Markio Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Well i've got a massive bramley apple tree in the back garden, and possibly access to plenty more. Thought it would be a good time to prepare some kit for some cider making. Does anyone have any cheap ideas for making or buying a press? Also if anyone has any general nifty cider making tips that a google search won't show then please share! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Well i've got a massive bramley apple tree in the back garden, and possibly access to plenty more. Thought it would be a good time to prepare some kit for some cider making. Does anyone have any cheap ideas for making or buying a press? Also if anyone has any general nifty cider making tips that a google search won't show then please share! Contact twitchynic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twitchynik Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Bramleys are a great apple for making cider with - plenty juicy and acidic enough without being too sweet. Generally speaking a good mix of apples will result in a good balanced cider. I think we pressed 3 tonnes of apples last year and produced about 400 gallons of juice. If you want more apples then you can easily order and collect them from these guys : http://www.brogdalecollections.co.uk We keep it simple (but on a large scale) with our cider. Used to use a vertical press with the pulp wrapped up in hessian sacks stack on top of each other then pump down with a 5 tonne jack. A bit like this one but bigger : http://www.railwaysleeper.com/Neil%20Franklin%27s%20cider%20press%20from%20oak%20railway%20sleepers%202_WEB.jpg Now we have something very similar to the one of the right here : http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.dunleavy/r3%20working%20cider%20press.jpg Neither of those are particularly cheap but they work on the same principle - smash your apples up into a pulp and squeeze the juice out of them. We're working on one theory this year that you smash and pulp your apples and then leave it over night before pressing. Then when you're down to the last pressing lock that down as much as you can and leave that over night. Should result in a larger yield. We have a Heath Robinson, home made smasher (a drum with nails and screws in it powered by an electric motor) that we pulp straight into the press or into large containers (we used old bath tubs on year). You want as fine a pulp as you can get. Once we have the juice we store it in large (250 gallon) barrels, add a bit of sugar and leave in a place that won't get too cold. No yeasts and you don't even really need to add the sugar. Definitely don't want the juice to get cold as this will slow down or even kill off the fermentation process. We used a hydrometer to gauge the sweetness last year and thus potential alcohol content. Based on that we added sugar to get to a level of sweetness and strength. Didn't work out too well for us tho as we've got something that's a bit too sweet for our pallette. To be fair it's all guesswork as the different strength/flavour juices settle differently in the barrels and you'll get many different versions out of the same barrel. That's half the fun tho! Any questions just drop me a PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 yep do you want any more just bought a house with about 5 trees mostly looking like cookers, might be willing to part ex for the finished product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuji Shooter Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Our local village has a cider shed, only problem is getting an invite to the inner sanctum is a bit like getting in the masons. Keep a lookout for local fruit farms as they will normally press our own apples and a small fee. Also try getting hold of an old whisky or rum barrel as this improves the flavour no end (so I am told). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twitchynik Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 yep do you want any more just bought a house with about 5 trees mostly looking like cookers, might be willing to part ex for the finished product You wouldn't believe the amount of people who've said that to us over the past couple of years. They see or hear about homemade cider and suddenly think they've got pound notes/apple pies/cider hanging off their branches They don't realise how much effort goes into it all. 9 times out of 10 the apples end up on the ground in their garden/orchard going to waste and clogging up their lawnmower as it has done for years and we'll still produce as much cider as we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twitchynik Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Our local village has a cider shed, only problem is getting an invite to the inner sanctum is a bit like getting in the masons. Keep a lookout for local fruit farms as they will normally press our own apples and a small fee. Also try getting hold of an old whisky or rum barrel as this improves the flavour no end (so I am told). As with most things it's down to personal taste. We tried it ourselves with some old wooden whiskey barrels but didn't like the result. Also tried some of Milwhites which he's matured in all sorts and still didn't like the cider. Best one I've tried is one where the pulp has been pressed through straw. Now that is old school and very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 You wouldn't believe the amount of people who've said that to us over the past couple of years. They see or hear about homemade cider and suddenly think they've got pound notes/apple pies/cider hanging off their branches They don't realise how much effort goes into it all. 9 times out of 10 the apples end up on the ground in their garden/orchard going to waste and clogging up their lawnmower as it has done for years and we'll still produce as much cider as we need. its fine here the mower is plenty capable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Posted with permission from the OP: Can someone identify this apple: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/172476-identify-this-apple-please/page__p__1461441__fromsearch__1#entry1461441 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imissalot Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Once bought a kit about 20 years ago did wot it said ,when time to drink it :o So I stored it in dads shed and forgot about for about a year ,one day thought I'd try it Very nice and loved cider ever since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I made this press about 2 years ago with bits and pieces from the scrap yard, cost me about £15, works a treat, I'm still practicing on getting the cider right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack-ack Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Seriously inspirational stuff gents. Think I'll have a go myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Great thread. I'd love to get the kit and add proper cider to my homebrewing activities You can cheat and make what is known as "turbo" cider in homebrew circles. This involves buying a load of pure (and it must be 100% pure) apple juice from your local aldi or netto, bunging it into a fermenter with some bog standard brewing yeast (Danstar Nottingham is good), waiting until it is fermented out and then "priming" it with another litre of fresh juice and bottling (cleaned and sanitised 2ltr pop bottles are fine) or kegging in a pressure barrel. If you are worried about such things, you can take the original gravity and final gravity with a hydrometer to work out the ABV and then water it down to beer strengths with tapwater before bottling/kegging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Our friends in France are much more organised. Everyone in the village is able to donate apples and pears to the communal annual cider pressing. Their fruit is weighed on donation and they receive appropriate payment in bottled cider a few weeks later. Very civilised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuji Shooter Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Local Blacksmith recently had a whisky barrel dropped off for his cider. Turns out it had 5 pints left in it, bonus for £40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Elvis Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Dude, I know a chap quite near you who has one and would help, i can talk to him if you like, he lives on the stour near the Buers stretch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8landy Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I use an electric garden shredder to grind up the apples and an electric cloths spinner to spinn out the juice. I am happy with the shredder, but need to scale up on the spinner to a good press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berties Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 a couple of lads in our village use a garden shredder and made a press the big problem is getting the amount of apples they fill the back of a pick up they make two oak barrels every year,they made 10 bottles of pear cider last year from a whole mature tree, and it was pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaiyn Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Well i've got a massive bramley apple tree in the back garden, and possibly access to plenty more. Thought it would be a good time to prepare some kit for some cider making. Does anyone have any cheap ideas for making or buying a press? Also if anyone has any general nifty cider making tips that a google search won't show then please share! It may also be worth your while getting in touch with Super Sharp Shooter. If his cider brewing's as good as his shooting, you could do very well Regards Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lampwick Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I bought a press two years ago and made 80 pints of vinegar! It was grim!! still got it mind if anyone wants any? Going to give it one last go this year! Shippy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.