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Racked off to secondary after a good wait on the lees. Honey crisp batches look fine but these Nova Macs have some 'clouds' forming on top. As you can see, there is ample head space which I believe might be the problem. Any other thoughts? I will have to mix this batch with some water I...

So it looks more like krauzen than odd white bubbles now, which, I believe is a good thing (knock on wood). Shall i repitch some yeast? Wouldn;t the sulphites have killed the original yeast?

Thank you LeBreton- you always come to my rescue! So, I'll rack it off into a clean carboy and then add the sulphites? Any idea what may have caused this? Sterilization laziness?

So, we pressed these two batches the same night. We used the same apples, the same yeast etc. all at the same time. One has obviously commenced primary fermentation while the other looks a bit like a potion. I'm worried that this might be some sort of bacterial reaction. Has anyone had a...

Thanks again Lebreton! The honeycrisps were a steal considering their price in the local markets. I appreciate you're in NY and in a different zone than us (Eastern Canada) but can you recommend a good tart apple this late in the season? Or is it just the same or better to add the malic...

Thank you LeBreton. It wasn't in the original books to use honeycrisps actually but we found a good source and ended up getting a hell of a deal. I plan (i'm very new however) to use it as a sweeter blend while pairing it with Nova Macs, Tangowines (locally developed variety) and golden...

I'm fortunate enough to live in a part of the world where honeycrisps grow very well. They command a very high price and most orchardists wouldn't consider making cider out of them, given the profits made from selling them as is. Here is where I come in. We pressed our second large batch last...

Hi AppleJacker- I think you are right! So yesterday I camehome from work and the house smells like a cidery (I suppose) and the cider was not only up into the air lock but also foaming out the top! The fermentation was incredible- non stop bubbles- it was like an eruption! I quickly...

hah no worries. So I have some 'activity'. brownish stuff collecting on top of the juice. I assume that means fermentation has kicked in. However, I haven't really seen many bubbles coming up through? Does that sounds like fermentation or a botched batch?

Alas, still nothing. The room temp is about 20C. I think I'm going to bin the entire batch tonight. Thought about re-pitching but it has been 72 hours so far. I've lost hope. Any last minute suggestions? Anyone?

I guess I don't really have a choice do I? I'll turn the heat on in that room. I was trying to save a few bucks by not heating that room. Thanks again Yooper!:mug:

Well back to my original concern. Fermentation.... Its been almost 48 hours and nothing appears to be happening. But I'm not certain as to what I should be seeing at this stage. I do have a rim of very small bubbles in one carboy and the other is basically flat looking. I'll will keep...

The Liberty will work as a good sweet blending apple. Scab resistent for the most part as well!

Glad I've been redeemed! It does work quite well. Very pelased with the results. Also, the antlers add some toughness and works as a handy cheese cloth holder ;)

I was told by a very reputable apple grower that one consumes millions of maggotts (or traces thereof) and larvae when consuming apple juice/cider. There aren't many varieties of apples that can stand up to maggotts. That being said, I would discard any visible infected apples. Roll the...

Here she be! In all her pressure withstanding glory!

Haha, sorry cheezydemon. It was an emergency in my eyes! And I'll upload a photo of old Spikehorn tonight. As long as I can stay in the good graces of a demon.

Yooper- Thanks again. I will definitely let you know how things progress. ditchbanker- Thanks mate- We built this massive beast of a press and named it 'Spikehorn' (antlers screwed to the top beam). The amazing part is the scratter we built. It's a shock nobody has been injured yet. It's...

Yooper- Thanks mate! From browsing this forum I've noticed your posts and was secretly hoping you'd be the person to reply! Just added some champagne yeast and have my fingers crossed that I didnt ruin the whole batch. Thanks again. I greatly appreciate your knowledgeable and timely...

Hi everybody, I'm VERY new here so apologies for this. We pressed our first batch of apples on Friday night. That evening I added Camden tablets and on Saturday night added the pectin enzyme. Now I find myself on Monday night (was only able to purchase a hydrometer today) and I haven't...