# Cider Day



## lukem (Sep 5, 2011)

Today was our second annual cider making day.  Shook the tree this morning, picked up the press from our relative, and made 31 gallons of fresh apple cider.  90%  of the apples were from the one tree in our yard, but we got a few from our neighbor too.


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## lukem (Sep 5, 2011)

This is my 4x8 trailer loaded with cider stock.


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## JDC1 (Sep 5, 2011)

After pressing, what is the rest of the cider process?


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## heat seeker (Sep 5, 2011)

Wow, we think we're doing well making a couple of gallons. All we have is a small ancient press to work with. We have fun, use our own apples, and love the cider. We do pasteurize it carefully, so the taste is still great.
I'd love to have a grinder/press like yours!


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## fishingpol (Sep 5, 2011)

That is a really nice press. Just regular cider? Come on now. Are you sure there is nothing being made with a little more authority to it?  I won't tell the feds. :coolhmm:


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## lukem (Sep 5, 2011)

We do ours pretty old school.  Passed down from many generations of family.  Filter througha t shirt, pu in milk jugs, and freeze.  We don't paturize it.  I know there is smae risk, but never had a problem.  

If we give it to friends or family we advise them to heat if before drinking.


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## lukem (Sep 5, 2011)

fishingpol said:
			
		

> That is a really nice press. Just regular cider? Come on now. Are you sure there is nothing being made with a little more authority to it?  I won't tell the feds. :coolhmm:



If only.  Maybe next year...


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 5, 2011)

Nice! We've thought about getting a cider press but so far have not sprung for one. Might have to soon though as we have some trees just starting to mature. Nice tasting apples they give too. Picked some today.


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## Highbeam (Sep 13, 2011)

Nothing illegal about hard cider. I've got a 5 gallon batch ready to bottle right now that is sitting at 6% ABV and I didn't add anything but yeast to plain ol' cider to get there. It's when you distill or somehow condense the alcohol with something other than yeast that you can get into trouble. 

With proper yeast and a healthy dose of sugar by table sugar, honey, molasses, etc. you can get over 10% ABV with just yeast and still be legal. That's some stout hooch and you won't taste much apple in there. If you need more booze then just skip the cider and buy whiskey.


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## smokinj (Sep 13, 2011)

Awsome press but with that many apples eletric sure looks good!


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## lukem (Sep 13, 2011)

Four guys and an hour and a half.  31 gallons.  Had my first jug the other night.  Pretty good stuff.


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## fishingpol (Sep 13, 2011)

I slightly recall reading somewhere that distillers pay taxes based on the alcohol content of the beverage.  The higher the proof, the more $$$ they lose in profits.  If taxes were paid on home brews, it would probably be okay.  They would take the fun out of it. :coolhmm:

Jay, couldn't you rig a cider press to a splitter?  Vertical of course.  Dennis would have to run it though...


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## btuser (Sep 13, 2011)

What kind of apples?  I just planted (last year, I've got a long way to go) 1/2 dozen cider varieties and another 1/2 dozen eating/cooking.  That $2.50 autobiography of John Adams is going to end up costing me a lot of free cider.


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## lukem (Sep 13, 2011)

btuser said:
			
		

> What kind of apples?  I just planted (last year, I've got a long way to go) 1/2 dozen cider varieties and another 1/2 dozen eating/cooking.  That $2.50 autobiography of John Adams is going to end up costing me a lot of free cider.



I'm really not sure what kind they are.  The trees a probably older than me.  I have one early transparent tree that we make apple sauce and pie fillings out of.


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## scottperkins (Sep 24, 2011)

you could make some automotive ethanol fuel with this....   Yep that's right
fuel for gas engines.... Of course only if times get real rough....

Oh almost forgot,  use this for turning dirty water or sea water into 
drinking water as well.

If you dont recognize it, this is a lost cost Presto   pressure cooker
or pressure canner.


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## smokinj (Sep 24, 2011)

They look like Jonathans to me.


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## woodchip (Sep 27, 2011)

I love seeing pictures of apple presses. 

Is that the mill for grinding the apples to pulp above the press in your picture?

Ground apples press a whole lot easier than whole ones, found that out several years ago.......... 

We'll be pressing ours in a couple of days time with some friends, we'll have a day together. 

We planted our cider orchard about 5 years ago, to complement the existing apple trees. 

I'm spending the day today cleaning out the barrel and the press. 

