Personal pages/Apple Harvest 2016

I started picking up some apples in the beginning of October. Now, 9 October, I have roughly 20kg of chopped up, frozen apples. I've picked up maybe 1-2 kg every otyher day sofar, which is not a lot when compared to the 2014 harvest. I did also pick a few pears in the beginning, but then I stopped and later threw away the2-3kg I had collected. Not sure if I have sufficient time/capacity to pick and wash and freeze and press.

2016/10/23 This week I picked up another 10-15kgs, sofar I have a 10kg plastic crate in the freezer. TOtal 30kg at the moment. I'm now pressing 10kg - one crate fits in the press pretty well, I expect to do the 2nd 10kg this afternoon. As usual, it took about 48 hours to thaw.
2016/10/24 each crate of approx 10kg produces 7litres of juice. Those are in vat VI, the 2x3kg trester I put in vat VII (100litres) and added 12L water and 8kg sugar. I did a yeast starter with some juice and 1ml yeast.
2016/10/26 the starter worked very well, was bubbling today. I added half to the juice in vat X, half to the trester in vat. Have pressed another createful, trester into vat VII, vat VI has 22 litres and is full. This is for the cidre. PIcked up another 16kg of apples.
2016/10/27 vat VII: added 6litres water and 4kg sugar. No bubbling yet. I am considering doing another yeast starter.
2016/10/28 pressed another crateful apple, vat X. I expect more juice than this will hold, destination is the 100litre IX.
2016/10/30 vat VII: still no bubbling, but I can hear "sizzling" in the vat. The apple create I had defrosted hadn't spent long anough in the freezer, many pieces were still hard. Put it back and took another one out.
2016/11/01 vat IX: pressed another 10kg apples, added 5kgs of sugar into 2+3 litre of juice. Emptied vat X into IX. 3kg trester into vat VII. Total of 5 loads of trester in vat VII. Am prepping another yeast starter, a bit of juice, water and some sugar. 0.5ml yeast. Added 3litres water + 2kg sugar to vat VII.

I have 3 crates of apple left, maybe one more when I pick up the last apples. The trester expands when it soakes up water, will all of it fit into vat VII without causing an overflow? Will need to add more water and sugar too. Looking at vat VII today, I got the impression that the trester is being pushed upwards by the CO2 which cannot penetrate the thick layer of apple? I "dug" a hole with the big red spoon, and saw the air lock respond right away when I put it back on. Not that much hapened later on.

2016/11/02 Picked up the last apples.
2016/11/03 pressed one crateful. Added 7.5litres juice + 7kg sugar to vat IX. Put trester in vat XIII. Washed and cut the last, made up about a crate. That makes 10 crates in total, so about 100kg. If that is about 70litres of juice, there is 22litre for cidre, the rest in vat IX.
Vat VII - I moved the apples around, causing more CO2 to be released, I even had buubles for a while.

2016/11/04 pressed one crateful. Added 7litres juice + 6kg sugar to vat IX. Put trester in vat XIII. Added 6litres water and 4 kg sugar to vat XIII.
2016/11/05 pressed one crateful. Added 7litres juice, but no sugar to vat IX. Put trester in vat XIII. Added 3litres water + 2 kg sugar, with a handful of trester soaked in.
2016/11/06 pressed one crateful. Added 4litres + 3kg sugar to vat IX. Vat XIII: Added 12litres water + 8kg sugar, with a handful of trester soaked in.
2016/11/07 pressed the last crate. Added 5litres + 3kg sugar to vat IX. Vat XIII and VII: added 3litres water + 2kg sugar to each.

Summary

About 100kg of apples, in 10 crates frozen for at least 2 days, then thawed for 2 days, then pressed. 7-8 litres per crate. The first 3 crates = 21litres went into vat VII, this is for cidre, will be about 40 x 0.5litre.

The remaining approx 50 litres are in vat IX, xx kg sugar added.

The 10 loads of trester, 2-3kg each, are in vat VII and XIII, with 27 litres of water and 12 kg of sugar added to each.

vat VII

Holds 5 x apple trester, 12+8 ws, 6+4 ws, 3+2 ws, 3+2ws = 30+19ws.

2016/11/06 no bubbles. I think the maische is fermenting, but the CO2 cannot penetrate the apple layer.
2016/11/07 added 3litres water + 2kg sugar, dug a hole to the water, now we have bubbles.
2016/11/08 added 3litres water + 2kg sugar, bubbles seem to have stopped again.
2016/11/10 The lack of bubbles was due to the lid not quite being tight.
2016/11/12 added 3litres water + 2kg sugar
2016/11/12 added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2016/11/20 bubbling.
2016/11/27 bubbling.
2016/12/01 bubbling. Added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2016/12/03 bubbling. Added the last bits of apple, perhaps 1kg, unpressed.
2016/12/04 bubbling. Added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2017/01/08 still bubbling.

vat XIII

Holds 5 x apple trester, 6+4 ws, 3+2 ws, 12+8ws, 3+2ws = 30+19ws.

2016/11/06 bubbling happily. Waiting to add the last load of apple trester.
2016/11/07 added the last trester, added 3litres water + 2kg sugar.
2016/11/08 added 3litres water + 2kg sugar.
2016/11/12 added 3litres water + 2kg sugar, bubbling nicely.
2016/11/12 added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2016/11/20 bubbling.
2016/11/27 bubbling.
2016/12/01 bubbling. Added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2016/12/03 bubbling. Added the last bits of apple, perhaps 1kg, unpressed.
2016/12/04 bubbling. Added 3litres water + 1kg sugar.
2017/01/08 still bubbling.

vat IX

Holds xx litres of apple juice and xx kg of sugar.

2016/11/06 bubbling happily. I worried about the foam rising too high, but it later receeded.
2016/11/09 bubbling happily.
2016/11/20 bubbling.
2016/11/27 bubbling.
2016/12/04 bubbling.
2017/01/08 looks like it's done bubbling.

vat VI

Holds about 22litres of juice for cidre.

2016/10/26 vat VI has 22 litres and is full.
2016/11/20 bubbling, but not very frequently. Am thinking of racking.
2016/11/27 bubbling, but not very frequently.
2016/12/04 bubbling, but not very frequently.
2017/01/08 racked into vat X.