Cider from discovery and Bramley apples

[John Robbins]

Hi, I would like to make some proper cider this year. I have a homemade 4tonne press and a whole load of discovery and Bramley apples.

Do you think they would make a good cider? Ive read somewhere that Bramleys dont make great cidr on their own. If I mix them with the Discovery's what kind of blend should I use? 50/50?

 

[MattH1973]

just use what you have and give it a try - I did this a couple of years ago and never looked back

 

[John Robbins]

I did just that. Managed to get 2gals from about 20kg apples.
S.g. 1.055
Just pitched the yeast..we'll see how it turns out!

 

[Ron Bell]

I'm planning the same thing - Discovery and Bramley. This will be my first ever attempt to make cider. I'm wondering if it's a problem that the two varieties are not in season at the same time. Discoveries are over and going brown towards the end of October whereas Bramleys are not really ready until November. Slightly surprised, John Robbins, to see that you've just pitched your yeast. I know it's warmer where you live than up here in Southern Scotland - but aren't your Bramleys still on the under-ripe side?? Mind you, I'm still very new to all this. Maybe it's OK to use under-ripe Bramleys. From what I've read, the ideal mix eaters/cookers is 60%/40%.

 

[RockySpears]

I have apples falling all around me this year, if I had a huge spare freezer I could fill it many times over.
Everything is ripe early this year, from the Blackberries to the Sloes, yes, Sloes, not normally ready 'til end Oct beginning Nov. but there hoards of them on the bushes here in the North East and they are purple and soft and ready, so much fruit, so little time,

RS

 

[Ron Bell]

In my experience, if you don't know what the varieties the apples that fall are, then they are probably cookers. So far, I have zero experience of actually making cider - but I'm led to believe from what I've read that cider made mainly from cookers is not really satisfactory. So it's the eaters that matter - and they're probably not in such abundant supply!

 

[RockySpears]

I have found a mix of crab apples and X, where x is anything, works for me. I like my cider still and dry, and clear cider always has more appeal with friends. I never "fizz-up" my cider, but I will stabilise and add a little sugar for my Southern/younger family members. The land our estate was built on in the 1930's was previously orchards, and most gardens here still have trees which must easily be 100 years old but still producing loads of fruit. I picked 17Kg in just under an hour yesterday, hardly touched one side of the tree. They are rosy red and although I would hesitate to call them "eaters" they make great cider, even when bulked out with much sharper varieties (to be honest I have no idea what their varieties might be). Volumes this year have made me contemplate a scratter this year, but I am holding out to see if I can cadge one off some one or get a second hand one somewhere,

RS

 

[Ron Bell]

Sounds wonderful! The rosy red apples could well be eaters, I'd have thought. I just have two old trees - both of them Bramleys. My other trees (23 of them, MM106 rootstock) were planted by me 5-7 years ago and are all eaters. The have yielded 3 times as many apples in 2018 as in 2017 and for the first time I have a glut. If I use my "early" varieties - Discovery, Katy, Miller's Seedling, and Redsleeves - then, since I can't easily freeze that many apples, I think I'm going to have to use the Bramleys before they're really ripe. I could just forget about the earlies and use later varieties of eaters - but my surplus of later varieties is much lower, so I'd like to use the earlies if I can. On the other hand, I'd like my first ever batch of cider to be successful! What I'd really like to know is whether using Bramleys before they're fully ripe is going to have a serious effect on the outcome - or whether it doesn't matter much. I'm also interested in your use of crab apples - my neighbour has a crab tree - or alternatively, I have a medlar tree. I'm inclined to forget crabs/medlars for my first batch and maybe try them later - but would you advise always adding a little tannin bite?

 

[RockySpears]

Sounds wonderful! The rosy red apples could well be eaters, I'd have thought. I just have two old trees - both of them Bramleys. My other trees (23 of them, MM106 rootstock) were planted by me 5-7 years ago and are all eaters. The have yielded 3 times as many apples in 2018 as in 2017 and for the first time I have a glut. If I use my "early" varieties - Discovery, Katy, Miller's Seedling, and Redsleeves - then, since I can't easily freeze that many apples, I think I'm going to have to use the Bramleys before they're really ripe. I could just forget about the earlies and use later varieties of eaters - but my surplus of later varieties is much lower, so I'd like to use the earlies if I can. On the other hand, I'd like my first ever batch of cider to be successful! What I'd really like to know is whether using Bramleys before they're fully ripe is going to have a serious effect on the outcome - or whether it doesn't matter much. I'm also interested in your use of crab apples - my neighbour has a crab tree - or alternatively, I have a medlar tree. I'm inclined to forget crabs/medlars for my first batch and maybe try them later - but would you advise always adding a little tannin bite?

Try the juice on its own: Whizz up a few apples in the blender (or juicer) and strain the pulp. The juice wants to be sharp, but NOT like eating a lemon. Sadly the only way to try it is to make it and see. Maybe just do 1gallon ferments with different mixes, but keep good notes. If the apples are ready now, make sure they are dry and lay them out in shallow boxes, they will keep a week or 2 easily, but check regularly for those that go bad. Pick your apples, don't shake the tree and bruise them.

Medlars and crab apples would be a very old style cider, do not make it too strong ~ 4.5 - 5.0% (really, add no sugar at all, just check the sg at the start and see what happens) but probably a really good one. You'd have to give it a go. If you are short on DJs, go to Tesco and get the 5l water bottles, they are about £1 and come with free water. You can fit an airlock or just put muslin, held tight over the bottle mouth to keep out the flies. The CO2 will protect the cider from the O2 if you leave a little space for it.

RS

 

[Ron Bell]

Thanks very much. I'm going to keep the early eaters as long as possible then try 'em with the Bramleys. I was intending to do a single 25 litre brew as my first effort - but now I think I might do 4 or 5 different trials in demijohns or - as you suggest - Tesco's 5 litre water bottles. I'll let you know how I get on. Good luck with your own brews.

 

[bobukbrewer]

smash the apples up well before putting in the press - more yield in less time....