Cider Press and cider making

[Ed Woods]

Looking to starting to make my own cider later in the year - I'm sure I can swap my surplus eggs for bags of apples

Can anyone recommend a good cider press and what equipment do I need?

What are the best guides to cider making?

 

[For want of a better word]

Looking to starting to make my own cider later in the year - I'm sure I can swap my surplus eggs for bags of apples

Can anyone recommend a good cider press and what equipment do I need?

What are the best guides to cider making?

Use cider apples.. and a cider yeast ( Very high alcohol variety)
50 gallon plastic fermenting vats are a bit heavy to manhandle so chose something smaller

We are lucky and have a couple of mobile scraters/ presses/ steriliser / bottle washers/ fillers ( for unfermented juice) through our local Grow Local CIC / co-op.
Check to see if you have a local apple group... meetings are fun... from what I CAN REMEMBER !

 

[Beanwood]

Looking to starting to make my own cider later in the year - I'm sure I can swap my surplus eggs for bags of apples

Can anyone recommend a good cider press and what equipment do I need?

What are the best guides to cider making?

It all depends....

If you're doing relatively small volumes (5 -10 gallons as I have done) you want to get one of these: http://www.homebrewcentre.co.uk/product.asp?pID=1313&cID=212
I'm sure they're available elsewhere - these people are just local to me. It makes the pressing a heck of a lot easier when the apples are in bits.

You need a LOT of apples If you read the books, you aren't supposed to use windfalls. However, they can be had cheaply, and basically, if you're prepared to eat the apple, I think it should be OK as a nice refreshing 'juice'
Size wise I have a 6 litre press, and it's way too small. (Present from my lovely wife).



Have fun!

 

[drstitson]

of course you use windfalls. that's how most cider groups can manage to scrounge the necessary amounts of free apples.

upto 10% bad bits.

 

[roche]

There is a bit of a thread about presses here...

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2216

 

[dclewis]

I agree with the Dr.
Its almost essential to use wind falls. (but not the first lot that fall as they are usually the ones full of grubs and go off very quickly) but wait and make sure the apples are fully ripe and at peak sugar content so let them drop when they are ready to drop and then collect up in and store covered from the rain but open to the ambient temperature and wait for the first frost. This softens the flesh and makes juicing more efficient. Thats what is done this side of the channel and I'm sure its can't be that different over there.

You'll then need to wash then grate up your apples,(I use a grater designed to grate up root veg for poultry,) then leave for 12-24 hours then press. I have a 30l manuel press and produced enough juice for 100 bottles of cider in a day working on my own.

So the size and type of press will depend on the output you intend to have and the number of apples you have access to, plus your budget. Over here manual presses are available from 9-450l, manual hydraulic from 70-650l but they are in another price bracket altogether. from what I have seen advertised I think they are considerably cheaper this side of the channel.

Youngs do a packet yeast that I use specific for cider. I chose to use that rather than risk the natural yeast on the apples which is another option.

 

[countryman]

when making cider you dont need cider apples if you cant get them although it is better with them you can use 85% eaters 15% cookers as long as you havesome bitter ones in there for the acidaty i normaly get them from either road side trees or orchard wher i have some hives for crushing them i use a garden shredder exactly the same as the ones from asc*t etc but a lot chaeper we also make our own press using 4x2 timber and ply for table with routed groove to direct juice into barrels and a car bottle jack to compress the juice out of the mush normaly acheive about 60-70% juice you can either add yeast or just rely on the yeast in the apples i do the later and it comes out about 14/15%

 

[itma]

Looking to starting to make my own cider later in the year - I'm sure I can swap my surplus eggs for bags of apples

Can anyone recommend a good cider press and what equipment do I need?

What are the best guides to cider making?

Answers to lots more questions here - >> http://www.cider.org.uk/frameset.htm

Suggestion. Start (now?) practising the fermentation, decanting, etc stages (leaving out just the apple juice making) by using Lidl's (clear) apple juice as your base material. It works surprisingly well. You'll find supplies (yeast, pectolase, sterilising cleaner, ...) and hardware (hydrometer, demijons, bungs, airlocks, etc) at Wilkinsons. And you can, for these 'trials', put a few bought-in apples (of carefully chosen varieties) through a domestic juicer and use them to vary/flavour/tweak the starting material - so you can compare and discover that the taste you start off with is nothing much like what you end up with ... I think that Lidl's basic (but undiluted) apple juice makes a better cider than their premium 'cloudy' juice (both are preservative-free). But hey, try them both!
Cider making doesn't have to be put off until the Autumn!

