Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming. Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws put it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in. The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

In message , George.com
writes
Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have
to stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I
did have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon
I will have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor
jack (850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain
compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not
enough holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws
put it back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a
little bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add
yeats in. The final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some
more apple juice, sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Good Luck Rob. Am visiting NZ next Nov/Dec .... will look for your
competition to Benger's Gold Wild stuff :-))

--
Gopher .... I know my place! On the Dorset/Somerset border. Home of cider!

"Gopher" wrote in message
...
In message , George.com
writes
Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I
did have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming. Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor
jack (850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression
point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws put
it back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in. The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice, sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Good Luck Rob. Am visiting NZ next Nov/Dec .... will look for your
competition to Benger's Gold Wild stuff :-))

if the cider is rubbish, look out for a couple of kegs with your name on it.
roftl.

two things I forgot to add about the process - ******* flies and a sore
back.

rob

In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming. Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws put it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in. The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in. The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the fermentation has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what that
does.

rob

In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in. The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the fermentation has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what that
does.

rob

Do you have a hydrometer to test for dissolved solids, i. e. sugar?
If the density is below -0.5, fermentation may be over. Apple juice
doesn't have that much sugar to begin with.
How do you start your inoculation? Use yeast to juice ratio of 1 kg /
1000 gal. Add hot water to juice and bring to 37C, add yeast, wait until
yeast foams or 20 minutes (which ever comes first), and add to juice.
A fermentation lock is helpful in keeping insects out and indicating
rapidity of fermentation.
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of
work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to
have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the
neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious.
I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I
will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car
scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not
enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws
put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a
little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in.
The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is
to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the fermentation
has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look
at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what
that
does.

rob

Do you have a hydrometer to test for dissolved solids, i. e. sugar?
If the density is below -0.5, fermentation may be over. Apple juice
doesn't have that much sugar to begin with.
How do you start your inoculation? Use yeast to juice ratio of 1 kg /
1000 gal. Add hot water to juice and bring to 37C, add yeast, wait until
yeast foams or 20 minutes (which ever comes first), and add to juice.
A fermentation lock is helpful in keeping insects out and indicating
rapidity of fermentation.

thanks for the info billy. my approach was more "close enough might be good
enough" and "she'll be right, maybe".

A couple of days fermentation is pretty short though isn't it? I mean, some
immediate activity and then slowing down to almost nothing.

rob

In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of
work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to
have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the
neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious.
I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I
will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car
scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not
enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws
put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a
little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in.
The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is
to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the fermentation
has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look
at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what
that
does.

rob

Do you have a hydrometer to test for dissolved solids, i. e. sugar?
If the density is below -0.5, fermentation may be over. Apple juice
doesn't have that much sugar to begin with.
How do you start your inoculation? Use yeast to juice ratio of 1 kg /
1000 gal. Add hot water to juice and bring to 37C, add yeast, wait until
yeast foams or 20 minutes (which ever comes first), and add to juice.
A fermentation lock is helpful in keeping insects out and indicating
rapidity of fermentation.

thanks for the info billy. my approach was more "close enough might be good
enough" and "she'll be right, maybe".

A couple of days fermentation is pretty short though isn't it? I mean, some
immediate activity and then slowing down to almost nothing.

rob

Depends on fermentation temperatures. 95F (35C) and it can finish
overnight (apple juice is about 13% sugar vs. grape juice at 26% and
up.) Still, you need a hydrometer to tell you where you are or put it in
a refrigerator, 40F - 32F (4C - OC) (and start drinking it now :O)
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:20:43 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:


"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of
work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to
have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the
neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious.
I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I
will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car
scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not
enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few screws
put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a
little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats in.
The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is
to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the fermentation
has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look
at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what
that
does.

rob

Do you have a hydrometer to test for dissolved solids, i. e. sugar?
If the density is below -0.5, fermentation may be over. Apple juice
doesn't have that much sugar to begin with.
How do you start your inoculation? Use yeast to juice ratio of 1 kg /
1000 gal. Add hot water to juice and bring to 37C, add yeast, wait until
yeast foams or 20 minutes (which ever comes first), and add to juice.
A fermentation lock is helpful in keeping insects out and indicating
rapidity of fermentation.

thanks for the info billy. my approach was more "close enough might be good
enough" and "she'll be right, maybe".

A couple of days fermentation is pretty short though isn't it? I mean, some
immediate activity and then slowing down to almost nothing.

rob

Much to sort thru, but some info and ideas to get yer head thinking
about fermentation.........

