Cider Question.....

I found a local orchard that presses their own cider. I was told that they do not add any extra preservatives, but rather use an ultraviolet process to kill off most of the extra nasties....question is, the method they use should produce a cider that yeast can grow in, right?

That's just one form of pasteurization. UV radiation or heat radiation.

seven77 said:

That's just one form of pasteurization. UV radiation or heat radiation.

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So can hard cider be made from this w/o any problems?

NUCC98 said:

So can hard cider be made from this w/o any problems?

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I'm just a noobie... but it'll be OK. As long as there isn't any kind of perservative in the cider to kill the yeast. The pasturization just gets rid of any bacteria nasties that may (and are) living on the apples while they are mashed into cider. The radiation they use to pasturize (UV, heat... some companies use ionized oxygen atoms to kill things) doesn't linger in the molecules, so after the process there's nothing in the cider to harm your yeast.... unless, of course.. you invited some sort of bacteria in there from not sterilizing your equipment.

I was reading an artical a while back about unpasturized cider and people getting sick (really sick) from drinking it. I seem to remember that it was about the state of NY, and it's a law to pasturize all apple cider now in NY.

I seem to think pasturization is a good thing and perservatives are a bad thing. Which makes sense if you think about it for a few seconds.

Yeah I thought all commercially packaged juices had to be pasturized now. A few yeasr back someone got salmonella or e-coli or something horrible from some unpasteurized juice.

As far as your cider, the UV pasteurizing is no biggie. Cheers!

NUCC98 said:

So can hard cider be made from this w/o any problems?

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Yes absolutely. They've just rendered the juice free of nasty bacteria, so you can go ahead and add some lovely yeast. It will work.

Hope yall don't mind the resurrection. But I just bought some Meadowbrook Farms UV'd cider from a farm in Wappinger Falls, NY. I've read that the UV only kills the bacteria, and not all of the wild yeast. Is this true? I'm pitching some with Grand Cuvee, and some with Nottingham. Per CvilleKevin's experiments most of his wild yeast ciders got nasty if he let them fall below 1.020. Is this something I should worry about?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/