Simple Home Made (Hard) Cider 

Limey, Surely like your videos. You don't travel around the block just to get across the street. But you cover the process clear and concice. Thank you.

Fantastic old English way of life Cider making

I’ve watched a few of these how to make cider videos and I must say, your method is by far the simplest to follow and un-complicated. Thank you

many thanks for your videos : from Fife Scotland

Thankyou for sharing your easy to follow knowledge 😊

Just found this. Great video. Simple but fairly comprehensive. Slow easy steps and additional info. Thanks I hope to make some ‘uncomplicated cider’ this year. Now subscribed 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Will make cider next year. Have lots of apples in WA state USA

Hi there, love your videos on here. Wish me luck and I'll be back to tell you how my cider making went! Thank you. Would love to see more videos. Garden tips and making things that's grown...

Making cider for the first time this year, we are not sure what types of apples we have though. We just got an allotment with 2 trees which are definitely different types and some more from a friends garden so I guess we will have to experiment 👍 I will be using your vid as a guide.

Just stumbled upon your site. Very interesting and thanks for posting.

Nice and Simple

Excellent. Well done

So good. Thanks

Nicely done.

WELL DONE

Oh I just saw who you both are. Yes city life is crazy.. I have 're small holding in Latvia (long story), but it's mortar free. Small orchard, need planting of plum trees, black/red currant. Small kitchen garden which want to expand.

Enjoy these videos so much

Love it, thanks for sharimg

Excellent stuff! I'd probably re-use swing-top beer bottles for a cider with fizz though. Sturdy, and the washer "should" help prevent explosions. On that note, HALF A TEASPOON OF SUGAR PER LITRE, AND NO MORE!!!! And leave somewhere quite cool for secondary ferment, so not too vigorous....unless you fancy picking bits of cider-scented glass out of the woodwork for months.

fantastic explanation

It's great to know you can make malt vinegar out of cider. I'm amazed, we an make all this stuff just with a bit of time. We all just running around in a barrow to make ends meet. Crazy world we live in.

Brilliant as usual. My Nan always used to do this but then she had about four orchards at her disposal. Had not thought about making still cider, then making it into ACV/and/or drinking still cider. That leaves with a lot of options. I have a proper press in the shed from a well known company. Shall have to pay a visit to my local veg shop and see what they have as have never made still cider before. Keep up the good work and the inspiration.

Thank you 🌷🌷🌷

I just saw this video, what a wonderful presentation on cider making. 👍

I just received a cider press for my birthday so I’m rewatching this Hugh. Can’t wait to get started when the new season’s apples arrive! Cheers! Deb

As always, an amazing video. Love your work. Two years ago I made my own press and will be using it for the first time tomorrow. My wife and I have been foraging for apples for two weeks now and are ready to commence with the scratting and pressing. Wish me luck!

I love your shows

I liked this, perhaps a follow on video on Brix S.G. and pH? and how to use etc. I have 7 different cider apple varieties I avoided Kinston Black as it its prone to breaking in high winds, so not suited to my site. I have a Vigo scratter but I'm not as fit as I was and upgraded to a 'Vares' electric scratter, this was a game changer in terms of through put effort and 20% better yield. I take a slightly different method of picking, i let 30% of the apples fall, and pick them daily, and store, (a brix refractometer is on my wish list about £40.00) i then pick or shake the rest. If the seeds are completely black they are ripe. I use a barometer to check S.G. and if 1050 or better (I usually get 1060) it will ferment producing 6.5ABV + anything lower it may not self preserve. I have a pH meter and check for sufficient acidity other wise impurities may form. I use extra Bramley apples for acid correction.

Awesome as always.

Love the alcohol videos! Keep them coming! Currently got some elderflower wine on the go! (Your recipe) 💪

Just found your channel - and just in time as we are in the process of moving to a smallholding in Norfolk that has a small orchard 😀. Fingers crossed we’ll have moved in plenty of time to make good use of the apples that are there. Lovely clear, simple instructions. Thank you for that. Can’t wait to have a go. Looking forward to other lessons I can learn from you.

I agree with the comment below. The power of less and simplicity.

Love your videos always so informative

Great to see someone who can show you clearly how to do things. I have a holiday home/small holding place in Latvia, we have land and small orchard. Looking forward to using the ideas from here.

great video

Enjoy hard cider 🍺, great video

Better than river cottage!!

This might be more our style Mikey✌👣🎶🐾

Thanks for yet another awesome, clear, straightforward video. My partner and I tried to make cider last year, and we bought the haynes manual and boy did we make a meal of it. The racking was the most fiddly, but we have got an auto siphon so it should be easier. Testing the acidity level and the gravity just makes it too complicated to start off, so i think we will leave it this time. If anyone has any suggestions for how we can make sure its acidic enough without actually testing the acidity, id be grateful. As for the gravity, thats just to tell you how alcoholic it is, well for the next few years we will see how many glasses it takes before i cant walk in a straight line any more. Now we're just waiting for the autumn and we'll be off to the pick your own orchard.....Keep making great videos E.C.L.

Good stuff. I make about 400 pints a year. I bought a press and an industrial scratter about 20yrs ago, it was a good investment! Before that I was doing it with a juicer and demi johns.

Loved this, more please :)

Absolutely excellent videos.

Question: How were you able to do this outside without flies, bees & wasps swarming? The moment my first apple ripens on the tree that entire area of my yard is swarming with yellow jackets, any windfall apples are eaten up by yellow jackets - they're everywhere! Thanks.

I love your simple no-nonsense approach! I thought you missed an opportunity though: how do you know your apples are ready to harvest? I've had loads of apples that could have done with a bit longer in the sun.

Cider is acoholic en France and all over the world as well, except in America.

Another brilliant and informative video, thank you. We've watched through many of your country wine videos already. Are you still based in Devon or further afield?

Hugh - how would you reduce the ABV and still maintain the flavour? 6.9 or 7% is great but IF you want a lighter drinking refreshing cider? Suggestion for an instructional video.

Could I use crab apples? A friend has loads in his garden! Otherwise we will make jelly instead...

Just saw your videos and subscribed yesterday…your videos are very simple to follow and I love how you give alternates for most things One question - I didn’t understand this in your video, what kind of yeast did you use to ferment? Regular (bread) yeast or a wine / brewing yeast? Thanks for all the great videos again!

Hello With the left over apple solids from the press... can u deed that to chickens ect.. luv your videos many thanks 😊

I know the exact type of farmhouse scrumpy you mean. The kind of stuff where you expect to find a wasp in the bottle.

I think a look at the finished product would be good. Also,how do you confirm that fermentation is complete?

I suppose if you were lazy you could use a juicer machine to skip all the hard work?

Thanks when I made my 1st batch I thought you had to add water maybe they do in the distillery's because you look at how many appales you need to make a pint so when I look at an appale tree I say hoy many gallons or pints will it make?

Can you show us a traditional Pear cider

I’ve had five demi johns on the go for about three days. Four of them are bubbling away, nothing from the other. Any suggestions or should i give it more time?

Mad my cider and popped it in the demi John yesterday. It’s very frothy today, almost up to the neck of the demi john. I thought I’d left plenty of room but maybe I didn’t. Is there anything I can do to prevent it frothing up into the airlock?

No sugar added?

Hi, when you take it from the demijohns and bottle it , how long before you can drink it from being bottled? Many thanks , John