Last week, I shared with you my go-to basic hard cider recipe.  This week, I’m sharing my favorite alternative version of this recipe, CRANBERRY!

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t like sweet hard ciders.  I’m not much of a sweet drinker in general, I don’t drink soda and I not big into candy.  I think that is why I love cranberry hard cider.  It’s more tart than your average hard cider.  (Or it has something to do with the fact that I love cranberries.  Must come from all those summers I spent growing up on Cape Cod.)

Here’s how you make an amazing cranberry hard cider.

Ingredients:

• Four gallons of apple juice – this can be from a local farm, grocery store or from concentrate.  Just make sure it doesn’t have any preservatives in it.  (That would kill the yeast.)
• One gallon of pure cranberry juice.  Same rules as above.
• 1 packet of champaign yeast

Directions:

STEP ONE:  Sanitize your carboy. 

STEP TWO:  Pour in your four gallons of apple juice.

STEP THREE:  Add one gallon of cranberry juice.

STEP FOUR:  Pitch your yeast.

STEP FIVE:  Add your airlock.

STEP SIX:  Relax.

Keep an eye on your carboy and in about a month it should be ready to keg or bottle.  Enjoy!

What is your favorite version of hard cider? 

[Photo Credit: Cranberry Juice.]