pastuerized vs. unpastuerized

I've read and heard a lot of places to use unpastuerized cider to make your hard cider because your yeast will die if you don't. Today I've been reading a thread where lot's of people say to use pastuerized. I'm assuming you can do it either way. what are the pro's and cons?

I don't think pasteurized vs unpasteurized will have a direct impact on the yeast. Pasteurizing the cider makes sure there aren’t any nasties in there. If you use unpasteurized cider, you may want to drop some campden tablets in it the day before you pitch your yeast.

The stuff that will impact yeast is preservatives. You want to get cider that contains no preservatives of any kind - with the exception of perhaps Ascorbic acid, which I still try to avoid.

LupusUmbrus said:

I don't think pasteurized vs unpasteurized will have a direct impact on the yeast. Pasteurizing the cider makes sure there aren’t any nasties in there. If you use unpasteurized cider, you may want to drop some campden tablets in it the day before you pitch your yeast.

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Unpasteurized cider can contain wild yeasts. If those wild yeasts take control your pitched yeast might be overpowered, and you could have a strange flavor to your beer. Not that strange = bad, but you might not get what you intended. Some people simply allow the wild yeasts in unpasteurized cider to do all the work. (ie; buy cider, open, insert airlock, allow to ferment.)

Those campden tablets will kill nasties (including wild yeast) from what I understand.

I've been considering making a cider for a few years now, but I just have too many beers I want to make instead. Anyway, I've read a lot about cider making, and the general consensus is to use pasteurized, unpreserved cider, perferably made with a blend of different apples rather than one single variety.

-walker

LupusUmbrus said:

The stuff that will impact yeast is preservatives. You want to get cider that contains no preservatives of any kind - with the exception of perhaps Ascorbic acid, which I still try to avoid.

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Why is it that you avoid ascorbic acid? It's sometimes an additive to wine making, so I figured it wouldn't be all that bad in cider making.

The batch I am brewing right now is about 50% unpasteurized and 50% from frozen concentrate (containing ascorbic acid). It tastes good so far but we'll see....

corvus, is your recipe posted here?

billybrew said:

corvus, is your recipe posted here?

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Yeah, see this thread: My First Cider

And I came up with the idea for my recipe after going through most of these:

Cat's Meow Cider

I looked at that sight last night and was kind of leaning towards the recipe that you chose. It was what I wanted and the instructions were detailed enough for my first batch. So you didn't have a problem with the unpastuerized, I guess?


I'm glad to see it turned out good. I might use the campdem tablets or go with pastuerized. I'll probably also go with ale yeast. I'd like to hear how sweet yours is when you drink your first official bottle.

corvus said:

Why is it that you avoid ascorbic acid? It's sometimes an additive to wine making, so I figured it wouldn't be all that bad in cider making.

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Probably just a personal choice of LupusUmbrus. Ascorbic acid (Which is actually just Vitamin C) is used as an antioxidant - It is often used in canned or frozen fruit Pieces/Juices to prevent the browning that accompanies oxidation.

This time of year I make blackberry "cider". I use the quotes since I use way too many blackberries to be an official cider. I always check the cider/apple juice to be certain there are no preservatives, but I pasturize the blackberries at 140F. I know where they came from and what the birds have been doing.

I've tried sweet mead yeasts and ale yeasts, but the cider always comes out bone dry.

So what do I need to look for to make sure there are no preservatives? Will it say on the bottle or do I need to look at the ingredients? What do I look for?

look at the ingredients. it will list any preservatives.

-walker