New to pressing apples and making cider - Page 2

**Bombo80** · 10-07-2009, 02:08 PM

I definitely like the idea of getting the corian scrap pieces. Great suggestion !!!!!

For pressing the apples, I just use the grain bags I have for brewing beer. Even if I have to buy a new one, the largest one midwest has is only $7. (nlylon straining bag)

Emerald · 10-07-2009, 05:38 PM

Not to butt in or anything, but have you tried to find some cheap muslin? I buy it (unbleached) at a fabric shop for about .79 cents a yard and washed it and have sewn it into big squares for when I make cheese- it is long lasting and you can boil it to make it sterile ( a biggie for making cheese, just like making wine). I was thinking of making some bags with it to try my hand at some of the other fruit wines than just apple.
And on topic (I hope) Could you just buzz up apples in a food processor and put them into the muslin bags and then make wine from it? I know it isn't technically cider, but if I put it in my fermenting buckets and then pull the bags and drain would it still work? Or would you just fill the buckets with the apple pulp and then go from there and ferment like grapes and then drain it off? I have a couple of trees and have friends with apple trees yet not one of us has an apple cider press, and of course there is no money to speak of!

**Bombo80** · 10-07-2009, 06:49 PM

Emerald,
I like the idea of making my own bags. I never even thought about that. THX

I am also venturing into making wine. I think I will get some of that cloth and make one to fit inside my primaries. I think that would work quite well, to have a bag lining the primary, and have the must poured in it, and just process it normally, then when it's time to take the must out and press it, pull the bag, drain as much as you can right there, then take it to your press and get the rest out of it.

I was actually planning on doing it that way myself.

gregbathurst · 10-07-2009, 08:28 PM

I find it much easier to deal with juice than pulp when fermenting. When pressing fermented pulp you need to make sure it hasn't fermented dry or it will tend to oxidise. Juice needs much less handling.
Partly it depends on how much cider you want to make - if you want to make lots a food processor isn't much good.

Emerald · 10-07-2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregbathurst

I find it much easier to deal with juice than pulp when fermenting. When pressing fermented pulp you need to make sure it hasn't fermented dry or it will tend to oxidise. Juice needs much less handling.
Partly it depends on how much cider you want to make - if you want to make lots a food processor isn't much good.

I was thinking of just a few one gallon trial batches this year. I was also thinking that I would let it ferment in the bucket for only about a week or so (maybe less) and then rack it into another container to get it off the pulp. Almost like you would grapes- I figured that if I ferment about 1 and 1/2 gallons of pulp it would probably rack into the 1 gallon container just right. Then I could do trials with racking onto some nice honey or even some of the blueberries that I picked and froze this summer.
But, I am really new at this

I have only made a one gallon trial of the famous Edworts Apfelwein and at the two week mark I started a batch of 4 gallons of the Apfelwein (so nice and easy and the first batch tastes great) and one trial gallon of csyer that I had a little taste of this weekend and it is doing quite well too... So now I have been bitten by the bug and want to try all kinds of things.

But don't have the ready cash to invest yet on more fancy equipment! But have been thinking of getting together with the friends and pooling our apples and getting them all "pressed" together at a local place to help defray the costs. And freezing some for later in the year. I was thinking that since we all had different kinds of apples it would make for a more complex flavor in the cider.

Sully123 · 10-07-2009, 09:31 PM

i went to the amish a got rough cut 2x4's cut them the same length and bolted them together with threaded rod with the 2x4's standing upright...then sanded them smooth once bolted... then if the wood shrinks some i can just tighten the bolts... we'll see how it works,,, probably overkill but i'm using a hydraulic jack instead of a screw so i figured it'd have to be pretty stout

gregbathurst · 10-07-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sully123

i went to the amish a got rough cut 2x4's cut them the same length and bolted them together with threaded rod with the 2x4's standing upright...then sanded them smooth once bolted... then if the wood shrinks some i can just tighten the bolts... we'll see how it works,,, probably overkill but i'm using a hydraulic jack instead of a screw so i figured it'd have to be pretty stout

Sounds very sturdy, post some pics.