Recent content by docbot

Hey Chalkyt: don't obsess. Go for the gusto and then recalibrate as needed. If you over do the cherry, just dilute with some straight apple 'til you get it where you want it. I fermented some 100% black raspberry juice last year that turned out so overwhelmingly intense that no-one could drink...

Northern Spy?

Best year yet. All apples (and black raspberries) from our own production: 10 gal 60% N. Spy: 40% Pear 30 gal N. Spy w/ 17% Dolgo crab 2.5 gal Harrison w/ 10% Dolgo 15 gal 80% Wickson: 20% Harrison (with about 5% mixed Chisel Jersey, Old Nonpareil, other crabs, etc.) 5 gal 60% Goldrush: 20%...

Hi BS: My experience is that percent yield also varies quite a bit with variety. I've gotten upwards of 60% with some. I just processed my first harvest of 'goldrush' yesterday and got about 55%, but I only had about 16 lbs available, so used my antique screw/basket press instead of the hydro...

Two more late season efforts, both are first harvests from young trees: Harrison - 1 gallon pitched with Cotes des Blanc, which failed so added EC-1118, and it took off. Goldrush - 1 gallon, will pitch with EC-1118 tomorrow. (apples gave a LOT of juice - ca. 60%, at 15% Brix). 499.0 + 2 = 501

I just finished my first pressing day with my new 40L (10 gal) hydraulic basket press. I had toyed with the idea of going with that whole stationery press/air compressor system but decided the hydraulic basket press sounded simpler and fit my style better. Yesterday's pressing has made me a...

It is fall harvest here in Northern Michigan's lower peninsula. Processed all of the apples from my one mature Northern Spy (my ID, suspect as heck). About 450 lbs of apples gave 30 gallons of juice @ ca. 12% brix. In two 15 gallon fermentors, one pitched with Nottingham and one with EC 1118. A...

Goldrush. Prolific and precocious producer. Disease resistant.

Pure black raspberry 10 gal experimental batch, started last July. Ready for keg when I empty one. Early taste test delicious/intense, but maybe would benefit from some added tannins or blending with some bittersweet apple at 10-20%. I use forced carbonation in my kegerator, and want to taste it...

I'm on the same path: Calvados. Have been doing it ca. 10 years or so now. Getting a reliably drinkable pseudo calvados. My best stuff has come from a real 8 gallon American white oak barrel from Black Swan, but I've had quite acceptable stuff from: a) smaller oak barrels from Texas... yikes. b)...

I don't think it is fair to generalize about crabapples in cider. I have been using variety Dolgo for several years. It is a sharp-sweet. As a varietal cider it is pretty much undrinkable due to high acidity, but at 10-20% it perks up otherwise flaccid blends. I also have variety Chestnut, which...

Wait, your yield from 100 apples, at 5 oz each equals ~32 lbs, is only 1 gallon? That seems quite low in my experience. My very young trees gave me 45 lbs of apples this year, from which I squeezed 4 gallons, so call it 11 lbs of apples per gallon juice. Lets call the juice water, at 8 lbs per...

Wasn't planning to toss the high acid batch. It is the high SO2 batch that is a possibility. Lots of options for the high acid batch.

see post #2 above.

Hey neighbors! Thought I'd try to 'pitch' this thread by reporting on my recent fermentations. I did 4 batches of 15+/- gallons each this year for a total of about 60 gallons. Two batches were chaptalized for ~12-13% 'wine'. The other two were not, with potential alcohol around 7-8%. Several...