How to Make Home Brew Cider — Complete Beginner's Guide

What do you need to make home brew cider?

The simplest way to start is with a home brew cider kit — a concentrated apple juice base that you simply dilute, add yeast, and ferment. You'll also need a 25-litre fermentation vessel, a bubbler airlock, a hydrometer, steriliser, and bottles or a King Keg for serving. Browse our home brew cider kits to get started.

How long does home brew cider take?

Most home brew cider kits ferment in 5–7 days at 18–22°C. After fermentation you need to bottle with a small amount of priming sugar and condition for at least 2 weeks before drinking. Total time from start to drinking is typically 3–4 weeks. Some cider improves further with longer conditioning — up to 6–8 weeks for the best flavour.

Step-by-step: making cider from a kit

Step 1 — Sterilise. Thoroughly clean and sterilise your fermentation vessel, airlock and all equipment with Young's Steriliser. Rinse well.

Step 2 — Prepare the kit. Pour the cider concentrate into your fermenter. Add water to the fill line (usually 23 litres total). Add any sugar specified in the instructions — for a drier cider, use less sugar; for a sweeter cider, use more.

Step 3 — Add yeast. Check the temperature is between 18–22°C, then sprinkle the yeast sachet on top. Fit the lid and airlock filled with water.

Step 4 — Ferment. Leave in a warm, stable location for 5–7 days. Fermentation is visible as airlock bubbling. Take a hydrometer reading — fermentation is complete when it's been stable for 2 consecutive days at your expected FG (usually around 1.000–1.004 for dry cider).

Step 5 — Bottle. Add priming sugar to produce carbonation (use our Priming Sugar Calculator — target 2.0–2.5 volumes CO₂ for a sparkling cider) or use Carbonation Drops. Fill bottles, cap tightly, and condition at room temperature for 2 weeks.

How much sugar should I add to cider?

Most cider kits specify the sugar addition — typically 500g–1kg of brewing sugar for 23 litres. More sugar produces higher ABV and a drier finish. For a medium-sweet cider at around 4–5% ABV, follow the kit instructions. For a drier, stronger cider, add more brewing sugar. Avoid plain white sugar if you want a clean flavour — brewing dextrose ferments cleaner.

What temperature should I ferment cider at?

18–22°C is ideal for most cider kit yeasts. Too cold (below 15°C) and fermentation stalls. Too warm (above 25°C) and the yeast produces off-flavours. A consistent temperature is more important than the exact degree — fluctuations cause stress to the yeast and can produce sulphur or cidery flavours.

How do I make cider drier or sweeter?

For a drier cider, use less sugar in fermentation and let it ferment fully to a low FG (1.000 or below). For a sweeter cider, add non-fermentable sweetener (like saccharin or Splenda) after fermentation is complete and before bottling — never add regular sugar to sweeten as it will just ferment out. Alternatively, back-sweeten and serve still rather than carbonated.

Browse our home brew cider kits and wine and cider kit range at BrewCo UK. For bottling, see our Priming Sugar Calculator and bottling guide.