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Old 12-27-2009, 07:14 PM   #1
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Default Cider saga

I didn't want to clog up the cider sticky with this, but I thought I'd share my adventure with a new batch of apple cider.
Luc will be laughing his tail off, I know. ("Send him to school, buy him books, and all he does is eat the covers.")
Anyway, I started with 20 pounds of Johnathan apples from my trees. Not having a traditional apple grinder, I ran them through my electric grinder. That gave me about 4 gallons of ground apples. These were ground directly into a 5 gallon bucket, lined with a paint straining bag.
The bucket was then covered and set outside in 5 F temperatures to freeze. The frozen mass is in the process of thawing. The plan is to extract the bag from the bucket, and collect the initial juice. Then back in the bucket and a dose of pectic enzymes to further liquefy the pulp.

(Note to self: What takes 2 days to freeze at +5F, takes 3 days to thaw at 75F!)


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Old 12-27-2009, 08:07 PM   #2
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You didt grind up seeds also did you?


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Old 12-27-2009, 08:12 PM   #3
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You didt grind up seeds also did you?
Without a blade in the grinder, it's like making sausage. The seeds didn't get cut/ground, and they'll only be in with the apples until it's strained. The mess is only up to 40 degrees, so it will be another day before it's up to room temperature. They'll be long gone before fermentation starts.
In regular apple pressing, the seeds aren't removed.
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Old 12-27-2009, 08:14 PM   #4
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Sounds good then!
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Old 12-27-2009, 08:18 PM   #5
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Sounds good then!
The only real difference in this experiment is using freezing and enzyme to do the job of a 4 ton press! Luc proved that enzymes won't work below 68 F, so I'm just stirring and twiddling my thumbs right now.
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Old 12-27-2009, 09:55 PM   #6
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OP... what, if anything, are you going to add to the apples? Cinnamon? Brown Sugar? etc.
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Old 12-27-2009, 10:11 PM   #7
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OP... what, if anything, are you going to add to the apples? Cinnamon? Brown Sugar? etc.
SWMBO said, "Make some more (of the same)." So I'll just be going an f-pak and back sweeten at the end. I'm going to add some sugar, if necessary, to get the starting SG up to at least 1.060, though.
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Old 12-27-2009, 10:20 PM   #8
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Sounds good... I think my next batch of apple wine will have a higher s.g. and I will probably add a cinnamon stick or two. I also plan to back sweeten for the XYL.
We drank some of the last batch as soon as we bottled. If I make another batch while I still have some on the rack, maybe I can let it age a couple of months before popping a cork.
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Old 12-27-2009, 10:22 PM   #9
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Sounds good... I think my next batch of apple wine will have a higher s.g. and I will probably add a cinnamon stick or two. I also plan to back sweeten for the XYL.
We drank some of the last batch as soon as we bottled. If I make another batch while I still have some on the rack, maybe I can let it age a couple of months before popping a cork.
I hesitate to add sugar, since I'm trying to make cider, and not wine. It's just juice and yeast.
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Old 12-28-2009, 05:23 AM   #10
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Sounds good to me !!!

Just wait indeed till it reaches room temp before adding enzymes. Then wait another 24 hours.
I would add sulphite to prevent browning, or at least citric acid or citrus juice:

http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/03/bruin-worden-van-appels-browning-of.html

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