Making hard cider from store bought

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wineANDbrine

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Is it possible to use potassium sorbate pasteurized cider bought from the store to make a batch of hard cider? I was told at my LHBS that no fermentation will occur. I've read from other sources online that it works, but never found an explanation on how it would work.
Which is true? If it is the latter, what steps need to be taken to obtain good results?
 
Technically, the answer is yes, you can still ferment sugars in the presence of Potassium Sorbate. PS does not stop active yeast from fermenting. What it does is stop the life cycle of the yeast so they can not reproduce. So if had a really large batch of actively fermenting yeast, you could pitchthem into the cider and they could ferment some of the sugar without multiplying.

There are many, many problems with this including yeast stress, the size of starter you would need, and the prospect that they yeast would already be in an anaerobic state.

It really is best to try and find alternative cider to start with. Look to a farmers market or perhaps a health food store that will sell you fresh cider. If a cider is UV pasteurized it is safe for sale but there are not chemicals to inhibit healthy yeast growth.
 
Bittersharp said:
Technically, the answer is yes, you can still ferment sugars in the presence of Potassium Sorbate. PS does not stop active yeast from fermenting. What it does is stop the life cycle of the yeast so they can not reproduce. So if had a really large batch of actively fermenting yeast, you could pitchthem into the cider and they could ferment some of the sugar without multiplying.

There are many, many problems with this including yeast stress, the size of starter you would need, and the prospect that they yeast would already be in an anaerobic state.

It really is best to try and find alternative cider to start with. Look to a farmers market or perhaps a health food store that will sell you fresh cider. If a cider is UV pasteurized it is safe for sale but there are not chemicals to inhibit healthy yeast growth.
Click to expand...

So how terrible would it be to use a gallon of store bought as a backsweetener, when bottling?

Would the concern be off flavors from the yeast getting stressed, or potential bottle bombs from over carbonation due to the randomness?
 
Just look for 100% apple juice without the potassium in it ( Motts for example) and you'll be fine.

I followed upstate mikes (search forum) caramel hard apple cider and used store bought and it tastes great!
 
Start a batch using store bought juice with nothing added (or only ascorbic acid-vitamin c). Might want to add some nutrient. I'd do a gallon with a full packet of yeast.

When you have a nice cloudy, vigorous fermentation going, add the juice that you really want to ferment. Now you dont need them to reproduce, just work on the sugar. You'll probably end up with a slight underpitch by the time you add a few more gallons, but should just mean a slightly slow ferment.
 

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