Hope to get about 30 gallons of hard cider to share round  ;-)


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## lukem (Sep 27, 2011)

woodchip said:
			
		

> I love seeing pictures of apple presses.
> 
> Is that the mill for grinding the apples to pulp above the press in your picture?



Yes, that's the mill.  It was made in 1865.  Not sure if it purpose build to mill apples or what.  It does a good job though.


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## woodchip (Sep 29, 2011)

We sorted and cleaned our press today, and got milling the apples as soon as we were ready!


The mill grinds them to a pulp, which goes into the press (which is home made and uses a car jack for the pressure):


























We have got about 5 gallons of juice so far, some we'll drink now, and some will ferment into hard cider. 

We have a really good harvest this year, and I suspect we'll be pressing more apples next week. 

The late harvest cider apples make the best tasting drink.

Usually the most alcoholic too........  ;-)


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## scottperkins (Sep 29, 2011)

What about the little white plastic press with the screw handle off to the side.
How well does that work ?


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## lukem (Sep 30, 2011)

woodchip said:
			
		

> We sorted and cleaned our press today, and got milling the apples as soon as we were ready!
> 
> 
> The mill grinds them to a pulp, which goes into the press (which is home made and uses a car jack for the pressure):
> ...




Nice setup.  That bottle jack has to be easier than the screw I used.  Cheers!


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## dave360up (Sep 30, 2011)

Woodchip,

What kind of cloth are you using to pack the chopped apples in for pressing?  I imagine it has to be tough to withstand tearing during pressing. I would like to try pressing apples myself.  This has been an amazing year for apples in my area. Every tree has apples, even old trees long overgrown by forest.


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2011)

That's a clever setup. Nice use of the jack! What varieties are you pressing? I'm particularly wondering about the green apples.


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## woodchip (Sep 30, 2011)

Loads of questions to answer so here we go

The sheet for the prees was originally a white cotton tablecloth which I cut up (yes, it was one of those "could I use the tablecloth, honey" moments)..........

When mashed up, the apples release a lot of juice without using much pressure from the jack, and a steady increase in pressure gives a better juice than trying to go to max pressure at once, which might tear the cloth.

The little press is usually used as a tabletop press indoors, it works quite well, but only produces about half a gallon per pressing, but yesterday it was in use as I wanted to press a few kingston black apples which are a prized cider variety over here, I wanted to keep the juice separate.
It also goes out when I do cider demonstrations at apple days, held here every year on 21st October.

The varieties in my little orchard include kingston black, dabinett, tom putt, tremletts bitter, phelps favourite, elmore pippin, longnet russet, wisley, and a few modern varieties like gala, spartan, golden delicious and falstaff.
There are also loads of wild apples along the roadside hedgerows here where people have chucked apple cores out of windows over years. 

The green apples in the mill were from our golden delicious apple tree.  

I try to pick the apples and allow them to soften once they are off the tree, this allows them to release the juice more freely. 

My press is based on an old farm press from 1810 which we use on apple days at Barrington Court every year. 

This is a picture of the 1810 press from last year:






And this is my press this morning, with juice still flowing slowly after I folded the sheets double, giving a higher pressure per square inch onto the pulp :






Ask as many questions as you want, the more people who turn spare apples into juice the better, it tastes so much nicer than shop bought stuff!

Hard cider is easier to store, no preservatives except alcohol...........  ;-)


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2011)

Nice. Wish I had that a couple weeks ago. Our Spartan went nuts this year. One tree produced about 200 lbs of apples! We also have some Golden Delicious that are just at that green stage now. And some Kings + Shays. 

What process do you use to make hard cider?


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## woodchip (Sep 30, 2011)

There are two ways I have used in the past. 

Easiest is to put the juice into a barrel and kill all the wild yeasts off with sulfur tablets, then start a fermentation off with champagne yeast.
This is the most reliable method for a good taste, and is most often used commercially.

Last year was the first time I tried to be clever, and use just a small amount of sulfur, enough to kill some of the yeasts that cause off taints, and leaves the good yeasts that make the juice naturally ferment into hard cider. 

I'm using the first method this year, as the results are more reliable. 

There are some interesting old cider articles written in the USA found in the Genesee farmer magazine, I have read some in the past, as it is quite relevant to making cider when using old style equipment:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=genesee farmer cider&f=false


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## woodchip (Sep 30, 2011)

Think my link went wrong, google Genesee Farmer Cider, it works better than my link........it's at the top........


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## firefighterjake (Sep 30, 2011)

I love cider . . . and hard cider.

