View source for Events/2019/5th Annual Cider Pressing

Bring your own apples and containers and join us to make your own fresh squeezed apple cider. For more information on cider making, including what apples to purchase, see [[Cider Making]].

Free tours of the Hacksburg makerspace will also be provided.

== Time ==
Saturday, October 5 - 10 am to 2 pm
* Apple tasting and cider making demo at [http://blacksburgfarmersmarket.com/event/apple-tasting-event/ Blacksburg Farmers Market]
Sunday, October 6 - 1 pm to 4 pm
* Make your own cider at the Hacksburg Workshop

== Location ==
Hacksburg
[https://goo.gl/maps/LbRiAsA1VAiULh5F8 1872 Pratt Drive Suite 1620]

Public Transit Directions can be found [http://hacksburg.org/about.html here]

== Cost ==
* Free for members and community, donations gratefully accepted

== Lessons Learned ==
=== Farmers Market Demo ===
* Got way too many apples: purchased 8 bushels for Farmers Market demo, only used ~2-3
** Also received 2 unexpected bushels from a Farmers Market vendor
** Still left with 3.5 bushels after make-your-own event
* Farmers Market Apple Tasting (separate event) scheduled from 9am to 11 am
** We set up late, and ended up staying through end of market (~2:30 pm), still had plenty of people
* Told to expect 350 people
** Used up ~500 sample cups, ran out of flyers very early
** Probably ~50% kids, 25% parents, 25% students?
* Set up in grass, good location
** Kinda far from spigot and loading area, a wheeled cart would have been nice
* Market supplied 1 table and brought another, probably request 2 for future
* Many people interested in buying our cider
** Fundraiser, laser engraved mug of cider?
** Enter our cider in the Apple Tasting "Value Added Products" competition?
=== General ===
* Wade's Orchard is excellent source of inexpensive apples
** Seconds ($8.50/bushel) were great quality
** Cider grade ($5.00/bushel) had some bruising/rot/leaves, but were very adequate
* Mix of 4 parts Stamen Winesap, 2 parts Golden Delicious, 1 part McIntosh, and 1 part Granny Smith produced very good cider
* Grinder did not overheat (likely due to lower temperatures)
** Still a good idea to eventually replace motor
** Using surge strip as power switch worked okay, would still prefer a built in switch (maybe foot pedal or spring loaded normally open) 
* Metal pressing plate worked great
* Bottleneck during make-your-own event was the press
** Tried to set up original wooden press, but did not have enough/properly sized pressing disks
** Wooden press also less user friendly, especially without metal pressing plate
** Possibly encourage using multiple smaller cheeses
*** Need more bags and pressing disks
*** Disks are preferably HDPE (food safe, resist breakage, chop up cutting boards) or metal (harder to work with, corrosion concerns)
* Fabric bags seemed to clog up eventually, wasn't squeezing out all the liquid
** Blew up three fabric bags due to using more pressure to get out juice
** Nylon bags worked well and resisted clogging, but let more "stuff" through into the cider. Press and then filter?
* Cleaning up concrete pad failed; put down tarp or plastic dropcloth first