apple crop a bust :(

[drunkensailor68]

Hey everyone I was hoping to have a good crop of apples this year but scab got 14 out of 16 trees and I basically ended up with one tree for me and one for the squirrels. I wanted to put my new found grinder/press to work

Instead, this is about all I ended up with was this BTW does anyone know what kind of apples these are? They are strange looking apples to me, all sorts of sizes, colors and shapes. and yes they are ripe they have a nice bitter sweet taste. the ones that are a lighter dull green tend to be a little sweeter

So my thought is to grind but not press and just ferment with pulp maybe ( for a 6.5gal bucket ) 15lbs pulp, water to 3 inches from top and enough sugar to reach an OG of 1.06 - 1.07 and one pack of ec1118 then single run pot still when ready
This is my first attempt with fruit and I might be able to get about this many more apples in another couple weeks if I screw this up.
Im not going to have enough fruit to do anything fancy like calvados so I would be happy with a nice tasting apple brandyshine.

Does it sound like Im on the right track? Suggestions?

Thanks

[bearriver]

You should get over 5 gallons of juice if you juice em. Simply juice and pitch yeast.

Save the sugar for tea!!!

[drunkensailor68]

Really!
Again this is my first. I would have never thought it would press that much juice. So, do you think its worth pressing. I mean, labor vs yeild

[bitter]

Mmm sounds yummy. I want to try an apple rye some time. Bet could do something like a UJSSM adding rye for flavour to the extracted juice thats will provide the sugar Its on my todo list but apples won't be on here for 1-2 months

Too bad about your poor crop but think of it this way maybe that little bit you make will be that more special?

B

[bearriver]

So, do you think its worth pressing. I mean, labor vs yeild

You got a press. Use it. It's only 3 buckets of apples, so labor/yield is a non issue. Grind, press, ferment, distill.

Oh, and make sure your having fun while you're at it.

[drunkensailor68]

Thanks Bear
Advice taken, I pressed all and got a little shy of 4 gal then took some of the pulp and, instead of throwing it out, went to plan A and added water/sugar then froze enough to do another bucket if it turns out. So, glad I listened to you. Now I have 4 gallons of good cider to work with as well as the pulp

[bearriver]

I'm surprised you didn't get more juice from what looked like 13 gallons of apples. No matter, that is enough to make a fine drop.

I'm also very interested to see what kind of sugar head you turn out from that pulp. I'd shoot for a SG of 1.07

Also, apple juice should be on sale everywhere right now due to the upcoming harvest. You can always bump up your volume if you feel the need with some store bought.

[drunkensailor68]

May do the store bought idea.
Just checked my SG and Both buckets were at 1.042. I put 4lbs sugar on the pulp and the cider was straight up. also just pitched 1 pack each ec1118. Will post again after it gets started
Do you think I should put a little more sugar on the pulp now, or give it a day to settle?
Thanks

[NZChris]

My rule of thumb for grappa type washes, is not to use more sugar than there would have been in the original fruit. Using too much makes for light flavor, which is ok if that's what you want.

I always calculate the sugar and put it all in at the start, then don't mess with it except to push the cap down for a few days.

A trick I have used successfully, is using the backset from the brandy run to make the grappa wash.
Ferment on on the pulp, press, distil, pour the hot backset onto the sugar, cool, add to the pulp, add water if necessary, adjust pH if necessary, aerate, ferment, add the brandy feints to the stripping run.

[Deerhunter]

Just a quick question. Didn't quite understand is he fermenting the juice or the pulp and juice together.

[drunkensailor68]

Two different ferments Bear.
Bucket #1 is pulp with sugar/water
Bucket #2 is straight juice

[Bushman]

I like NZ answer although I think with the pomace you need to almost push down the cap at least twice daily until fermentation is completed. One thing you might try with the grappa when making your final cuts to abv strength try making one with water and the other with non sugar added apple juice and see which you prefer, or a combination of both to see if yu prefer the more apple flavor.

[Jimbo]

My rule of thumb for grappa type washes, is not to use more sugar than there would have been in the original fruit. Using too much makes for light flavor, which is ok if that's what you want.

I always calculate the sugar and put it all in at the start, then don't mess with it except to push the cap down for a few days.

A trick I have used successfully, is using the backset from the brandy run to make the grappa wash.
Ferment on on the pulp, press, distil, pour the hot backset onto the sugar, cool, add to the pulp, add water if necessary, adjust pH if necessary, aerate, ferment, add the brandy feints to the stripping run.

Thats the best advice Ive seen on making grappa here on HD yet, along with Bushmans adder to push the fruit cap down daily. NZ, you should start a thread in Fruit section on grappa with your method. Or maybe a mod will see fit to move this to its own thread? Making grappa comes up a lot on HD and there still isint a good solid method in T&T on this. Ill try your method on some cherry pomace Ill have shortly after making this Kirsch Im in the middle of now.

[drunkensailor68]

Good advice NZ. If Im not mistaken I did just that only accidently. When I checked the OG for the cider it was 1.042, that was straight cider about 2 hours or so after pressing. After filling my ferment bucket about 1/3 with pulp and 4 lbs sugar and topped off (3" from top) I had the exact same reading as the cider 1.042. So, by your explanation I actually replaced the natural sugars extracted by pressing, I just didn't know it at the time. BTW next time I will leave a little more room at the top
When I checked it this morning I had a little bit of a mess to clean up. With only 4 gal of cider I had plenty of room in that bucket and it too had a nice cap on it.
Jimbo, I agree about the sticky, I have read and read until my eyes hurt and saw the word Grappa used several times but did not know what it was til now

[cranky]

To try to figure varieties I use the site Orange Pippin ( http://www.orangepippin.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow ) Very informative apple site. I personally would freeze the pulp, thaw and re-press. I get an extra quart of yield per bucket that way. I normally get 1.25 to 2 gallons per bucket so your yield was pretty good and 4 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy or bucket is the best place to start because of foaming.

[drunkensailor68]

So I have been trying to be patient and let my cider do its thing. its been a little over two weeks now and SG is close to dry. But, the more I think about it I really don't have much cider to work with. I was only able to squeeze out about 3 1/2 gallons and I have a 15 gal boiler.
So my question is, is it too late to add a couple gallons of store bought juice to get some more volume? or would that be a mistake? The fermentation part seems to have been complete for several days (Ihave just been waiting for it to get to SG .099 - 1.00 ) would adding some juice wake up the yeast and extend the time in bucket another month. Or should I just leave well enough alone and run the 3 1/2
Thanks for any help

[Jimbo]

As long as you're not running electric where the element is above liquid 3.5g is fine in a 15g pot. No issue. Liquid vapor expansion is 1600x.

[Bushman]

About the poor yield on OP, we had a poor crop last year and this year brought in some bees. We are having to trim off some of the apples so the others will grow in size, what a big difference pollinating makes.

[Jimbo]

what a big difference pollinating makes.

Indeed. They make delicious honey too. I harvested 48 lbs off a hive Saturday. Very nice light fruit tree and spring flower honey. Boxes are back on now for the fall goldenrod bloom.

[cranky]

I add juice to my cider throughout the season, haven't had any problem with yeast not charging right ahead. It just takes more time for it to finish but I personally wouldn't run an apple ferment before a month is up and probably 2 or 3. My current batch is more than 6 months. I scrounge apples mostly and have plenty of bumble bees around as long as the trees don't wake up too early like my pears did.