How to make... Cider | Scrumpy | Hard Cider Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How can I make my own cider? ›

If you want to go 'wild', add half a Campden tablet per 5 litres of juice. If you're adding a cultured yeast, add one Campden tablet per 5 litres of juice, wait 24 hours, then add the yeast. Both Campden tablets, hydrometers and a range of cultured yeast are easily available from all good home brew shops.

Like wine, cider is made by growing and harvesting fruit, then crushing and pressing it. The juice is poured into a vessel, yeast is added, and the juice is fermented so that the sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. But unlike wine, cider has often been ignored as a serious beverage.

Making homemade hard cider is easier than you think! This complete guide is designed to help you make your first homemade hard cider recipe and to serve as a reference for the next ones! All you need for making homemade hard cider are three ingredients: apple juice, yeast, and a little patience!

Make Cider by Mixing Juice & Yeast

Once you've thoroughly cleaned and sanitized your equipment, mix the yeast in with the juice and sugar and let science turn it into a smooth libation. Place the stopper and airlock into the bucket or carboy. Ferment for 10-14 days.

You can make your unpasteurized apple cider last longer if you freeze it in an airtight container. Continually keeping it frozen will keep it safe indefinitely. However, to maintain the best quality, freeze it for eight to twelve months.

“It is possible for growers to harvest apples for cider production from the ground, but both growers and cidermakers must understand how to best address food safety concerns and ensure that the process adopted for cider manufacture reduces or eliminates pathogen contamination,” Ewing Valliere said.

If you're aiming to make one demijohn of cider, a demijohn takes 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of liquid. As a general rule you will need about of 9 kg (20 lbs) of apples to produce 4.5 litres of juice.

There are others; Clos De Bois, for an aromatic sip, or CL-23, for a clean, crisp cider. Any beer yeast will also create apple cider, however, some are much better than others. One of our favorites is the Safale US-05, which is a yeast commonly used to make pale ales and IPAs. It has a crisp, clean flavor.

Is it cheaper to make your own cider? ›

If we say it cost a total of $2.75 to make this batch of 48oz, that would come out to $7.15/gallon. If cost is your only factor, then once you add up the ingredients, and the time spent making the cider, it would probably be faster and cheaper to stick a gallon or two in your cart next time you visit the store.

Rather than letting them go to waste, thoughts turn to making cider at home. Once you've done it and tasted your own cider, you'll want to make it again and again. It really is such a simple thing to make. And as well as being lovely to drink in the summer, it's great for mulled cider and casseroles in the winter.

On average, most hard ciders are 4.5% - 7% alcohol by volume (ABV), while some ciders have an ABV as high as 10% or 12%. Drier ciders usually have a higher ABV because the yeast consumes a majority of the cider's natural sugars.

Standard Market Varieties

The apple varieties that we generally find in stores and that are used for the making of modern-style ciders include McIntosh, Golden and Red Delicious, Goldrush, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Idared, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji.