Cider · DryAbout this recipe
Traditional apple cider recipe from pressed fruit. About 9kg of apples per demijohn, no sugar, no shortcuts, just juice, yeast and time.
Ingredients
mixed apples9 kg
campden tablet1
sachet cider yeast1
priming sugar60 g
Method
1
Wash the apples and cut out any rot
2
Crush and press, collecting 4.5 litres of juice
3
Pour the juice into a sterilised demijohn with the crushed campden tablet and leave 24 hours
4
Add the yeast and fit an airlock
5
Ferment 2 to 4 weeks until the airlock goes quiet
6
Rack off the sediment
7
Bottle with the priming sugar for sparkling, or without for still
8
Mature at least 3 months, better at 6
Tools for this brew: scale it to your batch size, work out ABV from your readings, or correct a warm hydrometer reading. All free.
Brewer's notes
This is the proper job, and the pressing is honestly the hard part, so borrow or improvise a press and do it in company. A mix of apples makes the best cider, sharp and sweet together, and a few crab apples do no harm. No water and no sugar, the juice is the whole recipe. The campden tablet sees off the wild yeasts. Some swear by letting them ride, I like knowing it will not turn to vinegar. It is thin and sulky at two months and lovely at six.
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