Recent content by brianwadley

Thanks, Jake. I'll check it out. I'm always looking to learn.

It could also be Camden tabs still letting off, if he used them. I've found that using them adds a few weeks to my secondary to finish out before bottling.

I suggest pasteurizing in the bottle like you will find in the sticky thread. It will still be sweet at this point. If you want carbonation, add sugar as you would to beer and wait to pasteurize by testing a bottle every other day after the third day in bottles. Once you have the desired...

I can get antsy when I have low activity for a few days too. I say, if you are still stuck at 1.030 when you get back, then you can start looking at options.

I've always felt it had more effect on secondary by giving less head room in a carboy for nasties to fall out of the air before the slow release CO2 fills it. But really, that is about managing your vessel size for the amount of liquid you have and could be done with a bucket of the right...

If you have a juicer than can handle it, just use that. Building/buying a scratter/crusher and a press are definitely expensive/time-consuming options for your first time.

Am I reading correctly that it has only been 3-4 days in the primary at this point?

yep, you just won't have a guage to know your final ABV. You really want an ABV of 5% or higher to keep from spoilage as it ages. I've found that most of my ciders from pressed dessert and cooking apples tend to have an SG around 1.045 +/-0.005. If you assumed a low end of 1.040, you could...

Hey thirsty, I checked out the sundowner and I think I'll try to add one or two as well. I didn't know that it was a cripps that grows out here. That's awesome. I've only been in AZ a few years and I'm still adjusting to what I can grow out here. Back home in Kansas, the crabapples just grow...

I've never seen a sundowner. I'll have to look into them. Thank you again!

Thanks for the reference! I'll check them out. I'm intending to add a golden dorsett next year. I wish you the best of luck with yours! I keep seeing the big box stores selling golden delicious here. I hope people don't buy them for the fruit out here. We'd have to have a few exceptional winters...

This seemed like a good overview of culling/pruning/training. How to Prune Young and Bearing Apple Trees Any thoughts regarding changes I should make to desert growing?

That info is all over this site, but you can simply bottle with some priming sugar like you do beer or fresh juice or concentrate. Check a few of the sparkling cider threads.

What is your grow region and how many chill hours?

Just excited to get two new, year old Anna's to start my desert orchard and wanted to share the excitement. Probably a good three to five years before any cider gets made from them.