A hard cider tracking app for Android
If you make hard cider at home, BrewNote is a free Android app for logging each batch: the juice or apples you used, the yeast, your starting gravity, readings as it ferments dry, when you backsweeten or bottle, and how it tastes. It works offline and needs no account.
Home cider can be as simple as store-bought juice and a packet of yeast, or as involved as pressing your own apples every fall. Either way, the batches that turn out best are the ones you can repeat, and that means writing down what went in and how it fermented.
What to log for each cider batch
- The juice: brand or apple varieties, volume, and whether you pressed it yourself.
- Additions such as sugar, pectic enzyme, nutrient, or fruit.
- Yeast strain and pitch date.
- Original gravity, and dated gravity readings as it ferments.
- Fermentation temperature.
- When you stabilize, backsweeten, carbonate, and bottle.
- Tasting notes, especially how dry, tart, or tannic it came out.
Typical numbers for a standard hard cider
| Measure | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Original gravity | 1.045–1.065 |
| Final gravity | 0.995–1.020 |
| ABV | 5–8% |
Ranges are approximate and follow the BJCP cider guidelines. Juice gravity varies with the apples and the season, so measure your own juice rather than assuming. Most cider ferments close to dry unless you stop it or backsweeten.
How BrewNote handles cider
Start a batch as a cider. Log the juice and additions as ingredients and keep process notes with the batch, so next year’s pressing can start from this year’s recipe.
Log hydrometer or refractometer readings as it ferments. BrewNote charts them once you have a couple, so you can see when the cider has finished.
Set reminders for gravity checks, racking, or bottling day. Reminders can notify you and go on your calendar.
ABV for cider uses the same high-gravity formula as mead and wine. Rate each batch when it’s done and compare how different juices or yeasts turned out.
What BrewNote doesn’t do
- BrewNote doesn’t calculate priming sugar or backsweetening amounts.
- BrewNote is Android only for now. There is no iPhone version.
- It doesn’t connect to digital hydrometers or Bluetooth sensors. You type in readings yourself.
- There’s no cloud sync between devices. You move data with a zip backup instead.
Free tools for cider makers
Frequently asked questions
Is there an app for tracking homemade hard cider?
Yes. BrewNote is a free Android app with a cider batch type. Log juice, yeast, gravity readings, and tasting notes, set reminders for racking and bottling, and calculate ABV. It works offline with no account.
Can I track cider made from store-bought juice?
Yes. Log the juice brand and volume as an ingredient, take an original gravity reading before pitching, and track readings from there. The batch log works the same whether you buy juice or press apples.
How do I know when my cider is done fermenting?
Take gravity readings a few days apart. When the same reading repeats across several checks, fermentation has finished. Bubbling in the airlock isn’t a reliable sign on its own. Be sure fermentation is finished, or the cider is stabilized, before you backsweeten and bottle, or the bottles can over-carbonate.