First ever home brew

hermetic · Jul 3, 2021

Barking Mat said:
Ask @brewdexta ?

We chopped and pressed the apples in our garden a couple of years ago, just because we had apple's and a cider press.

We made cider, it was a bit of a weird hit, well undrinkable, then became vinegar.

Don't think I'll bother again.

Beer however, tempting.

Cider vinegar makes fabulous rust remover, I made 20 gallons this year!!

bigegg · Jul 3, 2021

hermetic said:
Cider vinegar makes fabulous rust remover, I made 20 gallons this year!!

I found that I had much better luck if I washed the apples in weak bleach solution before shredding them (in a blender).
I think it's the wild yeasts that turn it.

Pete. · Jul 3, 2021

bigegg said:
just had a better look at the picture:
you might need a bigger bowl for it to stand in: when I've filled to the shoulder, it has sometimes *still* overflowed -
potentially anything above the shoulder could end up escaping - and that bowl won't hold a pint of liquid turned into froth.
OTOH: you might be OK. I sometimes used "wild" yeast that produced more CO2 than the proper stuff

The plate is there because I had a puddle of beer under the bottle this morning. I drained and re-filled the trap and tipped a little out of the demijohn but it's slowly filling up the trap again. I gotta keep an eye on it.

Barking Mat · Jul 3, 2021

hermetic said:
Cider vinegar makes fabulous rust remover, I made 20 gallons this year!!

I made 60 litres a couple of years ago, it wasn't cider.

If anyone wants a complete cider press, contact me soon, it will be binned.

bigegg · Jul 3, 2021

Pete. said:
The plate is there because I had a puddle of beer under the bottle this morning. I drained and re-filled the trap and tipped a little out of the demijohn but it's slowly filling up the trap again. I gotta keep an eye on it.

I used a washing up bowl: just big enough for two demijons, and a couple of pints of froth

hermetic · Jul 3, 2021

bigegg said:
I found that I had much better luck if I washed the apples in weak bleach solution before shredding them (in a blender).
I think it's the wild yeasts that turn it.

yes you are right, but some cider makers don't use yeast, relying on the yeast on the apples to brew the cider! I don't pretend to understand this, I have made drinkable cider with cider yeast, and with self fermentation, but my self fermentation stuff was unstable, and kept fermenting till it turned to vinegar, when it was good it was bloody strong though!! Part of the job is that you press the apples and only use clear juice, no froth, and no bits or puree. I saw a tv program where a cider making club in Summerset all got together and turned up at a shed each bringing apples with them, they put them through a garden shredder and then built up layers of sack cloth and shredded apples till the press was full, and then pressed it and filtered the juice through more sackcloth till they had clear sparkling juice. Hygeine was zero! They used no yeast as far as I remember! My workshop is called "Appletree Works" we have five trees!

Barking Mat · Jul 3, 2021

I don't pretend to understand cider making either.

And seeing as I don't like cider...

bigegg · Jul 3, 2021

hermetic said:
yes you are right, but some cider makers don't use yeast, relying on the yeast on the apples to brew the cider! I don't pretend to understand this, I have made drinkable cider with cider yeast, and with self fermentation, but my self fermentation stuff was unstable, and kept fermenting till it turned to vinegar, when it was good it was bloody strong though!! Part of the job is that you press the apples and only use clear juice, no froth, and no bits or puree. I saw a tv program where a cider making club in Summerset all got together and turned up at a shed each bringing apples with them, they put them through a garden shredder and then built up layers of sack cloth and shredded apples till the press was full, and then pressed it and filtered the juice through more sackcloth till they had clear sparkling juice. Hygeine was zero! They used no yeast as far as I remember! My workshop is called "Appletree Works" we have five trees!

I used to shred, boil, strain through a moulin (?)/food mill, then add "vodka yeast". No idea of strength, because I never owned a hydromoter. Added sugar/sweetener as neccessary to make it drinkable

bigegg · Jul 3, 2021

Barking Mat said:
I don't pretend to understand cider making either.

And seeing as I don't like cider...

"I loiks cider.
it make me larf.
And when I larf, I wets myself.
Then people give me money to go away.
And with that money,
I buy cider.
Cos I loiks cider"

Seadog · Jul 3, 2021

Barking Mat said:
If anyone wants a complete cider press, contact me soon, it will be binned.

Facebook

Pete. · Jul 5, 2021

Brew has completely stopped fizzing now. Do I leave it for the rest of the week or test the SG and bottle it up?

bigegg · Jul 5, 2021

Pete. said:
Brew has completely stopped fizzing now. Do I leave it for the rest of the week or test the SG and bottle it up?

I usually leave it a couple of extra days.

brewdexta · Jul 5, 2021

Once the yeast has scoffed all the sugar, it starts to tidy up and eat undesirable chemicals before becoming dormant. A couple of days or so should be sufficient.

123hotchef · Jul 5, 2021

bigegg said:
I used to shred, boil, strain through a moulin (?)/food mill, then add "vodka yeast". No idea of strength, because I never owned a hydromoter. Added sugar/sweetener as neccessary to make it drinkable

u dont cook them! thats alocholic apple sauce!

bigegg · Jul 5, 2021

bigegg said:
I used to shred, boil, strain through a moulin (?)/food mill, then add "vodka yeast". No idea of strength, because I never owned a hydromoter. Added sugar/sweetener as neccessary to make it drinkable

what can I say? I was an animal. :vsad:

30 month's sober - except for a couple of stumbles

123hotchef · Jul 5, 2021

bigegg said:
what can I say? I was an animal.

30 month's sober - except for a couple of stumbles

supprised u dint run it through the still then! thats what we used to do too! terrible 97% cider! lol

123hotchef · Jul 5, 2021

bigegg said:
what can I say? I was an animal.

30 month's sober - except for a couple of stumbles

well done on the 30 months mate

bigegg · Jul 5, 2021

123hotchef said:
supprised u dint run it through the still then! thats what we used to do too! terrible 97% cider! lol

it was sort of pre-internet days (certainly, information wasn't quite as freely available in the early 00s), and I was terrified that if I built a still, it would explode.
Plus, I was trying to raise three kids whilst married to a gambling addict/spendthrift, so no cash to build a still.

Plus: "I loik cider."

123hotchef · Jul 5, 2021

bigegg said:
it was sort of pre-internet days (certainly, information wasn't quite as freely available in the early 00s), and I was terrified that if I built a still, it would explode.

oh yes aint that the truth only dial up then lol!

bigegg · Jul 5, 2021

123hotchef said:
oh yes aint that the truth only dial up then lol!

no - we had a ISDN(?) connection: 1mb I think.
Installed by work, because I was "home based", then I kept it on when I swapped jobs
Last time I used dial-up would have been 1998 ish

First ever home brew

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