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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
 Posted - 26/10/2004 : 11:10:15
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He left the pears, as this encourages them to juice up a bit more, and as there are so few of them, you need all the juice you can get. He has left apples in the past, but there are so many this year, it will save time to just mill and press them. He's got a really nice set-up. Most of the time he does it on his own, so he's got it all laid out nicely. I'm going back down next week to have a go at the cider.
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2004 : 12:51:42
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It's all systems go for this weekend. I came back to London last night, had a cider meeting, went to the day job today, and back to the Forest tomorrow to pick up the apples and a barrel of cider for the post-pressing party on Sunday night. I'm really looking forward to this.
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2004 : 13:05:13
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Im getting excited and im not even making it! Try and send us a few pictures and comments if you can.
The big question is will the barrel last until post-pressing??? The biggest bit of advice I could give is don't drink too much pre/during-pressing as quality control deteriorates, spillages increase greatly, and limbs get dangerously close to being shredded!  
Good luck with it all, hope it goes well.
ZIDER! |
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Al Caholic
Cider Bus Convert
Vatican City
145 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2004 : 13:23:58
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Best of luck to you Tharg and all that attend such an auspicious occasion.
My one bit of advice (well two actually) is above all else ensure that all the equipment is sterilised thouroughly and then rinsed very well. Also, it took about 5 minutes of scratting before the dreaded vinegar flies appeared so you must keep all pressed juice in a securely sealed container.
Hope it all goes well and keep us updated. Perhaps a joint Bristol/London cider tasting evening should be arranged in a few months time?
Al 
Zider I up barkeep! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2004 : 15:41:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Al Caholic
Hope it all goes well and keep us updated. Perhaps a joint Bristol/London cider tasting evening should be arranged in a few months time?
Al
Zider I up barkeep!
Cheers Al, and thanks for the tips. Will try to get some good pictures this weekend, and will send them on. Like the idea of a tasting and meet up. Let's see how it goes in a few months. |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 15/11/2004 : 09:29:14
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94 gallons!!
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 10:03:33
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Yes. I think we did drink about that much, Tharg  . Mind you, we pressed a lot as well |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 10:31:42
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thats great work, just been reading about it on your forum and it sounds like it was a brilliant weekend with most things going smoothly? How many gallons did you two actually end up with? Are they fermenting yet?
94 gallons (about 750 pints i think?) from a tonne of apples is an impressive return, they must have been nice and juicy. Did you manage to get through the whole tonne?
ZIDER! |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 10:57:11
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http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/1029503
Have a look at the pictures!
Yes, we got through a ton of apples, Kingston Blacks, Bulmers Normans, Harry Masters, Tom Putts, Michelins, and another variety I've forgotten the name of. 40 sacks, 27 of which, we'd finished by Saturday evening, mainly because of the weather, plenty of sunshine ensured a good day's pressing. Had we been a bit more efficient Saturday morning, we could have got 100 gallons. People have gone home with plenty of juice, and all keen to make a variety of ciders - some going natural, some adding yeast, sweet, dry, still, fizzy, and Ivanhoe keen to try a champagne style dry sparkler.
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 11:21:03
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wow you had an impressive set up there, 2 scratters and 2 presses. The presses look very nice, are they yours or did you manage to borrow them? How many gallons did you get from the square press on one pressings? Sorry for the million questions this morning!
I think i my try and get hold of a square press for next year (maybe even make one), i examined lots during my weekend travels and they look very efficient and easy to use.
Do you mind if we steal one or two photos to use for an article in a couple of weeks please?
ZIDER! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 12:07:09
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Of course you can borrow the pictures (they're not mine, and I fully intend to, so I don't see why you can't).
By the end of the weekend, people reckoned they were getting efficient at using the barrel press so that the pulp coming out of there was round about as dry as that coming out of the square press.
We hired the square press (and the other press, and the scratters - for a ridiculously cheap amount) from Richard Burns (but you can't call him "Dick") who runs Cheers home brew shop in Cheam (S London).
I spent a lot of time washing and scratting, (and drinking cider whilst doing both) so am not really sure how much we got of a pressing or able to give a decent comparison between presses. I'm hoping to get a few comments from people to record and to share with Richard (as the square press was new and he was pretty interested in knowing how it fared against the basket press). If I do that, I'll let you know.
We got through the whole tonne (and most of that by the end of Sat). We'd finished pressing and were cleaning up by the time we stopped for lunch on Sunday. Mind you, it was pretty hard going and we had a fair-sized gang of us (esp on Saturday). I still ache.
Back to work
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 12:28:15
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I've spoken to the photographers, and you can have what you like, let us know nearer the time and we'll email them to you, as the quality is compromised if you copy them directly off the site. The barrel press seemed to work better if you didn't fill it to the top, half to 3/4 was optimum. The rack press was very efficient. The biggest problem we had was being able to hold the presses down while we cranked them. The feet had holes in, next time, we'll bolt the presses down onto a large board, that way, two people standing on the board should hold the presses still. As regards individual yields per sack/press etc. we were so caught up in what we were doing, we weren't counting. The mills needed adjusting a couple of times to ensure a fine pulp, and were clamped to two tables so as to hold them still while our young cider monkeys, Feargal and Orla O'Connel attempted to mill 1 ton on their own before Saturday lunchtime! As you know, you also need dozens of buckets.
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Al Caholic
Cider Bus Convert
Vatican City
145 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2004 : 13:10:41
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I am entirely impressed with the set up used by the London zider drinking contingent. I agree with Gents that we should invest in some heavier duty equipment for next year especially now that we have a plentiful and reliable supply of apples. How did you find the scratters to use? It would be interesting to put one side by side with a shredder and see which was more efficient. I can't wait until my stuff is drinkable which I'm hoping will be in time for Christmas, when are you anticipating sampling your stuff?
Al
Zider I up barkeep! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 17/11/2004 : 10:11:50
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The scratters were great IMO (although I had nothing to compare them with). What helped most with scratting was the way we set it up. Sturdy tables, and plenty of clamps to fix the scratter to the tables meant that we only needed one person to operate each scratter. We also had to do a bit of tinkering with the rollers on the scratters (moving them closer to get a finer pomace), but that was easy enough to do with a pair of spanners (and I don't mean me and Tharg!), but once they were up and running they were in pretty constant operation all weekend. Tharg has had some experience with shredders, so maybe can give some useful comments.
[my 3 unsulphited barrels were bubbling last night. HOORAY ] |
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Cider In London
