Category Archives: diary

Reality dawns!

The big 6000 litre tank is nearly in position behind the ciderhouse. Chris and Ness who live a few doors away have a fencing business. They kindly offered to take the tank from the garden and transport it to the … Continue reading

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My website

Two and a half years ago I began to think about having a website. I mentioned this to Andy Roberts. I told him that I was not in a particular hurry but that I felt I needed to make a … Continue reading

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A question of yeast

There is often discussion amongst cider makers as to whether it is best to use a wine yeast for fermentation, or just to let the natural or ‘wild’ yeasts of the apples themselves do the job. I like my cider … Continue reading

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Steam Cleaning Oak barrels

> > BucklandSwifty wrote: >> I have two 40 gallon oak ex whiskey barrels, one of which was used to >> mature last years cider in. I am pondering the best way of cleaning >> it. There is only the … Continue reading

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High excitement and a bit of bother

Towards the end of last November I spent a sunny day on my knees in Venetia’s orchard picking up the last fallers from amongst her various cider apple trees. I had previously collected the Yarlingtons, but now the Dabinetts had … Continue reading

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Cider Festivals

In my Powerstock report I noted, what I have come to see, as an increasing trend for dedicated cider festivals. Powerstock is of course a prime example. I have always thought that cider as a beverage has more than enough … Continue reading

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[ukcider] Powerstock Cider Festival

Our annual ‘not to be missed’ event in Dorset was the best yet, in my opinion. The sun was shining and I felt on top of the world, driving once again over glorious Eggardon hill, then down and down the … Continue reading

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The big tank

Last year I decided to take my two ex winery aluminium ‘Sputnik’ tanks to the scrapyard. They were taking up too much room in the ciderhouse. I was also not convinced that their internal enamel coating would continue to survive … Continue reading

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Europump repairs.

Last month I mentioned the ease with which a Europump can be dismantled for cleaning and repair. From my own experience and from what I have heard from other owners of this useful little pump, there are two components that … Continue reading

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Re: [ukcider] Re: Blending keeved cider

I’ve been mulling over the pearls of wisdom from David and Gary with regard to the errors in SG measurement due to temperature variation and the phenomenom of stratification. When making dry cider these effects are of no great concern. … Continue reading

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