Is there a way to make Cider hard at home?

Question

Can I ferment store bought Cider so it is hard with out having to buy any weird fermenting tools?

Answer 1

Here is the easy and simple method as the yeast comes from the apple skins. Buy an apple, and a gallon of no preservative apple juice and a wide balloon. Take a little juice out of the bottle about 1/2 a cup. cut up the apple and try to get some of the skin(as much as possible and put it in the bottle). Place the balloon over the bottle top and store in a cool dry place for a week or 10 days. The balloon should inflate. When the balloon is big take it off and seal the juice and you have a slightly hard cider. If you want it stronger add a 1/2 cup of brown sugar at the beginning.
Have fun

Answer 2

Yes, you can!

First off, you MUST get the type of cider that has no preservatives in it. They will kill off the yeast. (That's the purpose of preservatives -- to kill off micro-organisms.) I've used the Trader Joe's organic and pasteurized cider before and it works well, and as an added bonus, it comes in a handy-dandy 1 gallon jug you can use to store the cider in later.

You will need a few "wierd fermenting tools" and some patience. However, they are cheap, so don't worry.

First, you will need to get a rubber stopper for your jug and an airlock. (Total: $2). If you use the Trader Joe's 1 gallon jug of apple juice, use a #8 stopper. You also need a siphon, but you can get a basic tube from Home Depot if you want, which is cheaper but harder to use. (Total: $10) Then, you will need the following things from a fermentation store:

- two 1-gallon jugs of apple juice. Drink one jug until it is empty. You will need this empty jug for racking later.
- yeast for fruit wines. I'd use something like Lallevin W15 or D47. See the Lallemand web site for more choices. Your fermentation store will be able to give you lots of suggestions.
- yeast nutrients like Go-Ferm
- some tannin powder. Yeast needs that to ferment, and apples don't have a lot in the first place
- acid blend. Most cider is not acid enough. You'll need an acid testing kit to find out the acid level of your apple juice to see how much acid blend powder to add. Alternately, you can slowly add 1/8 of a teaspoon of acid blend until it tastes nice and crisp and fresh. Don't overadd!
- pectic enzyme. This will break down the pectin in the apple juice so that when the fermentation is done, the cider will clear beautifully.

The basic procedure:

- put the juice in an open-topped container like a pitcher that has been cleaned very well. Keep the apple juice jug for later and make sure it is also cleaned very well.
- add a little tannin powder and acid blend as appropriate
- rehydrate the yeast with the Go-Ferm according to the instructions
- introduce the yeast to the juice, and cover with a little towel or cloth
- stir at least twice a day with a CLEAN spoon. (Cleanliness is VERY important in this whole process)
- at about 3 or 4 days, stir once to mix everything and then pour from the pitcher into the original jug.
- put the stopper and the water airlock onto the jug and wait another few days until the fermentation is done and no more air bubbles come through the airlock. Now, just let the jug sit with the airlock for days.
- after a week or two, all of the gross lees will have settled to the bottom of the jug. (This is all the dead yeast and other stuff.) Now you need to rack, which means transfer it into the other jug with the siphon. Leave the sludge in the first jug.
- you should rack the cider at least twice, waiting a week or three in between for more lees to settle out.

Once the cider is clear, it is ready to drink. That should be in about 6 weeks to 2 months or so.

If you want it sparkling, you can add one small spoon of sugar to the whole gallon of cider and a tiny bit of rehydrated yeast, and then close the jug with the original airtight lid. This small amount of yeast will produce CO2 gas from the little bit of sugar and make it fizzy. Don't add too much sugar, or else your jug may explode!

This will produce a cider at about 4% alcohol. If you are patient enough to leave the cider in the fridge for another month or two after it is done, it will have mellowed out and will taste even better. (Make sure to keep it in the fridge though -- 4% is not enough alcohol to preserve the cider for too long.)

If you want to make apple wine, you follow the same procedure, but add something like a cup and a half of plain white sugar to the cider before starting the fermentation. That will bring the alcohol level up to 10% or so, which will preserve the apple wine for much longer than the cider.

The best resource on the net for everything you needed to know about fermentation of any type of fruit can be found on jack keller's web site listed below. There are cider recipes there too.

Have fun, and cheers!

Answer 3

The weird fermenting tools are half the fun of making it :)
Seriously, the lengthy explanation above is really good...I've done it similarly in the past with good results.

Just do a google search for your local homebrewing store...that's where you'll get the right yeast, the stoppers that fit your jugs, and the other ingredients...also, for all your santitizing, ask for "iodophor" at the homebrew shop...much easier to use than bleach. Sanitizing is key so that you don't wind up with something funky or vinegar.

If you don't have a local homebrewing store, one of the best places online is:
http://morebeer.com
Don't be intimidated by all the weird fermenting tools available...just search out the tools and ingredients you need for this rig.

Answer 4

Sure... just set it down in the basement or some other dark, cool location for it to ferment. It's better to use the dark cider with a lot of the pulp still present rather than the clearer stuff.... better results. Enjoy!

Answer 5

at first , cider / perry is undertaking to the KISS edict---ok eep I t S imple S toopid ;-) Having scratched (overwhelmed) your fruit placed it by the clicking and seize the bypass of juice right into a clean field , use toddler bottle steriliser and air dry. in actuality try this with all your kit?!! Funnel into the fermentation field be it a barrell or a demijohn , set up a fermentation capture and there you bypass. The phyto yeasts that certainly take place on the fruit skins will convert the fructose into alchohol and kill pathogens (Nastys) flavor your brew after a wek of lively ferment , you will see the bubbles popping on your capture. getting previous enables the flavours to enhance and in case you want to bottle it , severe high quality cean bottles with 0.5 a teaspoonfull of caster sugar interior the backside and tightly cork or cap. Dont overlook to substantiate that your fruit is clean and freed from chicken faeces.

Answer 6

for useful information on wine and spirits go to website:

http://www.wineandspirits.qsh.eu

Answer 7

freeze it lol