The apple trees have been harvested, 46 kg apples pressed and 20 litres of juice almost done with filtration into the fermenter.
Also in the fermenter: 3 litres of beer wort featuring 1 kg of mostly Simpsons Premium English caramalt. And waiting for its time is a 1,5 l yeast starter with 1 dl sugar and 1 dl dark syrup, providing yet more alcohol and some complex nonfermenting sugars. Hoping to eke out some residual sweetness from the cara and the syrup in the final product.
Quick check regarding the use of Campden tablets. Added one per 5 l of apple juice at the press. Kind of a half dose compared to what the winemakers use. That was 10 in the morning. Is it likely my happy starter will handle the sulfite if I pitch 12 hours after adding the tablets? Or should I wait the recommended 24 hours?
The happy starter:
Aw, we had June frost here that killed almost all of our apples, I'm so jealous!
Condolences, that's a bummer I can relate to... Apples indeed do not happen every summer, gotta carpe that diem when things go your way.