replace.
First you need an apple smasher. Various ways from a big heavy stick/log and a bucket to a mangle and what we now have, an electric smasher where we can feed whole apples into a tube and an electric motor and blades pulp the apples. This is over £200. At a push you could use an upright garden shredder but you need stainless steel blades to stop them rusting.
Then you need to extract the juice from the pulp. The traditional type of presses are slow and inefficient. We use second hand spin driers, the upright ones that spin vertically and chuck the juice out of an opening at the front. We find these on Ebay or local sales adverts, about 15 quid or whatever.
Then the rest of the equipment, fermenting buckets, bottles, other bits and pieces.
I started a few years ago by myself then as people got to know about it they wanted to join in so at that point we bought the new equipment. It evolved.
We then started brewing beer kits, all types of beers, and formed a "Beer Club" for locals (we have no pub in the village) and up to lockdown we would all meet up at someone's house for socialising, husbands and wives, and drink lots of beers, cider and food.
Sadly this year has been curtailed but we can still make the cider for next year.
If you can get others to join in then it can be a good experience.
If you want to know more just ask.

 

To press or not to press!

Will you get more out of cider if you try to understand some of it's subtleties?

 

Well I am pleased that you still read my stuff.

 

I think it's important we all enjoy cider for what it is rather than trying to over-analyse it. Cider-makers are not always overly-complicated!

My favourite is Weston's - The Vintage (8.2% ABV) is particularly satisfying!

 

Unfortunately, I am tea total because of stomach problems

 

I am genuinely sorry to hear that Mr Rain.

 

I was never a cider man, but I used to enjoy the odd pint or two. I gave up 20 years ago, so it no longer hurts as much, and at least it helps me keep my weight down.

 

Just finished my second batch, 10ltrs again @10% ABV . Going to bottle it tomorrow.

 

My lovely wife bought me a fruit press for my birthday last year (they are dear!) - I bought a scratter from Amazon (£20) - it’s essentially a bucket with a hole drilled in the lid with an attachment to fasten into an electric drill - it has a steel blade on the other side which chops up the fruit. I was told to chop the fruit into small pieces, freeze them, then defrost as this makes them mushy (it does) - just finishing pear/apple cider from our 2 trees that we bought last year- the apple tree looked very small but was full of apples (9 kilos of them & obviously I ate a few others n’all) - same with pears - you get approx 5 litres of juice from 9 kilos - I could have done it without a press (cos thawed into small pieces. I hope it tastes as good as it took a lot of effort

 

ooooo arrrrrr

 

Great stuff.
Was your first lot ok, you did it from supermarket juice didn't you?
If it is 10% did you add sugar?

 

Well we're not complicated here !!!!!
If we see an apple with grub holes in then we cut that bit off. If we don't see it then it all gets chucked in.
Lord knows what is fermenting in our buckets and then when we drink it.

 

Yes 1st batch was ok, very dry. this batch is also from Supermarket apple juice, yes I put 2kilos of Brown sugar, had a little sip & tastes quite nice.

 

Reight stuff.

 

2 FECKIN KILOS !!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you on a death wish?