Huge Small: Cider recipe

4.5 litres apple juice (not from concentrate is best, a check that it's 100% juice, otherwise it's been watered down)
A mug of very strong tea (2 or 3 teabags, and left to stew)
A jar of honey (this will make it cloudy cider, if you want it clear you can leave it out, but it won't be as nice)
A grated bramley apple (peeled before grating)

A pack of dried cider yeast (User Posted Link

Boil the honey and apple in half a litre of the apple juice for five mins (honey contains wild yeasts which you really don't want to let loose on the apple juice) then add to the rest of the juice in a big 5l bottle. Good for this is a 5l mineral water bottle from a supermarket.

Now, fermentation releases a lot of carbon dioxide gas, so you can't seal the bottle tightly (seriously, or it'll split under pressure and you don't want that). However, you also have to ensure that nothing can get in. Screwing the cap on loosely is the cheapest way to do it, but also he riskiest (little flies and that might be able to get in). Much better is to use a bubbler airlock (User Posted Link They're not expensive. You'd have to drill a hole in the cap of the bottle to fit it. Or you could buy a fermentation bin: User Posted Link

Whatever vessel you use, clean it, it's best to sterilise it too (get Milton tablets from the supermarket. I think they're in the baby bit), rinse it, then add the apple juice and the tea, honey and apple mix. Make sure it's at about room temp, then add the yeast, put the top on (ensuring gas can escape) and leave it somewhere warmish for about ten days. If you use a bubbler it will bubble like f**k for three or four days, then slow down. Even when it stops bubbling it'll still be fermenting for a few days. The yeast will have finished when all the crap sinks to the bottom. It's about ten days.

Then syphon it off into plastic coke bottles (or similar). Don't bottle in glass, just in case it's still fermenting. If you want it sparkling add a teaspoon of sugar per half-litre in the bottle. Leave it somewhere warm for a few days, then somewhere cool (garage or shed would do it) for a few days.

You can drink pretty much straight away. Some people find that it's too dry and harsh. Either serve with a dash of apple juice to sweeten it out, or add a little artificial sweetener (like Canderel or Sweetex) when bottling. It needs to be artificial otherwise the left-over yeast will turn it into more booze, and you've just made the dry ess/harshness worse.

Posted By: Arizona Bay, Aug 19, 23:24:12