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I make cider, and prefer it heavily carbonated (~3 volumes). I've only bottled once with a bottle filler (in the past I've just gone directly from taps), and it was a disaster. I used the Last Straw exactly as the instructions said - 8-12 psi head pressure. Foam city! I ended up with bottles 90%...

That's very nice! The pomace you're getting is a bit finer than I get out of my stainless steel crusher, though not quite as fine as what I get when I pass that crushed apple through the garbage disposal. But for the simplicity of a single step, I might be willing to accept a slight reduction in...

The black knob on the bottom adjusts the chute that guides the "pomace" (if you can call it that as coarse as it is). It can scoot forward or backward, or even removed to let the pomace fall straight down (which is how I use it). This thing is all stainless, which is why I splurged on it...

Thanks for the responses - what apple mill do you guys recommend, with a Lancman bladder press in mind? The crusher is made for apples. It's by a company in New York called Raw Rutes (http://www.rawrutes.com/collections/juicing/products/apple-crusher). As far as I can tell the distance...

Hey all - My current cider setup includes a crusher (this one) which I've motorized. I pass the crushed apple through a garbage disposal and into a homemade basket press (similar to this one, though I think mine's a bit larger as I get about 3-4 gallons from each batch.) I've experimented with...

Hm. Just going off of what I've read, I have no experience with this application of pectinase so I can't say for sure. Guess there's really only one way to find out... time for a day of press experiments.

Yeah, the perfect pH is the pH you started with on the one you love :) Seriously though, the general "rule" is in the range of 3.1-3.5. Experiment, and take good notes. If it's too acidic you might want to try encouring malolactic fermentation.

Thanks... but... It sounds to me like you're talking about adding pectinase after pressing for clarifying - and I totally agree with your process if that's the case (that's what I usually do). In this thread I'm talking about adding pectinase to the milled pulp, before pressing, to break...

This is my first time using pectic enzyme before pressing - I'm hoping it'll increase my yield. The process I expected to follow was to mill, add pectic enzyme, let sit at 65F for 24 hours, then press and add sulfites. Should I be concerned about wild fermentation during the 24 hour pectic...

Good stuff, thanks everyone! Beeswax it is... a rancid press sounds nasty.

atoughgram - I think you've doubled your potassium sorbate. Common pitch rate is more like 0.5 tsp/gal (I think anyway!) I'd give it a full 24 hours after pitching potassium sorbate and Campden before adding any fermentable sugars - give it plenty of time to stun those living yeasties.

Dang, that's expensive stuff.

Olive oil is an interesting idea... huh. After a bit of searching I'm considering beeswax: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012XP7LQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 But... I already have olive oil. Might give that a shot!

I built an apple press, and now I need to waterseal it. What have you all used for sealing wood that's in contact with apples? Obviously it should be food safe. My first thought was Thompson's WaterSeal, but the warnings on the label make me hesitant to use it. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I do want them badly, and I want them more often than I can get here. 10 pounds of crabs will go a long way... If anyone can recommend a better source, I'm all ears! Swamps are terribly difficult to find in California. Maybe if I drove out to Florida... :)

Thanks everyone! Good info. I'm trying to get them down in the San Luis Obispo area. The supplier I've found seems to be national though: http://www.24hourbestbuy.com/

It was a pain in the neck to find a source, but yep.

I'm talking commercially grown apples. But, the farmers are farmers, not cidermakers... they don't know much about acid or tannins. The only surefire way is to buy them and see. But I'm still holding out for someone with experience with those particular apples to get some info beforehand :)

I agree. I typically shoot for 5-10% crab apples by weight, the tannins and acid make a world of difference. But, saying "use crab apples for cider" is like akin to saying "use grains for beer". I'm wondering about this specific breed of crabs... hoping someone's got some experience with them!

Has anyone used California Crab apples for tannins? I've never used them and can't find any info on how tannic or acidic they are. I believe these are also called Pacific Crab or Oregon Crab apples. Any info would be welcome!