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[The Monk]

When the last grape has been picked, the first apples are ripening, and our wine crusher and press can be used equally well on apples!

We can't just run the apples through the crusher though--apples are much harder than grapes! We have to core the apples and then cut them into eights or sixteens, they can then be crushed and pressed, adding some ascorbic acid (Vit C) to stop the juice browning.

If the apples have been grown organically you could try letting the yeast on the skins (leave the apples unpeeled) do the main and malolactic ferments (do a small sample a week before the main crush.) For non-organically grown apples I would peel them, insecticde/antifungal etc cider anyone?

Varieties, hmmm there are varieties of apple used specifically for cider. Failing those, Jonathans with a small admix of Granny Smiths would be a good choice, but use Royal Galas or whatever if you want.

Man can't live on beer alone!


Tom