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MAKING HARD CIDER
HOW TO MAKE HARD APPLE CIDER
Hard cider was once the drink of choice in early America.  Today, sweet cider is enjoyed at harvest time and the hard stuff is making a comeback. 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.
The secret to making a great tasting cider is in the blending of apples prior to pressing.  Making hard cider from a single type of apple will result in a bland drink with no real character.  Apple cider mills usually guard their secret recipes well.  Basicly you what a blend of at least two apples mixed by weight at a ratio of 2:1.  For sweet cider use 2 parts sweet verity and one part tart.  Reversing the mixture will make a dryer cider.  While the ratio remains the same, you can add more complexity and character by using more verities of apples.  Our local supplier uses 6 varities and that's all he's saying.
Making hard cider is very much like making wine.  Fresh pressed apple cider is fermented without the addition of any sugars.  The starting gravity should be between 1.040 and 1.050.  This 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 super market 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 or hard cider grade juice.  Arrange to pick up your cider the day you will start to make it.  The fresher the better!
Got Juice?  Here's What Else You Need
Equipment 
  • primary fermenter
  • glass carboy
  • airlock & stopper
  • hydrometer
  • siphon
  • sanitizing chemicals
  • bottles, caps & capper
    		•  Ingredients
  • fresh pressed cider
  • campden tablets
  • citric acid
  • pectic enzyme
  • yeast nutrient
  • wine or brewers yeast
  • isinglass optional
    		•
    ORDER EQUIPMENT PACKAGE HERE    		  
    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 fermentaion. Wine yeast will produce a clean, dry flavored cider with little of no aftertaste. For a dry cider use champagne yeast or for semi sweet cider try Cote De Blanc. Cider with a more rounded, lasting flavor can be made by using brewer's ale yeast.
    Here's What You Do
    1. Crush up one campden tablet per gallon of cider to suppress any bacteria or wild yeast.
    2. Add 1/2 teaspoon of pectic enzyme per gallon to prevent pectin haze in the finished cider.
    3. Add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast nutrient per gallon to provide for complete fermentation.
    4. Cover and let the juice rest for 24 hours stirring once or twice during that time.
    5. Use a hydrometer to record the starting gravity of the must.
    6. Open the primary fermenter and sprinkle in one packet of wine or brewer's yeast. Let the yeast re-hydrate for five minutes then stir it in for about a minute. Close the fermenter and attach an air lock which is half full of water. Ferment for 7 to 10 days at 70 degrees.
    7. Open the fermenter and check the specific gravity with a hydormeter. It should have dropped by at least 75%. If not, close the fermenter and allow to sit for a few more days. Do not leave the cider in the primary fermenter for more than 10 days. If the specific gravity has not dropped in that time, continue to the next step any way. 
    8. Place the primary fermenter on a counter ot table top 24 hours prior to the next step. This will provide time to the sediment to settle to the bottle of the pail.
    9. Clean and sanitize a glass secondary fermenter along with your siphon equipment. Crush up one campden table per gallon and put them into the secondary fermenter.
    10. Siphon the cider from the primary to the secondary ferment. Attach an air lock and allow to rest for 14 days and 70 degrees.
    11. Check the cider for clarity. If it is hazy or not quite clear, you can add a fining agent such as isinglass. Add the fining agent directly to the fermenter and stir it in gently. Allow the cider to rest for another week at 60 tp 65 degrees.
    12. Clean and sanitize your primary fermenter or another glass carboy and siphon the cider into it. Sample the cider by tasting a small amount. You can adjust it at this time. If it tastes a little bland you can add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of citric to taste. If it is lacking in apple flavor but the tartness is correct add our apple flavor enhancer. If it is too tart or sour add frozen apple juice concentrate, which contains no preservitites, to taste. Allow the cider to age for another week in a cool place.
    Bottling Hard Cider
    Hard cider is best bottled in standard beer bottles using regular crown caps. You can make the cider still or sparking by adding priming sugar the same way as is done with beer. Bottles and caps must be cleaned and sanitized just prior to filling. Complete details for bottling are available here.
    copyright 2004 J.R.Leverentz
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