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I have a Tilt Hydrometer floating in it and took readings daily. I was really surprised it kept going down.

So, I though cold crashing would stop the fermentation process. But after two weeks at 35 degrees, my cider went from 1.015 to 1.010. This was a wild ferment with no chemicals added. Also, the cider did not clear at all. Was I wrong about what cold crashing can do? Thanks!

Pasteurized 2.5 gallons Friday. It's a wild ferment of several varietals from my cousin's farm. SG 1.056, FG 1.010, with a quart of tart cherry juice added before fermentation. Impressively, I cold crashed at 1.015 at 35 degrees, and it continued to ferment until I pasteurized at 1.010 after 2...

Also, I just checked on the Pleasant Hill Grain website. One other customer reported the metal shavings, and PHG replaced the part. Good luck!

Do you put enough food-grade grease on the screw? That's really important. If you are, I'd contact the manufacturer (or Pleasant Hill Grain if you bought it from them) and see what they say. Metal shavings are BAD!

You could get a small press, like this one: Tabletop Fruit Press 1.25 Gallon, All Stainless I have not used it, but I have a Maximizer press from them that I LOVE. Good luck!

I made 2 gallons last year, and we went through it in a few weeks. It was the first good cider I've made, so this year we dove in and have about 13 gallons to ferment. I'm going to share what I can, and drink a bunch myself, but no, I'm not an alcoholic.

I believe the issue is sanitization. It's VERY hard to make sure everything is perfectly sanitized if you're dealing with open containers. People pasteurize in bottles because 1) they want some level of carbonation to build up, and 2) there's very little chance of a closed bottle becoming...

Unfortunately, I need to go out of town for a few days. I'll look at upping the temp when I get back. Thanks! Yeah, this is kinda how I feel about it. It's just weird when you use apples from the same trees year to year, and then this year they are super slow to ferment. What I need to do it...

I pressed some apples and heat pasteurized the juice. A couple of weeks later, I added sugar and honey to up the SG to 1.075. I then added Mangrove Jacks M02 yeast. The batch previous to this was slow, but 8 days into this ferment, I'm only down to SG 1.042. The airlock is still burping every 8...

Yeah, sometimes you just get lucky. My mom planted two trees a few years ago. She didn't consult me, and she ended up with a Honeycrisp and a Jonagold. I think they were the last two trees available at the big box store. Anyway, the Jonagold has turned out fantastic.

Apple - Bramley's Seedling - tasting notes, identification, reviews Apple - Jonagold - tasting notes, identification, reviews The two differences I spotted were that The Jonagold has no discoloration vs. the slightly oxidizing Bramley's. The Jonagold is in flowering group 3, and the...

I haven't been adding Camden tablets after heat pasteurizing. Whether that's good or bad, I really don't know. But that's what I do.

When do they ripen? Here in the States, Gravenstein's ripen in August. Also, they ripen over a few weeks (meaning that some ripen sooner or later than others). If they're all ripening at the same time, then it's probably a different variety. If they ripen in the Southern Hemisphere equivalent...

Pressed 27 gallons on October 23. Of that, 21 gallons will be used for cider. 220 + 21 = 241

One thing I like about pasteurizing my juice is that the process makes it shelf stable until I get around to fermenting it. And I know intellectually that potassium metabisulfite isn't bad, but emotionally, I just don't like it. I want my drink 100% pure. There's no real logic to it; it is what...

Adding sugar to the bottles will only result in increased carbonation. The yeast will still eat all the sugar. If you want sweet cider, others have suggested methods to obtain that. You can also pasteurize the cider before the fermentation is done to preserve some natural sweetness. I stopped my...

- 3 gallons of weak Honeycrisp - 3 gallons of Red Gravenstein - Many more to go (my cousin bough land with 6 established trees on it) 3 + 3 + 137 = 143

If I had an extra grand lying around and that many apples to crush, I'd buy this from Pleasant Hill Grain: Electric Apple Grinder. They say is can grind a pound of fruit per second. I have their non-electric Maximizer Grinder, and it works great! The build quality is EXCELLENT! With someone...

If you pasteurize the juice, it should be shelf stable for quite a while, at least 12 months. I've never back sweetened with juice, but it seems like dilution could be an issue. The juice is mostly water and would lower you ABV%, and I think that's why many people use frozen apple juice...