How to Make Apple Cider

Apple Bath

Chopping

Apple mash in a food-grade bucket

The Press

1/2 way done!  7.5 gallons total

Today we processed the apples we picked from my parents' tree.  The apples have been 'sweating' in the garage for a few weeks, which really means they have been getting over-ripe.  My parents came over, and it was a family project.  We chopped the apples up in our Vita-Mix, and put the mash into a bucket.  We rented a press from our local brew supply shop, and spent 4 hours making 7.5 gallons of drink.

After we picked all the fruit, processed it, cleaned the apples, took the compost away, cleaned the floor, cabinets, counter and even my elbow, from all the apple slop and sugar that got everywhere, was it worth it?  I'm thinking what you might be thinking, as you can not taste the final product.  The second the juice hit your mouth, you would rethink our time and effort.  Some (5 gallons) of the juice has champagne yeast in it to ferment into hard cider, and a small amount is just going to be sweet.

It was a lot of time working on a project with people I love, so even if the drink was bitter, the time was sweet.