How To Make Cider

CIder making is a very traditional activity in some parts of england and the making of it is just as fun as the drinking of it. Cider can be made with all sorts of fruit but is most commonly made with apples and this recipe is for just that. This quick guide should produce a very good tasting apple cider.

What You Need:

Apples: You will need 3-4lbs per gallon (4.5 liters) of cider you want.

A Good Blender

A Press Of Some Kind

Cloth/ Cheese CLoth

A Wooden Keg Or Less Preferably A Glass Demijohn

A Bung For Your Container

Avoid using cheap cooking apples which you would think would be ideal for such a thing for they do not make good cider at all. Ordinary eating apples and dessert apples will do fine. This will produce a fairly sweet cider but if that's not what you're after get a few 'crab apples' as well, these should make up about 10% of your total apple count. I prefer a less sweet cider so i do this.

You may be tempted to use shop bought apple juice rather than going through all these steps but DON'T. Even if your using juice with no additives it will taste bad as cider and could be dangerous.

Now you need to firstly wash your apples, then core them. Once this is done you can begin pulping your apple, the easiest way to do this if you're doing it on a small scale is to cut apples into quarters and use a blender. However if you're doing it on a larger scale use a large wide barrel and a big heavy object and attack the apples until they can't even be identified by dental records.

There are various ways of doing this I'm sure but the way I use is by getting 4 G-clamps and two bits of either sheet PVC, thin wood or even old big books and wrapping the pulp in a large enough cloth or even cheese cloth if you have it and putting it between the two boards and pressing together using the clamps. Alternatively you can put the pulp inside the cloth and use your own strength by then twisting and wringing the cloth so the juice is squeezed out. Catch the juice in a tray or tin.

This is where you need your container. Wooden kegs can be found at home brewery shops online and will give your cider a slightly better flavour but a large glass demijohn (large glass bottle) will do fine or even a plastic office water cooler bottle. you now need to clean the container thoroughly in hot water so its fairly sterilized. Now pour in your juice making sure you've made enough to fill it, if it is not filled to the top you will get vinegar.

You now don't need to add anything, the yeast will come from the natural yeasts in the air, adding is not the traditional method and it could possibly make the cider too strong and will make it taste too yeasty because the natural sugars will not react well. Leave the bung from the container and in 1 or 2 days you will see it begin to froth through the hole, this means its fermenting. you will have to wait several weeks before the fermenting finally stops, once it has replace the bung.

You will now have to wait between 6-8 months before you can drink the cider, it needs to mature. Give it a quick taste after 6 months and if its too much like bad apple juice and only tastes slightly alcoholic then leave it another month

Once you've given your cider a few test sips pour yourself a glass. It should be pretty strong stuff I usually get about 10% alcohol. It will be cloudy and will not be like a draught cider but more of a traditional bottle cider that is slightly cloudy, do not be put off by the cloudiness. It's also great for cooking with.

If you produce a batch that just doesnt taste quit right you've probably had some dodgey yeast get in there but don't worry a 'campden' tablet (available from home brewery suppliers)should sort that out for the next batch, just add it with the original juice.

Too cloudy? again there are certain potions you can get from your home brew store (or online for those that don't live near one).

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