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...c6df9c4638bcd1
71e81e50

(covers the range from prisonjack to Hi Q cider.... ;-)

I've two batches going now, but from concentrate, not from fresh
pressed, wrong season (found some flash pastuerized cider today at the
local market, three gallons would cost me over thirty dollars U$).

Next year is a different story. I like your idea of using a scissor
jack or bottle jack....thanks for the ideas and experiences.

I pulled a sample from my first batch yesterday. It had been
fermenting 8 days and is down to one burp every thirty-five secs. I'll
send it to secondary fermention next week. It was dry and didn't have
much apple taste (I don't have a very refined palate when it comes to
"wines"). It had more of a chablis/white zin taste to my unrefined
palate. I am considering addition of more juice to the secondary
fermentation to sweeten it.

All in all, this has been fun and a good education. That is what I am
enjoying....that DYI thingie.

I used champagne yeast and no sulfites.

Charlie

Cider is like wine in that different sweetnesses do different jobs.
Dry cider is good with a meal that would take a white wine. Sweet cider
will go with desserts and sipping wit' your homies, and cidre bouche
(sparkling) is for special occassions. Like when you are out with your
sweety.
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:20:43 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:


"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of
work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to
have
to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the
neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was
laborious.
I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time
consuming.
Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I
will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Then came the pressing. Roftl (not).

I had made up a frame from old off cut pine 4 x 2 to hold a car
scissor
jack
(850 kg limit) and an old chilly bin with a hole cut in the end.

Worked ok to start with however the hole was too small to let all
thenjuice
out and it filled up the chilly bin past a certain compression
point.

From there I borrowed a (small) grape press. Worked to a point but
did
not
extract as much juice as I hoped.

So, I drilled holes in a 10 litre plastic bucket and went back to
the
scissor jack press. Got more juice than the hand press. Still not
enough
holes though. Near the bottom of compression the frame cracked.

Drilled more holes in the bucket and strengthened the frame.

Next press was the best yet.

After a bit more stress the frame came apart at one end. A few
screws
put
it
back together.

A couple of final presses and 22 litres were deposited in 5 carboys.

2 are relying on natural yeasts for fermentation. One I will add a
little
bit of extra yeast in to. One I have sulphited and will add yeats
in.
The
final carboy is only 1/2 full. I will have to cut in some more apple
juice,
sulphite and then add yeast.

Interesting exercise. Note to self for next time (if there is a next
time).

Build an apple scratterer.
Build a sturdier frame
Use a bottle jack with maybe 1 ton plus capacity
Find a really good basket to hold the pulped apple juice.
Hope the finished cider is worth all the effort.

Worth trying from start to finish at least once though.

rob

Try to keep the SO2 under 20 ppm at inoculation. Wine yeast are more
resistant to SO2 than wild yeast. The alternative is to hit the juice
with a large inoculation to swamp out wild yeast (note: wild yeast
aren't always bad but can be surprising).

1 lb potassium metabisulfite / 1 gallon of water = 5% solution SO2.
ppm x gallons x .063 = ml of 5% solution
This formula isn't exact because sugars and aldehydes suck up SO2.

If you want to keep some sweetness in the cider, the easiest thing is
to
put the bottled cider in a refrigerator (40F - 4C) or sterile filter.

the wild yeast brew has been sitting for 2 days now and the
fermentation
has
really (and I mean really) slowed down to the point of being almost non
active. Maybe either not enough yeast or not enough sugars. I will look
at
pitching a little bit of yeast in to the stuff tomorrow maybe. See what
that
does.

rob

Do you have a hydrometer to test for dissolved solids, i. e. sugar?
If the density is below -0.5, fermentation may be over. Apple juice
doesn't have that much sugar to begin with.
How do you start your inoculation? Use yeast to juice ratio of 1 kg /
1000 gal. Add hot water to juice and bring to 37C, add yeast, wait until
yeast foams or 20 minutes (which ever comes first), and add to juice.
A fermentation lock is helpful in keeping insects out and indicating
rapidity of fermentation.

thanks for the info billy. my approach was more "close enough might be
good
enough" and "she'll be right, maybe".

A couple of days fermentation is pretty short though isn't it? I mean,
some
immediate activity and then slowing down to almost nothing.

rob

Much to sort thru, but some info and ideas to get yer head thinking
about fermentation.........

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...bcd171e8 1e50

(covers the range from prisonjack to Hi Q cider.... ;-)

I've two batches going now, but from concentrate, not from fresh
pressed, wrong season (found some flash pastuerized cider today at the
local market, three gallons would cost me over thirty dollars U$).

