Homemade Hard Cider Recipe and instructions

Homemade Hard Cider
Recipes

The secret to making sweet or hard cider is the blending of apples at pressing time. A balanced blend of sweet and tart apples is needed. Hard or sweet, it's another great activity to enjoy at home. Unfortunately for the home cider and apple wine maker, the addition of stabilizers to fresh pressed apple cider is becoming common. This is being done to extend the products shelf life. Cider which has been treated in this way will spoil before it ferments.

APPLE CRUSHER $245.00
Made with heavy-duty, cast iron construction our new Vintners Best Apple Crusher includes a wooden mounting base that can be mounted horizontally on a table or vertically on a corner wall. The wood drum has stainless steel crushing blades and stainless steel chute.

APPLE CRUSHER & FRUIT PRESS $554.95
This deal brings you a total package. The No. 25 Fruit Press is just the right size for pressing out 5 and 10 gallon batches of cider as well as any other fruit including grapes. Includes re-usable pressing bag. Basket is 10" x 14".

A Note About Yeast: The type of yeast you select makes a great difference in the flavor of your cider. In the old days the cider was left to ferment on it's own. That was done out of ignorance of the true nature of bacterial fermentation. Wine yeast will produce a clean, dry flavored cider with little or no aftertaste. For a dry cider use champagne yeast or for semi sweet cider try Cote De Blanc. Cider with a more rounded flavor can be made by using brewer's yeast.

CIDER YEAST $6.95
Classic cider yeast for 3 to 10 gallons of hard cider. Ferments dry, but retains flavor from apples. Sulfur produced during fermentation, will disappear in two weeks of aging. Attenuation: 80; Flocculation: Medium; Temperature: 68-75°F

BEER & CIDER BOTTLING PACK $5.95
UBS refill pack for bottling beer and hard cider. The package contains standard crown bottle caps and pre measured priming sugar tablets for sixty 12 oz. or thirty 22 oz. beer bottles. A bottle capper is required.

HARD CIDER PACK $11.95
Individual bottles of acid blend, grape tannin, potassium sorbate, pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, campden tablets, and 1 each of Cote des Blanc, Montrachet, Cuvee and Champagne wine yeast.

Making Hard Apple Cider
The secret to making sweet or hard cider is the blending of apples at pressing time. A balanced blend of sweet and tart apples is needed. Hard or sweet, making cider is another great activity to enjoy at home.

Unfortunately for the home cider and apple wine maker, the addition of stabilizers to fresh pressed apple cider is becoming common. This is being done to extend the products shelf life. Cider which has been treated in this way will spoil before it ferments.

Apple cider mills usually guard their secret recipes for blending very well. Basically you want a blend of at least two apple varieties mixed by weight at a ratio of 2:1. For sweet cider combine 2 parts sweet variety and one part tart. Reversing the mixture will make a drier cider. While the ratio remains the same, you can add more complexity and character by using more varieties of apples. Our local supplier uses 6 varieties and that's all he's saying.

Making hard cider is very much like making wine. When fresh pressed apple cider is fermented without the addition of any sugars it will produce a dry cider with about 4.5% - 5% abv. The key to success is using fresh pressed cider that has not been treated in any way.

Cider purchased at the supermarket will almost always contain preservatives and will rot before it will ferment. State and local laws require producers to treat apples with anti-bacterial sprays prior to pressing and many require that stabilizers be added prior to sale. You must ask your supplier for wine making grade juice.
An exception to this rule is specially prepared wine base concentrates such as Vintner's Harvest Apple Wine Base. A very tasty batch of cider can be made at any time of the year using this product. The process is the same as for fresh pressed.

Hard Cider Equipment Kits
5 GAL. HARD CIDER EQUIPMENT KIT $129.95
Complete equipment package for making 5 gallons of your favorite hard cider from any concentrate or fresh fruit. Primary fermenter with lid, 5 gallon Better Bottle, airlock and #10 stopper, hydrometer, siphon hose, bottling bucket with spigot, bottle filling wand, bottle cleaning brush, sanitizer, carbination drops, bottle caps and capper. You also receive our Cider, Beer and Mead Additive Pack which contains all the additives listed in our recipe including the yeast.

