Hard cider is the easiest home ferment — press or buy fresh apple juice (no preservatives), pitch a champagne yeast, and wait. A small fruit press (or store-bought unpreserved juice to start), a 1-gallon glass jug and airlock, a champagne yeast, and sanitizer. The juice ferments dry in 2 weeks, then age or back-sweeten to taste.
Plans
Choose a plan that fits your needs and budget
Item List
4Press & Ferment
2 items
Yeast & Sanitize
2 itemsPlan Totals$168
Yeast & Sanitize
2Total$168
FAQ
Common questions about this kit
Can I use store-bought juice?
Yes, if it is 100% apple juice with NO preservatives (especially no potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, which kill yeast). Pasteurized is fine and safer than raw. Pressing your own is the romantic ideal but store juice makes excellent cider — start there, press later.
Why champagne yeast?
It is a clean, hardy fermenter tolerant of alcohol and low nutrients — it ferments apple juice completely dry without off-flavors, and it is cheap and reliable. Cider-specific yeasts (like Belle Saison or M2) add character; champagne is the neutral default. Rehydrate and pitch.
Dry or sweet cider?
The yeast ferments all the sugar dry by default — a crisp, tart farmhouse cider. For a sweet cider, you must stabilize (sorbate + sulfite) and then back-sweeten, OR pasteurize the bottles to kill the yeast before it dries out. Do NOT sweeten and bottle live — the bottles will carbonate to bombs.
How long to age?
Drinkable in 2 weeks (young and rough), good in 2 months, excellent in 6. Cider, like mead, integrates and smooths with age — the sharp young cider is a mellow mature one. Bottle it when it is clear and stable, then cellar it.
User Reviews
5.0 / 5.0
Hard cider and my beer share the sanitize-and-pitch-the-yeast gospel — no-preservative juice is the wort, the airlock is the airlock, and champagne yeast fermenting dry is a clean ale yeast. The cellar integrates both, agreed.