Anybody here have a cider press or make hard cider?

Quite a few years back I broke down and bought a Happy Valley cider press and grinder kit. It was the "Homesteader" model as I recall. I did all the woodwork and some extra metalwork. I then found another HV grinder at a garage sale and made another press using a scaffold jack for the screw. This one I later motorized and sold the first . I get apples for free at a local orchard park and also have bought some from a local produce store. I get the blems very cheap. One time I had close to 60 gallons of cider in the chest freezer (may as well, I can't seem to put an elk there). It keeps forever frozen. I have made 20 gal of hard cider. The first 5 gal we drank just to get rid of it. The second 5 were OK and the last two batches were 1st class! A golden mellow semi sweet personification of apple scented goodness that also has ALCOHOL in it! And pressing apples is FUN. The first time I used the press in the front parking pad the neighbors came out of the woodwork and rushed off to buy apples to grind and press. Everybody was searching their fridges for milk jugs to clean out to hold the fresh cider. People I didn't even know started showing up. We all had a blast and the kids loved cranking the grinder and pressing. I felt like I needed a shot of insulin after drinking so much juice. Our current supply of bottled hard cider is beginning to take a hammering as the weather heats up so come fall I guess I'll start grinding again! metalcuttr

 

That looks like a great fall party! There's only so much fresh cider a person can drink, so why not get the neighbors over. Great that you had success making tasty bottled hard cider, I think that would be what I'd focus on. I live in an apple growing region (NH) but it's not on the scale of where you are. The local orchards press their own cider, and some do a much better job than others. My fave goes for $3.50 a half gallon.

 

Midwinter I am on the west side of the Cascade mountains and the big apple region of the state is on the east side where it is dryer. There are quite a few orchards on this side but mostly private or very small. A few producers on this side have produce stores and stock fresh rough (unfiltered) cider. I like to do my own cause I can mix sweet, tart and aromatic apples. Really makes a difference over "all same apple" cider. The hard cider is more of an experiment but having gotten excellent results I may keep doing it. metalcuttr

 

What's your favorite mix?

 

looks like fun.

 

Hi Midwinter , Mostly my mixes are dictated by what I can get for cheap or free. I like honey crisp, Fuji and gala and golden delicious as a base and they are readily available and sweet. for a tart apple, granny smith is the apple of choice. Nice and tart and found everywhere. The aromatics are harder. We don't have any of the real eastern aromatics (northern spy comes to mind) around here. Fiesta and mcintosh are good semi aromatics in good supply. I know a public orchard that has both winesaps and gravinsteins that I can get for free picking. A mix of 3 sweet, 2 tart and 2 aromatic tastes good to me. I like my cider bolder rather than super sweet. For hard cider I don't have access to any of the small, hard sour ,true heirloom cider apples so I add grape tannin to a tarter, more aromatic rough cider to get that hint of a raspy taste that true hard ciders have. metalcuttr

 

That sounds wonderful! You've got me wanting a cider press, but a half gallon lasts me a week. This is about as small as they come, for $179.00. And you need to crush the apples somehow before pressing. How do you accomplish that?

 

Hi Midwinter , You do need a grinder. My press has a grinder and hopper on it. You grind into the barrel, lined with a nylon mesh bag and then slide the barrel under the press. They come in all shapes and sizes. There was someone on Youtube (they have LOTS of cider press stuff) who made an apple grinder out of a small electric Harbor Freight yard grinder. Look up "Happy Valley Cider Presses" they are expensive but you can get a kit like I did for less. You will also get a lot of background info. There is another outfit out there that is cheaper but I can't remember the name. If I find it I'll post it. Don't forget Craig's List and Offer up. metalcuttr

 

In the fall, I see Craigslist ads for free drop apples. That's the way to go, I can't see buying orchard apples, which are fairly expensive, to make cider. As fascinating as this is, I probably won't buy a press, unless I happen across a cheap used one.

 

My aunt & uncle have a sweet cider press. They had a little family get together last year and made some fresh cider. Don't have a picture of the scratter, but it was electric. This press uses what looks like an airbag off a Semi truck. It is inside the middle of the drum, which is like a mesh. Insert cheese cloth, dump in apple scrattings, hook up garden hose to the bladder (air bag) and lookout...cider begins to gush out. I had never seen this type before. They actually bought it to press grapes for their own wine. It was quite expensive (can't recall exactly what cost was) but works fantastically well.

Ah, here we go....not the exact one, but close.
Speidel Bladder Press - 90 Liters | MoreWine

 

Hi Midwinter we have the ads for drop apples here also. The sad fact is that apples fair badly in western WA unless the owner keeps up his trees and if he does, he usually wants his apples. I always half and trim my apples so there are no worms or bruised spots. Many people just throw the apples in the grinder worms and all. I guess it would be a good protein supplement but I can't stomach it. Most wild or unkept trees here are so full of coddling moths and apple maggots that its not worth the trouble. The public park orchard I go to keeps the orchard up with volunteers so they can have an apple squeeze festival. They do not use drops however and if a big rainstorm and wind comes in a few weeks before the festival I am out the next morning gathering very nice drops with few bad spots or worms. Keep checking Craig's List and YouTube A nice unit or a good idea to build one will surface eventually. Metalcuttr

 

Hi RCBS That is a new wrinkle I have never seen before. In a million years I would never have thought of that. I may not rush out and buy one but I am always interested in innovation! Thanks for the link. metalcuttr

 

I was pretty blown away by it. I have been to an orchard that had a press that took up a small barn and have seen the old screw presses, but that thing was cool! That particular Aunty and Uncle are always up to something neat. They have about 40 grape trellises in their front yard for the wine making efforts.

I can say with certainty that those particular presses work VERY well. Again...pretty expensive, but the old adage...you get what...

 

I make lots of hard cider. I tried the fancy cider route but find it just as great to use tree top juice from Costco. Ferment to dry with Nottingham ale yeast. Sorbate and backsweeten with frozen apple juice concentrate (insert favorite flavors here) and then keg. Super cheap, gluten free, alcohol adjustments with brown sugar before fermentation ( I shoot for about 7.5%), and it gets clearer and tastier with age.

Blueberry in the keg right now plus 5 gallons in the carboy finishing up that will become a raspberry cider.

Super easy. No cooking or hops schedule like with beer. I like the tree top juice because it is heat pasteurized and consistent.

 

Hi Highbeam I make my cider from apples that I squeeze plus brown sugar. I use White's Old English Cider yeast and ferment til the process halts. Rack to my food grade plastic pail and condition with sorbate. Backsweeten with the frozen concentrate like you do and add apple extract for a faint bitterness. Decant to a corny keg and pressurize for a mild effervescence. I have a zillion snap cap bottles in various sizes that I fill with a beer gun and seal. And you are absolutely right, it gets better with age. The only problem is getting it to last that long!

 

I do:

 

That's a beautiful press there. A piece of history! Did you restore it yourself? If I could justify another press, I would want one exactly like that!

 

I restored it. Couldn't identify any markings in the castings to determine its age, but it was rough when I got it.

 

Here's a pic of it before the resto:

 

Just fed 15 gallons of drops to the cows!