Cider from apples for beginners

For any alcoholic brew that doesn't fit into any of the above categories!
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lockwood1956

Post by lockwood1956 » Tue Aug 21, 2007 4:51 am

Hi there
Do you have a "method" of turning the apples into juice? a juicer for example..

if not you need to pulp the apples (into a bucket and smash it up with a piece of 4X4) or a fruit crusher or pulpmaster bucket, then you need to press the apples to extract the juice, then ferment on as per your recipes.

check with your local home brew shop, quite a few of them will rent out a press for about £5 a day

and you will find more info here than you can shake a stick at
http://www.cider.org.uk/

hope this helps
regards
Bob

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:20 am

i bought a shredder fro the sole purpose of making the pommace - the flakes of apple are small and a handful of them squeezed runs freely with juice.

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Post by jonnybeer » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:27 am

Hi G. you can have some of my apples when the're ready. They are Golden Delicious and are hanging on the tree like grapes, in fact the branches are breaking under the weight. Didn't seem to get the 'June drop' this year.

I know you've got your own but it might make an interesting mix.
Hope to see you before then anyway. j.b.

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:08 pm

Nice one JB - Thanks!

I'll make it worth your while :wink:

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Jim
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Post by Jim » Tue Aug 21, 2007 4:33 pm

NURSE!! He's out of bed again!

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anomalous_result

Post by anomalous_result » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:08 pm

Cider's fermented apple juice, so first you need to juice your apples. It can seem like an expensive faff if you haven't got a crusher and/or a press but there are homemade versions on the web for you to have a look at if you're feeling a little handy.

If you only want to try to make smaller amounts then once you've harvested the fruit, sorted it (windfalls are fine, just avoid rotten ones) and washed it you can leave it for a few days to see if you get any more and the fruit will soften up a bit making it easier to pulp. Chop it up or use a blender so that you get a rough pulp then strain it through some muslin. You want to get a lot of juice out so you may need to squeeze it quite hard.

Once you've got the juice you need to treat it (I think) to make sure there aren't any bugs or natural yeasts, then you can lob in your nice cultivated strain of yeast. Some leave the natural yeasts to do their own thing (usually with unwashed fruit) but fermentation can be slow or non-existent. After fermenting bottle it up, leave for a while (it benefits from age apparently) and the job's a good 'un.

Gurgeh

Post by Gurgeh » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:18 pm

anomalous_result wrote:Some leave the natural yeasts to do their own thing (usually with unwashed fruit) but fermentation can be slow or non-existent.
not in my experience - just try stopping it :lol:

anomalous_result

Post by anomalous_result » Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:10 pm

I've just heard mixed reports, a friend tried it and nothing happened, but you and others have had different experiences. I guess it depends on the tree/area/when you harvest etc etc. My mate doesn't know much about anything so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he was the one at fault not the wild yeast.

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