Calling all ye Cider makers!!

u8myufo

u8myufo

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If memory serves me right, I am sure I seen a mention from a couple of members in the past that they made their own Cider. A neighbour of mine has been doing it for about a year but decided he wanted a press, he bought one form somewhere the other month, and after using it a couple of times has decided it is not really man enough for the quantity he is looking at making. We are not talking big vats though :D this thing that screws the plate down only does about 3kilo of Apples at a time before it needs winding all the way back up to refill. Does anybody else use a press? He wants to come along tomorrow for me to help him look online for something, so I thought if I could get a couple of ideas on kit that someone has used and is pleased with, it would make things a bit easier.
 
Yup.. Built my own press with the help of a neighbour, with a 3t bottle jack it will press 5kg or more of scratted apple pulp in a pillow case. We use a garden shredder for the scratting. The press design is copied from one I found on the web.

 
I think that might well be the way forward Alastair for his needs. He might well go for something like this With just an adapted tray on the bottom for the Apples. Out of interest Andrew, looking at where the pipe outlet is, does the pillow case or if gauze was used not restrict the juice for going down the pipe :shrug: Also do you squeeze down as far as possible and then have to leave it for a certain time?
Thanks
 
Andrew?

Actually, I had to rebuild the base and use a drip hole vertically through the base. The pipe dammed the flow and it leaked at the sides. The base is big enough so that if I part fill a pillow case I can fold it over in itself to prevent apple leaking and the footprint doesn't block the hole.

In use you jack it down until juice flows and let it run. When the flow slows you jack it a little more and repeat. Once I think I have all the juice from one run, I'll back the jack right off, fluff up the pillow of apple and give it one more press.
 
Oh, one improvement I'd make is to put a steel plate between the jack and the top horizontal - just to protect the wood from the pressure of the jack.
 
I made my own press last year - not as impressive as Alastairs!

cider-press.jpg


The yield was not as good as it could have been but I had enough to make 48 bottles.

This is the mk2 press, the horizontal cross-piece under the tray broke on my first attempt.

After a lot of practice (I did 2 pressings), I found the key was to try and ensure even pressure.
 
I have made my own a couple of times in the past. The problem for me is that I get bored of it quickly because I like a wide variery of different drinks, different types of cider etc.

So I ended up with loads of bottles sitting around doing nothing.
 
connersz said:
I have made my own a couple of times in the past. The problem for me is that I get bored of it quickly because I like a wide variery of different drinks, different types of cider etc.

So I ended up with loads of bottles sitting around doing nothing.
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Have you met the Lowicz flavoured syrups yet?

They're Polish and available from Eastern European shops and Tescos. So far I've made variations on turbo cider (i.e. from supermarket apple juice when fresh apples are out of season for pressing) in raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant flavours. Rather strong but dry so the strength creeps up on you when you try and stand-up, but very more-ish. Best way to drink is diluted with apple juice in the glass, takes the edge of the strength (a wee bit north of 7% the way I brew them).

It's a good idea to have bottles hanging around anyway, a few months in the bottle can improve a cider.
 
Rob L said:
I made my own press last year - not as impressive as Alastairs!
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Yours is prettier than mine Rob. And I generally only press one cheese at a time rather than stack them. I might try the stacking if I can come up with some suitable boards to put between the cheeses.

I think homemade presses are always a work in progress. This will be the third or fourth season for ours I think, and every year there's always been tinkering before, during and after the pressing session to make it a little bit better or correct a problem that's developed.

I know at least one of the improvements to be made this year, I'm going to make the feet removable for easier storage. And if I can find a suitable steel plate, add that to protect the overhead beam.
 
Alastair said:
Have you met the Lowicz flavoured syrups yet?

They're Polish and available from Eastern European shops and Tescos. So far I've made variations on turbo cider (i.e. from supermarket apple juice when fresh apples are out of season for pressing) in raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant flavours. Rather strong but dry so the strength creeps up on you when you try and stand-up, but very more-ish. Best way to drink is diluted with apple juice in the glass, takes the edge of the strength (a wee bit north of 7% the way I brew them).

It's a good idea to have bottles hanging around anyway, a few months in the bottle can improve a cider.
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So you use this syrup as a kind of concentrate?
 
connersz said:
So you use this syrup as a kind of concentrate?
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For 1 gallon:

440ml bottle of Lowicz syrup (blackcurrant is the nicest), 1 tsp citric acid, 1 tsp tannin, 3 litres apple juice (Tesco seems to be cheapest). Let the initial ferment die down, the syrup really makes a froth, and then top-up to the gallon with another litre and a half or so of apple juice.

It should ferment out quite quickly, I don't rack just bottle from the primary. Prime with 1/2 tsp sugar per bottle (500ml) and allow 4 weeks to carbonate. I does improve with a month or two of keeping, but is very drinkable (possibly too drinkable) immediately after allowing for the priming.
 
Looking impressive Rob :thumbs: What do you guy`s use for pulping the Apples up, anything as elaborate as the press :lol:
 
Alastair said:
For 1 gallon:

440ml bottle of Lowicz syrup (blackcurrant is the nicest), 1 tsp citric acid, 1 tsp tannin, 3 litres apple juice (Tesco seems to be cheapest). Let the initial ferment die down, the syrup really makes a froth, and then top-up to the gallon with another litre and a half or so of apple juice.

