Apple Juice/Cider

[ericmark]

I have a Juicer which with a centrifuge type action grates and separates juice from pulp and with a glut of apples turning into juice seems way to go.

However unless stored in the fridge the juice tends to ferment and the resulting pressure has in the past washed my ceiling in apple juice some thing I would like to avoid in the future.

However look up Cider Making and one is expected to press apples not juice them and with limited fridge room the juice will need to be left to ferment.

As the juice settles it separates into three distant levels. Bits that float, bits that sink and liquid in centre. When not left to ferment I would siphon out middle bit and dump the rest. However I have noticed when left to ferment the middle bit grows and the crust and sediment seem to decrease in size.

I remember buying scrumpy and finding it did not keep for over a week once in plastic gallon containers so I do not know how I can keep the apple juice/cider should I leave in demijohn until ready to drink or can I bottle and if I can bottle when can I bottle?

Next will be the pears and run out of air locks so would be nice to bottle rather than buy more air locks.

To left been around 1 week to right 1 day there seems to be local circulation with bits going around all the time like the first washing machine as a kid can't help watching it. However the air lock not that active 30 seconds between bubbles.

Any advice on how to handle this stuff and also should I add anything at the moment just added a little beer yeast to get started and that's it.

 

[oldbloke]

While some craft cider makers throw up their hands in horror, others Campden their freshly pressed juice
If you're not getting it into the fermenter straight away you have to really.

 

[ericmark]

Time ticking on and now I need to decide what to do and when.
The left was first moving to right which was last and was pear not apple. The crust seems to have been eaten away by the yeast and a fine power like yeast I assume is building up at the bottom. No idea of alcohol level could not really read a hydrometer in the original to have a figure to compare with. Also of the three apple demijohns the one to right seems nearly done yet that was last to be made. Still active although slow one can see bits rising and falling in them all and bubbles forming although the air lock will give one bubble every 3 minutes so very slow. Temperature around the 18 deg mark. I intend to transfer into clean demijohns as soon as the bits floating have fully gone.
Any pointers welcome. Having seen how the yeast has devoured the top crust I wonder should I have got rid of the pulp or should that have also gone in?
What is the difference between cider and apple wine? Is it that with cider all pulp removed but left in with wine? Not tasted as yet. First lot allowed to settle then removed crust and sediment then allowed to ferment and it was very dry. Adding sugar it tasted OK but clearly had I bottled it would ferment again. I also tried 50/50 Coopers Ginger Beer and the cider which was very good.
I was not really aiming to make cider I was just looking for a way to use the apples as every year most go to waste. So many are cooked and bagged and frozen but there is a limit to how much can be stored next season there is always some left from last lot. Added a little beer yeast but other than that nothing as yet.

 

[calumscott]

ericmark,

You are, I believe, doing it right...

The fact that you are leaving it to natural yeast and probably a decent slice of luck, has meant that you have produced what the Normandy cider makers call Le Chapeau Bruin, the brown cap. In that cap is pectin and lots of nutrient.

The idea is to rack off the liquid between the cap and the sediment, that has a very low nutrient content and will prevent the yeast from fermenting the juice right out to dry cider. That way you can produce a perfectly natural, sweeter, and naturally carbonated cider.

As your chapeaux have collapsed back into the cider, I'm afraid you'll have to ferment right to dry now but worth trying next year! :thumb:

 

[ericmark]

Thank you the cider was done in 5 lots and first I did take the centre bit only and it was very dry. Tried adding sugar just before drinking and it tasted OK also tried mixing with Ginger Beer and that really tasted good. So four demijohns left are going to have to wait until clear then I will transfer to clean demijohn and taste.

So if dry and seems it will be I have a few options.
1) Add sugar before drinking but not much before or it will start fermenting again.
2) Add spender or other non sugar sweetener.
3) Add chemical to stop fermenting and sugar.
4) Mix with Ginger beer which is rather too sweet so works well with dry cider.
With two diabetics in the family likely 2) or 4) unless any other ideas.

 

[calumscott]

The options to sweeten cider are:

1) Leave it dry and serve on a little apple juice.
2) Kill it with campden tablets and Potasium Sorbate then sweeten with sugar for a flat sweet cider
3) Sweeten with splenda (sucralose) which doesn't ferment and doesn't have that awful chemical flavour of other artificial sweetners and bottle carbonate for a sweet fizzy cider.

 

[Crastney]

if you just wanted apple juice you could bottle, and then pasteurize before capping.
if you wanted sweet cider you could mix the finished cider with apple juice (or other fruit juices) in the glass as you pour it, just before drinking.

what you've done has seemed to work.

usually after the initial fermentation has slowed down, people top up to just top of shoulder of DJ, with more AJ, or boiled water, and leave to finish fermentation, or in bulk storage to mature over several months, before bottling.

if you do bottle it, make sure your cider has finished fermentation, use bottles that can take pressure if you're adding more sugar.

French method is called keeving (iirc) - siphon the juice off the yeast sediment, and nutrient rich floating chapeau brun, several times, so that you end up with still sweet drink, but not enough yeast to ferment further. This needs a lower fermentation temperature else it'll all go too quickly.