Ferment
• Place funnel in the mouth of the fermentation jug and pour your room
temperature cider into the fermenter.
• “Pitch” yeast. (Toss the whole packet in.)
• Shake aggressively. You’re basically waking up the yeast and getting more air
into the cider.
• Attach sanitized screw-top stopper to bottle. Slide rubber tubing no more
than 1” (2.5 cm) into the stopper and place the other end in small bowl of
sanitizer. You’ve just made a “blow-off tube”. It allows CO
2
to escape.
• Let sit for two or three days or until vigorous bubbling subsides. This is when
fermentation is highest. You may notice bubbles and foam at the top of the
cider. After bubbling calms down, clean tubing and ready your airlock.
• Sanitize, then re-assemble airlock, filling up to line with sanitizer.
• Insert airlock into hole in stopper.
• Keep at room temperature for two weeks without disturbing other than to
show off to friends. (If cider is still bubbling, leave sitting until it stops.)
• In the meantime, drink cider or beer with self-closing swing tops, or ask for
empties at a bar that has some. If you have a bottle capper and caps, you can
save two six packs of non-twistoff bottles instead.
Get Cider
• Find any cider that is pasteurized (UV pasteurized is great) and preservative
free (you don’t want to use any cider that has potassium sorbate or
sodium benzoate in it). Your local farmer’s market or natural grocer are
great sources. Remove cider from your refrigerator and let warm to room
temperature before you start making your hard cider.
• If you are juicing your own apples, or using a cider that is entirely
unpasturized, bring your cider to a boil and then let cool to room
temperature before the next step.
Pre-Brew: Sanitize
You might be surprised to learn that sanitization might actually be the most
important step here. If things are not completely clean, your yeast will die (or
another strain of yeast will take over) and you will not be drinking delicious
hard cider.
• Dissolve half of your sanitizer packet with a gallon of water in a container.
Save the second half of your sanitizer packer for when you bottle.
• Soak everything you are going to use (fermenter, funnel, tubing and screw
cap stopper) and let air dry on some paper towels. If it isn’t totally dry when
you are ready to start don’t worry.
• Keep the extra sanitizer in a container for now. You need a little to sanitize
and fill your airlock and chances are you’ll want to re-sanitize something
later.
• NOTE: If you are using a different sanitizer than Brooklyn Brew Shop’s No-
Rinse Sanitizer follow the instructions for your sanitizer.
KIT INCLUDES:
• 1 Gallon Fermentation Jug
• Racking Cane
• Tubing Clamp
• Airlock
• Tubing
• Screw Cap Stopper
• Hard Cider Yeast (3 packets)
• Sanitizer (3 packets)
EQUIPMENT
NOT INCLUDED
BUT NEEDED:
• Funnel
• 2 Weeks After Your Brew Day:
10 Empty Non-Twistoff Bottles
(Swingtops work great if you do
not have a Bottle Capper & Caps)
INGREDIENTS
NOT INCLUDED
BUT NEEDED:
• 1 gallon apple cider
• 3 tablespoons honey for bottling
Keep in Touch:
brooklynbrewshop.com
twitter:
@bklynbrewshop
Facebook:
/brooklynbrewshop
Instagram:
@brooklynbrewshop
HARD
CIDER
CIDER MAKING COMPANION:
