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Cider Digest #1313
Subject: Cider Digest #1313, 7 April 2006
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1313 7 April 2006
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: fermentation temps and cooling (Marc Shapiro)
Belt presses ("Alex Hill")
FW: Belt Saturation/Pulp ("Mike Beck")
Question re: my press (Terry Bradshaw)
Judges & Entries Needed, 13th Annual BUZZ Off June 3rd ("Christopher Clair")
Hooray for NY Fresh Cider- Senate Bill 6295 ("Mike Beck")
belt press technology (Dick Dunn)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: fermentation temps and cooling
From: Marc Shapiro <mshapiro_42@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:03:32 -0700
Terry Bradshaw <terryb@lostmeadowvt.com> wrote:
>My cold room is an insulated room in the northeast corner of my
>basement. Nothing fancy, just framed up a couple of walls and added
>insulation and an exterior door. There is no active cooling, but I can
>crack a ground-level window to let cold air in as needed. Winter temps
>can go as low as 32 with the window cracked, closed it'll stay around
>40. Summer temps get to about 65. Any temp change is slow and gradual
>so the cider responds accordingly. Here's a view of the setup:
>http://www.lostmeadowvt.com/cider/room.htm
>
It must be nice! I used to have a basement. Then I sold the house and
moved to Aloha (just outside of Portland, OR). Housing is expensive,
here. I now live in an 1100 sq ft apartment with my wife, daughter and
four cats. I have no room to do any more cidermaking, meadmaking,
winemaking, or brewing. I need a job so that we can afford a larger place!
- --
Marc Shapiro
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.
What?! Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here.
Boom. Sooner or later ... boom!
- - Susan Ivanova: B5 - Grail
------------------------------
Subject: Belt presses
From: "Alex Hill" <alex@vigoltd.com>
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 10:07:29 +0100
John Brett raises the issue of water addition to juice from the belt washing
system on belt presses. Voran have carried out tests to determine the water
addition to juice from the belt washing system. When the belt washer is used
continuously there is an addition of less than 1%. This should not have
a noticeable effect on juice quality. Most of our belt press users started
with pack presses and they have not mentioned dilution of juice as a problem.
It is generally accepted that juice made by a belt press contains more
particles than that from a pack press but, again, this is not a particularly
serious issue. With regard to the quality of juice and the finished product,
whether 'hard' cider or unfermented juice, there seems no difference between
the two systems: those makers who won prizes with products made with their
old pack press continue to win prizes with products made with a belt press.
It all boils down to the quality of the fruit and the skill of the producer.
The control systems on belt presses can give problems but this will depend
on the type of press and the system employed. The later Voran belt
presses use pneumatic belt direction controls and, as long as the air
supply is kept clean and dry, these have proved reliable and efficient.
Belt presses have come some way in the last few years.
Alex Hill
------------------------------
Subject: FW: Belt Saturation/Pulp
From: "Mike Beck" <mjbeck@ujcidermill.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 16:16:25 -0400
CD #1312 John Brett had three concerns of belt presses
1. Pulpy Juice - While a little pulp may flow out of the resulting juice. I
send my juice through a very tight SS mesh screen before it hits the tank.
I have know comparable losses. Keep in mind my only other experience is with
a R&C.
2. Belt Saturation - We have done a fair bit of extra work on our part to
mitigate this problem. While I can not deny that some saturation may occur.
We have programmed our wash boxes to turn on when we decide. We can choose
between one to twelve revolutions before the washer turns on. the washer
will only run for one revolution and stop automatically. Only one box will
run at any one time. Plus, belts run through a set of roller ringers and a
squeegee before being reintroduced to pulp. Water is attractive to things
and some saturation is inevitable. However, I have never tried to quantify
this. I am more than satisfied with the quality of resulting juice. We have
had no complaints from our customers either.
3. Press alignment. This is never a problem if the pistons are in working
order. Check for leaks in pneumatic lines. If they are not pushing as a
team it can be frustrating. Cake thickness plays a role in this too.
I would definitely say that there is a larger learning curve to operating a
belt press.
