With dry Jan' in full swing, I've been thinking, waiting, thirsting after my latest batch of home-pressed cider. It'd been two and a half years since I'd dusted off 'Auld Ethel' the small wood press so, in October, I decided enough was enough, booked a long weekend and headed north to my parents where the apples are. I built the press around eight years ago using a load of spare timber and a 1.5 ton bottle jack from Halfords, though it's had a few modifications along the way.
Of all the alcohol I produce, cider is by far the most labour intensive, but possibly the most rewarding. The production involves 5 main stages: picking, pulping, presssing, fermenting and packaging (well bottling) and this year was no exception. As a rule of thumb when cidering, the more varieties of apple you use, the better the cider. This year I managed to snaffle about 6 from out the graden and a few kind friends.
This was the first year I made the decision to attempt the process on my own, and After a day hard at it on my own, I was completely broken and nowhere near done so on the second day I went crying to my dear mum for a little help with the chopping.