Gushers in fridge

nsmills83 said:

I did my first ever cider over a month ago. It's upstatemike's caramel apple hard cider. I didn't have time to stovetop pasteurize, so once carbonation was good, I stuck the bottles in the fridge.

Now, a few weeks later, these bottles have turned into gushers. I have a few questions:

1 - did I do something wrong by just leaving these in the fridge? I thought that would stop fermentation?

2 - is there any technique to calm down the gushing? It still tastes good, I just get about half the volume

3 - should i be concerned about them turning to bottle bombs? I turned down the temp on the fridge in case it just wasn't cold enough to stop fermentation

I appreciate any insight. Thanks!

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UpstateMike said:

I have had a batch do this too. Real life got in the way, and I missed the pasteurization point.

The fridge will slow down and stop fermentation, but the pressure is already built up and will not reduce that.

I open the bottles SLOWLY, OVER THE SINK. I release pressure, then stop, then release more pressure. Opening a bottle can be a 2 minute event.

I have not had any refridgerator bombs, but I have had some blow in stovetop pasteurization that were a little overcarbed. Best to leave them in the fridge and defuse slowly over the sink, then drink.

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