UBS 3 GAL. CIDER EQUIPMENT KIT $99.95
This system can make it all! The Universal Brewing System can produce a variety of fermented beverages by combining the common equipment needed along with the unique items specific to each recipe. The 3 Gallon UBS uses techniques and recipes developed over hundreds of years to produce 5 six-packs of homemade cider, beer, mead, or wine. An extensive instruction booklet is included providing recipes utilizing fresh ingredients available at any farmer's market and most supermarkets. Instructions and recipes for the large variety of beer and wine making ingredients available from Leeners.com are also included. You will find the convenience of these quality products, combined with their year-round availability, will make your new hobby enjoyable and rewarding.

4¼ gal. Pail with Lid

3 Gallon Better Bottle

Econo Lock Air Lock

#10 Drilled Stopper

Curved Racking Cane

4 ft. Siphon Hose

Jumbo Straining Bag

Bucket Clip

Shut Off Clamp

Bottle Filling Wand

8 oz. Sanitizer

Plunger Corker

1st Quality Corks

Bottle Capper

60 Carbonation Drops

60 Crown Bottle Caps

2 oz. Acid Blend

1 oz. Grape Tannin

1 oz. Potassium Sorbate

1 oz. Pectic Enzyme

1 oz. Yeast Energizer

1 oz. Campden Tablets

1 pk. Cote des Blanc Yeast

1 pk. Montrachet Yeast

1 pk. Cuvee Wine Yeast

1 pk. Champagne Yeast

Recipes and Instructions

VINTNER'S HARVEST APPLE WINE BASE 96 oz. $42.95
Unfortunately for the hard cider and apple winemaker, the addition of stabilizers to fresh pressed apple cider is becoming common. Vintner's Harvest Apple Wine Base, made from choice Northwest apple varieties, maximizes flavor, aroma and tartness. Used in conjunction with the UBS 3 GALLON EQUIPMENT KIT, hard cider is as easy to make as it is to drink! Recipes for 3 or 5 gallon apple wine are also included.

The Hard Cider Making Process

3 Gallon Hard Cider Must

3 gallons Fresh Apple Cider

or one 96 oz. Apple Wine Base

3 Campden Tablets

1 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme

1 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient

1 teaspoon Acid Blend

1 packet Yeast*

5 Gallon Hard Cider Must

5 gallons Fresh Apple Cider

or two 96 oz. Apple Wine Base

5 Campden Tablets

1½ teaspoon Pectic Enzyme

1½ teaspoon Yeast Nutrient

1½ teaspoon Acid Blend

1 packet Yeast*

*Champagne yeast for dry cider, Cote de Blanc or beer yeast for semi-dry
You may also consider White Labs English Cider Yeast in the at left

Crush Campden tablets (to suppress bacteria or wild yeast), and dissolve them in 1 cup of cool water. Stir in pectic enzyme to prevent haze in the finished cider, yeast nutrient to provide for complete fermentation and acid blend for balance. Add the solution to the primary fermenting pail.

Now pour in fresh pressed apple cider or Vintner's Harvest Apple Wine Base and enough water to make 3 or 5 gallons. Stir thoroughly, cover the pail with the lid and let the juice rest overnight at room temperature.

Primary Fermentation
Open the primary fermenter and sprinkle in one packet of wine or brewer's yeast. Place the lid securely on the pail and attach the air lock. Fermentation will start in about 12 hours. You will notice that the air lock will bubble vigorously at first. This will subside as time passes. Allow the beer to ferment in the pail for seven to ten days. A rule of thumb is that when there is less than one bubble per minute the primary fermentation is complete. You should still wait at least 7 days before racking.

Secondary Fermentation
Place the primary fermenter on a counter or tabletop 24 hours prior to the next step. This will allow the sediment to settle to the bottom of the pail.
Clean and sanitize a Better Bottle or glass carboy along with your siphon equipment. Siphon the cider into the secondary fermenter. Attach the air lock and allow the cider to rest for 14 days at around 70°F.

Taking a Taste Test
After 14 days you can taste your cider and adjust it if needed. If it tastes a little bland you can add ¼ teaspoon of acid blend to taste. If it is lacking in apple flavor but the tartness is correct, add our apple flavor enhancer. If it is too tart, add frozen apple juice concentrate (preservative free) to taste. To make an addition you must first clean and sanitize your primary fermenter and siphon the cider into it. As the cider is transferring, gently stir in your adjusting ingredient. When the racking is complete, clean and sanitize the Better Bottle, then rack the cider back into it. Seal it up with the stopper and air lock and let it rest for another 7 to 14 days.

Bottling Hard Cider
Hard cider is best bottled in standard beer bottles using regular crown caps. You can make the cider still or sparkling by adding carbonation drops the same way as is done with beer. Bottles and caps must be cleaned and sanitized just prior to filling.