Next year is a different story. I like your idea of using a scissor
jack or bottle jack....thanks for the ideas and experiences.

got the idea here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0fvkiSHOsY His frame looks
no stronger than mine & his jack is a 4 ton (mine is 850 kg). Maybe he used
stronger pine timber. He wasn't try to press as much, as far, as I was. His
press cost 40 euros, mine was about 1/3 the cost so maybe cheap = shit.
Roftl.

I pulled a sample from my first batch yesterday. It had been
fermenting 8 days and is down to one burp every thirty-five secs. I'll
send it to secondary fermention next week. It was dry and didn't have
much apple taste (I don't have a very refined palate when it comes to
"wines"). It had more of a chablis/white zin taste to my unrefined
palate. I am considering addition of more juice to the secondary
fermentation to sweeten it.

All in all, this has been fun and a good education. That is what I am
enjoying....that DYI thingie.

I want my cider to taste like the natural brewed stuff I have enjoyed
occasionlly form small brewers. I don't want it to taste like the ********
commercial stuff I have tasted occasionly. DIY, great eh. 3 days of hard
work to make some nice tasting cider, only to have the ******* thing stop
fermenting. Not roftl.

rob

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 9 Feb 2009 23:21:59 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:

Any of yous tried making cider before?

This weekend just gone I got about making up some cider. 3 days of work
yielded 22 litres. An interesting experience but one I am going to have to
stream line if I do it next time around.

The apples were free, scavenged from a few trees round the neighbourhood.

Cleaning them was no problem, dunking in a big tub.

Cutting them up and cutting out the odd bad bit or bug was laborious. I
did
have some help at one stage which speeded things up a bit.

Shredding the apple pieces in a kitchen whizz was also time consuming. Its
gets easier the longer you go on. But. If done every year I reckon I will
have to make some sort of apple scratterer.

Check this, Rob.

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...hp?f=9&t=64236


yes, thanks Charlie, I had a shufti through that. I have been reading the
threads for the past couple weeks after you pointed it out. The cider has
boomed this last week following a spell of cooler weather. Amazing the
difference humidity made to stalling the fermentation. The airlocks are just
starting to slow down. I am planning on laying down another batch this
weekend. I have streamlined the process a little and made some improvements
to the pressing process so that should go better.

This thread had me ****ing myself laughing
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...t=wife+kill+me

Well worth the read. A guys attempt to clean up a home brew spill on some
new carpet whilst his wife is away. Some highlights but some bloody funny
humour in the thread.

"It sounds to me like a good steam cleaning is in order."
"Oh, He's gonna get steam cleaned all right!"
"Dude...Are you alive? Did you wife kill you?"
"If we don't hear something soon, I guess I'll drive down to Maryland in the
spring and look over the brewing equipment at the yard sale she is having!"
"Long story short, he had NO IDEA what I was talking about. He wasn't the
guy I talked to on the phone. Apparently the dude on the phone wasn't the
owner of this fine carpet cleaning establishment, but the dude in my
house... yep, he was. To answer the questions, no friends, he did not think
it was cool for me to pay him a discounted price for homebrew, and he did
not appreciate what his employee had agreed to at all."
"Crap. So I ask him how much he wants for this job, and he wants $100.
Double crap. Well, I decided that I didn't want to pay that much, and he was
none too happy about having to drag his equipment out of my basement after
that."
"Well I got the first view of your post on that fateful night, and I admit,
I snorked a bit at your misfortune... So the following day, as I was
bottling multiple batches.Karma came in and gave me a little o this:"

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:17:14 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:


This thread had me ****ing myself laughing
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...t=wife+kill+me

Well worth the read. A guys attempt to clean up a home brew spill on some
new carpet whilst his wife is away. Some highlights but some bloody funny
humour in the thread.

"It sounds to me like a good steam cleaning is in order."
"Oh, He's gonna get steam cleaned all right!"
"Dude...Are you alive? Did you wife kill you?"
"If we don't hear something soon, I guess I'll drive down to Maryland in
the
spring and look over the brewing equipment at the yard sale she is
having!"
"Long story short, he had NO IDEA what I was talking about. He wasn't the
guy I talked to on the phone. Apparently the dude on the phone wasn't the
owner of this fine carpet cleaning establishment, but the dude in my
house... yep, he was. To answer the questions, no friends, he did not
think
it was cool for me to pay him a discounted price for homebrew, and he did
not appreciate what his employee had agreed to at all."
"Crap. So I ask him how much he wants for this job, and he wants $100.
Double crap. Well, I decided that I didn't want to pay that much, and he
was
none too happy about having to drag his equipment out of my basement after
that."
"Well I got the first view of your post on that fateful night, and I
admit,
I snorked a bit at your misfortune... So the following day, as I was
bottling multiple batches.Karma came in and gave me a little o this:"


OMG.......thanks for the headsup. Younger son and I laughed our asses
off reading this thread. Great humor, some really funny guys and I
totally understand their sentiments ;-)

Thanks for making an otherwise dull day full of laughter.

that guy thinks he has problems. Sarcastic cackle.

