Motor burnout Cider(well almost)

[prodigal2]

Well folks today the SWMBO and I have made nearly 15L of proper cider.
We did not have a press but we do have a electric juicer(which was not happy having to process so much) and then I squeezed the leftover pumace in a sterilised jelly bag.

First things first I did not realise my hands would get so stained(they look like I smoke 1000 fags a day).
Secondly should I strain the juice to get rid of any sediment, or will it just drop out in fermentation? And the crust on the top of the juice do I leave that on to prevent the juice from oxidising further?

I will be trying to rely on yeast that is present in the apple skins if this shows no sign of happening I have some chamagne yeast on standby(I'm giving the must 24hours, after that a starter will be added with my yeast)

I will say it has been a fun afternoon and this is just a experiement, to see how things go, and if the cider shows any signs of being drinkable, I will sort out a press for next year(i reason that I could of got another 5L out of the pomace)

[edit] the OG is 1,048

[jonnybeer]

Hi p2, what apples are you using?

I've noticed a lot of cider making going on. Is the fruit ripe?

Can it be made with unripe fruit?

I've got a tree (golden delicious) traditionally a late fruiting tree. The apples are hanging like grapes and we've had to use props to stop the branches breaking.

I cant wait to start picking but the're no where near ready. I understood they should be ripe. Is this the case?

Any info would be appreciated.

j.b.

[prodigal2]

J.B. I live in Northern Spain, and yes the fruit is ripe, and warm to the touch(it was 38C today). The varieties I am not to sure of, one is a coxes type, and the other is almost bramley like.
I think this year everyone is getting into the spirit of making drinks with what is to hand, and apples start coming good around the end of august in the northern hemisphere( hard to know if you shop in a supermarket ). And also cider like wine made from grapes is a very pure drink, get the juice out and ferment

[Vossy1]

P2, pm jean-yves, member JHBF

He's definately going to be able to give you good advice on this one

[prodigal2]

P2, pm jean-yves, member JHBF

He's definately going to be able to give you good advice on this one

Good call Vossy, its so long since we have seen him around I had forgoten about him, AND he comes from a fellow Celtic nation.

[prodigal2]

I skimmed the top of the cider, and there is defiantly yeast action the cider has cleared and is now a nice clear brown colour. so fingers crossed I will have something drinkable for our troubles I am fermenting at 18C, and at the end of the week I will check the SG to see how things have progressed.

[prodigal2]

I keep seeing nice big crab apples in the forest but I don't fancy cooking my juicer motor (even though I rarely use it )

Sounds like your cider is doing well P2

Well it was only a cheapy juicer, and the apples were ripe, the day was to warm to brew or anything else, and due to time constraints I had not built a crusher. So we thought what the heck the juicer survived, though towards the end it was making that electrical death smell
The only gutter is I think could of gained far more juice if we crushed, for the effort we put in Next year me thinks. Then again there are still a huge amount of apples on the trees....... no I need a apple pie fix first, before we even think about it

[prodigal2]

That's the problem with centrifugal juicers, there is a large amount of useful pulp ejected from them. Ever thought of making bread with apply bits

perhaps for a cake? then again you could feed it to a pig, and it would save the faff of making apple sauce for the roast
Nah after squeezing by hand any juice I could out of the pulp, I could not be fraged with cooking

[prodigal2]

I have just transfered this to a secondry SG 1,010, I had hoped that I would catch it around 1,020, so I would get a slightly sweeter cider. Oh well next time perhaps Taste is good though.

I'm just cleaning out the FV and the yeast cake is like semi cured window putty Once I get all the visible stuff off, I think a good soak in Oxi is called for.

[awalker]

You could add some non fermentable sugar
Like sweetex (canderel or similar) to make it sweeter

Thats what wine makers do sometimes to bring the sweetness up apparently

[prodigal2]

I think I shall see what the taste is like in a couple of months. I am quite partial to the whole flavour range of ciders dry to sweet.

Cheer for the tip though, I was hoping to keep it as is this time. As usual with a new style of brewing much to learn