Homemade Hard Cider

Franky's Hard Apple Cider

Ingredients

• 10 bottles of pure apple juice (Trader Joe’s)
• 1 large can of pure clover honey (48 oz)
• 1 cup raw sugar (optional, creates a harder cider in the end)
• 1 package cider or champagne yeast (English Ale yeast is what I usually use)
• Filtered water (optional)

Method

1. Heat the honey (and sugar) up on the stove
2. Add the juice and honey two to your carboy
3. Sprinkle champagne yeast on top
4. Put an airlock on your carboy
5. Wait 2 months or so
6. Add 2-4 cans of apple juice concentrate (or whatever fruit flavor you want)
7. Carbonate at 40 psi for 36-48 hours
8. Bam

Notes

• Makes about 5 gallons.
• You can top it off with some filtered water if you want to be sure you get 5 gallons, or use 11 bottles of juice.
• The more honey and sugar you add, the more fuel for the yeast which will result in a harder (stronger) cider. It will also be very dry (bitter).
• I “back sweeten” the cider (add juice concentrate after fermenting) to make it sweet again.

Franky’s Poison Apple Juice (variation)

Prepare cider as described but use 9 bottles of juice and double the honey and sugar.

Back sweeten with 1 can apple juice concentrate, 1 can white grape juice concentrate and 1 can blackberry (or regular grape) concentrate. This yields the super powerful, sweet purple “poison apple juice.”