How to Make Sparkling Cider at Home Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

I love sparkling cider. Love it. It feels just as special now as it did when I was seven and sipping it (carefully...so carefully!) from one of my grandma's best champagne flutes. I always have a spare bottle stashed away this time of year, just in case the need should present itself. Although lately, those bottles have been plain brown swing-tops and they've filled with my homemade version of this bubbly treat.

I've been a brewing madwoman for the past year while working on the sodas, kombuchas, beers, and wines for my upcoming book True Brews. Even after all this brewing, I am still amazed by how truly easy it is to make things like sparkling cider at home. All you do is add a bit of yeast to some juice, bottle in recycled soda bottles, and wait for it to carbonate. Presto chango, fizzy soda!

You can make sparkling cider with anything from fresh-pressed cider from the farmers' market to Tree Top apple juice from the grocery store. But you can probably already guess that the cider from the farmers' market is going to be a whole heck of a lot tastier than the apple juice. Bottom line: pick an apple cider or apple juice that tastes good to you and that you would enjoy drinking on its own.

There is enough natural sugar in apple cider and apple juice to provide food for the yeast and carbonate the cider — no need to add any extra. But if you want to infuse the cider with cinnamon, vanilla, or any other spices before you add the yeast, by all means go for it! If you warm the cider to steep the spices, just make sure the cider has completely cooled before adding the yeast.

It's really hard to go wrong here. No matter what, you end up with one of the freshest, most effervescent, and tastiest sparkling ciders you've ever had.

Take a Peek at the Book!

True Brews: How to Craft Fermented Cider, Beer, Wine, Sake, Soda, Kefir, and Kombucha at Home

The cider is carbonated when the plastic bottles feel rock-solid to the touch. Refrigerate the cider as soon as it is fully carbonated.

How to Make Sparkling Cider

Makes 1 gallon

What You Need

Ingredients
1 gallon apple cider or apple juice
1/4 teaspoon dry champagne yeast or baker's yeast (see note)

Equipment
Measuring cup
Fork or whisk
Small funnel
2 two-liter soda bottles, 4 one-liter soda bottles, or 7 sixteen-ounce swing-top bottles with 1 sixteen-ounce soda bottle (see note)

Safety First!

• Clean Your Bottles and Equipment: Wash all your equipment and bottles with soap and water, and thoroughly rinse. It's not necessary to sanitize equipment for this mini-brewing project, but cleanliness is still important.

• Use Bottles Meant For Carbonation: Only make sparkling cider in bottles intended for carbonation. Soda bottles and glass swing-top bottles are specifically designed to withstand the pressure of carbonation. Other bottles, even the original container the cider came in, can break or shatter under the pressure.

• Refrigerate When Carbonated: Refrigerate the sparkling cider as soon as the plastic bottles feel rock-solid to the touch. Refrigeration puts the yeast on hold and prevents the cider from over-carbonating. There is some margin for error here, but left un-refrigerated, the pressure will continue to build and the bottles will eventually break.

Instructions

1. Dissolve the Yeast: Pour a half cup or so of the cider into a small measuring cup. If the cider is cold, warm it in the microwave in 5 second bursts until it feels lukewarm to the touch. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve completely. (If you're not sure your yeast is still active, let this solution stand until you see small bubbles collecting on the surface of the cider.)

2. Pour the Yeast Back into the Cider: Pour the dissolved yeast back into the container of cider. Seal and shake to thoroughly distribute the yeast.

3. Divide the Cider Between Bottles: Insert the funnel into the mouth of one of your bottles. Fill with cider, cap, and label with the date. Repeat with your remaining bottles.

NOTE: If you are bottling in swing-top bottles, also fill one plastic 16-ounce (or smaller) soda bottle. Since it's hard to tell when cider in glass bottles are fully carbonated, this soda bottle will serve as your indicator.

4. Let the Cider Carbonate: Store the bottles of cider somewhere dark and at room temperature to carbonate. The cider is carbonated when the plastic bottles feel rock-solid to the touch. This will take about 24 hours at an average room temperature of 70°F-75°F; the cider will carbonate more quickly at warmer temperatures and more slowly at cooler temperatures.

5. Refrigerate the Cider: Refrigerate the cider as soon as it is fully carbonated. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving, or for up to two weeks. Open bottles very slowly over a sink in case the cider gushes. Refrigerate any cider that isn't consumed after opening.

Additional Notes:

• Champagne Yeast vs. Baker's Yeast: I recommend seeking out champagne yeast at your local brewing supply store or online (at a store like Northern Brewer). This yeast makes sparkling cider with a clean, bright flavor and small effervescent bubbles. Baker's yeast can be used if you're desperate for cider, but I think it tends to make the cider taste yeasty. (Store any un-used yeast in a sealed container in the freezer.)

• Alcohol In Sparkling Cider: Some alcohol is always made when yeast is used to ferment a beverage. However, the brief fermentation time for sparkling cider prevents it from becoming very alcoholic. Sparkling cider is typically less than 1% alcohol when brewed as directed.

