Making cider at home can be as simple as fermenting a cider kit or as hands-on as crushing and pressing your own apples. This beginner’s guide explains both methods, from choosing juice and preparing equipment to fermentation, bottling, carbonation and safe sweetening.
If this is your first batch, a cider kit is the easiest route. If you have access to sound, ripe apples, the fresh-juice method gives you more control over the fruit, yeast and finished style.
Two Ways to Make Cider at Home
| Method | Best for | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Cider kit | Beginners and predictable 20–23 litre batches | Kit, fermenter, water and the additions specified by the manufacturer |
| Fresh apple juice | Using garden or orchard apples and controlling the recipe | Apples or preservative-free juice, suitable yeast and standard fermentation equipment |
Whichever method you choose, use the instructions supplied with your particular kit, yeast and additives where they differ from general guidance.
Equipment You Need
- A food-grade fermenter with enough headspace
- A lid, bung and airlock suitable for the fermenter
- Cleaner and a proper brewing sanitiser
- A long spoon or mixing paddle
- A hydrometer and suitable trial jar
- A syphon or auto syphon
- Pressure-rated bottles and closures, or a suitable pressure barrel
- A bottling wand if you want easier, cleaner filling
For fresh apples you will also need a fruit crusher or pulping tool, a fruit press, straining bags and clean containers for collecting the juice. Browse the cider-making range for suitable equipment and ingredients.
Cleaning and Sanitising
Clean equipment first to remove visible dirt and residue, then sanitise every surface that will touch the juice or cider. Cleaning and sanitising are separate jobs: sanitiser works reliably only on a clean surface.
Pay particular attention to taps, lid seals, syphon tubing, bungs, airlocks and bottles. Rinse only when the product instructions require it.
Method 1: How to Make Cider from a Kit
- Read the complete instructions. Confirm the intended batch size, required sugar or enhancer, yeast temperature and expected final gravity.
- Clean and sanitise the equipment. Do this before opening the ingredients.
- Mix the kit. Add the concentrate and any specified fermentables to the fermenter. Use hot and cold water exactly as directed, then top up to the stated volume.
- Check the temperature. Do not pitch yeast into liquid that is hotter than its recommended range.
- Take an original-gravity reading. Record it before adding the yeast if you want to estimate alcohol content later.
- Add the yeast. Fit the lid and airlock, then ferment within the temperature range printed on the kit or yeast.
- Confirm fermentation is complete. Use stable hydrometer readings over the period specified by the manufacturer. Do not rely on airlock bubbling alone.
- Package and condition. Follow the kit’s priming and conditioning instructions, using only pressure-rated bottles or a suitable barrel for sparkling cider.
A cider kit removes the need to crush apples, press juice or manage wild microorganisms. It is usually the most reliable way to learn fermentation and bottling before moving to fresh fruit.
Method 2: How to Make Cider from Apples
1. Choose and Prepare the Apples
Use ripe, sound apples. A blend normally gives a more balanced cider than a single dessert variety: sweet apples contribute sugar, sharper apples add acidity, and tannic cider apples add structure. Bruised fruit can be trimmed and used, but discard mouldy, rotten or badly damaged fruit.
Wash away soil, leaves and insects. Do not assume pressing will make contaminated fruit safe.
2. Crush and Press
Apples need to be pulped before pressing. A crusher or Pulpmaster produces a pressable pulp far more efficiently than trying to press whole fruit. Load the pulp into a clean straining bag inside the press and collect the juice in a sanitised vessel.
Juice yield varies with apple variety, ripeness and pressing efficiency, so prepare more fruit than the final volume alone might suggest.
3. Measure the Juice
Stir the collected juice gently and take a hydrometer reading. Many apple juices fall somewhere around 1.040–1.055, but fruit varies considerably. The reading tells you more than appearance or sweetness alone.
Do not add sugar automatically. Extra fermentable sugar raises potential alcohol but can leave the cider thinner and more alcoholic rather than more appley. Adjust only when you have measured the juice and have a clear target.
4. Decide How to Manage the Raw Juice
You can allow a spontaneous fermentation, but it is less predictable and carries a greater spoilage risk. Most beginners will get more consistent results from a cultured cider yeast.
Some cidermakers treat freshly pressed juice with Campden tablets before adding cultured yeast. A common manufacturer guideline is one tablet per 4.5–5 litres, followed by a wait of about 24 hours before pitching yeast, but tablet strength and instructions vary. Read our Campden Tablets guide and follow the pack you are using.
Campden tablets suppress many unwanted microorganisms; they do not replace cleaning and sanitising. They also contain sulphites.
Pectolase may help juice extraction and reduce pectin haze. Add it according to its own instructions. A dedicated cider nutrient can support fermentation where the juice is nutrient-poor, but dosage is product-specific.
5. Add Yeast and Ferment
Pitch the yeast at the temperature stated by its manufacturer. Fit the lid and airlock, allow enough headspace for active fermentation and keep the fermenter away from direct sunlight and sharp temperature swings.
Do not assume every cider yeast should be held at one universal temperature. Use the range printed on the sachet; many suitable strains work around normal cool room temperatures, but the correct range depends on the strain.
Primary fermentation often takes one to three weeks, though temperature, gravity, yeast and juice composition can make it shorter or longer.
6. Check Fermentation Properly
Airlock activity can stop because of a poor lid seal, temperature change or reduced gas production. It does not prove that fermentation has finished.
Take a hydrometer reading, then repeat it after the interval recommended by the yeast or recipe. Bottle only when the gravity is stable and the expected finishing range has been reached. Record the original and final readings if you want to estimate ABV.
