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Cider Brew - project log

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raynerd:
I hope I`m OK to put this in here. I know a little off topic for a project/machining forum but I wanted to share and keep a record of my latest project, cider brewing!  I have a small crop of apples and so does my grandad. This isn`t much at all but since I`ve had to hand press them it has been enough! Last year all the apples got rotten and fell on the floor so this year I thought I`d try some cider to use them up. This is the initial crop:



I basically chopped them all up and pulped them in the blender:



Popped the pulp into a fine cloth bag and gave it a GOOD squeeze:



I then re-filtered this through another fine cloth



And after just short of three hours I ended up with just short of 1 gallon of the apple juice, note the apples left are from my grandma as I was to save her some! I have added pectinase  to break up any particles that are in there and also reduce the haze and I have added just short of 1 camden tablet to kill any bacteria but sadly also the naural yeast, I`ll add my own soon. I`m now leaving it until tomorrow or maybe even Thurday night as it took longer than I expected. The airlock is there simply to seal the container, I hope it doesn`t start fermenting since there is a camden tablet in there!



So that is what I have done so far but it was quite a bit darker than I expected but after leaving it to settle for a while the top area is becoming more of normal apple colour I would expect. There is now a quick thick seddiment falling to the bottom:



I think I`m going to have to filter it again tomorrow perhaps a drip filter through double cloth.

Although this is my first home brew, I`m actually going to go down the route of a cider/beer brew - so there will be a little hops in it and also some boiling up of the hops and brew later in the week before fermentation starts.

I haven`t got an aweful lot of apple juice here, just under a gallon (3.5L) so I`m going to top up with shop bought carton apply juice. As long as it is UV pasturised and not chemically done it is fine to use. This is cheeting, I just don`t have enough apply juice and besides a better cider can be achieved with a good mix of apples. Besides, our home grown apples are a little tart so hopefully adding a carton of apple juice will sweeten it up a bit.

Like I said before, hope I`m OK posting this here. anyone else into home brew - this is my first attempt!

NickG:
Cool! Never really drank cider but we do have a load of strongbow in the fridge now ... couldn't refuse at £5 for 15 cans from tesco  :lol:

Brass_Machine:
Home made cidar is the best. I helped my brother in law make a masher/grinder... instead of a blender. Seams to work better. Same guy makes his own maple syrup.

Eric

rleete:
Your wife is gonna kill you when she sees what you've done with the bed sheets!

Here's a hint: go get a package of large coffee filters and use them for straining out the solids.  Works well, and no loss of flavors.  One double layer straining should be all you need.  The filtered solids do great things for the compost pile, too.

I make mead (from honey), and use the little packets of the cheapest champagne yeast I can find.  Never a bad batch yet.  I also add some spices (usually fresh ginger) to cut the sweetness, although it's more akin to a dry white wine (yeast eats all the sugars).  You can also add any berries to it for a little variety.

dsquire:
craynerd

When I was a kid (well I still am, but you know what I mean) my grandfather and Uncle both had large apple orchards on their farm. Every year about this time they would haul wagon loads of apples to the Wellesley Cider Mill where they would press it into apple juice. They would bring it home in 45 gallon (imp) barrels. Some would be drank as apple juice but most of it was made into cider which would last until next fall. They also used pumpkins and made apple butter. (Now I'm making myself hungry.) Also lots of pies and dried apples. Oh, for the good old days.

In the spring my Uncle made maple syrup and that was great too.

Cheers :beer:

Don

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