All Things Cider
- Thread starter 2ndHand
- Start date
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Thanks CrazyEd!
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Here's a photo of a few apple grafts I have at home - will plant them this fall. I have 12 that were successful - varieties include Empire, Zestar, Pierce Pasture, and Golden Hornet. The grafts range from 48 - 44 inches.
Below the photo is link to an apple press that is made by converting a 20 ton Harbor Freight shop press - this will be my winter project.
Harbor Freight 20 ton shop press converted to apple press:
Below the photo is link to an apple press that is made by converting a 20 ton Harbor Freight shop press - this will be my winter project.
Harbor Freight 20 ton shop press converted to apple press:
aerospacefarmer
5 year old buck +
Are you going into commercial production? That is way too big for average Joe with less than 500 trees
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Hey Aero: Don't think I will get up to 500 trees nor ever be commercial, but the cost would not be that great and looks like a doable and fun project. A couple of weeks ago I helped out a cider orchard - that day we pressed about 270 gallons of juice. They have approximately 300 trees (I believe most are on M7 - the orchard was previously owned by Dan Bussey). Here's a picture of their press :
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aerospacefarmer
5 year old buck +
Yikes that is huge. I have about 325 apple trees and I use a hand grinder and screw press. I have made about 40 gallons max 2 years ago but could do way more it was just that I didn't have that many apples. I would be done in an hour with that press lol. Very impressive
aerospacefarmer
5 year old buck +
I just want to ask if you used peptic enzyme to act as clearing agent. I did this time and haven't before and my cider is perfectly clear except for a bit of sediment on the bottom. I will do my 3rd fermentation to try and seperate the remaining sediment and give it a good 4 or 5 more months before bottling
deepsleep
5 year old buck +
Looking good 2ndHand. I played around with making some this past spring and summer getting ready for my apple crop that is coming in the next few years. Unfortunately, it is hard to get preservative-free cider in FL, but I did manage to make some pretty decent stuff. This year, however, we made most of our apples into dried apple slices which traveled home to FL via suitcase. Perhaps you guys have seen this thread, but there is a ton of useful info in here. This guy has made and documented a lot of mistakes for us. Keep us updated on how it turns out. Here's the thread http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=83060
That's a great read. I read it in October, and I'll be rereading this year as well.
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Hello Aero - Yes I did. Everything I am doing is kind of an experiment . I have a second batch that I am using a 2 gal brew pail as the primary - after fermenting for 11 days I placed the pail in the refrigerator to try cold crashing it - after 48 hours I will rack it to a glass secondary and let it sit for a number of months. Best of luck with your cider!!
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Deepsleep - What type of yeast did you use for your cider? - I am like you - waiting for a couple of years before my trees start to produce. My plan is to add about 50 trees a year for the next three to four years. I am using the B.118 root stock due to soil type and the need for drought tolerance and winter hardiness. Thanks!
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Aero, What type of yeast are you using? I used the Lalvin EC 1118 for my 1st two attempts. I plan to try the following other types of yeast: Nottingham (Ale yeast), Red Star - Cotes des Blancs (wine yeast), Safale S-04 (Ale yeast), and WYEast 4766 (cider yeast). Look forward to hearing how your cider turns out! Thanks!
I'll be grafting onto some already established old trees, so I'm really looking forward to your tests. While I get the basics of fermentation, racking, etc... Its always helpful to have someone to reassure ya on the steps!
2ndHand
5 year old buck +
Mostly late season apples - for the early season varieties I plan to freeze for later blending. I am still learning about the different cider varieties for my zone. A friend of mine recently paid $15 for a gallon of Golden Russet at a local orchard .
deepsleep
5 year old buck +
After reading through that thread I posted (which takes hours and hours), I made several small batches with S-04. I started with pasteurized, bottled cider (the kind on the shelf of the grocery store) because that is all I could find in FL in the spring that didn't have preservatives. Publix down here has Zeigler's which has potassium sorbate, and therefore, is a no-go. I prefer a pretty dry cider and don't mind still, but many like a bit sweeter, carbonated cider. Because of this, I shot for one that would make guests happy. I have done about 6 different small batches and have had the best success as far as flavor with cyser. I'm sure you know this, but cyser starts with cider mixed with honey to get a higher SG. My final batch (which was my best) was fermented down to a FG of 1.015 or so and cold crashed in the original fermenter. I cold crash by packing in ice overnight. I then racked it into another carboy, let sit for a day and bottled into plastic bottles. I let those bottles sit at room temp until they firmed up (roughly a week) and have kept refrigerated since. This got me a carbonated, semi-sweet cyser without preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or the need for a kegging system. If you are not extremely cognizant of what is occurring chemically, you can easily cause bottle explosions this way, so I wouldn't recommend it when you are just learning. Also, never put live yeast and more than priming sugar into glass. Here are a couple of photos. I added nothing other than cider and yeast. According to the thread I posted, the pasteurized ciders don't clear as much as non-pasteurized and cysers tend to be clearer than ciders. Mine has cleared up more than this second pic over time. I am going to head over to Whole Foods today to see if I can find some real cider and make a couple more batches.
deepsleep
5 year old buck +
Also, I think before you start on this project, you should figure out what style of ciders you like and try to emulate them to some degree. I have spent the last year or 2 tasting as many different types as I can. There are some fantastic ciders out there, but many are difficult to find down here. Some of my favorites I've tried---
Vander Mill Totally Roasted (MI)--Semi-dry, brewed with roasted pecans. Nice nutty, complex finish.
Virtue The Mitten (MI)--Semi-dry, Aging in used bourbon barrels adds depth and spice to the finish.
J.K.'s Scrumpy (MI)--Semi-sweet, only apples and yeast. Everyone enjoys this one
Millstone Farmgate (MD)--More traditional like most farms would have had in their barn barrel 200 years ago. Funky, dry, and less carbonated.
Albemarle Ciderworks Goldrush(VA)--quite dry, carbonated, good complexity with a long finish.
Vander Mill Totally Roasted (MI)--Semi-dry, brewed with roasted pecans. Nice nutty, complex finish.
Virtue The Mitten (MI)--Semi-dry, Aging in used bourbon barrels adds depth and spice to the finish.
J.K.'s Scrumpy (MI)--Semi-sweet, only apples and yeast. Everyone enjoys this one
Millstone Farmgate (MD)--More traditional like most farms would have had in their barn barrel 200 years ago. Funky, dry, and less carbonated.
Albemarle Ciderworks Goldrush(VA)--quite dry, carbonated, good complexity with a long finish.
I was thinking of just juicing some earlier ones and then freezing them to add. Otherwise I don't really have the storage for that many apples for a few months.
