So daft we did it again - 120 L cider using a juicer!

[olriley]

This is the second time we've done this (last year's thread is here).

This year - more apples, more friends, more juice and... ....cider from last year to drink! :

Also, pulled pork in the smoker and lots of slaw to keep us going!

Some more details here on my blog.

 

[Rhodgkins]

A great effort getting all that cider using just a juicer and that pork looks beautiful. I wondering if my wife would let me build a smoker...

 

[chrig]

that Looks like a good days cider making!

 

[olriley]

Cheers guys. Every bloke needs a smoker :-)

 

[Crastney]

nice thread, good blog too. I'm impressed that you did it all with a juicer.

one thing I noticed is that you left the juice to rest for half an hour in open topped FV bucket, and then siphoned on the clear juice from the middle of the FV, leaving the sediment that sank, and the floaty pulp behind?
personally I'd have left it all in - as there's nutrients, sugars, etc in the top and bottom layers.

How do you feel that this process helps with the flavour of the cider, or speed of fermentation, etc?
presumably there's less lees on the first racking.

 

[olriley]

Hi, and thanks! Your point is rather interesting because my cider making/drinking mates feel that flavour has a lot to do with leaving it 'on the lees'. Last year I racked mine relatively soon after primary fermentation and although it is beautifully clear, it does taste rather thin compared to theirs. Hence I won't be racking it off for some time.

The main problem when you juice rather than press is the stiff, brown foam which settles on top. You get much more of it, and bottom sediment too, becuase wheras when you press the pulp acts as a natural filter, when you juice the whole fruit gets blitzed and thrown through a relatively coarse filter. So you really have to do something or else you are only using half the capacity of your FVs! When I siphon, I inevitably still end up carrying quite a lot of stuff through in suspension, so I still end up with a good dose of lees.

By the way, it's still fermeting away!

Cheers :

 

[Crastney]

I guess that is an issue with a juicer - maybe passing it through a muslin cloth in a funnel, or something, as I'm sure you're losing something in that froth/pulp mixture that you're leaving behind.

not certain though, maybe a more experienced cider maker could give a more in depth answer as to what you might be losing.