It should ferment out quite quickly, I don't rack just bottle from the primary. Prime with 1/2 tsp sugar per bottle (500ml) and allow 4 weeks to carbonate. I does improve with a month or two of keeping, but is very drinkable (possibly too drinkable) immediately after allowing for the priming.
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OK, presumably I need some cider yeast in there somewhere? (excuse me I am quite new to this, done it with a kit in the past).
 
Oops, forgot that.. yup, a sachet of Young's cider yeast is required.


For scratting (pulping) the garden shredder gets a magnificent clean and a spritz with steriliser, and then the quartered apples get fed in the top. It's handy as most garden shredders have an outlet about the right size to put the pillow case round to catch the pulp.
 
I just used a length of 4x2 and a bucket for pulping. Hard work, and I got through a lot of buckets!
 
We made cider a couple of years ago (not enough apples from our tress last year). We quartered the apples with a knife, then stuck them in a kitchen food processor. Then we wrapped the apple mess in muslin and twisted it as tight as we could to squeeze the juice out. The amount of juice per apple wouldn't be anywhere near the efficiency of a proper press, but it gave us enough to fill all 6 demijohns we had - which was plenty for us.

This year we may have to come up with something more impressive, like a basic DIY press. You lot have got me thinking now!
 
Ive never made it, but ive just found my new favourite. A local cider called hallets. Its beautiful!
 
I'm pretty sure that the thrift shop in Westerleigh (Wot Not) had a press in there when I last went a few weeks ago. It might be worth giving them a call if you can find their phone number!
 
Alastair said:
Oops, forgot that.. yup, a sachet of Young's cider yeast is required.


For scratting (pulping) the garden shredder gets a magnificent clean and a spritz with steriliser, and then the quartered apples get fed in the top. It's handy as most garden shredders have an outlet about the right size to put the pillow case round to catch the pulp.
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Sorry I forgot to reply Alastair, any chance of a link to the shredder you have,assuming it is still made. My mate did try with his garden shredder last year but said it would just clog up. Now what with all shredders not being equal in design, yours might be much better for doing the job :shrug:
 
u8myufo said:
Sorry I forgot to reply Alastair, any chance of a link to the shredder you have,assuming it is still made. My mate did try with his garden shredder last year but said it would just clog up. Now what with all shredders not being equal in design, yours might be much better for doing the job :shrug:
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It's nothing special, just a big red thing we got from B&Q several years ago. Possibly branded "Champion", I'll look later in the week.
 
Fired up the press today, 24 litres in a couple of hours (mostly for fresh apple juice), less than halfway through the bags of apples. Another run at it tomorrow for cider (did manage to divert a demijohn worth today).
 
Alastair said:
Fired up the press today, 24 litres in a couple of hours (mostly for fresh apple juice), less than halfway through the bags of apples. Another run at it tomorrow for cider (did manage to divert a demijohn worth today).
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Nice one Alastair :thumbs: Well since starting the thread my mate has now done aprox 40 Demijohns, with more to go :lol: We do have a little tradition down here that it must onlyt be drank from a Jamjar :D
 
There was a segment on Countryfile last night about cider pressing and juice production. They said that Pasteurisation would let you keep the juice for 2 years without spoiling.

Jam jars aren't big enough for a decent portion, even of proper cider!
 
Nod said:
Jam jars aren't big enough for a decent portion, even of proper cider!
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When one is Rat Arsed and falls over, you are only upset about spilling smaller amounts :p ;)
 
Another session with the press, 15-litres of pear juice for juice, and 25-litres of apple for cider. Still not reached the end of the apples. Several more carrier bags still full, next-door's tree is still hanging onto quite a bit, on the other side we usually get several bags from his mother which we haven't retrieved yet, and on top of that we've spotted a laden tree on waste ground at the end of the street. Looking like a good year. I need another primary FV, or a perhaps a c.50-litre FV.


Checked the shredder, it's a Champion 1200W. It's quite handy for this, because the hinged top slides out of the pins and can be sluiced under the tap/hose for cleaning. The base is quite simple, and a bottlebrush can get under the blades.
 
Alastair said:
Another session with the press, 15-litres of pear juice for juice, and 25-litres of apple for cider. Still not reached the end of the apples. Several more carrier bags still full, next-door's tree is still hanging onto quite a bit, on the other side we usually get several bags from his mother which we haven't retrieved yet, and on top of that we've spotted a laden tree on waste ground at the end of the street. Looking like a good year. I need another primary FV, or a perhaps a c.50-litre FV.


Checked the shredder, it's a Champion 1200W. It's quite handy for this, because the hinged top slides out of the pins and can be sluiced under the tap/hose for cleaning. The base is quite simple, and a bottlebrush can get under the blades.
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Thanks Alistair, it has been a very good year for fruit, but as they old saying goes there usualy follows a cold winter.
 
You're quite right - 6pm!!!
 
My dad had to give up cider making after a couple of bottles exploded in our house. One piece of glass cut through the electric cable plunging the house into darkness.
 
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