Allens Juice cider

I just started fermenting my first ever batch of cider this evening. 23L of Allen's apple juice, 1kg of brown sugar, and champagne yeast.

I'm going to primary ferment for 3weeks in a fermenting bucket, and secondary ferment in a glass carboy.

Any tips? I'd like it to be a semi sweet cider and carbonated.

Sweet and carbonated is tough. You have to make sure the yeast do not continue to eat the sugars.

If you are kegging, you can stabilize the yeast with campden and sorbate, then add sugar and force carb.

But if you are priming, you need active yeast to turn the priming sugar into bubbles. You have two options. First, you can ferment until try, then backsweeten with an unfermentable sweetener. Then add priming sugar and bottle. The yeast will eat the priming sugar but not the sweetener. Second, you could ferment incompletely. Then bottle while fermentation is still slightly active. Once you reach your desired level of carbonation, pasteurize the bottles in a pressure cooker to kill the yeast. I believe there is a sticky in the Cider forum that talks about this pasteurization method.

JamesR said:

Second, you could ferment incompletely. Then bottle while fermentation is still slightly active. Once you reach your desired level of carbonation, pasteurize the bottles in a pressure cooker to kill the yeast. I believe there is a sticky in the Cider forum that talks about this pasteurization method.

Click to expand...

if using this method, fill a plastic bottle at the same time as bottling to avoid bottle bombs, and for an easy check on how carbonated it is (just squeeze the bottle to check pressure)

JamesR said:

...bottle while fermentation is still slightly active. Once you reach your desired level of carbonation, pasteurize the bottles in a pressure cooker to kill the yeast.

Click to expand...

I think I'll use this method and pasteurize the bottles( very carefully) in a large pot. When I do this I might go on the safe side and pasteurize soon after bottling (using a plastic bottle for a gauge).

Two questions:
1) if I do pasteurize fairly early the only downside is that it won't have high carbonation, correct?
2) pasteurizing at 160F for 20 minutes- is that enough?

I do not have experience with pasteurization. I have read threads about it, and I suggest you do the same.

• The sticky by pappers_.
• Here's a new thread on this topic as well.