Hi Ben

Cool Blog, I have been home brewing for 5 years. It's great that there is now so much info on the internet and great blogs like this to encourage more people to give it a go

Thanks Steve. In the early days it was a chore to find info but thankfully things have improved.

...Razzberry Hard Cider. basically same recipe, but add 5lbs. fresh, crushed rasberries. i like to briefly boil my cider to kill off bacteria and wild yeast. after the boil add the berries, steep and strain. it is fantasmic! i would bathe in it if it was socially acceptable!

Thanks for the great jump off point! I took your recepie and decided to add a kick, so I used champgne yeast and added some pear juice into the mix. turned out great (havent bottled yet) but i think i may distill it and make myself a good brandy type drink for thanksgiving:) Once again, thanks for the start

Does anybody know if apple cider will ferment without adding yeast? I heard that natural yeast occurs in the environment and it will ferment naturally without adding anything.

yes natural yeast will occur. just put a lid on it and leave standing @ room temp for 2 days then slap an air lock on it and u should be good 2go. as for the razzberry hard cider, that sounds delicious. do u add the razzberries and take out the sugar? or just add the razzberries to the overall recipie? i haven't made hard cider yet, looking to start a batch or 2 asap but i am making a 1 gallon batch. i will not have to wait a month for the fermentation process to complete will i? i heard it'll only take about 2 weeks, then bottle for a month and enjoy. not sure if this is correct so any info will help. CHEERS

I've had a 2.5 gal jug of pure apple cider in the fridge(in the basement)for about a year. Just transferred it into two ceramic jugs. Left sitting in room temperature for two days so far. One with a balloon attached to it with a pin hole in top and the other with out. Going to let it ride out till Sunday and then pour into a bigger bottle with cheese cloth on it to strain it. I'll do that a coupled times and the put back into the ceramic jugs a place in fridge for another month or so and see what happens from there. No sugar or yeast included in it.

k, just started a sm.batch w/ sugar and yeast...can I just cover it w/ a balloon, or do I need all the fancy stuff?

You could use a balloon, but an airlock and stopper should only cost you about 3 bucks.

what prevents the cider from ending up tasting like vinegar if you use the natural yeast? I used to let cider go hard by itself but if left too long it would end up vinegar. I can see how the boil and then addition of a better yeast would give satisfactory results.

Usually the wild yeast contains yeast that will turn your cider into vinegar. Best to sterilize the cider and add wine yeast.

It is my understanding that if your apple cider or juice has been pasturized then it will not ferment on its own. I've made homemade wine with frozen grape concentrate, sugar, and yeast. I'm now trying the same approach with cider. It's been a week and its still fermenting. Can't wait to taste it. Check out youtube for some informative vids about all this homebrewing.

What kind of Wyeast Lager yeast?

Wyeast American Lager 2035
Wyeast Bavarian Lager 2206
Wyeast Bohemian Lager 2124
Wyeast Budvar Lager 2000
Wyeast California Lager 2112
Wyeast Czech Pilsner 2278
Wyeast Danish Lager 2042
Wyeast Munich Lager 2308
Wyeast Oktoberfest Lager Blend 2092
Wyeast Pilsen Lager 2007
Wyeast Urquell Lager 2001

I don't think it matters which one you use, though I would tend to use the American Lager yeast for this recipe.

I'm pretty sure pasteurisation will kill any wild yeast present in the juice and preservatives such as vitamin C will slow or prevent yeast from working properly, so check the ingredients on your juice before using.

I personally prefer to use a specific cider strain of yeast or a champagne yeast, because wild yeast can work brilliant or horrible.. it comes down to luck of the draw, whether the strain is good or not.

I brew cider using dextrose for the sugar (because its better processed by the yeast than sucrose/normal sugar) and champagne yeast is good.

Another good use for champagne yeast is mead, I can't fit the recipe in here but it should be online, i love it!

And if you are lazy, we have NZ Black Rock Cider, cans of concentrate and yeast - Nice stuff :-)

I have been wanting to try making hard cider for some time now, and finally just got my first batch done and bottled. Its 10% alcohol and really doesn't taste too great. I followed a slightly different recipe but its basically the same ingredients. Can anyone help me out? I heard it will get better with age but its pretty hard to swallow as it is...

I usually rack it over and then add a few cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. After about 2 months,I rack it again taking the cinnamon sticks out and then let is sit for about 4 to 6 months.

another thing you can add is red hots (the candy) it gives it a cinnamon bite to it...

Would anyine be able to tell me how long the second or racked cider can sit. it was pland after the primary. I read a few notes stating it will mellow with age. Does the juce have to be all the way to the top of the carboy? I have approx six inches left at the top

your recipes sound like the one I found for "Apple wine'. iT WAS GREAT

Terrific website - and a lot of interesting people reading! I (a beginner) really appreciate your sharing your knowledge - same goes for everyone else. I've got my first four batches in different stages right now, and I never would have had the courage to give it a shot without people like you.

By the way (with a hint of novice pride), all four batches are coming along quite nicely!

Cool blog ... I can hardly wait to try this. I would definitely want to be specific about the yeast. A wine yeast will have higher alcohol tolerance and therefore thrive better in the high-sugar environment of cider vs. an ale or lager yeast meant to make beer. Lager yeasts would come out cleaner I suppose, but don't they do better at cooler temps? I think I'll try the champagne yeast. Question: I have heard that boiling apple cider causes the pectin to react. How do you get around that problem?

The most important thing with cider making is to use proper cider apples, they tend to carry their own yeast naturaly, simply crush and press, put aside under airlock and wait.

got 6 American/5 European gallons going now. 5 gallons fresh (love the tart apple bite a Macintosh gives it) apple juice, 3 pounds extra light DME, 1 pound invert sugar, 4 sticks of cinnamon and 3 cloves nutmeg. by autumn should have something to write home about.

Why are you going through all of this trouble to attain the same results? Buy a gallon of apple cider, bring it to just below a boil in a large pot or kettle. Add 1 cup of brown sugar, some cinnamin sticks, a large box of red hots, and stir. When the red hots have all disolved, add everclear alcohol to taste, and refrigerate. This produces some of the quickest, and best tasting "Hard Cider" that you will ever taste! And MAN!!! What a Kick!!

I just started a couple batches of cider, I noticed during the first stage, that they started to smell a little eggy but not too bad, just wondering what I could do? I sanitize everything pretty good. Not sure why its like this. Last year I made some and I dont remember this smell.

I was told that you can take a plastic hose. Tape it to the top of a apple cider bottle so that no iar can get out. Then put the other end in water and wait thirty days. Does this work? Is there more to it?

I'm not sure about cider but with wine if your getting an eggy smell it's because your yeast are starving for nutrients. Also called a stuck fermentation. Try adding some yeast nutrients.

Do I need to add any other ingredients (yeast nutrient, acid blend, pectin enzyme, etc) for this cider recipe?

Does this recipe require yeast nutrient, pectin enzyme, acid blend, etc?