Recent content by phaem

Just before it turned cold here in November I squeezed 19 gallons of cider from an older full size golden russet. These apples are often on the higher side for sugar content, and the older unfertilized orchard I maintain probably runs on the low side for protein. The cider measured 19 Brix, and...

According to the nutrition information, the juice should be 11.7 brix (grams sugar divided by grams per serving) - which converts to 1.047 SG.

Cold crashing will not kill the yeast. Ale yeast more easily go dormant when chilled whereas some yeast can continue to slowly ferment in the refrigerator. Perhaps you are hoping to bottle carbonate then stabilize by keeping the bottles cold? If you have a sweet cider then additional priming...

Interesting. Thank you John

Consider putting the two one-gallon batches into the shiny new 5 gallon carboy and topping up with 3 more gallons of juice?

If I'm not mistaken, 1/8 cup is 1 fluid ounce - roughly translating to 30 ml (perhaps 26 grams for typical table sugar). I agree with Dinnerstick that young dry ciders tend to be quite sour and unpalatable.

Dinnerstick - I wish you lived near me too. Harvesting and pressing is a very pleasant social activity which seems to go better with at least 2 souls. Your sense of humor is an interesting dry one - at one point you recommended something like 'a gallon sounds like a wierd alien measure. I would...

The deer seem to love the whole thing - fruit, twigs, branches. When they get done with those, they work the bark off the trunk. Around here, they'll mangle apple trees (and conifers) under about 10' tall. It's one of the reasons I go for larger trees. If you happen to plant your own in...

You seem to be leaning toward wine yeast, John, in part because it may form a more firm cake and in part because the ale yeasts yield a 'beer' character. I have been under the impression that the ale yeasts flocculate more easily and settle out better in a cold crash situation, but I have no...

My apples are getting on 20 years old now, mostly on seedling Antonovka rootstock, and mostly field-grafted by myself all those years ago. The varieties are mostly heirloom with some classical cider varieties. They were planted primarily to be trees, not specifically for the fruit, but I figured...

For me it was reading every post on Cville Keven's sticky thread 'Yeast experiments', and then reading them again. It takes hours (and hours). I then fussed over the first batch, put it where it is cool and racked it a couple times to slow it down. Crashed it at 1.02, filtered it, and it came...

For smooth surfaces where you are not penetrating glass, plastic, or into crevices, yes - that handheld unit I think will be effective with under 60 seconds of exposure held a foot or less away. This is some guesswork on my part not being familiar with the output specs of the product. I'm...

I have just a wiff of experience with UV pasteurization, probably short of what it takes to become dangerous. I spend my days in a lab nurturing some bugs and killing others; sometimes a person can learn a thing or two under those conditions. A hand-held UV source won't go very far on liquids...

You must have a good bit of space to drop in over 2 dozen near-standard size trees. Hopefully they won't all yield real well, or you are OK with wasting lots of apples, or you have lots of energy to press. It takes me quite a while to hand-pick and press 50 gallons and that gets but a small...

I put in a few acres of apples some years back largely for aesthetic considerations - big apple trees can be quite beautiful IMHO. Most I hand grafted on Antonovka, a seedling rootstock. All have been largely neglected beyond a bit of pruning every 4 years or so. I selected mostly old varieties...