Then this weekend, it was time to make our 2017 batch of cider. I only managed to get around 200lbs of apples from the tree (she generally fruits around 1000lb, or so), but as some were picked a few weeks back to let them rest and get a little bit juicier, I lost around 30lb to rot, bruising, fruit flies etc. Anyway, I ended up with a total of 164lbs of apples; with a total of 4 different varietals from the tree.
Had to build a base for the scratter and fruit press, but it was so nice being able to work outside at this time of year. Last year we were stuck indoors due to torrential rain and a temp of around 3c!
Brand new scratter & hopper:
Basic work bench for the scratter and fruit press:
Actually took an OG reading this year; something I forgot to do last year:
During the pressing, the juice had this lovely bubbling foam sitting on top all day long:
The finished barrel full of lovely sweet apple juice, and a packet of Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast.
Started at 12pm, and everything was finished by 7.45pm. Definitely going to start earlier next year and try doing slow presses of juice, as I know there's a lot more in the pulp. We did an initial press of the freshly scratted apples, then gathered all these in another bucket, then mixed all the pressed pulp up and got another pressing out of them.
An enjoyable day as the weather also played ball, too; it was a lovely 19c, which ain't bad for a late September in Edmonton.
Now it's the waiting game again
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)