When it comes to cider though . . . it has to be non-pasteurized . . . to me pasteurized cider tastes like apple juice . . . it is most definitely a different taste.

When it comes to hard cider . . . it has to be a Woodchuck Cider . . . I even half considered making a trip to their factory in Vermont next month when I go down for the Woodstock factory tour and event . . . but figured it will be a busy day without trying to add an additional factory tour into the mix.


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## woodchip (Sep 30, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> I love cider . . . and hard cider.
> 
> When it comes to cider though . . . it has to be non-pasteurized.



Why would anyone make pasteurized hard cider, alcohol is a good preservative.....


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## smokinj (Sep 30, 2011)

I use one of these, for apples hot pepper and tomatoes.

http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/omega8003.htm


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## firefighterjake (Sep 30, 2011)

woodchip said:
			
		

> firefighterjake said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Around here folks are often worried about food safety . . . trust me . . . this is one time that pasteurizing a product truly ruins the flavor.


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## homebrewz (Sep 30, 2011)

I have to agree. Pasteurization changes the flavor and essentially makes unfiltered apple juice. I press with some friends every year on their farm and we just pressed 20 gallons the other day at a rate of about 3 gallons/bushel. We pick from the tree mostly, and scrutinize any drops off the ground.. no questionable looking apples. Then we hose all the apples with clean water. We drink a bunch fresh and give some away. 

We do pasteurize some of the cider to make apple juice which will then be put up in mason jars for the winter. It gets heated to around 170 for 10 minutes, ladled it hot into clean, sanitized mason jars and then put the lids and bands on. No water bath needed.. the jars seal right up from the heat. 

I used to make some hard cider, but I much prefer beer. The process woodchip mentioned is probably ones best bet for making the hard stuff. You can add sugar if you wish to make it stronger. IIRC, about 1 cup per gallon will double the alcohol content. Most cider ferments to around 5% abv.


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## lukem (Sep 30, 2011)

We don't pasteurize either for reasons mentioned above.  We bottle in clean milk jugs and straight to the feezer.  

You have to be careful how much you drink, cause it will clean you out if you know what I mean....


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## begreen (Oct 20, 2012)

We did our cider pressing yesterday using mostly kings, some shays and a small batch of golden delicious. The resulting cider is fantastic! We ended up getting 12 gallons out of about 4 bushels and I got an opportunity to try out a unique homemade cider press. It's compact, portable and designed to hang on the wall when done. That's the builder of the press in the picture. It worked really well for our small batch. I liked it so much that I've ordered up one for next year's pressing.

Today, I start my first batch of hard cider. Wish me luck!


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## lukem (Oct 22, 2012)

begreen said:


> We did our cider pressing yesterday using mostly kings, some shays and a small batch of golden delicious. The resulting cider is fantastic! We ended up getting 12 gallons out of about 4 bushels and I got an opportunity to try out a unique homemade cider press. It's compact, portable and designed to hang on the wall when done. That's the builder of the press in the picture. It worked really well for our small batch. I liked it so much that I've ordered up one for next year's pressing.
> 
> Today, I start my first batch of hard cider. Wish me luck!
> 
> ...


 

If you can, post some more pictures of the the crusher/shredder.  I'm going to build a press before next fall and that's the only part I haven't figured out.

For the actual press, I'm going to do something similar, except I'll make a spring loaded platform for the jack so it will self retract back into the "pressing position"....a lot like a shop press.  I'm also going to use an "air over hydraulic" jack because I have one laying around and I'm lazy like that.  

I have some oak 2x and 4x material milled stickered for the build.  I'm sure it will still be wet when I make it, but it's just a cider press.


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## Highbeam (Oct 22, 2012)

begreen said:


> We did our cider pressing yesterday using mostly kings, some shays and a small batch of golden delicious. The resulting cider is fantastic! We ended up getting 12 gallons out of about 4 bushels and I got an opportunity to try out a unique homemade cider press. It's compact, portable and designed to hang on the wall when done. That's the builder of the press in the picture. It worked really well for our small batch. I liked it so much that I've ordered up one for next year's pressing.
> 
> Today, I start my first batch of hard cider. Wish me luck!


 
Love the skunk trap under the apples.

Hard cider is very easy to make, much easier than brewing beer. No boiling and cooling, no hopps additions and timing, no mashing the grain to get sugar from starch. I use pasteurized cider, UV pasteurized, because that is all that is commercially available and I know that the yeast growing in there will be the yeast that I added. Plus, sulfites give you headaches. I don't want to add headache chemicals to my cider.

