Dry English Cider Recipe - Home Cider Making (2024)

FAQs

How do you make dry hard cider at home? ›

Allow crushed apples to ferment for 7 days stirring once a day to prevent a crust from forming on the surface. Then press apples, add the juice to your 1 gallon glass jug, and top off with water (or more juice). Allow cider to finish fermenting and clear for 2-3 months. Nina's Advice: For carbonation, boil 2 Tbsp.

Dry cider is distinguished by its low sugar presence and is renowned for its sharp taste. This cider type undergoes extensive fermentation, converting most apple sugars into alcohol. The outcome is a cider that is less sweet, more acidic, and typically contains an alcohol content ranging from 4-6%.

The amount of sugar left in the cider after fermentation is what many cidermakers use to determine the drink's dryness level or category. That level can range from no residual sugar, meaning dry, to a higher amount of residual sugar, meaning sweet.

On average, most hard ciders are 4.5% - 7% alcohol by volume (ABV), while some ciders have an ABV as high as 10% or 12%. Drier ciders usually have a higher ABV because the yeast consumes a majority of the cider's natural sugars.

Dry hard cider is characterized by its minimal residual sugar content, resulting in a less sweet, more crisp profile. European hard cider, on the other hand, often reflects the traditional cider-making practices of European countries, using unique apple varieties and specific fermentation techniques.

In America, cider is a drink that's made from the juice of apples. In the UK that's called Apple juice and the term cider only refers to Apple juice that has been fermented and scrumped into an adult beverage version of Apple juice that now contains alcohol.

Cider has deep roots in England that date back to the beginning of time, if not before. An English-style cider is made by using bittersweet and bittersharp types of apples, or “spitters,” as they are sometimes called.

Our award-winning traditional Dry Cider is hand-pressed from Devon cider apples that grow in the orchards around our family farm in Heron Valley. Fermented with wild yeasts that occur naturally on the skins of our apples, and no added sulphites, finings or weird preservatives.

What is the difference between dry cider and apple cider? ›

Dry cider usually has a bit more alcohol, about 4% to 8%. It's often made with special apples like bittersweet or crab apples, which are known for their high acidity and tannins. Plus, the sugar content in dry cider is really low, less than 0.9%.

All apples are able to make delicious cider, but historically, some varieties of apple were grown specifically for cider making, and thus they are referred to as 'cider apples'. There are a variety of apples known for their cider making, including the Foxwhelp, Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill and Dabinett.

Pour vigorously into your primary fermenter, and pitch one sachet of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. Allow to ferment for 4 weeks or until clear. For priming use 55ml per 3.75litres/gallon of storebrand frozen Apple Juice Concentrate, thawed and added to the bottling bucket before racking your cider to the bottling bucket.

Vinegar is not an appropriate substitute, not even cider vinegar. It is too acid and the taste is completely overwhelmed by the acidity. At a pinch a fruity dry white wine (Frascati?) might be an adequate substitute, or better yet Calvados (or local equivalent).

Dry cider is usually crisp and fresh, with apple notes. So you would need a fairly young and un-oaked white wine and although the style varies by producer the pinot blanc or sauvignon blanc grapes would be worth looking for.

Did you know hard cider has many health benefits? According to Cider Craft Magazine there are three health benefits that come from drinking hard cider; antioxidants, vitamin C, and sans gluten. Apples are known to be a type of “superfood” containing many vital vitamins and antioxidants.