Don’t worry too much about the fermentation temperature but if it gets too warm the cider will produce "pear drop esther" (not very nice) so its better if you keep it cooler and are patient with fermentation.
Your pressing should be efficient if you start with a 2†cheese of pulp and after pressing it’s less than ½†and quite dry.
It goes something like this:
1) Buy John Lomax’s “Cider Making On A Small Scale†from Amazon. And read it. And read it again. Its like the bible, only more important.
2) You need to do three stages before pressing
- Wash
- Quarter / chop
- Bash
3) Wash all your equipment down between each pressing with a hose pipe
4) Press juice into demijohns even if you are ultimately using 5 gallon bins – it helps keep the vinegar flies away during pressing
Now I’m going to ruin your fun a bit as you wouldn’t be pressing this weekend if you follow my method – here’s how I press:
1) Saturday/Sunday Put your apples in a bucket full of water to wash them (change the water with every bucket full of apples) and chop them at least into quarters (I slice a bit off the bottom so the apples flat then slice the rest of the apple – I use an 8†– ie big – knife with a narrow blade). Chop out the rot and the mould, don’t worry about bruises. If you are reasonably quick you should be able to create a fermentation bin full of chopped apples in 30 minutes.
2) Leave the chopped apples in sealed fermentation bins for a couple of days (or more) to soften. I put a wet blanket over each bin to help keep the flies away.
3) Then bash the apples into a pulp. This is traditionally done domestically by putting chopped apples into a bucket and hitting them with an oak post – this is very laborious. From your local LBS (or Vigo direct) you can buy a pulpmaster bucket. It seems expensive for what it is but your yield and quality of pulp will improve hugely and the time will be cut more than by half. Don’t use a kitchen blender. Add pectolase (pectolitic enzyme) to the pulp – improves yield and quality and makes a clearer cider.
4) Leave for at least 24 hours – if not longer – it helps starch and sugar develop – again I put a wet blanket over the bin.
5) By now it’s next Sat/Sun and it’s time to press – at last! Try to remember to do a hydrometer reading so you can predict the final strength.
I sulphite some, other stuff I don’t, and I sometimes add sugar and citric acid (and oak chips) but regardless, I always use champagne yeast. Others prefer a specific cider or a white wine yeast, or just let it find its own natural yeasts.
Depending on your type of apple – afermentation bin full of pulp will yield about 3/4 of a fermentation bin full of cider.
If I have to pick the stage to really give attention to it’s the pulping stage – even commercial cider presses use finely milled/pulped apples and if your pulp is too lumpy regardless of how powerful your press is (I use a 10 tonne bottle jack over 2 or 3 2†cheeses) your yield and quality will suffer.
Its really good fun doing this – you’ll enjoy it massively and be startled by the quality of your final product, within the first 10 days you’ll be amazed how that muddy brown juice you started with is turning into a lovely bright cider.
pm me if you need any other info - not saying my way is right, but it does work.
If you really MUST press this weekend, chop tonight, pulp tomorrow, press Sunday, it'll still be excellent.
