Making a 1-gallon batch of cider is easy! And a 3-gallon or 5-gallon batch of cider is just as easy to make too! Learn how to make cider at home and begin upping your cider knowledge today. In this episode I cover all the basics on how to make cider at home.
Renoir's "Apples in a Dish" | featured art in this episode's "Pommes In Art" segment
Your List for base line equipment needs for making cider
Hint: Do get these items before getting your fresh pressed apple juice to ferment.
The airlock release CO2 as the cider is fermenting and prevents Oxygen from entering.
D. Yeast
You can spend hours googling which yeast to use – For your first batch of cider keep it simple
Tried and true yeasts. Each come in a packet and are dry yeast with approximately 5 grams.
Lavlin 71B, nice all-round yeast that helps to mellow the sharpness of high acid apple blends.
M2 Lavlin – this yeast makes apples sing in delight as it enhances their character. Might even get a richer mouthfeel. Extra bonus – a finish that suggests residual sugar, even though it is fermented dry!
F. Campden Tablets (Sodium metabisulfite) – Used to arrest the yeast that in currently active in the juice, so that your cultured yeast can go to town once it is pitched.
1 tablet per gallon. Add to fresh juice and let sit overnight
G. Fresh pressed unpasteurized apple juice
Cider Blends are best!
Why not use pasteurized juice?
It usually contains sorbet, sorbic acid, benzoate or benzoic acid which not only affects the taste, but can affect fermentation.
Extra Yeast Tips
Refrigerate both liquid yeast and dry yeast packets. Each contain millions of yeast cells and you don't want them to dry out or over heat
Making a yeast starter solution – a.k.a. double your yeast money by doubling the yeast
By making a yeast starter you
Increases yeast population before pitching
Revs up the fermentation
Make sure you are "pitching" yeast that is viable and healthy
1. Use a clean sanitized glass bottle, such as 750 ml wine bottle and have an extra rubber stopper and airlock.
2. Pour in:
1 cup of fresh pressed juice heated for 5 minutes
Let it cool to the point that if you stuck your finger into the solution it would not burn your finger.
or
1/2 cup of fresh pressed juice that has been sulfited overnight, so you know the yeast are no longer viable in that juice.
3. Put the stopper on, with airlock and let the yeast go to town.
Figure 2-days and now you have enough yeast for 10 gallons instead of 5.
Can you keep doubling the yeast starter?
– Yes, you can!
Do the same process as before to triple the amount
Sanitizing solution Star San for cleaning carboy, funnel and tubing
NFG homebrewing supplies has dry yeast for sale for .99¢ – this store has closed in Leominster Massachusetts but the website is still visible as of 2025
There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
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