How to Make Apple Cider at Home: A Complete Beginner's Guide

Making apple cider at home is one of the most rewarding things a home brewer can doβ€”and one of the most accessible. You don't need a professional setup or specialist knowledge. With a bag of ripe apples, a few pieces of basic equipment and a little patience, you can produce a genuinely delicious cider that rivals anything from the shops.

This guide covers everything: apple selection, juice extraction, fermentation, clearing and bottling.

What You'll Need

Equipment

  • Fruit press or juicer (a potato masher and muslin bag will work for small batches)
  • Large food-grade bucket with lid (for primary fermentation)
  • Glass demijohn (1 gallon / 4.5 litres) for secondary fermentation
  • Airlock and rubber bung
  • Hydrometer (to measure sugar content and track fermentation)
  • Siphon tube
  • Glass bottles with crown caps or swing-top closures
  • Sterilising tablets or solution

Ingredients (for approx. 4.5 litres / 1 gallon)

  • 8-9kg ripe apples (a blend of varieties gives the best flavour)
  • Cider yeast or wine yeast (recommended for consistent results)
  • Campden tablet (1 per gallon, optional - to kill wild yeast before adding your own)
  • Cider nutrient (optional but improves fermentation)
  • Carbonation drops or priming sugar (if making sparkling cider)

Choosing Your Apples

The single biggest factor in your cider's flavour is the apple blend. As a rough guide, around 8–9kg of apples produces 4.5 litres of juiceβ€”though this varies with variety and ripeness.

Apple Variety Guide:

 

Bittersweet: Adds tannin, body, and low acid (e.g., Dabinett, Yarlington Mill).

Bittersharp: Provides a balance of tannin and acidity (e.g., Foxwhelp, Kingston Black).

Sweet: Brings sugar and a mild flavor profile (e.g., Cox, Golden Delicious).

Sharp / Cooking: High acidity and freshness (e.g., Bramley, Granny Smith).

For a balanced beginner cider, a blend of roughly 70% sweet dessert apples and 30% cooking apples (such as Bramley) works well. Adding a handful of crab apples improves tannin content and gives a more complex finish.

 

Use only fully ripe fruit. Remove any bruised, mouldy or damaged applesβ€”these will negatively affect the final flavour.

Step 1: Sterilise Everything

Before you begin, sterilise all equipment: bucket, demijohn, airlock, siphon tube and bottles. Any contamination introduced at this stage can spoil the batch. Use a brewing steriliser solution, rinse with cold water and leave to drain.

Step 2: Extract the Juice

Wash apples thoroughly, cut into quarters (no need to core or peel) and check for worms or rot as you go.

 

If you have a fruit press: Load the quartered apples into the press, fold the mesh over and wind down until the juice runs freely. Collect juice directly into your sterilised bucket.

 

If you don't have a press: Chop apples roughly and mash in a bucket using a potato masher or a clean heavy post. Press the pulp through a muslin bag or fine mesh strainer to extract the juice. It takes effort but it works.

Step 3: Check Sugar Content (Optional but Recommended)

Use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity (SG) of your fresh juice. A reading of around 1.045–1.055 SG will give you a cider of roughly 5–6% ABV once fermented to dryness.

 

If your reading is higher, dilute with a small amount of cold water. If lower, your cider will simply be lighter in alcoholβ€”this is fine for a session cider.

 

Also check the pH if possible. Ideal cider acidity is between 3.2 and 3.8 pH. A sharp apple like Bramley will be very high in acidβ€”blending corrects this.

Step 4: Add Campden Tablet (Optional)

Crush one Campden tablet per 4.5 litres and stir into the juice. This kills wild yeast and bacteria naturally present on apple skins, giving you full control over fermentation. Leave the juice covered for 24 hours before adding your chosen yeast.

 

If you prefer to use wild fermentation, skip this stepβ€”wild cider has a more complex character, but carries a slightly higher risk of off-flavours if spoilage bacteria are present.

Step 5: Add Yeast and Begin Primary Fermentation

Sprinkle your cider yeast (and cider nutrient if using) over the surface of the juice. Stir gently to incorporate. Fit the bucket lid looselyβ€”fermentation produces CO2 and you need to allow for gas escape without sealing it airtight at this stage.

 

Leave to ferment at a stable temperature between 15–20Β°C. Avoid fluctuations. Within 24–48 hours you should see active bubbling.

 

Primary fermentation typically lasts 2–5 days

Step 6: Transfer to Demijohn (Secondary Fermentation)

Once the vigorous initial fermentation has calmed, siphon the cider from the bucket into your sterilised glass demijohn, leaving the sediment (lees) behind in the bucket.

 

Fit the airlock and bung. The cider will continue fermenting slowly in the demijohnβ€”the airlock will bubble periodically. Leave in a cool, dark place for 4–8 weeks.

 

Fermentation is complete when the airlock stops bubbling and your hydrometer reads a stable SG of 1.000 or below for 2–3 consecutive days.

Step 7: Clear the Cider

Once fermentation is complete, the cider will likely be cloudy. To clear it:

  • Rack (siphon) the cider into a fresh sterilised demijohn, leaving sediment behind.
  • Add finings (such as Cider Brite) if desired, following the packet instructions.
  • Leave in a cool place for 1–2 weeks until clear.

A clear cider is not always necessaryβ€”scrumpy-style cider is intentionally hazyβ€”but clearing improves presentation and shelf life.

Step 8: Bottle Your Cider

Siphon finished cider into sterilised glass bottles, leaving 2-3cm headspace.

 

For still cider: Add half a teaspoon of potassium sorbate and one Campden tablet to the batch before bottling to stabilise and prevent re-fermentation. Bottle and seal.

 

For sparkling cider: Add one carbonation drop (or around 2g of priming sugar) per 500ml bottle before sealing. Store bottles upright at room temperature for 5 days to build carbonation, then transfer to a cool, dark place to mature for at least 2-3 weeks.

 

Important: Use only bottles rated for carbonated beverages. Standard glass bottles with crown caps or quality swing-top bottles with intact rubber seals are both suitable.

Choosing the Right Bottles

For home cider, glass is always the preferred option: it doesn't taint flavour, keeps light out better than most plastics and creates a proper seal.

  • 500ml glass bottles with crown caps: the standard home brew format, practical and cost-effective
  • Swing-top (bail closure) bottles: reusable, no capper required, great for session batches
  • 750ml glass bottles: for sparkling cider you want to share

Pro Tip: Leave your cider to mature for a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks before tasting the flavour improves significantly with time.

Ready to Bottle Your Brew?

The final and most rewarding step of homebrewing is bottling your creation. To preserve the crisp carbonation and fresh flavour of your apple cider, choosing the right glass bottles is essential. Whether you prefer traditional crown caps for a professional seal or convenient swing-top bottles for easy access, our premium selection ensures your cider stays perfectly carbonated until the first pour.

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