Magnum Cider Kit Instructions

- A good homebrew cleaner/steriliser
- 1.3 kg of sugar
- A fermenter holding at least 23-25 litres
- An airlock and suitable bung for that
- An extendable syphon (or just a tube)
- 30 bottles with suitable corks/caps

A large funnel is helpful for adding things to your fermenter. For optimum quality, use a heat pad to control temperature. A hydrometer is very valuable when tracking the progress and a twin lever capper is a great help when bottling. For making cider, you can use a Hambleton Bard Beersphere Keg (instead of bottles).

1. Add a 5-6 litres of hot water to your cleaned and sterilised fermenter (lukewarm if glass), then add 1.3 kgs of white sugar. Mix well until completely dissolved.

2. Add the juice, rinse out and add any juice left in the can using hot water. Top up to 22.5 litres (5 gallons) in your fermenter using a mix of hot and cold water to achieve a temperature between 25 - 30 C. Mix well.

3. Add cider yeast/sweetener (sachet no.1) and mix well. Seal fermenter with an airlock, half filled with water. Leave to ferment in constant temperature between 20-28 C. Fermentation will normally take 7-8 days (a little longer if low temperature).

Note: Always consider the risk of leaks or frothing when choosing place for fermenter.

4. Check that fermentation is over, using a hydrometer. Reading should be 1000 or lower and no more activity (bubbles in airlock). If necessary, wait another day and re-check. If you don’t have a hydrometer, just make sure there are no more bubbles in the airlock and no visible activity.

5. For best result, rack off to another vessel, leaving only the thick sediment behind (you can skip this instruction but you will then get more sediment in the bottles).

6. Add cider flavouring (sachet marked X) and mix well.

7. For a normal (sparkling) cider, transfer to beer or cider bottles (leave 2-3 cm headspace), add 1 teaspoon of sugar per 750ml and seal with crown corks. For sparkling ciders you can also use a Hambleton Bard Beersphere Keg or similar pressure barrel. Transfer to the keg, add 60g of sugar and seal your keg.

8. Store the cider for 5 days at between 20 C and 30 C to allow secondary fermentation to occur. Then leave cool to clear. Chill before serving. That’s it - your cider is now ready to drink!

Note: For still cider instead, leave up to a week longer to clear (or use an optional fining agent such as Alcotec Turbo Klar for 24 hour perfect result) before bottling, then transfer to any type of bottle and don’t add sugar to the bottles. You can then use any type of closure (wine cork, screw cap etc).