Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I'm thinking about coming out on sunday to pick, if that works. I may bring my boys as well.

I am not sure what everyone's plan for their cider will be, but I will be swinging through the Bluff Street Brew Haus in Dubuque this Friday if anyone is needing any yeast for a hard cider. I am not sure if any cider or champagne yeast can be found in Cedar Rapids? Let me know if you want any and how many.

Clint

Here are the official picking times agreed to by Upper Management.

Saturday: 2-4 pm
Sunday: 1-3 pm

If you can't make those times, PM me and we'll work something out. There will be a contingent of Rockwell folks picking on Saturday from 1-3. All the Liberty (5 trees), Ozark Gold (2 trees), Jonafree (5 mostly empty trees), and Jonathon (5 trees) will be ready to be harvested, along with a handful of late blooming Jonamacs and Galas.

In case you missed it in the previous post, here is the address:
3601 Otis Rd, SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Please bring one 5 gallon bucket (or an equivalent container) per gallon of soft cider you'd like to press. Given the total volume requested, I'm going to say that if you want soft cider, you need to pick your own apples as I won't have time to get that many bushels ready before the meeting. Right now, I'm thinking that we should be able to get 5 gallons of cider for everyone that wants it, but we'll see how many apples are available. If you want to leave your apples at my place, I should have room in the garage, but please make sure to mark your containers (especially if you create a custom blend of apples). On the other hand, if anyone takes their apples home and washes them before the Tech Meeting, it would make everything go a lot faster for the pressing. The spray used by the previous owner is supposedly pretty benign, so all I'm doing to wash them is giving them a dunk in water and wiping them off. If you want something fancier, I suggest taking the apples home on Saturday or Sunday.

If you have step ladders, picking poles, etc, feel free to bring them.

If anyone wants to come out and pick apples, don't feel like you need to just pick them for cider. Your families are welcome to come and take what they would like for sauce, pies, etc. Additionally, anyone that doesn't feel like picking apples but still wants to come to the Tech Meeting is welcome to attend.

Sorry Lee and fellow BeerNuts, I just moved to a new house three weeks ago and so the last two months have been a blur. Still unpacking and finding my stuff.

Lee... I have a Weston Press and Crusher as shown here. (http://www.westonsupply.com/Wine-Making-s/80.htm)

1st: I just added a 1hp motor and gear reducer to the crusher, because this handcrank setup is more work than you think. Have not truely tested it to see if the grinder spins to fast yet... I'm in the "Tim The Toolman" mode of automation right now.

2nd: As of today I just bought a 3 hp, 230V, 1 ph S/S Fruit & Vegetable Chopper that I know will grind all the apples the Club members will want and more. Lee do you have a place to plug it in? Another "Tim The Toolman" mode of automation.... Sounds good on paper! I bought it at an auction last week, will pick it up Friday, have not tested it yet... but

3rd: I have a press (as I said above) so that will help speed up the process by having as many presses as possible.

4th: I have more than enough So2 and yeast (Cote de Blanc) for all to make everyone's hardcider.


Thats the good news.

Bad news... I am leaving on Sept 28th and returning the following Monday Oct 3rd.

So... I would suggest we either do the press on the 27th or 5th or even the 8th (Saturday). The apples will keep for about two weeks if stored in a cool dry dark place.



Rick

IMPORTANT UPDATE - DATE CHANGE

Due to a personal conflict, I need to move the Cider Pressing Tech Meeting up one day to Tuesday, 27-September. Since we will be able to press the cider much quicker, let's go ahead and start at 6:00 pm. I'm sorry if the date shift creates a problem for anyone. The weekend picking times will remain the same (2-4 Saturday and 1-3 Sunday).

I don't think I'll have time to make any food for the Tech Meeting, but I will have a grill available if anyone wants to make some food.

Summary
Cider Pressing
27-Sept (Tuesday)
6:00 pm until we're done
3601 Otis Rd, SE
Cedar Rapids

Volume Summary
Randy : 2-3
Tony : 3
Clint : 3
Tom B : 3-4
Tim : 4
Tom T : 4
David W : 4
CJ : 4
T : 4
Steven P : 4

Total: 35 - 37

Given the number of apples on the trees and Rick's extra grinder and press, it's highly probable we'll be able to get 5 gallons of cider for the folks that requested it. Also, Rick gave me some advice on how to speed up the cleaning process, so we should be able to go much faster than my original estimates.

If the date shift creates a personal conflict for you and you will not be able to attend, send me a PM and I'll do my best to work something out. Sorry again for the inconvenience. Hopefully all the free apples and cider make up for it.

Rick, a couple years ago we were doing the garage sale thing in Mt. Vernon and there was one house we stopped at a couple blocks to the north of Cornell campus that had a crusher and fruit press set-up for sale. By any chance was that you? I still kick myself for not buying it . . .

I will be able to attend the Sunday picking from 1-3. However, what if we are unable to attend the actual pressing? Will there be an alternate day or time to do so? Work informed me today that i will be in Des moines from Tuesday-Thursday next week.

Thanks,

Clint

If you can't make the pressing, send me a PM and I'll try to work something out. I'm sure I'll be pressing again at some point within the next couple of weeks.

Had I seen a press & crusher for sale in MV I would have bought it. I now have a good medium sized commercial crusher... so a medium size commercial press is next! I am thinking a screw or belt press... anyone sees one of these at a sale let me know. I am in the market!

Thanks for having us out there today. Had fun, but seriously tired and a bit wet from the short rain, but overall, it was a good day. Looking forward to Tuesday and turning all this hard work into something yummy to drink!

And thanks to everyone who came out to pick today. We pretty much finished off the Liberty and Jonamacs, but there are plenty of Ozark Gold, Jonathon, and Jonafree left. For anyone who didn't make it today, please note that we picked a lot of extra apples that will be available for you tomorrow on a pick-one-take-one basis.

Also, Tom Burns helped all of us discover today that it's pretty easy to pick apples while drinking beer, so feel free to bring something along tomorrow.

Lee, thanks for inviting us out to pick. It will be interesting to see how my blend turns out.

Lee thank you so much for you hospitality and all the apples, Love the new house. Looks like a nice home to cozy into.

I won't be able to make tuesday due to work conflicts, however, if you need some assistance at another time, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks to everyone who came out to pick this weekend. In addition to everything you guys harvested for cider and/or personal use, I really appreciate all the help in picking apples for HACAP.

Rick -- are you still planning on bringing a press? Your King Kong grinder is really loud, but should macerate all the apples very quickly. I cleaned it up last night and will try it out tonight to see how many bushels I can do in 10 minutes.

Anyone that didn't pick this weekend, is welcome to come hang out tomorrow night.

Volume Summary
Randy : 2-3
Tony : 3
Clint : 3
Tom B : 3-4
Tim : 4
Tom T : 4
David W : 4
Steven P : 4
Rick Y : 4

Total: 31 - 33

Lee, if you fire up the grill, I have a pack of pork burgers in the freezer left over from one of our Club outings that I can bring to share. I'll bring the buns, ketchup, mustard, etc.

FYI - used a mix of my apples to make a gratin for dinner last night. Cored, peeled the apples, sliced them very thin and tossed them in rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Alternating layers with thinly sliced sweet potatoe (tossed in blood orange olive oil and fresh tarragon). Between each layer of veg/fruit was a different cheese (cheddar, gouda, and swiss). Topped with roasted garlic bread crumbs. Baked at 375F for 45 minutes. AWESOME!!!