SC - Apples for Cider

[Angus]

<snip>

>> I'm curious - what didn't work out with your cider?

>Well, if totally knew what was wrong I could probably fix it. I haven't
>made any brewing for several years.

>The first time I tried for cider I started with fresh apples. I don't
>have a press, so I put them in the blender with some water. And had
>to keep adding water to get them chopped up. It was pretty weak. And
>worse it started growing white stuff. Out it went.
>
>The next time I started with apple juice. 
<snip>
It looked like it was doing ok,
>but got to tasting vinegary. Since I had transferred this into some
>Grosch bottles (the ones with the spring-clamp ceramic tops with
>red 'O' rings), I put them in the refrigerator to slow/stop the
>fermentation. And forgot about them. Several months later I decided
>to dump them out into my compost pit and start over. I took the first
>bottle out there, and casually, flipped open the top. The top rockets
>off the bottle, barely missing my head and there is a four foot 
>fountain of foam and apple vinegar coming out of the bottle. I was
>much more careful in opening and dumping the remaining three or four
>bottles.
The above reply was posted by
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
 Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
 **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
I snipped his sig by mistake. /Angus.
<snip>

Cider making isn't one of my stronger virtues, I've stayed away from them due to lack of proper equipment.
I have tried the blender way to cider myself.  To be honest it wasn't an actual blender, more of a juice maker of the centrifuge kind.
The result was icky to say the least.  A brown goo which cleared up a little when leftover bits of pulp floated to the surface but still a very oxidized
apple juice.  I didn't bother to ferment it at all.  I suspect it would have met the same fate as your brew since it was murder to clean out the separator, I doubt I'd be successful in sanitizing it well enough.  Boiling the must would only oxidize it futher, I've tried that before.  
What did you use to clean your blender ?

Regarding the vinegary apple juice in the Grolsch bottles...
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you didn't measure the S.G. of the must before you bottled it hence the built up pressure in the bottle.
Were there any preservatives in the juice ?  Sometimes they will slow down the yeast's fermentation rate.  Putting it in the refridgerator won't help much.  The yeast will still be active (but working slowly).  If you forget about it for a few weeks, well, there's your pressure build up.

As for 'proper' cider making equipment I found a couple of drawings of/plans for various presses in a swedish book I bought at a sale.  I did a quick calculation and found that the whole thing would cost me about $20 plus cloth for the pulb bag.  I plan to try and make a press in a few weeks.  If anyone wants the plans, let me know and I'll scan them and mail them privately.

Angus Mac Iomhair.

==
There is only one good -- knowledge;
and only one evil -- ignorance.
   -- Socrates

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