Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Eating and Drinking => Homebrew => Topic started by: 2peasinapod on June 06, 2009, 03:56

Title: cider
Post by: 2peasinapod on June 06, 2009, 03:56
Hi all
we made some cider last year from apples found at the side of an old railway line thats now a path.
anyway about a month after bottling it was tried and found lacking in taste and strength so its been sat in the garage till now, tried  some the other day, wow what a differance, it has fizz and a nice taste but only tried a sip so dont know about strength as yet, will decant a jug tonight (some sediment in bottom) and give it a full and proper tasteing.

so just dont ever chuck owt out as if you leave it long enough most (but not all) brews will get better with age.
Title: Re: cider
Post by: joyfull on June 06, 2009, 07:13
never brewed before but have several apple trees in the garden, is it easy to make? how do I do it ? thanks in advance
Title: Re: cider
Post by: 2peasinapod on June 07, 2009, 00:52
it all depends on your outlook.
the apples have to be chopped/scrattered and pressed, this is the hard bit.
we had access to an industryal grater and being a joiner with an over abundence of initative I made a small press from a sash cramp and a length of 4" pipe.
once we where up and running we got as much juice out as peeps with the proper wodden press's do.
after that its a brewing process as is any other.
will see if I can find the book we picked up, twas very informative.

Mark
Title: Re: cider
Post by: joyfull on June 07, 2009, 10:01
oh yes please, got 5 eating apples (don't know the varietys but one is def' a cox's none of them grow large fruit but certainly not crab apples) plus a cooking apple tree. Never brewed before but this would be an ideal way of using them up. O/H is an engineer so sure he could rig up a press for me  :D, afterall he does like scrumpy. Is yours cloudy like true scrumpy or like the woodpecker stuff?
Title: Re: cider
Post by: joyfull on June 07, 2009, 12:36
We have an old engineering fly press so going to get oh to make something out of stainless to press the grated apples in, also have a kitchen aid mixer with grater attachment on so will have to use this to grate the apples. May be a long job but at least i will have something from those apples this year (we usually only use 3 apple trees - 1 cooker and 2 that have large apples on and then not a lot of apples of those) so the other 3 can be used for this. I am usually t total but think this might change now  :lol:
Title: Re: cider
Post by: 2peasinapod on July 26, 2009, 21:51
hi again,
sorry for the delay, I compleatly forgot about this topic  :blush:.

Ok the book is
Real Cidermaking on a small scale.
By Michael Pooley & John Lomax
ISBN 978-1-85486-195-5

its a good little book with allsorts of stuff in it.
history, press making and loads inbetween.


seem to recall being told not to use SS as it taints the brew?

not even got around to trying it yet.
Title: Re: cider
Post by: joyfull on July 27, 2009, 07:04
surprised that stainless steel is not advised as that is what is used in most breweries (including micro breweries) and our stainless steel stockholder even advised me which grade I needed for brewing (had to get a quote for a customer who was setting up a micro brewery - but he managed to get a second hand set up). Perhaps cider is different or if people used the wrong grade of stainless steel. Anyway thanks for the info of the book - will have a look to see if amazon or ebay have got a copy of it. Loads and loads of apples on my trees at the moment  :D
Title: Re: cider
Post by: NigelB on August 15, 2009, 15:17
I use a stainless steel bucket when pulping the apples and haven't had a problem.... Yet.  :)
I simply mashed the apples in the bucket using a piece of 3*2, then squeezed the pulp, two handfulls at a time..  :blink: in teatowels. Not the best way I know, and I probably threw away as much, if not more, than I actually managed to squidge out of it....
Anyways, when I'd made a gallon it was then filtered by pouring through yet another tea-towel and from there straight into the demijohn with just a handfull of sugar...

.............. It went mad!  :unsure: Bubbling away like a very bubbly thing at a bubbling convention.... It looked sort of yellowy, sort of frothy, and sort of 'Blimey! Am I really going to drink that?'....  :tongue2:
Then, when it had all died down about three weeks later, I decanted it into another demijohn and added a single campden tablet and let it sit for a week...
One week later it looked fabulous.... It had a real glow about it.  A deep golden or amber colour that boded well for the grand opening......

.... So, off I popped next-door to get my mate who's apple tree it is..... (All things being fair, he gets half.)..... And we syphoned off a shot-glass' worth to sample, and took a sip each........... Our eyes met.... We both smiled..... Both said 'Blimey', or something similar. (In Welsh :D)  And both dived into the cupboard to get the 'real' glasses out....
Two hours later and we're singing uproariously loudy, telling our spouses/kids we love 'em to bits, giggling at anything and everything, spilling some, drinking some more.... And sleeping soundly right through the night as far as I can remember..... :)

.......... There are two more demijohns bubbling away as I sit here, and next door's missus is telling him to keep away from my 'mucky beer' in future or he'll be in real trouble! :D...

Now I'd call that, success!