You add way more than a cup per gallon of sugar. I added 2 lbs of brown sugar to 5 gallons and the finished ABV was only about 6%.

If allowed to run its course, the yeast will eat all the sugar and leave you with a dry cider. That's fine if it's what you want but this isn't what commercial hard cider tastes like. To restore sweetness, I add at least one full cup of Xylitol per 5 gallons of cider. Xylitol is a non-fermentable alcohol sugar.

Go here for the best information I could find when I first started.

http://makinghardcider.com/


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## f3cbboy (Oct 24, 2012)

I have really go to try this it looks great.  I will look into the link above, when i get home from work, its blocked here.  How long does it have to sit fermenting?  i just havent seen it anywhere yet.


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## Highbeam (Oct 24, 2012)

f3cbboy said:


> I have really go to try this it looks great. I will look into the link above, when i get home from work, its blocked here. How long does it have to sit fermenting? i just havent seen it anywhere yet.


 
Just like beer. The yeast will be done eating after about two weeks and then you either bottle carbonate or keg. I did not find that quality or taste improved over time. It was very good.

There are no naughty photos on that site, just content.


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## begreen (Oct 25, 2012)

Highbeam said:


> Love the skunk trap under the apples.
> 
> Hard cider is very easy to make, much easier than brewing beer. No boiling and cooling, no hopps additions and timing, no mashing the grain to get sugar from starch. I use pasteurized cider, UV pasteurized, because that is all that is commercially available and I know that the yeast growing in there will be the yeast that I added. Plus, sulfites give you headaches. I don't want to add headache chemicals to my cider.
> 
> ...


 
It's definitely easier, that's why I figured this would be a good starting point. Sulfites are in almost all wines and my head is ok, so we will see how it does with our cider. Of course, there may be headaches later if I taste it a bit too frequently.  I'm not that fond of sweeter ciders and ironically, artificial sweeteners give me headaches, go figure. Many ciders I've bought are dry, seems like it's a matter of preference.


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## Highbeam (Oct 25, 2012)

begreen said:


> It's definitely easier, that's why I figured this would be a good starting point. Sulfites are in almost all wines and my head is ok, so we will see how it does with our cider. Of course, there may be headaches later if I taste it a bit too frequently.  I'm not that fond of sweeter ciders and ironically, artificial sweeteners give me headaches, go figure. Many ciders I've bought are dry, seems like it's a matter of preference.


 
You can always sweeten the cider to taste when you pour it into the glass. Just like a sweet tea.


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## f3cbboy (Oct 25, 2012)

Highbeam said:


> There are no naughty photos on that site, just content


itas jsut blecked at work due to its content being about alcohol. 
Naughty phonts would be a plus!


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## Highbeam (Oct 26, 2012)

Weird. We have no blocked sites at work but I also don't dare try and visit sites that might be naughty. That would not look good in the newspaper.


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## f3cbboy (Oct 26, 2012)

I hear ya.  i dont really go to naughty,  but anything to do with firearms, alcohol or even gossip pages is blocked.  I cant harly select anything on the yahoo home page to read!


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## Agent (Oct 27, 2012)

My cider season was over a month and a half ago.
I made crabapple cider since regular apple trees are kinda few and far between out here, and my crabapple tree was loaded down HEAVY this year.
So I cobbled together this press together from pallet pieces and 2x4's.  Had to borrow my car jack from the Honda, as those are kinda difficult to make out of pallets.
All my crabapples were chopped up in a food processor 1st, which took a bit of time, but the results were spectacular.  
Processing something like 300 lbs of crabapples yielded 12 gallons for hard cider, and another 3 or 4 that we just drank as is.
I really need to come up with some better way of chopping those little guys up though.
The regular crabapple cider has a definite tang to it, but isn't all that bad.  But in the hard cider, the tang and the dryness makes it seem extra dry, so some back-sweetening is required.


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## begreen (Oct 27, 2012)

You get an A for ingenuity and perseverance. 300# of apples chopped in a food processor has to be some sort of record. We still have a lot of crabapples on a tree, hmmm.


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## NickDL (Oct 27, 2012)

This is one of those things on my list of things to do one day.


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## timfromohio (Oct 29, 2012)

I purchased the plans to build the cider press/mash-making system featured here - haven't done it yet, but I like this guy a lot and think his design looks pretty neat:

http://www.whizbangcider.com/


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