Mike Beck
St. Johns, MI
www.ujcidermill.com
------------------------------
Subject: Question re: my press
From: Terry Bradshaw <terryb@lostmeadowvt.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 03:42:41 -0400
Answering a question Claude sent me regarding my cider press
(http://www.lostmeadowvt.com/juice/mill.htm)
>Your press is quite impressive. I don't really understand, however, why you
>have 2 hydraulic jacks, one under and one on top. This setup doesn't give
>you more pressure than if you had only one (this is the mechanical engineer
>speaking...). The only advantage I can see is this will double the stroke,
>possibly permitting you to make the full press without having to reset the
>cylinder. I can easily see the problem if your alignment is not perfect!
>Must make a mess.
>
Yes, I use two jacks to get the full stroke in one squeeze without
having to reset the jacks or add blocking/cribbing. My pressure
calculations are based on a single twenty ton rating, since you are
right in that I only get one jack to squeeze at a time. Alignment of
the rising press box is a bit of a concern but actually is easily
manageable. I press down with the upper jack first which sort of
'locks' the cheeses in place, then squeeze upward with the lower jack.
A couple of seconds spent lining it up at the beginning and it's a
pretty easy squeeze. The shop press idea makes a very simple and
effective press; now if there were a good, cheap, clean, and efficient
grinder out there for the DIY folks...
TB
- --
================
Terence Bradshaw
Calais, VT
terryb@lostmeadowvt.com
http://www.lostmeadowvt.com
http://lostmeadowvt.blogspot.com
1450 feet, zone 4A/B?
The views represented are mine and mine only........
------------------------------
Subject: Judges & Entries Needed, 13th Annual BUZZ Off June 3rd
From: "Christopher Clair" <buzzclub@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:07:14 -0400
Brewers Unlimited Zany Zymurgists (BUZZ) is proud to announce that the 13th
annual BUZZ Off home brew competition will be held on Saturday, June 3rd at
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in West Chester, PA. For another year we
will be a qualifying event for the prestigious Masters Championship of
Amateur Brewing (MCAB) as well as the Delaware Valley Homebrewer of the
Year. All BJCP recognized styles (2004 guidelines) including meads and
ciders are eligible for entry. Our hope is to get enough cider entries so
that we can have a separate prize category for them. For complete details
and forms, please visit the BUZZ web site at http://hbd.org/buzz.
Entries will be accepted between May 13th and May 26th. For drop off and
mail in locations please refer to the BUZZ web site. Please, do not mail
entries to Iron Hill.
BJCP Judges and stewards will be needed. If you are interested please
contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on
the web site). All judges must be BJCP certified (any ranking).
Good luck and cheers!
Christopher Clair
buzzclub <at> verizon.net
http://hbd.org/buzz
------------------------------
Subject: Hooray for NY Fresh Cider- Senate Bill 6295
From: "Mike Beck" <mjbeck@ujcidermill.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 10:48:02 -0400
Those of you that live & cider in New York.
Legislation is being passed around the Senate that can maintain the
availability of fresh unpasteurized cider. This would overturn a earlier
ruling, mandating that all cider be treated to the 5-log kill.
(pasteurization)
Senator DeFrancisco is the bills major sponsor. If you live and cider in NY
and want access to fresh unpasteurized cider or want to be able to sell it
please call your senator and tell him you support Senator DeFrancisco. They
are seeking support and education on cider.
There is a big fight in front of them. Help if you can.
Sorry to use the CD as a political platform. I know this is about juice,
anybody that wants to make good cider from local fresh juice, this will at
least make it legal for you to do so.
mike beck
st.johns, MI
------------------------------
Subject: belt press technology
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 16:28:01 -0600
When I was looking at the Voran belt presses in use in England, trying to
gather whatever I could about the design, I kinda went through the
following thinking...
stainless frame and housing, yeah of course. big stainless rollers, yeah
probably expensive to make but no big deal. bearings taking a lot of side
force, a solved problem. pneumatics for tensioning, fine. a bunch of
moderately interesting mechanical engineering...
Now, about the belt...whoa! There is the magic! Has to be just the right
porosity, flexible but not very stretchy, etc., etc. I could see all sorts
of tradeoffs and design challenges...at least that's what it seemed to me,
and I wonder if poor belt design accounts for the reports of variable/poor
quality juice.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1313
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