236: How to make cider at home

236: How to make cider at home

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist August 26, 2020 Duration: 39:32

Make Cider at home! It is fun and easy to do!

Cider Chat Episode 236 How to make cider at home episode 236

In this episode on How-to Make cider:

  • Benefits to you when you make cider at home
  • Where to get your juice, what kind of juice and "what if you have an apple tree in your yard?"
  • Basic equipment needed to make a gallon to 5 gallons of cider.
  • The process for both a "controlled" cider and a wild ferment.
  • How to clean your equipment

Equipment and Juice

By buying your equipment via the links provided, you provide a monetary kick back to Cider Chat at no extra cost to YOU.

  • Fresh pressed apple juice - try to find a cider mill that has on hand fresh pressed juice!
  • CarboyA carboy or some sanitized vessel to hold the juice, with enough room for it to ferment and not bubble over.
  • Airlock - The airlock helps release carbon dioxide (CO2) and keep out Oxygen!
    • The 1 piece, S-curved airlock design comes with a stopper.
    • Stoppers and Airlocks buy as one unit

Juice Options to Make Cider

  • Pick your own apples and press on site
  • Buy fresh pressed juice from a cider mill
  • Buy a gallon of juice at the grocery story - not top quality, but not a bad start to see if you want to go full in on making cider as a hobby.

Books on Making Cider 

The Big Book of Cidermaking


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.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
458: Sodo Sidriné and the Rise of Lithuanian Craft Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:08
Donatas Genys didn't set out to launch Lithuania's first keeved cider. But after trips to England and Normandy, years of experimentation, and the planting of over 6,000 cider apple trees, that's exactly what he's doing.…
457: Snow Capped Cider: A Family Legacy at 7,000 Feet | CO [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:08
At the base of Colorado's Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-top mountain, five generations of fruit growers have worked the land. Today, Snow Capped Cider carries on that legacy, crafting estate-grown ciders from frui…
456: From Oregon to Norway: Abram Goldman-Armstrong's Cider Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:19
This episode of Cider Chat, was recorded in person with Abram Goldman-Armstrong at CiderCon2025 in Chicago. Hear his journey to cider. From growing up in Oregon's Yamhill County to his current work in Norway's Hardanger…
455: Zero Percent Sh*t  | John Edwards Returns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:50
John Edwards, longtime cider maker and integral team member at Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Co., and the creative force behind his personal label Fly be Night Cider was last on the podcast in 2019. John Edwards In this Cide…
454: Wild Ferment Meets Fine Cider: Inside Oliver's Barrel Room [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:43
Rainy Days Goes Best with Dry Cider in the Barrel Room Walking into the barrel room at Oliver's Cider and Perry Company, you might think you know what to expect. But surrounded by whitewashed stone walls, standing beneat…
453: Homage to Perry Legends by Tom Oliver at AppleFest | UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:38
Celebrating Perry's Past, Present, and Future Tom Oliver began his keynote by saying, "At this year's Applefest Banquet, I had the honor of lifting a glass to the people behind the pear—specifically Perry. It wasn't just…
452: Mac to Redfield: Four Phantoms Brewery Embraces Cider | MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:18
Drew Phillips opened the doors of Four Phantoms in Greenfield, Massachusetts in 2021. He began his fermentation career in the Pacific Northwest, and while waiting to open his own brewery, he took on the role as cider mak…
451: Hello Season 10 and The Berkshire Roundtable [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:32
In this Season 10 premier of Cider Chat, "Introductions" are featured from over 40 persons in attendance at the annual 2025 Berkshire Roundtable. Kicking off Season 10 of Cider Chat The opportunity to begin Season 10 wit…
450th Roger Wilkins - The Cider King [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:01
Looking back at Season 9 and Forward with Roger Wilkins In this season ending episode we visit Roger Wilkins at his Lands End Farm. Cider King – Roger Wilkins Roger Wilkins, is known globally as the "Cider King," and is…
449: Exploring Hereford's Museum of Cider with Elizabeth Pimblett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:05
The Role of the Museum of Cider Elizabeth Pimblett's background and her journey to the museum The history of the museum, founded in 1887 by the Bulmer brothers The significance of the building and its historic cider cell…