Can Hard Cider Be Made With Fresh Apples? - Page 2

gratus fermentatio · 08-22-2008, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YooperBrew

"Hand crushed" just involved freezing them a bit, and then smashing them up inside the big plastic bag. Then, to "press" them, we put them in a huge mesh nylon bag and squeeze until nothing else came out. It was ok, but we sure didn't get much juice from them.

The tannin was about 1/8 tsp for the batch, if I remember correctly. I used acid blend, and liked that alot.

I've never even had a commercial hard cider, so I can't comment on that one!

Thank you!

JamesM · 07-30-2010, 09:36 PM

I'm starting the hunt in northern NJ for Crab apple trees in parks and on the street for use in the fall cider. Are there any varieties of apples that should not be used, are unsafe for eating? I'm hoping that anything that looks like an apple should be safe.
Thanks!

WisJim · 08-10-2010, 01:52 AM

The only "unsafe" apples would be ones that might have been sprayed with some kind of pesticide not suitable for food. The parks people might assume that these apples won't be eaten and might have sprayed with something not good for you or your cider. Otherwise there are no apples that aren't safe. Maybe too bitter or nasty tasting to be "edible", but some of the real cider apples don't do well for fresh eating either.

For my cider, I use what ever comes out of my cider press on that day, which is usually a juice from 3 to 8 or more varieties of apples. I immediately pitch my started yeast culture and let it go. Haven't had a bad batch yet.