How to Make Hard Cider (2024)

FAQs

How long do you ferment hard cider? ›

A constant cool temperature is much better than one that fluctuates. The fermentation time will depend on the room temperature and the initial starting gravity. 5 to 14 days is just a guide. The slower the fermentation the better the cider will taste.

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.

You cannot make it without yeast. You may manage with only the yeast living on the skin of the fruit but it will not ferment without yeast. You do not need any additives or airlocks if you have a fermenting vessel that can be covered such as a fermenting bag in a plastic dustbin with a lid.

It's likely your reading will be around 1.048 – 1.052 (6.0 – 6.5% ABV). If you don't add any sugar to the cider, this will be the final alcohol content after primary fermentation is complete.

While hard cider can be aged for years, it becomes drier as time passes, and the general shelf-life of cider is considered to be a year or two.

Hard Cider takes almost the same time as beer to brew, and costs $15-20 per 5 gallon batch (about $0.40 per cider). Cider is just fermented juice, then you add sugar and champagne yeast. :) Hard Seltzer is becoming really popular at my house!

Storage Upon Arrival

Refrigeration: If it's a fresh cider, refrigerate immediately upon arrival. Cool, Dark Place: For commercially produced ciders, store them in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight.

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.

Natural yeast in the juice will ferment the sugar to alcohol. Yeast need not be added, although it can without any problem. Some fermentation processes call for killing all the yeast in the pure cider with sulfur dioxide, waiting 24 hours and then adding wine yeast. For the homeowner this is not necessary.

How many apples does it take to make a gallon of cider? - It will take just a little over a peck or 36-42 medium apples to make just one gallon of cider.

What is hard cider made of? ›

Hard cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented apples (like how wine is made from fermented grapes). Like wine, starting with fruit gives hard cider taste profiles that range from fruity to dry. Your palette can pick up on the acids and tannins that come from the wide variety of apples.

Pressing and fermenting fresh apple juice was the easiest way to preserve the large fruit harvest. In rural communities, taxes, wages and tithes were often paid in cider. It was also the basis for other products, such as vinegar, which was used to preserve fresh foods and for other purposes around the farm.

Wild or Spontaneous Fermentation is the traditional method of making cider. Apples and pears are covered with wild yeasts, and some yeasts actually live inside the fruit, so any fresh or lightly-pasteurized apple or pear juice will naturally ferment. Wild fermentation may proceed very slowly over several months.

Dry hard cider is characterized by its minimal residual sugar content, resulting in a less sweet, more crisp profile. European hard cider, on the other hand, often reflects the traditional cider-making practices of European countries, using unique apple varieties and specific fermentation techniques.