Home Made Cider Starter Package - To Make Up To 10 Litres

The Brewbitz 10 Litre Cider Making Starter Package is a reusable homebrew kit designed for beginners who want to make their own cider at home. Use it to turn fresh-pressed apples from your garden or shop bought apple juice into homemade cider. The package includes the main brewing equipment, cider yeast and brewing consumables, along with instructions to guide you through the cider making process.

This kit contains the main equipment, yeast and nutrients to make 10 litres (2 gallon) of fantastic cider at home.  Once you have used it, clean it and get it ready for your next batch.  This kit will last years and give you great results time after time.  You can use this kit for lots of other recipes too, so this is just the start of your brewing hobby.

Cider is easy to make and at the bottom of this description we created a simple 12 step method for you, so scroll down to read how to make your cider.

In the kit...

1 x 10 Litre Fermenting Bucket

10 x 1 Litre Bottles

Syphon

Hydrometer & Trial Jar

LCD Thermometer

Cider Yeast

Yeast Nutrient

Steriliser

Campden Tablets

Bubbler Airlock

 

What you need to add (which you probably have at home)...

Metal Spoon for stirring

Sugar

2 carrier bags full of apples or up to 10 litres of Apple Juice

 

Our Simple 12 Steps To Making Cider At HomeIf you are using apples, then you will need to shred then and then press them to extract the juice.  If you are using juice, then this kit will make up to 10 litres.

 Stick the thermometer at about the 4 litre mark on the outside of the bucket. Use 1/4 tsp of steriliser powder dissolved in 250ml warm water and sterilise your bucket, hydrometer and spoon.

1 - Put the apple juice into the bucket.

2 - Take a reading with your hydrometer and keep this written down somewhere safe. This tells you how much sugar is in the juice and its potential alcohol content once finished.

3 - Crush a campden tablet (one for each 4.5 litres of juice) between 2 dessert spoons and add the crushed tablet(s) to the juice and stir. This subdues the natural yeasts and stops oxidisation of the juice. Pop the lid on, put the airlock in the lid and fill ½ way up the first bubble with water.

4 - Check the temperature is around 20°C, then add the yeast nutrient, and yeast.  Stir.

5 - Pop the lid on, with the airlock, and ferment for 10 days. Do not lift the lid. Keep the temperature at 20°C

6 - Make up some more sterilising solution (1/4 tsp to 250ml water) and sterilise your hydrometer. Using the hydrometer, check the Specific Gravity again, It should be below 1.000 (ideally 0.996).  If it is, sterilise your bottles and move on to step 7.  If not, put the lid back on and leave for another week, then check again.

7  - Put 1 level to 1 heaped teaspoon of sugar into each 1 litre bottle. Do not use more than this or you could have exploding bottles.

8 - Using the siphon, carefully (without disturbing the sediment in the bottom of the bucket) siphon the cider into the bottles, leaving a 2 inch (5cm) air space at the top of the bottle. 

9 - Screw on the lid tight, gently roll the bottle to dissolve the sugar.

10 - Leave in a place (stood up) that is 18-22C for a further 7 days.

11 - Put the bottles (stood up) somewhere cool and dark and leave for at least 2-4 weeks.  This allows it time to clear and the sediment to cement at the bottom of the bottle.  The flavour will improve if left for 6 months to 1 year.

12 - Pop a bottle in the fridge (stood up) and let it chill.  Open it up and pour gently in 1 long slow motion so as not to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Now sit back and enjoy your own home made cider.  If it is a little dry for you, then sweeten it with a couple of teaspoons of sugar or honey.

See the brewbitz recipe page for ideas of other wines you can make with this kit.

For more in depth instructions, check out our videos on YouTube – www.youtube.com/brewbitz

Home brewed cider can be Very strong, so remember to drink responsibly.

 

Frequently Asked Questions...

• Is this suitable for beginners? Yes. We have designed this starter with beginners in mind.
• How much cider does it make? This pack can make up to 10 litres of cider at a time. But you can use the equipment many times, so you could use it to make a lot of cider.
• How many bottles does it make? This kit comes with 10 x 1 litre bottles.
• What equipment is included? In the kit you get: 10 Litre Fermenting Bucket; 10 x 1 Litre Bottles; Syphon; Hydrometer & Trial Jar; LCD Thermometer; Cider Yeast; Yeast Nutrient; Steriliser; Campden Tablets.
• What ingredients are included? You get Cider Yeast; Yeast Nutrient; Steriliser; Campden Tablets. You need to add the apple juice and any sugar.
• What else do I need to buy? From us, nothing. But you can use shop bought apple juice to make really good cider.
• Can I reuse the equipment? Yes, you can reuse all the equipment many many times. You will need to buy more Cider Yeast; Yeast Nutrient; Steriliser; Campden Tablets as these are consumables.
• What type of cider can I make? You can make a dry cider. If you want it sweet, you'll need to add some sweetener. You can make apple cider, pear cider (perry), you can even make fruit ciders by adding fruit to the fermentation.
• How long does it take to make cider? From adding the yeast to the apple juice, at 20°C it normally takes 7- 10 days to complete the fermentation.  Then after transferring it to bottles, another 2 weeks for the secondary fermentation and clearing.  So around 3-4 weeks before you can drink it.
• Does it include instructions? Yes.  We have the instructions above and include a sheet with a recipe to make your cider.
• Can I use it to make cider from apple juice? Yes.  You will need apple juice to make cider. 
• Can I use fresh-pressed apple juice? Yes, we find this makes the best cider.
• Can I use supermarket apple juice? Yes, this makes great tasting cider.  Just check the ingredients do not include a preservative called Potassium Sorbate. If it has potassium sorbate, it will not ferment.
• Can I use cider-making kits with it? No not really.  All the cider kits are designed to make 23 litres of cider, so as this is a 10 litre bucket, it just wont fit.  However, you should look at our 23 litre Wine, Beer and Cider Starter Package if you want to make cider from the kits available at Brewbitz
• What size bottles does it produce? You can bottle the cider in any size bottle you wish.  We include 10 x 1 litre bottles in the kit, but you can use 500ml bottles if you wish.  They just need to be able to hold a carbonated liquid.
• What is the difference between this and your larger cider starter kits? This kit is designed for you to make small batches of cider.  10 litres is about 17 1/2 pints, so that should keep you going for a few days. If you want to make larger amounts, then our larger kits would suit you better. The larger starter package has the basic equipment, you will need to buy bottles or a pressure barrel to put your cider in.
• What type of apple juice should I use to make cider? You can use any apple juice, from freshly pressed apple, to shop bought bottles that are kept in the fridge, to the cardboard tetra packs you find in the soft drinks section.
• How much apple juice do I need? We find making a batch of at least 5 litres gives you the best results.  So for this kit, you can make between 5 - 10 litres at a time.
• Do I need to add sugar? This depends on how strong you want your cider to be.  The hydrometer will tell you an approximate ABV that your apple juice will reach.  If you want this higher you need to add some more sugar.
• How strong will the cider be? This depends on how much sugar is in your apple juice. The hydrometer will tell you an approximate ABV that your apple juice will reach.
• Can I make stronger or weaker cider? Yes, if you want it weaker, you can add cooled boiled water. If you want it stronger, you can add some extra sugar.  Use the hydrometer to give you an approximate ABV that your apple juice will reach.
• How do I make sparkling cider? This kit and our recipe is designed to make a sparkling cider.
• What do I need to make cider at home? Ah that's simple. The Brewbitz Cider Starter Package has all the equipment you need to make cider at home from apple juice.