Bottling the cider

First draft of cider branding. I love it!

The cider had stopped fermenting about a week ago. Today, we bottled what was in the SS vat. The Brix read 3.5 and S.G. was 1.015 which would yield 2.5% ABV.  It's sour but pleasant tasting. As we used only cooking apples which have less sugar, that was to be expected. Anyway, we are pleased with the result. We have 30 bottles (750ml) and racked two 5 gal demijohns with the remains. We'll wait a couple of weeks and bottle those as well. 

Alex designed a label and branded it Red Boar Cider. The red boar is an element of the Ó Máille (O'Malley) crest. The crest on Clare Island where Grainne Uaile (Grace O'Malley) is purportedly buried. It also bears a horse, a ship, a knight, and three bows. We have lots of symbols to choose from. 

O Maille - Terra Mariq Potens (Powerful on Land and Sea) 

Modern version adopted by the O'Malley Clan

The white wine will be White Seahorse. This is a first draft of a label. Needs work. 

We were very pleased with the bottle filler and corker today. They are very cleverly designed. The filler is preset to a certain level for the bottle you have and it automatically stops when it reaches that level, clearing foam before it does. It was very easy to use and I filled 30 bottles in under an hour on my first trial run. 

The corker takes a bit more strength and I found it awkward but it is ingenious. You insert your wine bottle and it holds it in place. You then insert your cork into the top and the machine squeezes it around the circumference until it pops right in. It takes just one sweep of the arm. Brilliant. 

I filled, Alex corked. It worked great and was actually fun!

Automatic bottler

Hand corker

30 bottles of cider

2 demijohns remaining -- need clarifying

Wines and ciders in pleasing hues

Cider racked in the shed

The Brix of the Rondo and the Solaris was 6 for both, SG 1.025,  about 3.5% ABV which is not enough for the wine to be properly preserved. We'll wait a couple of weeks longer and check again. Then we'll have to figure it out. I thought we'd have a better result. I found it perplexing that they both read exactly the same. 

We got lucky today and Storm Ciarán passed to our south with devastating effects on Jersey and Brittany in particular, as well as Galicia.