Making cider can be really easy and does not require much equipment to get started. This recipe shows what I see as the basic to getting starting making cider using the jug that the cider comes in.

Basic Cider

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Basic Cider using the bottle the cider came in.

Keyword cider

Prep Time 30

Fermenting Time 28

Total Time 28 30

Servings gallon

Cost $15

Equipment

1 oz Star San Sanitizer Will make 5 gallons of water to clean everything
1 Double Bubble 'S' Type Lock
1 Small Universal Stopper for Carboys
1 EASY-SIPHON 3/8"
1 5/16" x 7/16" siphon hose 3 to 6 foot
1 Hydrometer Optional if checking specific gravity
1 10" Hydrometer Test Jar Plastic Optional if checking specific gravity

Ingredients

1 gallon Cider I normally uses Louisberg Cider or Musselman's Apple Cider. Make sure it has something like ingredients apple cider and ascorbic acid. You do not want any preserivitives in the cider. You can also use apple juice but cider is better.
1 teaspoon Fermentis Safale S-04 yeast This is about 1/4 or a packet

Instructions

Cleaning Prep

Clean everything with hot water and Star San. This is to help make sure there are not other yeast or bacteria that is going to effect your cider.

Fermination

Add 1 teaspoon of Safale S-04 yeast to the Apple Cider jug.
(You can put the yeast into a bowl with few tablespoons of cider and wait for the yeast to bloom. This the process of activating yeast in a liquid to ensure it's alive and ready to use. It will start to foam up and bubble if it is ready to use.)
Put the cap back on the Cider Jug and shack until the yeast has been mixed in
Remove the cap
Put the bubble airlock into the universal stopper
Fill the bubble airlock with Star San Sanitizer water or vodka. I normally uses vodka since i have less issue with flies in the vodka then I do in the Star San

Checking Starting Specific Gravity (Optional)

Fill the Hydrometer test jar between 1/2 and 2/3 full of cider
Lower the hydrometer into the hydrometer test jar slowly and do not drop it in since it can break. If the hydrometer sits on the bottom sits on the bottom add more cider until the hydrometer floats.
Move to were you eye is at the level of the top of the cider to read the numbers on the hydrometer.
Record that number on paper you are keeping with the jug or using a permanent marker you can write it directly on the jug. I( usually expect this to be about 1.040)

Let the cider ferment

I check my cider daily for the first few days to make sure that the bubbler is bubbling and that it had not taken off and overflowed the bubbler.
Usually between 14 and 28 the cider will stop bubbling and you may see the liquid clearing so that the the lees will fall to the bottom of the jug.

Checking Ending Specific Gravity (Optional)

Fill the Hydrometer test jar between 1/2 and 2/3 full of cider
Lower the hydrometer into the hydrometer test jar slowly and do not drop it in since it can break. If the hydrometer sits on the bottom sits on the bottom add more cider until the hydrometer floats.
Move to were you eye is at the level of the top of the cider to read the numbers on the hydrometer.
Depending on the dryness or sweetness you want, I go by below 0.999 is dry, 1.000 to 1.009 semi sweet, and over 1.010 is sweet. I like my cider below 1.005

Racking

Using the Auto-siphon to transfer the cider to another 1 gallon container leaving the lees in the bottom of the plastic jug.
Clean out the lees and everything left in the original plastic jug.
Transfer the cider back into the clean plastic jug

How to make a basic hard cider