Have you ever wondered how cider is made—not the sweet non-alcoholic cider you find in stores but ‘real’ cider? Brewing your own cider from fruit juice can be a tremendous amount of fun, and the process from start to finish is easier than you may think. In this article we will outline the steps for making cider, including how to select and brew the fruit and how the fermentation process works.
The first step in making cider is selecting the ingredients, and no ingredient is more important than the fresh apple cider. As you probably know, the juice in apples is squeezed out using a contraption called an apple press, but since you probably don’t have access to one of these machines you can purchase the cider instead. Check with a local grower or even your grocery store for raw apple cider that has been cold pasteurized and has not been chemically preserved in any way. This type of cider will almost always produce the best results.
To make fermentation of your cider possible, you will need to pick up some brewing yeast. This yeast will be added to the juice to initiate the fermentation process. Fortunately, yeast is rather inexpensive—sometimes as low as two packets for a dollar—and can usually be found either at the grocery store or through online companies specializing in home brewing.
Now that you’ve collected the ingredients it’s time to brew your sweet cider. You do this primarily to purify the juice of any wild yeast strains and microorganisms which may be present in the juice. (This is an optional step performed to improve the taste of the final product). Pour the cider into a stovetop sauce pan and allow it to brew slowly at a low heat. Once you’ve completed this step you’re ready to begin fermentation.
The final process in transforming sweet cider to alcohol is called fermentation. With the sweet cider in the fermentation bucket, add the yeast and make sure it is stirred into the mixture entirely. Now, seal the bucket and allow Nature to take over. Over a period of about two weeks the yeast will cause the natural sugars in the cider to ferment and turn to alcohol (If you want a higher alcohol content you can add additional sugar—in the form of brown sugar or honey—to the cider before initiating fermentation). And that’s it. In just a few short weeks you’ll have a sweet and powerful home-brewed elixir to share with your friends.
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