Cider v1.0
 

Just finished my first cider experiment batch.

• 3 gal. UV pasteurized juice, no preservatives OG 1.050
• Pitched Wyeast 4766 10/24/09
• Fermented @ 64 F
• Gravity 10/26/09 1.040
• Gravity 10/28/09 1.030
• Gravity 10/30/09 1.020
• Cold Crashed 10/31/09-11/01/09
• Bottled 11/02/09
• 11/03/09 Checked "carb tester" plastic bottle (others are glass) - very firm, gravity 1.015
• Bottle pasteurized @ 160 F for 10 min in water bath on stove
• Warm then cool water bath in sink
• Pop a top and enjoy

It's noticebly less sweet at 1.015 than 1.020 but very enjoyable. Next time I'd use KC Superclear during cold crash. It's cloudy right now but not sure if pasteurized cider would clear anyway. With heat pasteurization, I may have some pectin haze too, but it's tasty.

All in all a good 3 gallon experiment. :)

That looks like a good way to do bottle conditioning without the bottle bombs.

Are you going to keep the glass bottles at room temp? I'd be very interested to hear how they work out over time, in terms of staying stable after the water bath.

Did you notice any different in taste between the test bottle in plastic and the ones you heated?

Ooh, interesting technique! I'd also like to know how the cider tasted after pasteurization. Different at all, whether good or bad?

I also like the idea of a "carb tester" plastic bottle. I hadn't read that, before. When I finally do a carbonated batch, I'll definitely adopt that... and maybe this whole technique!

Kev and Gil,

The technique is from this older post:

Pasteurization methods to stabilize bottled fermented apple cider


It turned out great. I opened a chilled glass bottle of cider tonight with dinner. It tasted just like the plastic bottle carb tester, off dry with a nice blend of crispness, tart and apple.

I'll keep them at room temp and keep the experiment going. I also want to see how they taste over time. With pasteurization, they should be able to keep for quite a while. But I also think they'll mellow at the same time. It was a successful first batch.

Thanks guys.

Update: Cider v1.0
 

About a week and a half after heat pasteurizing this cider, it tastes even better. The process definitely locked in carbonation and the apple flavor at FG 1.015 without any bottle bombs. I'm going to save the rest for Thanksgiving. I think my mom's going to love it.

Did you submerge the entire bottle during the pasteurization charesty?

When I heat pasteurized, I submerged the bottles 1/2 way to 3/4 depending upon how many were in the pot at the time. Just experiment with how many you'll be pasteurizing at a time with cool water in the pot up to the level of 1/2 to 3/4 up the bottles. Then when you heat up the water you'll know how high it'll go.

It works real well. The cider I pasteurized tastes great. I didn't notice any difference from before and after. And no risk of bottle bombs.

Good luck.

Thanks charesty. Did you happen to backsweeten any?

Nope, I cold crashed at 1.020 when there was still some apple sugar in the cider. Between the cold crash and bottle carbing, the final gravity was 1.015 and remained there after the pasteurization.

I noticed that after I posted, thanks...duh! I plan on using your technique as soon as tomorrow but I do plan to backsweeten slightly using 100% apple juice concentrate. I am intending on carbonating but I'm not sure if the small amount of concentrate I use will do the trick or if I should add some priming sugar. I guess I'll resort to trial and error.