Well, Fall has come and it was time again for a get together at my friend Jim's place for an apple cider extravaganza! We had a few new faces this year as our squad has lost and gained a few folks, so we had an opportunity to introduce a few more folks to the tradition of hand pressed apple cider!
We drove through a rainstorm as we entered Port Orchard, but the remainder of the day would prove to be dry, if not a bit cold. Everyone brought apples (and yes a few of us overdid it) and they varied from Braeburn to Gala...Granny Smith and Honey Crisp.
We chit-chatted a bit as Jim grilled up some early dinner for us and we took in a few "pot luck" side dishes as well. Dinner shminner...its time for cider kids!!!
We got started setting up the 100 year old cider press and it was not long before we had a small crowd gathered around, ready to try their hand at making some apple cider!! Literally everyone that came had a turn at hand cranking the press and found out that you have to work for your reward! It wasn't long before we had filled several gallon jugs and were sipping some sweet cider.
At one point, I just felt compelled to get even closer to the cider...I wanted the freshest cider I could get...so a few of the guys were able to lift the cider press just enough that I could get my mouth under the table/spout...allowing me to drink the sweet nectar right from the tap!
We cranked out cider for several hours and produced about between 15 and 18 gallons of cider at days end. It was getting quite cold as the sun began to set and Jim had installed a large fire pit at summers end, so we took some time to check it out and warm ourselves by the fire, before folks started heading out.
It was another successful "pressing of the apples" and I was glad we were all able to find the time to get together for a little fall celebration. I look forward to next years already!