 

[alanf]

Suggestion. Start (now?) practising the fermentation, decanting, etc stages (leaving out just the apple juice making) by using Lidl's (clear) apple juice as your base material. It works surprisingly well.

There's a blast from the past. Adding yeast direct to a fruit juice carton was (probably still is) a simple way of making an alcoholic drink in a dry country like Saudi. Next step is to work out how to turn it into spirit with a freezer.

 

[Skyhook]

you can either add yeast or just rely on the yeast in the apples i do the latter and it comes out about 14/15%

Ouch! My head's hurting just thinking about that- about 3X commercial strength

 

[countryman]

because of the tax laws they can only make it to a certain strength before having to pay a higher rate but most cider comes in at about that rate ive had one that reached 19% but that was double brewed with nat' yeast then special cider yeast and more sugar added MIND BENDING wow

 

[Ed Woods]

I think I am going to enjoy cider making

 

[For want of a better word]

There's a blast from the past. Adding yeast direct to a fruit juice carton was (probably still is) a simple way of making an alcoholic drink in a dry country like Saudi. Next step is to work out how to turn it into spirit with a freezer.

APPLEJACK........ there a thought !​

 

[tonybloke]

a bloke nr here makes about 250 gallons per yr.
he uses only windfalls, unwashed, these are put through a butchers mincer into a nylon sack which sits inside a dustbin. the resulting mash is then spun in a single tub spinner to extract the remaining juice.
the juice is then put into 25ltr drums, tops on. the tops are loosened each morning and evening to let out the pressure.

 

[For want of a better word]

Anywhere near Sherringham?... have an auntie there who needs a visit !

 

[laserwill]

cider press

I can vouch for the cart jack bottle press approach. Works well on small domestic scale. Simple to make, need a strong square frame 2 plywood trays to hold the net curtain cake of minced apple and the bottle press, some bits of spare timber to pad out the bottle press if it doesn't reach the frame. The juice gushes out, very satisfying.
Fresh juice is easy to store in the freezer in plastic milk bottles.
The smashing up of the apples is the important bit.
If you want to keep the colour of the juice from going brown sprinkle a teaspoon or 2 of Vitamin C powder from health food shop on the apples as you smash them. Juice will be cloudy. Tastes great.

 

[victor meldrew]

because of the tax laws they can only make it to a certain strength before having to pay a higher rate but most cider comes in at about that rate ive had one that reached 19% but that was double brewed with nat' yeast then special cider yeast and more sugar added MIND BENDING wow

Yep you can up the alcohol content by using alcohol tolerant yeasts + feeding sugar at a controlled rate to off set sugar narcosis of the yeast !
40% if you cold distil ,'No smell'
VM

 

[victor meldrew]

APPLEJACK........ there a thought !​

Sorry missed your post when I mentioned cold distilling .
Time honoured way is to freeze a quantity of wine , and then allow to thaw out . The first thing to thaw is the methonol which you ditch , then the ethonol ( the bit you require . Finally you will be left with a block of frozen water (taste it; you will realise that there's only water left !
(For experimenteal purposes I hope !)
VM

 

[hedgerow pete]

i get hold of a trailer load of cider apples each year as well as cookers, eaters and crab apples, i shove the lot through a garden shredder to mush them if you want we used to use a plaster mixer in a drill and dustbin set up and works just as well, my press is a welded and chopped up gas cyclinder and i can press around 30 kg at a time almost 20 litres a drop, as for high alc cider, not for me, 10 is more than enough

 

[Headnavigator]

Answers to lots more questions here - >> http://www.cider.org.uk/frameset.htm

Suggestion. Start (now?) practising the fermentation, decanting, etc stages (leaving out just the apple juice making) by using Lidl's (clear) apple juice as your base material. It works surprisingly well. You'll find supplies (yeast, pectolase, sterilising cleaner, ...) and hardware (hydrometer, demijons, bungs, airlocks, etc) at Wilkinsons. And you can, for these 'trials', put a few bought-in apples (of carefully chosen varieties) through a domestic juicer and use them to vary/flavour/tweak the starting material - so you can compare and discover that the taste you start off with is nothing much like what you end up with ... I think that Lidl's basic (but undiluted) apple juice makes a better cider than their premium 'cloudy' juice (both are preservative-free). But hey, try them both!
Cider making doesn't have to be put off until the Autumn!

Well thank you! OH used a case of Lidl's clear apple juice, racked it today and it tastes good! We had never thought of using commercial fruit juice, great idea. OH delighted, bee forum (which I always have my nose in) is suddenly the OK place to be!