Complete Kit For Making Cider From Apples
This great value bundle contains all the equipment and ingredients you will need to make cider from apples. As far as we know, its the most complete kit in the world for making cider from apples.
It contains:
- an 18 Litre Fruit Press
- BB mashing bag for 18L press
- Muslin Bags
- a 33 L BrewSmarter Starter Kit For Cider
- Cider Yeast
- Pectolase
- Coopers Carbonation Drops
- 48 Ox-Bar Bottles
Use the apple divider to prepare apples for the fruit press. We strongly recommend using blending the apples or using a Pulp Master, or even better a BB fruit crusher 7L before pressing the apples; otherwise you may not get much juice and you could also break the fruit press. Collect the output and put in in the Starter Kit fermenter (the mashing bag for the fruit press ensures that very little pulp appears in the juice, so you no longer have to use the muslin bags).
Add pectolase (removes the pectin haze common in ciders), and Cider Yeast and use the BrewSmarter Starter Kit For Cider to ferment your cider.
Place a carbonation drop in each Ox-Bar bottle, and use the bottle filling stick to fill them. There are more comprehensive instructions below.
Instructions for making 5 gallons of cider from apples
Sterilise all your equipment and make sure everything is thoroughly rinsed. Cut away any rotten fruit. Use the apple divider to cut the apples and then use a blender or Pulp Master, or even better a BB fruit crusher 7L to pulp the apples and then press the pulp in a fruit press (in the bag that comes with the press so that it catches the pulp) and collect the apple juice and put it in the fermenter. Finely crush 2 campden tablets between spoons and gently stir into the juice. Place the lid loosely over the fermenter (don't seal it) and wait for two days. The campden will kill any natural yeast or bacteria. Now take a hydrometer reading: it should be between 1040 and 1056 and this should result in a 5 to 6.5% ABV cider. Add some pectolase (read the instructions on the tub) and sprinkle the cider yeast evenly over the surface of the juice. Secure the lid to the fermenter and attach the airlock. Keep the fermenter in a warm place (18 oC to 22 oC) and fermentation should start within 24 hours. A smell like sulphur is normal at this stage. Fermentation should take 10 to 14 days for the hydrometer reading to drop to 1000. Fermentation is complete when you get three constant hydrometer readings 24 hours apart of 1000 or less. Now wait another 7 days for the cider to clear. It should now be ready for bottling. Add a Coopers carbonation drop to each 500 ml bottle and screw on the caps. Keep the bottles warm (18 oC to 22 oC) until they carbonate (become fizzy); this will take 10 to 20 days. You can get an idea of how carbonated the cider is by feeling the bottles . . . if they are soft, its not ready. Once carbonated, the cider is ready for chilling in the fridge and drinking but it will improve over time if stored in a cool place.