How to Make Cider at Home — A Complete Guide to Home Brew Cider
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How to Make Your Own Cider at Home
Home brew cider is one of the most accessible, enjoyable, and rewarding fermentation projects you can take on — and with a quality cider kit, the results can be genuinely outstanding. Whether you prefer a crisp, bone-dry traditional apple cider, a sweeter fruit cider, or a refreshing pear perry, there's a home brew cider kit to suit your taste. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to make great cider at home.
Choosing Your Cider Kit
The simplest and most popular way to make cider at home is with a concentrated apple juice kit. These contain everything you need — apple (or pear) juice concentrate, yeast, and sometimes finings and stabiliser — so all you add is water. For a classic, full-flavoured apple cider, the John Bull Country Cider kit is one of the UK's most popular choices, producing 32 pints of genuine, flavoursome cider. The Bulldog Cider range is also outstanding, available in apple, pear, mixed berries, toffee apple, and strawberry & lime varieties.
Equipment Needed
To make cider at home you'll need the same basic equipment as beer brewing: a 23–25 litre fermentation vessel, airlock, hydrometer, thermometer, steriliser, and bottles or a pressure barrel. If you already have home brewing equipment, it's fully suitable for cider making. Our home brew starter kits include everything you need to get going from scratch.
The Cider Making Process
Sterilise all equipment. Dissolve the apple juice concentrate in water to the volume specified in your kit (typically 23 litres for a full-strength batch). Check the temperature is between 18–22°C, pitch the yeast, fit the airlock, and leave to ferment for 7–14 days. Once fermentation is complete, add finings if your kit includes them, wait for the cider to clear, and then bottle or keg. If you prefer a sweeter cider, you can back-sweeten with non-fermentable sweetener (lactose or saccharin) before bottling. Condition for at least one week before drinking. Browse the full cider kit range at BrewCo UK and start your first batch this weekend.