I have made cider, beer, wine, seltzer, mead, kilju, and just about any alcohol concoction I could dream up or find on the internet.
Hygiene is the most important part of fermenting alcohol. Don't skimp on hygiene. It makes everything else relatively easy.
Cider is a good place to start. You're a bit late to get fresh stuff, but if you want to use ordinary grocery store apple juice as a test run, you can do that rather easily. Plenty of places also sell concentrate.
There are tons of forums and YouTube channels out there. That's how Iearned.
I like a light, crisp cider over ice in summer. In the fall and winter, I like a glass of rich, dark cider with minimal carbonation with my dinner when having heavy fatty foods like pork belly or deer with cream sauce.
I once made a killer fortified apple wine to drink with traditional Norwegian pork belly that we have around Christmas. I basically dumped a bottle of Calvados in the wine to up the alcohol and stop fermentation, leaving some of the residual sugars. Some day I'll buy a still and make my own apple brandy, but distilling is a whole other hobby, and the equipment is expensive.
Good luck with your new hobby. It's fun and rewarding.