• Making Hard Cider: Yes, you can make hard cider just by letting the cider continue to ferment! Instead of bottling it right away, you'll want to seal the bottle with a fermentation lock to allow carbon dioxide to escape. Also, use two teaspoons of yeast to really get fermentation going. Once fermentation has finished, you can then bottle the hard cider. A fermentation lock and other equipment for brewing hard cider can be purchased at your local brewing supply store or online (at a store like Northern Brewer).

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(Images: Emma Christensen)

Comments (23)

Just ordered my champagne yeast. Very excited to try this.

Can't wait to try this (once we're dried off and power is restored)! Quick question- can we successfully scale this back for 1/2 gallon cider using the same instructions, since sometimes recipes don't work as well when you halve them?

@Beatrix - Yes! You can definitely scale this back to 1/2 gallon, using 1/8 teaspoon of yeast. Happy brewing!

Great- thanks, Emma! We get lots of great local cider in the fall and winter, and I know how I'm going to spend my winter break... :)

I just made my own hard cider using a similar method! I used ale yeast because sometimes champagne yeast can result in a cider that's too dry--but if you taste it as you go, you can find the perfect amount of sweetness.

Just a little confused - the recipe says it makes 1/2 gallon (the pictures also show a half gallon...right?), but under ingredient list it says 1 gallon of cider. So then for a half gallon is it 1/4 teaspoon yeast, or 1/8. Not sure which is correct/typo... Thanks!

Love this idea! Once carbonated, does this become alcoholic? Does the yeast affect the flavor? Do tell!

@Whitney - Good catch! This recipe is for a gallon.

@Rebecca_F - Anytime you ferment liquid with yeast, you'll get a little alcohol in the beverage. In this case, the fermentation time is so short that there isn't time to make much alcohol (less than 1%). Champagne yeast does not affect the flavor of the cider; baker's yeast will give it a yeasty flavor.

I have 4 gallons of cider fermenting right now. We have tried 4 different kinds of yeast, one for each gallon, to see which we like best. Nothing like a little science experiment.

I was the lucky recipient of a bottle of this, and I drank the whole thing myself! Thanks Emma. :)

Looks great I can't wait to try it! Can I use fresh apple juice from my juicer or does it need to be pasteurized?

@Yasmine C - You can definitely use your own fresh apple juice! Um...YUM! (Pasteurized and unpasteurized both work for this). You'll need about 15 pounds of apples to make one gallon of cider.

I love sparkling apple cider. We have it every Thanksgiving. I didn't know that it was this easy to make at home. We get very good cider at the Farmers Market.. Can't wait to try this recipe. I had sparkling pumpkin cider for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and it was great. I will be looking for recipe for it, too.

So if a teetotaler who drinks no alcoholic beverages were to drink this, they wouldn't get any kind of buzz correct? Just making sure as we don't consume alcohol but do use it for making things such as extracts. Thank you so very much!

@wittersgarden - Someone who needs to abstain from alcohol for religious or health reasons should not drink this as it does contain a tiny bit of alcohol (less than 1% per glass). However, someone who doesn't drink alcohol for personal reasons or is the designated driver for the evening should be fine with this. You'd have to drink several gallons of this (and drink it very quickly) to even approach the level of tipsiness you'd get from a 12-oz beer with a 5-6% ABV. As always, it's probably best to disclose that it does have a bit of alcohol and let your guests decide for themselves.

You can also use Montrachet Wine Yeast. I've used the one from Red Star for making hard cider.

If you plan on making hard cider, go and talk with your local home brew shop. They'll give you book verse and chapter on proper sanitation and tips for telling when you can bottle.

Also, be careful what bottle you use. not all swing tops are made to handle carbonation. I know of a few people that got the swing top bottle from Ikea for beer or cider and then had them explode when they were finishing up the fermentation process.

I'm going to try this this week or next. It's apple season and I live near Apple Hill, CA!
Would you be interested in writing a guest post for a new foodie blog?

I'm fermenting hard cider without added yeast and adding sugar at bottling for some carbonation. Now I'll have to try it with wine yeast to taste the difference.

Omg I loveee northern brewer! I'm getting their caribou slobber dark ale kit and making my first batch of beer soon. I'm so excited!

Hi,
I cannot seem to link up with the book site. I'm shown an error message when I click on the hyperlink.
Question about the sparkling cider. I started mine five days ago, forgot about it until yesterday, and discovered that the bottle is indeed rock-hard. There is a bit of scum floating on the top. I haven't opened it yet. Is that to be expected? I realize I used 1/4 t. champagne yeast for a half-gallon, so probably overdid there. It's in the fridge, just awaiting consumption, but wanted to know if this is normal and safe.

@Denise - Sorry not to get back to you until now. You cider should be just fine, though it may be slightly alcoholic at this point. Open the bottles VERY slowly, either over the sink or outside -- they are likely over-carbonated and will fizz quite a bit.

I posted a question about accidental carbonation over here: http://www.thekitchn.com/got-apple-peels-make-tea-178876, but figured this might be a better spot to find an answer!

Not sure if it's too late to ask a question about this post...Will this work with pure grape juice as well? I love sparkling grape juice!

How to Make Sparkling Cider at Home Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn