Hi all after returning from the cool country in England to our blistering hot country in Western Australia it is interesting to compare the differences in the conditions for cider brewing. In UK the problems keeping the brew warm - over here it is keeping it cool. Anyway now that the hottest summer in 125 years has finally departed and day temperatures are in the mid 20's (Celsius that is) we are about to embark on our first sojourn into cider making.
We bought a cold press juicer (an Oscar 930 pro) at half it's normal price and from the claims of the manufacturer it should crush the apples then squeeze the juice from the pulp simultaneously.
Yesterday we drove up into the hills seeking our apples - buying them in the shops is too expensive. We found an orchard with thousands of apples lying on the ground. The farmer was a cracker of a bloke and said we could take as many as we could use, even giving us some boxes and helping us pick them from the trees and the good ones from the ground. So we now have 40 kgms of two varieties - granny smith and pink lady. Both are quite tarty so should make a good brew. As a side affair I saw a large cactus on the side of the road, loaded with fruit. I pulled a couple off, split them and scooped the leash out. Really nice. It turns out it was a prickly pear, so named for very good reasons. I am still trying to pull the microfine spikes from my fingers!
From what I have read, if I am going to start a brew with champagne yeast ( recommended so as not to impart its own flavour into the brew), we have to treat the apples with sterilizer to remove any natural yeast? This is apparently to ensure consistency in consecutive brews.
So today we are going to pulp and squeeze just 4 kgms of shop bought granny smith then stick it in a big stainless steel pot with a lid then se if the natural yeasts do anything. This of course begs the question of whether any spraying the farmer did has already killed the yeast. Nevertheless we can sacrifice these few apples in our first experiment.
A couple of months ago we went to a local home-brew shop armed with a few hundred dollars and great ambitions. Full marks to the owner as he made us leave empty handed but with enough information to realize that our knowledge was a bit raw at the moment. So after putting our 40 kilos of apples in a big tub for a good wash today we will bag them for a week or two to soften them up then full steam ahead.
Rgds from Cliff and Susan Ferguson, Perth, Western Australia.
We bought a cold press juicer (an Oscar 930 pro) at half it's normal price and from the claims of the manufacturer it should crush the apples then squeeze the juice from the pulp simultaneously.
Yesterday we drove up into the hills seeking our apples - buying them in the shops is too expensive. We found an orchard with thousands of apples lying on the ground. The farmer was a cracker of a bloke and said we could take as many as we could use, even giving us some boxes and helping us pick them from the trees and the good ones from the ground. So we now have 40 kgms of two varieties - granny smith and pink lady. Both are quite tarty so should make a good brew. As a side affair I saw a large cactus on the side of the road, loaded with fruit. I pulled a couple off, split them and scooped the leash out. Really nice. It turns out it was a prickly pear, so named for very good reasons. I am still trying to pull the microfine spikes from my fingers!
From what I have read, if I am going to start a brew with champagne yeast ( recommended so as not to impart its own flavour into the brew), we have to treat the apples with sterilizer to remove any natural yeast? This is apparently to ensure consistency in consecutive brews.
So today we are going to pulp and squeeze just 4 kgms of shop bought granny smith then stick it in a big stainless steel pot with a lid then se if the natural yeasts do anything. This of course begs the question of whether any spraying the farmer did has already killed the yeast. Nevertheless we can sacrifice these few apples in our first experiment.
A couple of months ago we went to a local home-brew shop armed with a few hundred dollars and great ambitions. Full marks to the owner as he made us leave empty handed but with enough information to realize that our knowledge was a bit raw at the moment. So after putting our 40 kilos of apples in a big tub for a good wash today we will bag them for a week or two to soften them up then full steam ahead.
Rgds from Cliff and Susan Ferguson, Perth, Western Australia.