I am making my second batch of cider this weekend.

1/2 the apples were harvested Monday and have been sitting softening a few
days. They were cut friday night. No problems.

The second 1/2 were scrumped off a neighbours tree in exchange for a regular
supply of tomatos, some corn other veges etc. They are at home now. Thats no
problem.

Mulching the first batch was not so bad. A couple of interuptions through
the day slowed things down but they got done.

An old plastic chopping board got cut down to use as the press plate on my
apple jig. It works better than the wooden board, as it won't suck up juice.
2 plastic boards will be better. An old spare I have will be cut to size
tomorrow.

So, all ok there eh. Yup, good and fine you say. Snort.

Bloody press frame broke AGAIN. 4th time. The wood cost be stuff all. The
nails and screws and gangnails must be a small fortune. Once again I bodged
it back in to place for some pressing. Next time it goes it will be done for
I think.

Mate lent me a fermenting bucket. Cool.

Drove round to pick it up. Stopped at intersection. 4 wheel drive ute ahead
of me. He pulls off, I follow, he jams on breaks, I go in to his arse. Him,
ok, metal chassis. Me, not ok. Dent in front panel and fold in bonnet.
Company car. *$^&#*#&*$*$((*$**$(*(*()(()$(*()*())@@)@+@+_$*(&* (~_

Get round to mates place. Heres the bucket. Can't find lid though. Search
again. No lid. Shite. Will have to go and see if I can buy one on monday.

juiced about 12 litres of juice. Put in bucket. Sulphited. Put towel across
top to cover and will juice more tomorrow. Can comes inside. Jump on
freezer. Jumps of freezer into fermenting barrell. Towel soaked with apple
juice. Juice on floor. 1o litres left now.

Give me beer on carpet anyday.

rob

am now making tomato sauce. Hope thats turns out better.

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:17:14 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:


This thread had me ****ing myself laughing
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/view...t=wife+kill+me

Well worth the read. A guys attempt to clean up a home brew spill on some
new carpet whilst his wife is away. Some highlights but some bloody funny
humour in the thread.

"It sounds to me like a good steam cleaning is in order."
"Oh, He's gonna get steam cleaned all right!"
"Dude...Are you alive? Did you wife kill you?"
"If we don't hear something soon, I guess I'll drive down to Maryland in
the
spring and look over the brewing equipment at the yard sale she is
having!"
"Long story short, he had NO IDEA what I was talking about. He wasn't the
guy I talked to on the phone. Apparently the dude on the phone wasn't the
owner of this fine carpet cleaning establishment, but the dude in my
house... yep, he was. To answer the questions, no friends, he did not
think
it was cool for me to pay him a discounted price for homebrew, and he did
not appreciate what his employee had agreed to at all."
"Crap. So I ask him how much he wants for this job, and he wants $100.
Double crap. Well, I decided that I didn't want to pay that much, and he
was
none too happy about having to drag his equipment out of my basement
after
that."
"Well I got the first view of your post on that fateful night, and I
admit,
I snorked a bit at your misfortune... So the following day, as I was
bottling multiple batches.Karma came in and gave me a little o this:"


OMG.......thanks for the headsup. Younger son and I laughed our asses
off reading this thread. Great humor, some really funny guys and I
totally understand their sentiments ;-)

Thanks for making an otherwise dull day full of laughter.

that guy thinks he has problems. Sarcastic cackle.

I am making my second batch of cider this weekend.

1/2 the apples were harvested Monday and have been sitting softening a few
days. They were cut friday night. No problems.

The second 1/2 were scrumped off a neighbours tree in exchange for a
regular supply of tomatos, some corn other veges etc. They are at home
now. Thats no problem.

Mulching the first batch was not so bad. A couple of interuptions through
the day slowed things down but they got done.

An old plastic chopping board got cut down to use as the press plate on my
apple jig. It works better than the wooden board, as it won't suck up
juice. 2 plastic boards will be better. An old spare I have will be cut to
size tomorrow.

So, all ok there eh. Yup, good and fine you say. Snort.

Bloody press frame broke AGAIN. 4th time. The wood cost be stuff all. The
nails and screws and gangnails must be a small fortune. Once again I
bodged it back in to place for some pressing. Next time it goes it will be
done for I think.

