The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: FrostyM on October 21, 2013, 07:11:03 pm

Title: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: FrostyM on October 21, 2013, 07:11:03 pm
I managed to get my cider press finished today. Despite my brother and father telling me I am mad. (I am not arguing that point ;D ) It might be 8 foot tall, it might look like a guillotine, I might not have anywhere to store it, it might not be as collapsable as I had planned, I might have lost some apples to rot because it took me too long BUT I get to make my own cider tomorrow  :excited: :excited:

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4tgIrVVlcXc/UmVhxPcICjI/AAAAAAAAAHI/0MFpq7HTL_U/s400/2013-10-21+16.40.51.jpg)
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Thyme on October 21, 2013, 07:28:32 pm
fantastic  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: john and helen on October 21, 2013, 07:49:31 pm
Excellent  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: happygolucky on October 21, 2013, 07:52:33 pm
 :excited: :excited: and I bet your brother and father will be the first to sample the cider :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Mammyshaz on October 21, 2013, 07:54:18 pm
Great job.  Home grown apples and home made Guillotine  press. What more could you want? .....perhaps testers for the cider?  :eyelashes:  :excited: 
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: FrostyM on October 21, 2013, 08:01:32 pm
Oh they will be top of the queue when it comes to sampling the finished product  ::) I did get the apples from friends and family who had apples going spare. So there will be bottles owed to a few people when its ready. Mammyshaz i had wondered when the "professional" testers on here would be in  ;D Never seem to be short for a taster when it comes to alcohol  :thinking:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Lesley Silvester on October 21, 2013, 08:46:04 pm
Well done, FrostyM. I won't offer to test for you as I don't drink cider. If you are making wine on the other hand.  :D
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: FrostyM on October 21, 2013, 08:54:53 pm
As it happens I have an elderberry wine and a blackberry wine on the go at the minute too. I will let you know when they are ready  :D
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Bionic on October 21, 2013, 08:59:11 pm
Well done Frosty  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Rosemary on October 22, 2013, 10:52:07 am
it might not be as collapsable as I had planned,

As long as it's not MORE collapsable as you planned  ;D

Enjoy your cider  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Dan on October 22, 2013, 01:29:13 pm
Excellent job!  :thumbsup: Let us know how it performs.

We're going to need to build in a year or two - did you use plans or is it made out of your head (and wood)?
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: FrostyM on October 22, 2013, 07:48:48 pm
So this evening I am proud to say I now have 2 fermenters with a combined total of 30 litres of apple juice in them. I needed to tweak a few things with the press as I went along but it all worked pretty well once we got going. Got a bit of a fright early on with a flying car jack  :o but I steadied some things up and everything went much smoother after that. I still have another 2 sacks of crab apples to process but i have no more fermenter room at the minute so I might see how things are at the weekend and if I can find some room somewhere.

As for a design Dan I saw a few pictures of one online and used that design as much as I could but improvised some other parts. I wrote up a bit of a blog about building it if you want to have a look
http://myovercrowdedgarden.blogspot.ie/2013/10/building-my-cider-press.html (http://myovercrowdedgarden.blogspot.ie/2013/10/building-my-cider-press.html)

I plan to put up another blog about extracting the juice and making the cider, but that will now be tomorrow, as right now I have some Champions League football and a bottle of elderflower wine that need my attention  :D

EDIT: I uploaded a quick video of the press in action if anyone is interested
http://youtu.be/qZlc9GXbahI (http://youtu.be/qZlc9GXbahI)
 
Title: Re: Feeling quite pleased with myself
Post by: Lesley Silvester on October 22, 2013, 09:54:09 pm
As it happens I have an elderberry wine and a blackberry wine on the go at the minute too. I will let you know when they are ready  :D


You're on.  :thumbsup: