home countertop press?
- Thread starter Ty520
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Transamguy77
Well-Known Member
Adventures in Homebrewing has a couple in the sale page, I have not used one but I’m eyeing up buying one. What supplies are you looking for?
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
You don't need any ingredients to make cider besides apples.
For homebrewing supplies, check out HBT sponsors like Atlantic Brew Supply. (15% off your first order)
If you are in the market for a basket press, your budget will determine your options. I have a small press with a wood basket that has a threaded rod up through the middle of the basket. I use it for wine and cider and its OK, but I'm thinking about upgrading to something like this:
https://pleasanthillgrain.com/macin...3KtLuaD-f-UhWuinUl3Zz3Lu6Ljc0HoAaAmgVEALw_wcB
For homebrewing supplies, check out HBT sponsors like Atlantic Brew Supply. (15% off your first order)
If you are in the market for a basket press, your budget will determine your options. I have a small press with a wood basket that has a threaded rod up through the middle of the basket. I use it for wine and cider and its OK, but I'm thinking about upgrading to something like this:
https://pleasanthillgrain.com/macin...3KtLuaD-f-UhWuinUl3Zz3Lu6Ljc0HoAaAmgVEALw_wcB
OP
OP
Ty520
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2020
- Messages
- 251
- Reaction score
- 150
Just a press large enough to produce enough juice for 1 gallon batches of cider or must without too much time and effort.
I think I'd prefer an all metal version as opposed to the more traditional wood stave versions.
seems like many of the homebrew shops have stopped carrying them, and those that do carry one or two models have no reviews. Amazon sells a bunch from sketchy suppliers out of china that have reviews of metal grinding off into the fruit, so those are no longer in consideration.
Transamguy77
Well-Known Member
https://www.homebrewing.org/Fruit-Press-13-L-Aluminum-Stainless-Steel_p_4313.htmlHere’s a small metal one.
And as @madscientist451 said you don’t need much to make cider, you can buy 1 gallon glass apple juice at Whole Foods so you can just ferment that and then keep the jar for future brews.
And as @madscientist451 said you don’t need much to make cider, you can buy 1 gallon glass apple juice at Whole Foods so you can just ferment that and then keep the jar for future brews.
Yep, starting to make cider is the start of a never ending adventure.
My first batch was via SWMBO's food processor... it took a long time, made a mess and I was banned from the kitchen soon after that and had to get my own rig.
Apart from the press you will also need something to grind the apples fine enough to press. I have a second hand metal press and home made scratter (along the lines of Claude Jolicoeur's design plus a few hints from other designs from YouTube). I just set it up outside on a nice day, drink last year's cider and grind away.
I responded to a post by Patricksull on 22 June 2020 on a similar topic which has the details or you can do a search of my posts for the same date. It has pics etc. Let me know if you can't find it and I can send the attachment document.
As far as the press is concerned, mine is similar to the one pictured above. I found a few issues that needed some attention. The screw pushed down on a metal fitting attached to the pressing plate but it had had a slight tendency to wear away under pressure. I have replaced it with a thrust bearing from eBay which works quite well and also makes the screwing process smoother. I put the pulp into a fine mesh bag (again quite cheap on eBay) as the mesh on the press basket is too coarse and in any case putting the pulp into the bag then putting that into the press makes the whole process easier and less messy. I had tried making some "racks" from a PTFE cutting board in order to have a few layers or cheeses of pulp in the press at any one time but it didn't seem to make a lot of difference to the yield for the effort involved.
It is interesting to note that Andrew Lea believes that juice yield is not a linear function with pressure. He says yield only increases by about 5% with each doubling of pressure. So, I now find it easier to grind a few more apples rather than bust my boiler trying to screw another cup of juice out of the press.
I get a juice yield of around 50%-60% (litres/kg of apples) which isn't the world's best but works O.K. for me as I tend to do gallon (5 litre) batches of different apple blends from my small orchard. About four loads in the basket results in a gallon of juice from 10kg of pulp or 100-120 apples..
Have fun!
My first batch was via SWMBO's food processor... it took a long time, made a mess and I was banned from the kitchen soon after that and had to get my own rig.
Apart from the press you will also need something to grind the apples fine enough to press. I have a second hand metal press and home made scratter (along the lines of Claude Jolicoeur's design plus a few hints from other designs from YouTube). I just set it up outside on a nice day, drink last year's cider and grind away.
I responded to a post by Patricksull on 22 June 2020 on a similar topic which has the details or you can do a search of my posts for the same date. It has pics etc. Let me know if you can't find it and I can send the attachment document.
As far as the press is concerned, mine is similar to the one pictured above. I found a few issues that needed some attention. The screw pushed down on a metal fitting attached to the pressing plate but it had had a slight tendency to wear away under pressure. I have replaced it with a thrust bearing from eBay which works quite well and also makes the screwing process smoother. I put the pulp into a fine mesh bag (again quite cheap on eBay) as the mesh on the press basket is too coarse and in any case putting the pulp into the bag then putting that into the press makes the whole process easier and less messy. I had tried making some "racks" from a PTFE cutting board in order to have a few layers or cheeses of pulp in the press at any one time but it didn't seem to make a lot of difference to the yield for the effort involved.
It is interesting to note that Andrew Lea believes that juice yield is not a linear function with pressure. He says yield only increases by about 5% with each doubling of pressure. So, I now find it easier to grind a few more apples rather than bust my boiler trying to screw another cup of juice out of the press.
I get a juice yield of around 50%-60% (litres/kg of apples) which isn't the world's best but works O.K. for me as I tend to do gallon (5 litre) batches of different apple blends from my small orchard. About four loads in the basket results in a gallon of juice from 10kg of pulp or 100-120 apples..
Have fun!
Similar threads