Mate lent me a fermenting bucket. Cool.

Drove round to pick it up. Stopped at intersection. 4 wheel drive ute
ahead of me. He pulls off, I follow, he jams on breaks, I go in to his
arse. Him, ok, metal chassis. Me, not ok. Dent in front panel and fold in
bonnet. Company car. *$^&#*#&*$*$((*$**$(*(*()(()$(*()*())@@)@+@+_$*(&* (~_

Get round to mates place. Heres the bucket. Can't find lid though. Search
again. No lid. Shite. Will have to go and see if I can buy one on monday.

juiced about 12 litres of juice. Put in bucket. Sulphited. Put towel
across top to cover and will juice more tomorrow. Can comes inside. Jump
on freezer. Jumps of freezer into fermenting barrell. Towel soaked with
apple juice. Juice on floor. 10 litres left now.

sorry, that should read "cat came inside"" not "can came inside"

no, sorry, that should be "*!%*&%#@ cat came inside"

cat? no where to be found, luckily for him.

rob

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:58:18 +1300, "George.com"
wrote:


that guy thinks he has problems. Sarcastic cackle.

I am making my second batch of cider this weekend.

1/2 the apples were harvested Monday and have been sitting softening a few
days. They were cut friday night. No problems.

The second 1/2 were scrumped off a neighbours tree in exchange for a
regular
supply of tomatos, some corn other veges etc. They are at home now. Thats
no
problem.

Mulching the first batch was not so bad. A couple of interuptions through
the day slowed things down but they got done.

An old plastic chopping board got cut down to use as the press plate on my
apple jig. It works better than the wooden board, as it won't suck up
juice.
2 plastic boards will be better. An old spare I have will be cut to size
tomorrow.

So, all ok there eh. Yup, good and fine you say. Snort.

Bloody press frame broke AGAIN. 4th time. The wood cost be stuff all. The
nails and screws and gangnails must be a small fortune. Once again I
bodged
it back in to place for some pressing. Next time it goes it will be done
for
I think.

Mate lent me a fermenting bucket. Cool.

Drove round to pick it up. Stopped at intersection. 4 wheel drive ute
ahead
of me. He pulls off, I follow, he jams on breaks, I go in to his arse.
Him,
ok, metal chassis. Me, not ok. Dent in front panel and fold in bonnet.
Company car. *$^&#*#&*$*$((*$**$(*(*()(()$(*()*())@@)@+@+_$*(&* (~_

Get round to mates place. Heres the bucket. Can't find lid though. Search
again. No lid. Shite. Will have to go and see if I can buy one on monday.

juiced about 12 litres of juice. Put in bucket. Sulphited. Put towel
across
top to cover and will juice more tomorrow. Can comes inside. Jump on
freezer. Jumps of freezer into fermenting barrell. Towel soaked with apple
juice. Juice on floor. 1o litres left now.

Give me beer on carpet anyday.

rob

am now making tomato sauce. Hope thats turns out better.


Oh Lord, sorry mate......your misfortune has been my merriment!!

Company car sucks too. Been there also. Company business, of course,
with a side trip.


Boss "How did you dent the car, George?"
George "um, er, making cider, us Boss".
Boss "Do you want to keep your job?"


Many times my "latest project" has caused similar consternation and
effups, Glad to see you are already on the road to upgrades and
improvements.

You have a cat named "*!%*&%#@ cat" also!

The sumbitch cat that runs this household last summer managed to jump
off the fence into a half full bucket of old cooking oil (that Lovey
had several times reminded me to get rid of the week prior) and then
"*!%*&%#@ cat" ran in the effing house and dripped that shit
everywhere.

I had never given a cat a bath before and "*!%*&%#@ cat" had never had
one either.

Sigh......whadda ya do. ;-)


Did I also mention whilst cleaning up last night I stuffed the kitchen
whizz. Put the mixing bowl in a hot wash in the dish washer. ******* think
came out warped.

Wife wasn't impressed. On way home from store this morning, having bought
replacement, she asked me how many I had stuffed that way. Only 2 I told
her. Asked her how many ipods she had broken (2 or 3 is the answer). In as
many words got told where to go. Spent morning outside chopping apples. Used
new kitchen whizz this afternoon, much better than old one. heaps faster and
quieter. Decided buggering old whizz had some advantages.

Tomorrow, go and try and buy bucket for fermenting barrell and stop by panel
beater for quote.

Probably about $50 per litre of cider thus far.

rob

In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

Tomorrow, go and try and buy bucket for fermenting barrell

Food grade of course.
--

Billy
Democrat and Republican Leaders Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net