Apple Press
My brother dropped off a family heirloom last Saturday afternoon - My grandfather’s fruit press.
Legend has it that the old man used this press to make apple cider.
I say “Legend has it…” because we weren’t around to see it.
My father inherited the press and attempted to make cider with it once when we were really young. According to our mother, he ‘messed it up’ and ‘it didn’t come out right’. Ah Dad, add that one to your (long) list.
Sorry about the trip on Freud’s couch, but I feel it’s important you know the history of the press.
It’s a curious artifact that I have known my whole life. The press has stood stoic in my family’s garage for years and years like an exhibit in a museum.
Finally, these Brew Dudes are going to see what this relic can do.
When I look online, it looks more like a grape press than an apple press. That’s probably what it is and we may fail miserably like other(s) before us…but maybe…just maybe…we can reclaim the glory of Ol’ Grandpa George and squeeze out a decent hard cider.
Some photos of the old press:
We’re going to try to press apples this weekend. Wish us luck. We’ll post an update of the festivities.
on October 1st, 2009 at 11:00 am
These pictures are like 1970s, cider porn.
I think you now officially have one of the coolest pieces of brewing related equipment of anyone I know.
on October 1st, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Nice press! My Dad had one a bit similar and we made much apple juice, and the occasional (unintentional) hard cider. A little tip, if you can’t grind the apples before pressing, then quarter and freeze first. Then thaw and press. Much easier to get the juice out.
Best of luck and let us know how it turns out!
on October 1st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thanks for the compliments. I have read a whole bunch of articles about cider pressing in the past few weeks and we definitely are going to grind the apples before they are placed in the press.
I am pretty excited about it even if it goes horribly wrong.
You gotta try things. This press has been sitting idle waaaaaaaaaay too long!
on October 2nd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
…and when you grind them don’t lose any of that precious juice. What apple types will you be using?
on October 5th, 2009 at 9:46 am
We learned to grind them with a food processor and a stick blender.
Note to self: Need a fruit/food mill
We were sure not to lose any juice.
We picked up apples that were available at the farm down the street. We have a mix of:
Macoun
Cortland
Honeycrisp
Royal Empire
on October 5th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
[…] Saturday afternoon, we put the old apple press to […]
on October 8th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I am just learning to press apples. A friend of mine suggested 2 things for more yield. First use some peptic enzyme and mix with the ground apples and let sit for 18 - 24 hours before pressing. This will help release more juice. The second is to put a 1 inch layer of rice hulls between 2 - 3 inches of ground apples when loading into the press. This will help get a higher yield
on October 9th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
The one I remember from my childhood had long handles on the screw, and it took a couple of people to turn it.
Good luck. Post some pictures of it working, and the end results.