Simple Fruit Juice Cider
It's easy to make cider from a bottle of fruit juice. This simple recipe results in a sweet and sparkling hard cider that is so much better than Grandpa's hooch. All you need is a bottle of juice and a packet of yeast!
Ingredients
- 1 gallon of 100% clear fruit juice (preservative-free)
- 1/4 tsp champagne yeast (1/4 package)
- 3 Tbsp sugar (optional, see notes)
Directions
- 1
Pour 2 oz of juice out of the bottle (to prevent overflow during fermentation).
- 2
Follow the instructions of the packet of yeast and add it to the juice jug. (Some require prehydrating, others can be added right away).
- 3
Add the sugar, then cap the bottle with an airlock. Agitate the bottle slightly to make sure the yeast is mixed in. (See the section above for advice about using a balloon instead of an airlock).
- 4
Place the bottle somewhere dark to ferment for 3 to 5 days. A closet or a kitchen cupboard is perfect.
- 5
After 5 days the bubbling in the airlock should have slowed down.
- 6
Remove the airlock and replace the original cap. Alternatively, bottle the cider for proper carbonation. See the section above for details on how to bottle homemade cider.
- 7
Store the jar in the fridge to finish fermenting.
- 8
Every few days open the cap to release the build-up of pressure in the bottle. The cider is finished when it is sparkling. The cider will become less sweet and more alcoholic as time goes on. So taste it every 2-3 days, and enjoy it when the flavor is to your liking.