381: DIY Cider Making for Beginners

381: DIY Cider Making for Beginners

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist October 4, 2023 Duration: 42:25
Cider Chat
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Cider Making at home is a Perfect DIY

Cider Making is fun! If you are a cider fan who would like to try to make cider at home without breaking the bank, this episode is the perfect DIY project to start your journey.

Cider Chat Episode 381 jug of cider 200x300

New to Cider Making? Start Here!

In this episode:

  • Simple steps to DIY cider at home
  • Basics of how fermentation works
  • Where to get your juice and what kind of apple juice should you use?
  • Equipment needed to make a gallon of cider
  • The process for both a "controlled" ferment and a wild ferment.

What you will need – to turn a gallon of apple juice into cider

Apple Juice

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

  • Fresh pressed apple juice
    • Try to find a cider mill that has on hand fresh pressed juice! No cider mill close by? You can now buy apple juice via Amazon! This bottle below is 64 ounces so you will need 2 jugs  to make one gallon.

A vessel for fermenting

  • If you can buy a gallon of fresh pressed apple juice at the cider mill do so and use the jug that it can in to ferment. You will still need a drilled stopper and airlock. These two links will provide options for different size jugs. drilled stopper and airlock.
  • You will still need a drilled stopper and airlock. These two links will provide options for different size jugs. drilled stopper and airlock.
  • If you buy apple juice at a grocery store or online and you have to buy a few to make one gallon, you will need a single 1-gallon jug.
  • Make sure to clean this jug before using. The final rinse should be hot, hot water. Leave enough room for the primary fermentation so that it doesn't bubble over. Always be careful with glass
cider making diy carboy

The above jug is linked to Amazon (click on the 1-gallon jug link) and comes with all you need to start primary fermentation. It includes:

  • Size #6.5 Drilled Stopper

  • Airlock – The airlock helps release carbon dioxide (CO2) and keep out Oxygen!

Books on Cider Making

The Big Book of Cidermaking

Big Book of Cider Making

Listen to episode 231: The Big Book of Cidermaking, with the Shockey

The New Cider Makers Handbook, Claude Jolicoeur

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Mentions in this chat

 


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

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