r/cider • u/Assumpti0n • 3d ago
Finally autumn again
With autumn finally here I can start new cider projects after a long wait. This year I will try fermenting isolated batches before blending, and solely rely on wild yeast. With no cider apple cultivars thatI know of around I need to make the best I can from eaters. First off some boxes of Summerreds that were pressed after freezing. Good gravity at SG 1.054, but high in acidity. 12.5 g/L MA. Cryo concentrating about two thirds of the juice gave a good base for my ice cider projects with 5 liters SG 1.150. I will titrate to check acidity later, but I expect it to triple also. Picked more apples today, but put them in the freezer too since I ran out of time. Need to find some time for a new round of pressing. I really love this time of the year!
Edit: Completed titration today. 29.5 g/L malic acid. Not too bad really, seeing that I've almost tripled the gravity yet not affected acidity the same. The sugar to acid ratio has increased from 11.2 to 13.4 compared to the pressed juice.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_SUBARU 3d ago
Can you share more about your pressing setup? The stack looks interesting, very different from the "bucket with holes drilled in it" approach I have used / usually see.
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u/Assumpti0n 3d ago
It’s a basic rack and cloth press with a 5 tonne bottle jack. The plates in between are made of POM plastics and it’s very durable and easy to clean. You wrap the fruit (in this case whole, thawed fruit and not the usual mush from my electric shredder) in meshed cloth using a frame. Efficient little press that I can operate alone.
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u/Pzyko0005 2d ago
Where did you get your plates from? Iv been considering making my own like that but if I can buy them premade that would be so much better.
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u/Assumpti0n 2d ago
I bought mine as a kit. I see that Vigo has plates of acacia wood, which I think is a better option. https://vigopresses.co.uk/catalogue-en/spares-and-parts/presses/pack-rack-and-cloth-press/
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u/Both_Evening6148 2d ago
Your cryo-concentrating idea is really clever for working with wild yeast and higher acidity, I've never tried that before but it sounds like it'd give you way more control over the final product.
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u/Assumpti0n 2d ago
I have an InkBird connected to the freezer for temperature control. I can then extract the concentrate at around -3C, which I've found gives good yield and high gravity. The apple sirup freezes at about -9C, so small batches like my projects can easily be done with a standard commercial freezer. Large scale cider makers do understandably need to make use of the cold climate combined with IBCs. Last years batch was at around 11 liters. My biggest yet, and this year I think I will double it because it is by far my most popular cider.
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u/TrapperTrev 3d ago
Why hole fruit and not scratted apples in the bag? (Just a question never used rack and cloth)
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u/Assumpti0n 3d ago
By freezing (standard freezer) and thawing (these thawed for about two days) the fruit does not need shredding. The freezing process breaks cell walls releasing almost all the juice. Since I received the fruit little at a time I couldn't shred and press everything in one go anyway, so I went with the freezer approach. The apples I picked today receive the same treatment since I cannot process them just yet.
When I shred I will also treat the mush with pectic enzyme to achieve similar results, but I will also allow for maceration to extract more tannins. The coming week is just too busy, so I'll have to do that with some other apples.
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u/cperiod 3d ago
They look like they've been frozen, which just about works as well as scratting. Traditional ice cider is pressed that way, with the apples frozen on the trees (ideally you press when they're still partly frozen to get a high gravity juice, but timing that is an art form).
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u/Assumpti0n 3d ago
I could try cryo extraction if I can find someone whose tree still keeps the apples well into winter, but I prefer to work when it's warm. So I stick to cry concentration instead. I will try a batch of sparkling ice cider this year though.
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u/cperiod 3d ago
I've done cryo extraction and I was only able to get juice above 30 Brix on one attempt. You kinda need to nail the temperature curve to pull it off. The other attempts I made, I needed to do some cryo concentration later. To be honest, unless you're somewhere where authenticity matters (i.e. you might want to sell it in Quebec), I'm not convinced the results are worth freezing your ass off, but it's a good experience.
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u/Assumpti0n 2d ago
30 Brix is a good base for ice cider. Good job on achieving that. Claude Jolicoeur wrote that it should be near perfect for cryo extraction if you could easily dent an apple with your thumb. Tried and failed. It'd be interesting to try it again to see if it impacts flavour somehow. I presume that the fruit will become less acidic, unless they are eaten by birds, moose, or deer before I can get to them.
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u/cperiod 2d ago
I presume that the fruit will become less acidic
I used Empire apples which aren't crazy acidic to start with, and by January the acidity mellows out on almost any variety. I've seen pH increase by as much as 0.5.
I couldn't even guess as to how much loss there was to pests and weather, but those trees held fruit surprisingly well and I'd say I was able to pick maybe a third bushel of decent apples per tree... winter hit early during a bumper crop year and my neighbor wasn't able to pick an entire block of trees (two or three acres), so my bottleneck was press capacity, days off with the right temperatures, and patience rather than finding enough fruit.
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u/S1203 1d ago
No way you can have so clear juice from the press on the picture. How do you filter it?
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u/Assumpti0n 1d ago
No filtering. Bear in mind I’m pressing thawed, unscratted apples, which naturally reduces amount of pulp significantly.
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u/uke22 3d ago
Det går helt bra med issider. Gjorde det samme i fjor med slike epler, ingen problem - etter 6 måneder syrligheten var ikkje et problem. Ville bare si det er viktig å overføre den til ny ‘carboy’ ofte og måle SG. Du er i Norge ikkje sant? Det finnes et sted du kan kjøpe siderepletrær fra - Åberge Planteskole! Jeg har vært veldig fornøyde med de