Recipe: Hard Apple Cider
Description: Make and share this Hard Apple Cider recipe from Food.com.
Ingredients: [{"text": "4 1/2 liters fresh apple juice (no preservatives)"}, {"text": "1/2-1 lb sugar (not more than 2 lbs)"}, {"text": "1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme powder"}, {"text": "1 teaspoon acid blend"}, {"text": "1/4 teaspoon grape tannin"}, {"text": "1/2 teaspoon yeast energizer"}, {"text": "2 campden tablets"}, {"text": "1 packet all purpose wine yeast"}]
Instructions: crush and dissolve campden tablets in a cup of warm water and mix well with the FRESH apple juice in your primary fermenter.
Let stand over-night. Mix in all other ingredients except yeast making sure everything is dissolved, then sprinkle yeast over top of juice and cover with plastic sheet and ferment 3 to 5 days.
Rack (siphon) into secondary fermenter and attach air lock.
Rack again in 3 weeks.
When all fermentation is finished, rack into a clean vessel and add 2 oz of white sugar and gently stir well.
(I usually put the sugar into a bit of water and dissolve it first by boiling it in the microwave) When sugar is well mixed, bottle and age 3 months.
This will give you a crisp, carbonated hard cider.
* the more sugar you add, the more alcohol you will get, but the longer it will take to ferment. I would recommend from 1/2 to 1 pound per gal/4.5 l and not more than 2 lbs.
