Tengukami's Cider

This is very no-frills, so this costs less to get into operation, but also means more patience and greater attention to quality control. But the soft touch leads to a very flavorful, satisfying cider.

This is what I use:

I use champagne yeast. Not for any special reason; it's just the most available kind here. I activate 10g of yeast in a bowl of warm water and plenty of raw sugar. In a 25L bottle, I pour 10L of apple juice, probably the most essential ingredient. So you get what you pay for - buy juice from concentrate, and you'll have a standard cider; organic apple juice has a more complex flavor. Then I add 2kg of sugar, and a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.

By this point, the yeast should be fully hydrated and activated. Pour the solution into the bottle, and agitate thoroughly for a good 5 minutes. It will be heavy, but this helps ensure a broad distribution of yeast in the sugar. You'll want to give it daily agitations for the first week, then one agitation per week for an additional three weeks. At that point, let it be.

I use a bubbler gauge, your mileage my vary by matter of taste.

The first batch is done after about 3 months. At this time, the solution should be more or less clear, perhaps with some visible particles floating in it, with a thick layer of activated yeast-sugar silt.

At this point, you siphon the solution into another bottle, avoiding the silt as carefully as possible. Save it - you can use this to make future batches.

The second batch takes about a month to be ready for siphoning into bottles. The end result is at least 9 750mL bottles of cider. I do not know what the precise alcohol percentage is, but it's nearly as strong as wine; I would guess 9 or 10%. That I still have to test.