Gardening. How are your apples?

[765489]

elderly couple next door to my parents have an apple tree, and every year I look at the fruit falling and rotting.

Last year I hopped the wall and scavanged about 10kg of the apples, juiced them, added yeast and made cider. It's been aging since last autumn and I've another litre to add to it once I transfer it to a secondary for carbonation purposes.

I'll have about 5 litres of cider.

I'll do the same this year once the apples are falling

On cider making Hodors, does it matter what type of apple they are ? I know there are specific varieties aimed solely at cider making, but can you also make it from desert / eating apple varieties?

[Hodors Appletart]

ha I've no clue about that, I'm fairly skilled at beer brewing, and distilling spirits, but for this endeavour I simply juiced whatever apples I had to hand (don't even know the variety) and added yeast and let nature take her inevitable course.

It will either be nice or it won't, and I won't know until I've opened a bottle, hopefully the same day I'm juicing the new batch.

[Hodors Appletart]

I'm not at home at the moment, but when I do get there I'll stick up a picture of what I currently have.

[765489]

I'm not at home at the moment, but when I do get there I'll stick up a picture of what I currently have.

Thanks Hodors would be interested in seeing this. I'm putting in a small commercial orchard of Irish heritage varieties so was wondering if this is another outlet to offload them

[765489]

I got a load of free wood chippings a year or two ago and spread a heavy layer around the base of the tree, unless there was some disease or something in the chippings. Funny thing was the massive amount of flowers this year, moreso than any other year. We thought we were in for the mother load.

Advice I was given on using woodchips as a mulch is always keep them back a bit from the tree trunk. Your trees don't look like they have any diseases.

[Hodors Appletart]

Thanks Hodors would be interested in seeing this. I'm putting in a small commercial orchard of Irish heritage varieties so was wondering if this is another outlet to offload them

I've just been chatting with the mrs about it (on the back of this morning's conversation here) and we've decided that if the cider doesn't taste nice, we'll distill it to make Calvados.

[Hodors Appletart]

Oh and I know plenty of people who'd take a rake of apples (even better if you'd have the means to juice them)

The National Homebrew Club has organised group purchases of juice from an orchard in Tipp a few times over the years, some mad lads have just left their barrel of juice to the gods and spontaneous fermentation - you either get some lovely funky cider, or vinegar.

I prefer a controlled yeast addition.

[Osciiboscii]

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So those are Red Devil, a crunchy eating apple. Bumper crop every year but the birds get most of them every time.

[Osciiboscii]

The Bramley, on closer inspection, has a light crop this year. First time in many years it was pruned. 2 other trees, no idea of the names, dessert apples, light crop on those too. They're usually poor anyway.

[CelticRambler]

You're making me depressed.

[kadman]

Well how do they look. Apples and a few toms.

[765489]

Think I might harvest some of the apples I have and store them. Birds and wasps are eating the sh1te out of them.

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[765489]

If they're ripe enough then certainly harvest. Or, as I have, put up wasp traps that also catch the fruit flies who break the skin for the wasps to gain access. I find the birds only take advantage of apples already damaged.

Am out here picking away and am wondering to myself how do I control the wasps ! Is it something you made up yourself Plover or did you buy it ? Am thinking when I've my orchard up and running I'll need way to control these little feckers!

[765489]

Ketchup bottles with a few holes punctured in them, high up. An inch of sugar solution (I pour boiling water on sugar, honey and apple juice). A string around the neck of the bottle and tied to a branch. It's easily emptied and refilled. You can make up a quantity of solution for topping the traps up. They trap hundred of fruit flies and a sizable number of wasps every week.

That's a great tip Plover thanks for that, much appreciated.

[Hodors Appletart]

I've gotten this years batch of apples from my source, haven't weighed them yet, but it's the signal to get my arse in gear and bottle off last years cider.

I'm just using a juicer to get the juice from the apples, I don't have access to enough to warrant the outlay for a proper scratter

I'll hopefully lash up some pics later, and depending on the yield of juice, I may try a few different yeast strains (I'm thinking Brett here).

[Hodors Appletart]

Finally got some time to start extracting the juice from my apples, will be at this all day I think.

I'll be taking pics as I go, and will try to get them posted tonight

[Hodors Appletart]

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[Hodors Appletart]

20kg of apples yielded about 9litres of juice.

I drew off 500mls for drinking this evening with dinner, and a litre to use for priming once I'm bottling (I froze that litre)

in the Fermentation Bucket I put some Hambledon Bard Cider Yeast, OG is 1.050, so if it ferments out dry, under 1.005 or so, I expect it will be approx 6% ABV

I have 5 litres of last years cider in a demijohn that I will bottle later this week, using some juice I kept last year to prime the bottles.

I can't wait to taste last years one

[765489]

Out in a field here that is about a kilometer from the nearest house and I find this in the hedgerow. The apples are the size of brambleys. I'm coming back with a bag the next time.

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[dawg]

Looks like blackberries on the right

Bring another bag