New presser

[Russet rustler]

Hi there - I am purchasing a Fruit Shark from Vicky who suggested I
post some questions to the group. I have Andrew Lea's great book on
Craft Cider making and have the following apples:

1/4 tonne cox
1/4 tonne brambley
1/2 tonne of russets

Looking at the figures for acid and sugar content for these varieties
I am a little concerned. Can someone recommend the proportions I would
need to mix at pulp stage before pressing, and the probable adjusting
I will need to do post fermentation to adjust the acid content? I have
never pressed juice before and a group of friends and I are stupidly
starting with vast quantities so we wanted to be prepared before
Friday (D-Day).

Any other tips would be appreciated. I've got an old Italian basket
press with a central fixed spindle to push the blocks down. I'm
planning on using 2x Vigo 20L bags to fit around the spindle, and have
a number of 30L fermentation tanks. What would be the juice yield from
this setup? I'm guessing the inefficiencies of the basket press will
lower the yield below 70%. Andrew suggests ~75L per 100kg....

Many thanks, and great group!

James

[Ray Blockley]

Hi James, glad you found your way to Vicky and the Fruit Shark.

As you have guessed, all those varieties are quite high in acid, especially
the Bramley's.

If it was me, I'd press the Cox's and Russet's together as a blend, and
press the Bramley's separately and *keep* them separate, then add a little
of the Bramley juice at a time until I got something which was tasty with
just enough acid. If you are using pH papers or a pH meter, I'd go for
something around pH 3.2, anything lower is likely to be a bit too sharp. The
Bramley juice can be fermented on it's own and after fermentation sweetened
up to serve as a brisk, sharp cider - the sweetness will mask some of the
acidity.

An alternative would be to ferment the Cox's and Russet's together, ferment
the Bramley's separate and then blend to taste *after* all fermentation is
finished.

Afraid I can't really help with the possible yield.

Cheers,

Ray
http://hucknallciderco.blogspot.com/

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[Roy Bailey]

In message
<22b017a4-5b29-467c...@p33g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>,
Russet rustler <je_mo...@hotmail.com> writes

>Hi there - I am purchasing a Fruit Shark from Vicky who suggested I
>post some questions to the group. I have Andrew Lea's great book on
>Craft Cider making and have the following apples:
>
>1/4 tonne cox
>1/4 tonne brambley
>1/2 tonne of russets
>
>Looking at the figures for acid and sugar content for these varieties
>I am a little concerned. Can someone recommend the proportions I would
>need to mix at pulp stage before pressing, and the probable adjusting
>I will need to do post fermentation to adjust the acid content?

I'm probably going to be shot down in flames over this one, but you
appear to have the makings of an excellent Eastern Counties-style cider
and I would just press the whole batch together and not worry about acid
adjustment.

Don't forget to save some of the best Russets for eating.

>Any other tips would be appreciated. I've got an old Italian basket
>press with a central fixed spindle to push the blocks down. I'm
>planning on using 2x Vigo 20L bags to fit around the spindle, and have
>a number of 30L fermentation tanks. What would be the juice yield from
>this setup? I'm guessing the inefficiencies of the basket press will
>lower the yield below 70%.

I have one of these presses and the efficiency appears to be very high.
When pressing pears this year the pad of pomace was practically bone-dry
and had to be broken up with a small fork!

Roy.
--
Roy Bailey - Proprietor
The Lambourn Valley Cider Company
(Real cider from the Royal County)
<www.lambournvalleycider.co.uk>

[Nat West]

Stealing the thread a bit, don't kill me Jez...

Is this a common practice for leftover blended cider? I don't do much
blending myself, but I assume that most cidermakers have quantities of
cider that doesn't get used up in blending. Do people just
back-sweeten and drink it themselves?

NAT