Should You Rack Cider?
Racking means syphoning the cider into a clean vessel while leaving sediment behind. It can be useful when cider needs extended clearing or ageing, but it is not mandatory for every quick kit batch.
Each transfer introduces some risk of oxygen and contamination. If you rack, sanitise everything, avoid splashing and minimise empty headspace. Do not describe racking itself as a second fermentation; fermentation may continue after a transfer, but the transfer does not create extra alcohol on its own.
Dry, Medium or Sweet Cider
Standard cider yeast usually ferments apple juice quite dry. Final gravity helps show whether fermentation has finished, but it is not a safe dial for choosing sweetness. A cider that remains at a higher gravity may simply be unfinished and could restart in the bottle.
For a sweeter cider, choose one controlled method:
- Sweeten the glass when serving.
- Use a suitable non-fermentable sweetener according to its instructions.
- For still cider, stabilise properly before adding fermentable sweetener. Sulphite alone does not reliably prevent renewed fermentation.
- Use a specialist controlled process if retaining fermentable sugar in packaged cider.
Never add fermentable sweetener to a finished cider and bottle it casually. Renewed fermentation can create dangerous pressure. A sparkling cider also needs live yeast to carbonate, so stabilising and natural bottle conditioning are normally incompatible goals.
How to Bottle Cider Safely
- Confirm stable final gravity with a hydrometer.
- Clean and sanitise the bottles, closures, syphon and filler.
- Use only bottles designed to hold carbonated drinks. Wine bottles are not suitable for sparkling cider.
- Calculate priming sugar for the complete volume and intended carbonation level, or follow the kit instructions exactly.
- Mix priming solution evenly without splashing, or use correctly sized carbonation drops.
- Fill with minimal splashing, leaving suitable headspace, and seal securely.
- Condition at the temperature and for the time recommended by the recipe, then store cool and dark.
PET beer bottles are useful for beginners because the bottle becomes firmer as pressure builds. Crown-capped beer bottles and suitable swing-top bottles also work when they are undamaged and pressure-rated.
What About Pasteurising Bottled Cider?
Home bottle pasteurisation is sometimes used to stop fermentation in sweet, sparkling cider, but heating sealed carbonated bottles can cause rapid pressure changes, leaks or breakage. It is not a casual beginner shortcut.
If you choose pasteurisation, use a validated process, suitable equipment and pressure-rated packaging, and follow the equipment manufacturer’s safety instructions. A countertop pasteuriser intended for juice does not automatically make heating sealed carbonated bottles safe.
How Long Before Cider Is Ready?
A kit cider may ferment in one to two weeks and become drinkable after a few further weeks of conditioning. Fresh-juice cider often benefits from longer maturation. Use hydrometer readings rather than a calendar to decide when fermentation has finished, and allow flavour and carbonation time to settle before judging the batch.
Common Cider-Making Problems
The airlock is not bubbling
Check the temperature and lid seal, but use a hydrometer to determine whether fermentation is occurring. Airlock activity is not a gravity measurement.
The cider smells of sulphur
Some yeast strains produce temporary sulphur aromas during fermentation. Give the cider time and check temperature and yeast health. Persistent severe aromas may point to stressed yeast, insufficient nutrient or contamination.
The cider is cloudy
Cloudiness may come from suspended yeast, apple solids or pectin. Time, cool storage, careful racking and pectolase can help depending on the cause. Confirm fermentation is complete before treating a clearing problem.
The cider tastes too dry
This is common because cider yeast consumes most fermentable apple sugar. Sweeten at serving or use a controlled, fermentation-safe sweetening method. Do not simply add sugar before bottling.
The bottles are over-carbonated
Chill them and handle them cautiously. Over-carbonation can result from bottling before fermentation finished, excessive priming sugar or uneven mixing. Do not continue opening or moving visibly damaged or dangerously pressurised glass bottles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make cider from supermarket apple juice?
Yes, provided it is suitable for fermentation. Check the ingredients: juice containing potassium sorbate or similar preservatives may not ferment reliably. Pure pasteurised apple juice can be easier for a first fresh-juice batch than pressing apples.
Do I need to add sugar?
Not necessarily. Measure the juice first. Apple juice normally contains enough fermentable sugar to make cider, while excessive added sugar can raise alcohol without improving apple flavour or body.
Do I need Campden tablets?
Not for a cider kit or pasteurised juice unless the recipe says otherwise. They are commonly used with freshly pressed juice to suppress wild microorganisms before cultured yeast is added. Follow the specific tablet instructions.
Which yeast should I use?
A cider yeast is the straightforward choice. Ale, wine and champagne strains can also ferment apple juice, but they may alter dryness, aroma, attenuation and maturation. Choose the result you want and follow that strain’s temperature range.
Can I use wine bottles?
Only for still cider with an appropriate closure. Standard wine bottles are not designed for the pressure of bottle-conditioned sparkling cider.
How do I know when cider has finished fermenting?
Use a hydrometer and confirm that the reading is stable over the interval stated by the recipe or yeast instructions. Do not judge it by bubbles, foam or elapsed time alone.
Start Your First Batch
For the simplest route, choose a cider kit or a complete starter kit and follow its batch-specific instructions. For orchard fruit, prepare sound apples, measure the pressed juice, use a suitable yeast and keep careful gravity records.
Browse our cider-making supplies, cider kits, cider yeast and finings, hydrometers and pressure barrels and spares for the equipment and ingredients needed for your next batch.