How'd ya like THEM apples?

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

and the lady processors are lined up
should be fun...

The Immaculate Contraption rides again!

[hank]

Originally Posted by willk

The Immaculate Contraption rides again!

We might have pressed this years last 3 batches today for 120L

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

good to hear from you willk
I thought with 370 hp you might have slipped off the end of the flat earth

Slipped off the edge, no. Missus willk mighta pushed me over it today grumbling about hauling in 400kg of cider apples. They're just about ripe and I used your pole method to shake the part of the crop that wasn't on the deck already. Overall the haul is a half ton and the first 70L of cider/applejuice is in a controlled environment turning into Willk's Well-hard Cider. I hope for around the 250L/440 pints mark.

There were no bears.

[hank]

sound good
I'll rustle up a few bears if you want.

cheers
Hank

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

cheers
Hank

Cheers indeed!

[John Kennett]

That looks remarkably fine!

[hank]

Well we are back to our old tricks. Thanks to the bear problem I'm getting calls to come and pick the apples. It would have been nice to let a couple of the trees full of apples ripen for a couple more weeks.
We pressed 100 L . The juice is a bit tangy but the Immaculate Contraption is working fine as usual
We have been making carrot juice with some of the big carrots- 14 carrots to a liter
different machine for the carrots
best wishes
hank

[hank]

2023 apple time but my long time pal (of 45 years) in the picking and pressing said his right arm doesn't move any more. So he isn't going to be able to help. So I told him just to come by and offer spiritual advice. He might get a grandson or two to step up.
It was a great apple growing year as long as we kept watering the trees. All good as long as the forest fires stay away.
We know how to have fun
hank

[Bigtalljv]

Wow, I’m in my second attempt to make my own cider but I have to buy fresh pressed juice from the local orchards. Since you appear to have been doing this for a while I have a question. I like a completely dry cider so I ferment until it’s done bubbling and then add some sugar before bottling for carbonation. It comes out dry and bubbly but not terribly apple flavored. Are there any tricks to totally dry and strong flavor or are they mutually exclusive?

Thanks!

[hank]

The hard cider we make is very simple but we do not bottle it. We use a food safe plastic 20L bucket with a tight fitting lid. Fill it with fresh juice, snap the lid on and leave it in a cool spot on the back porch.
In a couple of months before the cold weather hits. Just around the end of October our batch is ready to sample. We have 2 older refrigerators that we store the buckets in and have plenty to drink past New Year. Then they go back out on the back room on the porch and go to vinegar that my wife uses in next years pickles.

Willk's brew looks might fine

hank

[Bigtalljv]

Thanks. Enjoy your vats of cider :-). Sounds wonderful.

[9D280]

Wow. Happy 10th Birthday thread!

I wonder - are any other threads still going 10 years after they started???

[hank]

well it has been a different year with out my friend helping. So now I only do the pressing and leave the picking to others. So far over 350 gallons. I give my old pal 25 gallons for his grand kids. We put away 100 gallons for our share the rest split between the pickers and workers that help.
we figured that we have pressed around 4500 5 gallon (20L) buckets since we started 45 years ago in 1978. No BS
cheers
hank

[willk]

Glad to hear that you're still at it Hank - every season brings it's own challenges. I too have a few friends who have poor harvesting arms.
Nothing wrong with their drinking arms though!

I failed to press juice last fall - a shame as I had harvested and stored, but life and pest ridden fruit got in the way of the great pressing weekend, a damn shame IMO. This year I had better pest management in place (no bears whatsoever but I did have a brace* of foxes stealing windfalls) and despite a record wet summer, managed to haul in 575kg of mostly cider variety fruit. Pressing commences tomorrow - hopefully.

Enjoy the winter - good luck in '24


* I say brace, but missed both of them....

[hank]

Glad to hear you are still pressing Willk.

With my pal not helping and the highways department closed a main bridge for repairs our total gallons number was down compared to past years.

The bridge was rebuilt in the middle of October and the folks who live on the wrong side of the bridge had "our" largest amount of apple and pear trees had to pick their own fruit and lend a hand with the pressing.
They brought 2 large pick up trucks full and we got almost 100 gallons. We had our juice freezers full so we had a lot to trade for salmon and buckets to let go to sparkling cider.
good year again
best wishes
Hank

[Pikey Dave]

Been busy, 3.5kg of Toulouse & 4kg of Old Yorkshire made with Theakstons Old Peculiar.

[hank]

We are back into apple pressing today,
The weather has been pretty hot and dry- quite a change from the usual Pacific Rain Coast weather.
So I've set up sprinkler hoses under the apple trees and the apples look good.
I installed electric fences to keep the furry monsters away.
We have a excellent blue berry and blackberry crops this year thanks to all the water soaker hoses
Only a few boating adventures so far this year
hank

[hank]

add another 200 liters to our score , so far 850 liters we get 1/3 of it. Filling the first freezer
we entered our cider in the local Fall Fair and the judging is today
along with my 28 entries in the photo contest

[hank]

for what it is worth department
I got 2nd in the Cider class at the Fall Fair
but First in the Photo contests

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

///
I got 2nd in the Cider class at the Fall Fair
but First in the Photo contests

That's good going Hank - congrats.

I think we need to see the photo!


Cider apples looking a bit small here, very cold wet season. Not sure what the outcome will be but still drinking the '23 harvest.